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She nodded.
He left, saddling his horse as he listened to her quiet movements in the stall.
She emerged at the same time he’d finished, and he returned the blankets to the shelf he’d found them on, slipping a few shillings between the folds of the top blanket. The farmers deserved some compensation for housing them for the night.
Then he returned and helped Lily onto the horse, climbing up behind her. “We’ll have to find some breakfast at some point.”
“That would be nice,” she murmured without looking at him. “I know we don’t want to be seen, but perhaps I could hide and you could procure food for both of us.”
Her suggestion wasn’t a bad idea, except for the fact that he’d have to leave her. “I don’t like leaving you unprotected.”
“Don’t worry. I’m good at hiding. When one regularly steals their meals, it’s a necessity.”
He didn’t answer but his jaw clenched. She should never have had to learn such a skill. He led the horse toward the back door, slipping out and refastening the latch before he mounted behind her. Her body settled easily into his.
“What happened to your mother?” she asked as they started down the still-dark road. The first light of dawn bathed the world in a shadowy grey light.
She shook her head. “She got sick. Died.” She swallowed, her body stiffening a bit against him. “She wasn’t meant for that life. It was hard on her.”
“What life?”
Lily shrugged. “In her youth, she was the mistress of multiple powerful men. They kept her quite well. Buying her beautiful clothes, installing her in fine lodging, and she ate like a queen. But once I came along…”
He winced, understanding.
“She wasn’t quite so beautiful, or I was too much trouble. But after my father, her supporters were fewer and further between, less influential, and then there weren’t any more of them.”
It was a story he’d heard before.
If the woman were smart with bartering her payment early in the relationship, she could be well provided-for. But some weren’t.
His father’s mistress had ended up with a fine London townhome and a good income to support her and her children.
She was one of the lucky ones.
She’d also had his father’s deepest affection, as had the children she’d borne. They had been his father’s real family, the ones he’d lavished his affection on.
Ash had been the hated necessity. “Eventually, you ended up destitute.”
She nodded. “That’s right. But as I said, I managed to find a position, build a life. Though I’m starting over now, I suspect. I’ll have to move to a new village. Find a new employer unless I can sell the cottage for enough to open my own shop.”
“Bash and Baxter—”
“Could have been the very people who landed me in this mess. They’ve managed to mix both their bastard sisters into a dangerous situation. I think I’ll take my chances on my own.”
Ash said nothing.
But inside he made a silent denial. Like hell he’d drop her in some town and just ride away.
