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Tony was longing for a smoke, but curbed her desire in front of Mr. Burke. “Something dreadful happened last night. My cousin must have stalked me to Vauxhall Gardens. I took the precaution of joining a group of acquaintances knowing there was safety in numbers, but somehow, in the fog, I found myself alone and knew I was being followed. I panicked. I lost my way and ran. I felt so trapped, Mr. Burke, like a rabbit being run to ground.” A wedge of fear formed in her throat as she relived being hunted down.
Mr. Burke saw her hands tremble and for one terrible moment feared she had been ravished. “Go on, my dear. You can tell me anything,” he said gently.
“I knew I must get out of Vauxhall Gardens immediately. Danger lurked down every pathway, beneath every tree. I finally found the entrance gates and heaved a great sigh of relief to find myself out on the busy thoroughfare. My relief was short lived. I was pushed from behind and went down into the road beneath the hooves and wheels of an oncoming carriage. That I escaped death this time was nothing short of a miracle. Somehow the horses sidestepped my body and the carriage went over me without crushing me with its wheels.”
“My God, you were injured last night when you arrived home and I did nothing.”
Tony shook her head. “I was only shaken up and bruised, but I sustained more than bruises. It has left me frightened. Really frightened, Mr. Burke. I’m not afraid to face Bernard Lamb. I met him on the dueling field without too much trepidation, but now he’s stalking me. I have no idea when he will strike me down and I am suddenly vulnerable and frightened to death.”
Mr. Burke’s lips formed a hard line and his fists clenched impotently. “The filthy coward. His mind is twisted and evil. Your guardian must be informed, my lady. It is his duty to protect you. From now on I shall accompany you wherever you go and I shall not be unarmed!” Mr. Burke had thought for a long time that the burden of saving Lamb Hall was too heavy for the frail shoulders of a girl. The masquerade had seemed plausible in the beginning, but he should never have sanctioned such a shocking, shameful scheme. He should have realized Antonia would be in peril after Bernard Lamb had caused Anthony’s death.
Tony’s shoulders slumped. “The very thought of having to tell Adam Savage and risking his contempt is abhorrent to me. However, I suppose I have no choice. I have nowhere else to turn. Will you come with me to Half-Moon Street?”
Mr. Burke suggested he follow Antonia rather than walking with her. That way he would be able to observe anyone who was watching for young Lord Lamb and would also be able to keep her back safe.
Tony arrived at the Mayfair town house without incident and waited for Mr. Burke to catch lip in the reception hall.
Adam Savage was just descending the stairs, on his way out.
“Tony, just the man I wanted to see. I’m late for the House as usual, but a few more minutes won’t make any difference. I want you to do me an enormous favor, but it entails going to Ireland.”
“Ireland?” Tony seized upon his words as a means of escape from London and Bernard Lamb.
“Yes, believe it or not I’m about to join the hallowed ranks of the nobility,” he said in a mocking tone, “albeit the Irish nobility. His Royal Highness has been bribed into offering me my choice of castles. Not only am I pressed for time, I don’t have much knowledge of castles. However, I assume you do….”
Tony’s spirits immediately soared at the splendid news. “Well, I did rather misspend my boyhood studying ancient architecture.”
“Now is your chance to put your knowledge to the test. I’d like you to visit Blackwater in County Waterford and assess the place. Perhaps next week I’ll find time to visit the other property in Cork. Then I could meet you in Blackwater and we’ll travel back together.”
Just then Mr. Burke arrived. “Good morning, Burke. Perhaps you could arrange to travel with Tony to Ireland. Come upstairs, I’ll have Sloane write down how to get there and provide you with funds. Your best route is to sail from Bristol.”
Mr. Burke could see that Antonia had not confided last night’s events to Savage. At the moment she believed the proposed trip to Ireland was a lifesaver. Mr. Burke knew it only postponed the inevitable confession of her gender to her guardian. He knew his place, however, and did not dream of disclosing her secret. That was her decision entirely.
Tony’s steps were much lighter on her return to Curzon Street. “I want to thank you, Mr. Burke, for not forcing me to confess. I will feel so much safer out of the country. You don’t mind going with me, do you?”
“It is only proper that I escort you, but I’m quite looking forward to visiting my native land.”
Tony glanced nervously over her shoulder. “We must be absolutely certain that my cousin doesn’t follow us. If he did so, Ireland would be far less safe than London.”
By the time they got back, Roz was in the breakfast room. “Well, you were up and about early, or are you just getting home?”
“Of course not. I was summoned to Half-Moon Street and dutifully asked Mr. Burke to accompany me.” It was only a small lie. “Adam Savage is to become a member of the Irish peerage and he wants me to go and assess a castle in Waterford. He quite trusts my opinion since he saw what I did at Edenwood. Of course Mr. Burke shall travel with me,” she added quickly before Roz could protest.
Lady Randolph and Mr. Burke exchanged meaningful glances. “Antonia, I didn’t want to upset you so I kept quiet, but yesterday I believe I saw Bernard Lamb at the corner of Curzon Street. I want you to be absolutely certain that he does not follow you.”
Tony’s pleasure in the trip to Ireland was suddenly diminished as apprehension filled her, threatening to expand into full-blown fear.
“I have a suggestion,” Mr. Burke confided. “Why don’t you put your own clothes on and dress as a lady?”
“What a splendid idea!” Roz agreed. “I’ll come with you to the Central Coach Office in Lud Lane to see you off and you can purchase tickets to Bath rather than Bristol. Then you can buy a ticket for the rest of the way when you get to Bath. Anyone who is watching or questioning will think you are Antonia returning to the fashionable watering hole like hundreds of other ladies of fashion.”
When Tony thought it through, she agreed that there was merit to their suggestions. She opened her trunk to pack Anthony’s clothes and found the golden bodice she had worn in Venice. As her fingers touched it it evoked such private memories that she didn’t want Roz to see it. She quickly covered it with Anthony’s clothes, then packed an overnight bag with her own clothes for the journey.
Antonia chose a pale green gown with a jade green, velvet pelisse for travelling. She wore her own hair powdered with one long curl falling over her left shoulder, beneath a bonnet of tulle, ribbon and ostrich feathers. It felt strange to be wearing corset and petticoat once again and oddly inhibiting too. In trousers she could stride or lounge about; in skirts she moved more decorously.
Roz packed only two extra dresses for the journey because Tony insisted that would be more than enough. The moment they set foot in Ireland she would once again wear male attire.
The Port of Bristol was a hundred and twenty miles from London and necessitated an overnight stay at a coaching inn. Tony was glad of Mr. Burke’s company. He had an Irish wit that certainly helped pass the long, weary hours of the coach ride. She found her clothing very constricting and uncomfortable, and she would far rather have ridden on the box with the coachman, but she had to admit that she was treated with impeccable manners and gallantry by the opposite sex when she was dressed as a female. The gentleman and young lady traveling so companionably together raised no comment whatsoever, for they were taken as father and daughter from the outset.
