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She felt an intake of breath and even though Nanny gushed that it would please her greatly, Kitty answered, “I don’t know … won’t you feel too cooped up with two women chattering your ears off?”
He laughed. “I suppose I deserved that for staying away so long, but I do assure you it was for a reason.”
“What reason?” Kitty demanded.
“There have been reports of highwaymen on the main pike, and I meant to make certain the road and its surrounding woods were clear.”
Nanny gasped, “Highwaymen?”
“You needn’t worry,” the earl said immediately. “There were no signs of any.”
“I should think not,” Kitty retorted, as she did not at all believe his excuse. “Not in broad daylight.”
He laughed, and their eyes locked. They both knew why he had stayed away. She, however, was inwardly too happy for his company to make any more of it.
She said with a tease, “No doubt we are receiving the pleasure of your company because you are saddle sore.”
“Kitty!” objected Nanny.
“Do not f
ret, Nanny. I am beginning to know our Kitty very well. She enjoys teasing.”
Kitty said nothing to this but thought that he was very comfortable, telling Nanny that he knew her so well.
“I thought we would stop for tea and eat enough cakes and such to hold us till dinner, for I mean to push on after tea for another hour or so, which will bring us to a very fine inn. It is called the Red Bull and is a charming posting house where …” He inclined his head and smiled at Nanny. “… my ladies may be comfortable for the evening. I am only sorry that I did not arrange for posting horses along the way so that we could have picked up our pace.”
“Oh, how very thoughtful,” Nanny said, approving of this plan. “I must confess that I would dearly love a spot of tea.”
“Indeed, and the horses need water and rest as well. It has been a long day for them,” Kitty agreed.
“And you?” he asked, and something in his voice made her lift her eyes to scan his face.
“Yes, being cooped up in a carriage … is wearing.” She stretched a bit and said, “Ah, tea and cake. My favorite food—cakes, little iced cakes. I am famished. I should have eaten more when we stopped earlier … but I didn’t have much of an appetite then.” She looked directly at his face, and her lips curved with her implication as she tried to remind him of their kiss.
“Minx,” he said softly and then straightened. “But I am sorry. I have been most remiss. I should have realized that both of you might need a stop.”
“Your timing is perfect,” Nanny said sweetly and turned to Kitty for confirmation. “Isn’t it, dear?”
“Why, of course. Timing is everything …” Kitty returned, her eyes bright with the tease she was sure he would understand.
To her astonishment and Nanny’s surprise, the earl burst out laughing. Kitty observed Nanny seemed uncertain about what was funny but joined in nervously.
“That is my girl, forever a tease.”
His blue eyes were filled with a warm light that made her catch her breath. What was he saying? “Oh, I am not teasing,” she answered. “As I said—timing … because one can never tell what a hungry woman will do.” She was behaving outrageously. Only he would understand the underlining of her words.
His eyes glittered appreciatively, and he said, “A reminder to me to keep you well fed.”
“Indeed, we wouldn’t want this country bumpkin wench to make a mull of it, would we?”
“Od’s life, child. You might have arrant manners, but there is nothing of a country bumpkin about you,” he answered staunchly.
“Now that is a bang-up thing to say. Famous. Arrant manners but not a country bumpkin. What then? Should I take insult or be flattered, my lord?” Kitty’s eyes glittered dangerously as her temper tickled her senses. She could see that Nanny’s face displayed confusion, and she curbed herself.
Nanny apparently decided to intercede and said, “Kitty … Kitty?”
However, though the earl cast Kitty a warning smile, he glibly and skillfully dodged her quip by quietly pointing out, “Ah … time passes so quickly in your delightful company. There is a fingerpost sign. We aren’t too far now.”
