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“So, that’s why you chose it? Because you like it?”
“I like it, it’s close enough to Town that we can be there and back before we are missed, and I would trust the proprietor with my life. All three factors were important to my choice.”
She didn’t add anything else, merely nodded and watched the scenery pass for a while longer in silence.
“Surely you realize, though, that it isn’t likely that anything I have to say will be of any importance to you, don’t you?” Again, her voice was low and tentative. A quick glance showed James that her hands were clenched together in her lap so tightly that he was afraid she would split the seams on her gloves.
Cursing inside his mind, James realized that going far from the city was merely heightening the anxiety for her. Glancing around at the empty road and fields, he realized they were as private as they were ever going to be. With the exception of her maid, they were the only people around. They wouldn’t even be this private at the inn.
He reached over and grabbed her hand, despite it being in her lap. Again, she allowed it. With his one hand, he brought his team to a slower pace.
“I apologize, Lady Rosabel. I should have realized that dragging this out would make it seem far scarier than it needs to be.”
She lifted her chin and looked into his face without meeting his eyes. “I’m not afraid. I’m embarrassed. And annoyed. And getting angry, if you must know.” She paused for a moment, lowering her tone back to its usual well-modulated level. “You accosted me during the waltz, demanding answers to strange questions. The waltz, Your Grace. You are an excellent dancer. It should have been blissful. But you had to ruin it with your questions about Prescott. I don’t like him, and I don’t want to talk about him. Then you demand that I be up and ready to leave at a ridiculously early hour, again with the purpose of asking me about Prescott. It turns out that being up at this hour is glorious. And driving with you behind your beautiful horses is lovely. But when we get to this inn that you so enjoy, you’re going to make me tell you something I don’t wish to. So, all of this is to be ruined as well. I don’t think I much like you anymore, Your Grace. And if we weren’t already so far from Town, I might make a scene and demand you put me down this instant so I could walk home. But no matter how angry I might be, I’m not stupid.” She heaved a heavy breath and concluded in a low tone. “But I’m still disappointed.”
The soft, mournful voice with which she concluded her statement made James clench her hands tightly in his. In that moment, he longed to pull her into his arms and offer her comfort. He couldn’t remember ever feeling that way toward any woman other than his little sister. And it had been years since he had found the need to comfort her. Of course, it would be highly irregular if he were to do so with Rosabel, but it was still what he wished to do.
His horses were now moving at a walk, and he could allow them to direct themselves for a time so he could turn his focus on the young woman beside him. He chose to ignore her maid completely, focusing all his attention on Lady Rosabel.
“I am most sorry for your disappointment, my lady. I swear it is necessary. There is much that I cannot tell you, but if you have anything you can tell me about Prescott, I beg that you do so.”
“That hardly seems fair, Your Grace,” she countered, a little of her spirit returning, making him smile.
“I understand why you say so. I will count on your discretion, and tell you as much as I can, but you will have to trust me for now.”
Both his female passengers snorted at that, making his smile turn rueful.
“I have to trust you, but you will not trust me, is what you’re telling me.”
“I’m asking you to trust me with your own secrets, not those of someone else, or at least that’s what I’m assuming. You are asking for secrets that do not belong to me.”
To James’ profound relief, her searching gaze finally met his own. Not that he enjoyed her probing stare, but he was glad she was no longer avoiding looking him in the eye. He couldn’t have said what she read in his face, but it must have reassured her in some way, as she nodded and launched into speech.
“Very well, Your Grace. I will give you my trust. But I promise you this: if you violate my trust and divulge my secrets and it in some way hurts my sisters, I will find a way to get back at you. Even if you scoff and think there’s nothing a debutante could do to hurt you, I can assure you that I am far from stupid, and I will make it my life’s goal to find a way.”
While her threats might sound puny, and he should be offended that she wasn’t actually trusting him by threatening him in this way, the fact that it was concern over her sisters that was motivating her distrust endeared her all the more to him. He squeezed her hands once more and was gratified when she finally relaxed her grip on her own hand and turned one over to return his clasp. With a deep breath, as though to fortify herself, Rosabel launched into speech.
