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“We are setting off on horseback. Right now,” he answered her unspoken question.On horseback.She didn’t have her gentlemen’s attire with her. Gabriel had insisted she leave it in London. Evie opened her mouth to say just that, but he interrupted her. “I’ve asked for two horses to be saddled. Do not fret; one will be a sidesaddle.” He winked at his last statement.
“Sidesaddle?” she muttered to herself, placing the gown on the bed and undoing her dressing gown. “Would you mind turning away?” She threw the question at him over her shoulder.
“I do.” She heard him grin. Evie sighed and let her dressing gown fall to the floor. After traveling with him across England, she somehow didn’t feel at all embarrassed to be standing in front of him in a translucent chemise. If he didn’t care, neither would she. “I can’t ride,” she muttered as she drew the skirts over her head.
“Excuse me?” he asked, confusion in his voice.
“I said,” Evie muffled out from inside her overskirts, “I can’t ride.” She turned as her head appeared from under her skirt and drew them down to her waist. She took the bodice and crammed her arms into the sleeves. “Button me up, please.” She walked toward him and turned her back. Gabriel brushed her hair over one shoulder. This entire scene, her dressing in front of him, him buttoning her up, was so casual and felt so natural, as if they had been doing this for years. It truly felt as if they were a married couple.
“What do you mean, you can’t ride?” He stirred the wisps of her hair at the nape of her neck with his breath. “You rode at least part of the two-hundred-mile journey from Carlisle on horseback, didn’t you?”
“Astride,” she clarified.
Gabriel made quick work of her buttons. She assumed a lot of practice accounted for his deft fingers. He took her by the shoulders and turned her to face him once he was done.
“You mean to tell me that you are perfectly capable of riding astride, and yet you’ve never learned to ride sidesaddle?”
Evie shrugged. “It was too difficult for me as a child, and Grandpa didn’t want to torture me with it.”
Gabriel chuckled into his fist.
“I can ride sidesaddle, but not well. And I’d rather not risk breaking my neck,” she said defensively.
“You are incredible,” Gabriel said with a slow smile. But his features darkened momentarily. “Well, you can’t ride astride in this, and I don’t think I can get you any decent male clothing that’ll fit you at this hour. You’ll have to ride with me.”
He took her valise and peeked out of the room. Then he stepped out, looked around once more, and then waved for Evie to follow him. She managed to hastily weave the turban around her head and covered her shoulders with an old shawl Widow Jane gave her for the road in the hopes of appearing older than she was.
They made it downstairs without an incident, and once they reached the horses, Evie was able to breathe again.
“I’ll mount first,” Gabriel warned. “Then you step on my foot, and I’ll pull you up, all right?”
Evie swallowed and nodded. As soon as Gabriel mounted, he leaned in and stretched his arms toward her. Evie struggled to get her foot up on the stirrup with Jane’s shawl and her gown on. She untangled the shawl and threw it at Gabriel.
“Hold it for a moment, will you?”
“You should have left it,” he grumbled, trying to fold the cloth into some semblance of an order.
“I would have if I didn’t need a disguise, and this turban—” Evie was aggressively picking up her skirts and trying to hold her turban in place with her shoulder at the same time. She was interrupted by a slurred male voice coming somewhere from above.
“Oi!” the voice called. “What are you doing there?”
“What’s in it to you?” Gabriel called back.
“Where are you off to in the middle of the night?” the man continued interrogating.
“Late for my aunt’s funeral,” Gabriel called back and turned back to Evie. “Will you hurry?” he hissed between his teeth.
“All right!” Evie yanked her foot up and stepped on Gabriel’s boot. She held up both her arms for Gabriel to lift her. He took her by her wrists and pulled her up with great force. She landed on his thighs with an audible oomph. Evie almost fell backward, and if it wasn’t for Gabriel’s quick reflexes, she would have. He placed his arm around her and pulled her toward his chest. The motion resulted in Evie’s turban unwinding and landing on the ground, leaving her glorious fiery hair spilling down her shoulders.
