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Who could it be? What should she do?
In the moonlight, she could make out the breath of his shoulders, and the excellence of his seat, and suddenly she knew who he was. She knew.
This was dreadful.
He would think her an idiot, roaming about at night like this. Anyone could have come across her—anyone did. My, she thought ruefully, the night and woods were busy!
She felt ashamed and defiant all in one as she gathered up her defense. She wanted to race off so that he could not be certain it was she. But, she stopped her horse and waited for the abuse he was bound to ring over her stupid, stupid head.
“Damnation, girl! What the devil are you doing out here alone at night? And where the deuce have you been, coming from that direction?”
She was near enough now to see his face. He looked furious, concerned, and yet, something about him, made her want to just dive into his arms. If they were not on horseback, she believed that was what she would have done. She lifted her eyes to his, in no mood for a fight, sick of being forever on her own, without the comforts of her home, and forever worried about Ned.
Suddenly misery trumped shame, as she felt tears collect in her eyes and flood over onto her cheeks. She couldn’t stop them, hard as she tried and a sob she caught in her throat nearly choked her.
He was off his horse and lifting her off hers. He had her tightly in his arms and she felt him throw off her hat as he kissed the top of her head and say incomprehensibly soothing words. His voice was gentle as he assuaged her with nonsense saying only, “Oh my dear, my poor little beauty, my own gamine, we shall do, we shall, I promise you that.”
“Oh…Brock…oh…” was all she managed to say between sniffs as she attempted to collect herself. “ ‘Tis Skip…Skip…I can’t bear to think on it…and I feel as though I…am breaking into pieces…”
“No, my love, you are as strong a woman as I have ever known. You won’t break, and if ever you managed to put a little crack in that wondrous heart of yours, I would seal it right up and make it well. No, Mandy. You will do. But tell me…what about Skip?” He took her hand, caught up the reins of both horses, with her hand still in his, bent to retrieve her hat, and led her to the edge of the woods only a few feet off the road. There he bade her sit on a fallen log.
This done, he put his arm around her and held her and Mandy felt safe and cared for and sighed away the last of her tears. He had produced a handkerchief and she dabbed at her face, blew her nose and handed it back to him.
She laughed to see him pinch the handkerchief gingerly as he stuffed it into a pocket and he grinned as he touched her chin, “Now, that’s more like it.”
She giggled nervously and he said, “Now, my gamine, perhaps you have sufficiently recovered to put me in the way of understanding what it is about our amiable Skip to set you to tears?”
She nodded and saw that his eyes twinkled and all at once she threw both arms around his middle and hugged him fiercely, before dropping them and sitting in the crook of his hold to tell him what she had just overheard between Skip and the strange woman, and what Sir Owen had tried to get her to believe about her friend.
“There,” she said when she was done with her tale. “What do you think it all means?”
“It means that you certainly should not be out and about all by yourself.” He tweaked her nose. “Just look at the problem you have caused yourself with your snooping.”
She sat up straight and hands went to her hips, “Snooping? I wasn’t. I…came upon them quite by accident and left as soon as I realized what was toward. Snooping, indeed.” Then she saw that he had been teasing and she gave his knee a rap. “Horrid duke, now tell me, what do you think it really means?”
“There is an explanation, you know. We might not readily have it at hand, but there is one. Come, let me see you the rest of the way back to the abbey.”
She acquiesced without demur, all the while feeling that although Ned had told her there were no such things as knights in shining armor, the Duke of Margate, was most certainly just that. Oh, yes, every bit a knight in shining armor.
Chapter Fourteen
MANDY ARRANGED THE straw in her living quarters, as the duke had taken both their horses to the abbey barn.
She looked up as he entered the chamber they had been using as their dining area and bedroom alike and stood a moment as they looked into one another’s eyes. Was it possible to feel this much without exploding, she wondered.
She knew what he was thinking, because she was thinking it as well. He wanted to take her into his arms and she wanted that as well. All at once he strode over to her and took her into his arms and kissed her.
A commotion coming down the hall made them jump guiltily away and just in time as Ned ducked his head and entered the chamber to tell them, “By Jove, we’ve had a rare kick-up!”
Apparently, Mandy thought ruefully, they had decided not to stay overnight in York.
Ned threw his hat across the room where it landed on the pile of straw and blankets he had been using as his bed. “Hallo, duke…saw your horse in the barn. What has happened to bring you out this late?”
“First, my young man, what sort of rare kick-up?” countered the duke.
“You sound as though you have just been having fun, when you were supposed to be out finding information about Elly Bonner and Hawkins!” his sister accused as she glared him down.
“Oh, well, as to Elly…think it was all a hum. No one we spoke to knew anything about her, but sis, wait till you hear what a capital time we’ve had.”
