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“Dressed as what? How can you disguise a coachman?” Tahlia asked in astonishment. She was impressed, but didn’t believe it was really possible.
“Well, you have seen Andrew’s face. He has no disguise at the moment. Later, when daylight makes him visible, he will probably powder his hair grey with powders in a box under his seat. He can wear a scarf, a different hat, or put on a pair of spectacles. He can slouch low in his seat, change horses, and even smoke a pipe and nobody would link him to the Andrew who has just driven us out of the woods.”
Tahlia thought about that. It sounded like a life of wild, if incredibly dangerous, adventure. In contrast to that, her life in rural Rutland was quiet, filled with routine, and nowhere near as adventurous. She began to doubt that Connor would be able to bear it.
“What’s wrong?” he murmured when she sat upright and began to study the floor with a frown.
She shrugged. “I can’t compete with this kind of life,” she whispered.
“What, you can provide me with a place to call home, wonderfully warm meals, a delightful son to play with, and a loving wife to share my bed with.” He pursed his lips thoughtfully. “In return, I have to give up standing outside in the cold, mostly in the dark, watching strangers go about their lives and commit crime. If I must give in being shot at, threatened with knives, and chased through unfamiliar streets by someone out to kill me then I suppose I must. I hate to say it, my dear-”
“What?” she prompted when he lapsed into thoughtful silence.
“You are stuck with me.” His smile began to grow.
“Well, when you put it like that, I suppose I might be the better end of the deal,” she began with a mock frown.
Suddenly, the carriage bounced into a deep hole in the road and nearly jostled Tahlia right out of her seat.
Connor sighed and drew her across his lap before he swung her legs up onto the seat. Rather than join her, he blew out the lantern on the opposite side of the carriage. He smiled at her. There was a hint of lechery in his eye that told her exactly what he was thinking.
Her own smile grew when he dropped his jacket onto the floor and tugged his shirt over his head. She eyed his hair-smattered chest and sighed when he settled down over her.
Tahlia peered at him through the darkness.
“What are you doing?” she whispered as she watched him open the shutter and blow out the second lantern.
“Protecting you,” he murmured as he began to unlace her corsets. “It’s my job.”
She laughed. “You are very dedicated.”
She could see his grin widen even in the darkness. It elicited a thrill from within her that seemed to come from her very soul.
“I am with the Star Elite. We are very dedicated,” he assured her. “I need to save you from harm and protect you with my life if need be. I am afraid, though that I am going to have to demand your full co-operation.”
“Uh-ho,” she murmured as she ran her hands lovingly down his back. “As long as I have your exclusive attention.”
“For always,” he whispered, and set about proving to her just how dedicated he was.
One week later
Tahlia waved as the carriage pulled away. Her smile was wide and her love for the man beside her pure as she watched Andrew and Matthew disappear out of the end of the road.
“Are you sure they shouldn’t have stayed with us for a while?” she asked.
Connor shook his head.
“They need to get back to London, darling,” he assured her. “They will stop off somewhere when they need to take a break. Their job is done for now, so they can meander their way down south and take several days’ break while they do it. They will be fine.”
Tahlia smiled at him.
“Come on,” she replied, eager to get inside. “Let’s go and find Joseph.”
Connor nodded but paused beside the front gate long enough to study the large, two-story Jacobean house before him. It was nothing short of beautiful. Its understated elegance fit well in the surrounding hillside, which was so peaceful that he sighed in delight at being able to gaze over it and call it home.
Uncharacteristically, he was nervous as he stepped cautiously across the threshold. Over the past several days he and Tahlia had spent hour upon hour talking about everything; their past, their hopes for the future, their likes and dislikes. He was now confident that there was nothing about her he would ever find troubling in any way, and she certainly had accepted what he did with the Star Elite.
She not only accepted it, she understood it. That was so vitally important when it came to the unpredictability of his work.
