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“How long does it take to get there?”
“About four days.”
“Four days? That’s a long time from now. Can’t we just get married somewhere else?”
He shook his head. “We’re in no condition to get a common license or special license. The laws have bound us to Gretna Green.”
“That’s absurd. We should be able to marry anywhere.”
“I really wish your father had taken time to teach you practical things instead of worrying about gowns and impressing people. You can’t just go up to a church, knock on the door, and ask to get married. There’s a process you have to go through, and depending on the process, it can be quite expensive. The only thing that is allowing this marriage to take place is your father’s approval of it. If he wasn’t so concerned about scandal, he could have pulled you out of my residence and made you marry the Duke of Winnett anyway.”
She felt the color drain from her face. Thank goodness her father hadn’t chosen to do that! Once she found her voice, she said, “All right, we’ll go to Gretna Green.”
Though he said there was no chance of catching the duke following them, she still took a moment to peek out the window. She didn’t see anyone. Hopefully, she wasn’t going to see the duke ever again.
***
“We’re going to be staying in the same room?” Eleanor asked that evening after the innkeeper left them alone.
Byron set his travel bag on top of her trunk. He went to the door and secured the latch so no one could get in. Turning to her, he replied, “I have to keep watch over you, and this is the best way to do it. There’s no use in me keeping watch in the hall when someone could come in through the window of this room. We might be on the second floor, but a ladder will resolve that issue.”
He went over to the window, opened it, and scanned the people in the town. He didn’t see anyone who reminded him of the Duke of Winnett. He didn’t think the duke would hire someone else to chase after them. If he was a betting man, he’d say that the duke did everything himself in order to best cover up his crimes. Hiring someone risked them getting lazy, and a lazy person left evidence behind.
Byron tapped the edge of the windowsill. He was going to settle this case if it was the last thing he did. So far, he hadn’t lost a single case, and he’d be damned if he was going to start now.
Eleanor cleared her throat. “I notice you wrote down ‘Mr. and Mrs. Tumilson’ in the ledger downstairs, but we’re not married yet, and I don’t feel comfortable sharing a bed with you until we are.”
He glanced her way. “I don’t plan on sleeping tonight. I’ll be keeping lookout at this window.”
“Oh.”
His eyebrows furrowed. He wasn’t sure, but it almost sounded like she was disappointed he wasn’t going to try to do something with her. Her shoulders slightly drooped and a small frown crossed her face. But then she picked up her valise and put it on the table in front of the mirror.
He shook his head as she began to sort through her belongings. No, she hadn’t been disappointed. He had been imagining it. She had no romantic inclinations toward him. This whole thing with their relationship was one-sided. She had expected to marry a titled or a wealthy gentleman. He was neither, and because of that, she didn’t see him as anything but a Runner.
His gaze went back to the window. The duke might see him and know which room he was staying in. Whether the duke assumed Eleanor was in this room or another room was of little consequence. Byron needed to get a good view of the town so he could remember where everything was. He’d already tested the wheels of the carriage before leaving London. He’d check them again in the morning, but for now, the carriage was in good shape. Her father might have hired a carriage that had seen better days, but he did make sure it was a solid one. Perhaps there was a part of him that sincerely cared for his daughter.
Once Byron had a good understanding of the town, he shut the window and secured it. “I’ll open this when I get back. I don’t think the Duke of Winnett will do anything before dark, but there’s no point in taking any chances.” Especially not when Byron cared so much for the person who was being threatened. He turned to face her and saw that she had set out her grooming supplies on the table. “I’m going to get us something to eat and bring it back here. I would suggest we eat downstairs, but it’s crowded down there. That makes it harder to find someone who doesn’t want to be caught.”
She nodded. “I understand. I’ll stay here.”
Good. That made things easier. It was nice to know his future wife was practical about things. “I want you to lock the door when I leave. I’ll call out ‘robin redbreast’ when I return.”
She followed him to the door. “Why not just say you’re back?”
“Because anyone could say that. You’d be surprised at how easy it is to mistake someone for another person when you can’t see them. What we need is a code that only we know about. That way you can be certain it’s me.”
She blinked in surprise. “I never thought of that. How many times have people pretended to be someone else on the other side of a door?”
“Believe it or not, it’s happened quite a bit. I shouldn’t be too long.” When she indicated she would wait for him, he unlatched the door and stepped into the hall. He waited for her to lock the door before he headed down the stairs.
***
The next morning, Eleanor stood by the carriage while Byron inspected the wheels. The coachman, who’d been hired to take them to Gretna Green, rolled his eyes but didn’t argue when Byron insisted on making sure everything was safe, even though the coachman had assured them that no one had been near the carriage all night.
Eleanor didn’t mind that Byron was being cautious. Having been in a carriage that had lost a wheel, she’d rather be safe than sorry. But a part of her was annoyed. As promised, Byron had stayed up all night by the window. She realized he had been keeping watch, but there was something about watching him be so formal about everything that bothered her. She kept telling herself there was nothing wrong. He was only doing his job. But maybe that was the problem. She was still a job to him. It would have been nice if he had at least tried to get into the bed with her.
Byron stood up after inspecting the last wheel. “Everything looks good. We’re ready to go.”
