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CHAPTERFOUR
In the end, Ash left Lily in a cluster of bushes near the center of the next village and managed to procure a quick meal from them. More bread, but also a roasted chicken and vegetables. He wrapped them in a sack and started back to where he’d left Lily.
But when he arrived at the bushes, Lily wasn’t there.
His pulse skipped as he searched the area. There were no signs of horses or a struggle, but if she wasn’t here, where would she be?
Then he noted a glimpse of blue off in the distance. A river?
He walked his horse through the tall grass until they reached a tree far enough off the road that the horse could be tied without being noticed.
Making his way to the water’s edge, he scanned the bank, still not seeing any sign of Lily.
“I’m here,” she called, and suddenly a hand waved from between two rocks.
He blinked in surprise. “I left you in the bush.”
“Sorry. Did I worry you? The river just looked so tempting. I was thirsty and dusty. What I wouldn’t give for a proper bath.”
He moved to her little hideaway, noting that he’d never have seen her if she hadn’t waved. “You did, in fact, worry me.” Her skills at evasion were excellent.
She tilted her chin up at him with an apologetic smile. “I didn’t mean to, but I should have known. I’m just not used to operating with others…”
He understood, though he still felt a knot of dread in his stomach. He’d been scared when he’d come back and found her gone, a fear that had run deep and one that he wasn’t quite able to explain. Ash shrugged the sack off his shoulder, wanting to forget those unsettling feelings. “Hungry?”
“Famished.”
They picnicked again on the bank of the river. Though they ate quietly, there was something amicable between them. When they’d eaten their fill, Ash leaned back. He knew that they should go as quickly as possible. But with river bubbling, it was so peaceful sitting here with Lily.
So different from everything else he’d done of late.
“I love rivers,” she said, as though she’d read his thoughts. “They always feel like my friend, chattering away.”
“I can see that. I just like the peace that comes from sitting here.”
She flashed him the sweetest smile. He knew her life had been difficult, but that look spoke of an innocence he hadn’t personally experienced in years.
That feeling settled over his limbs like a warm blanket.
“I liked living in the country far more than the city. I was a person to the other villagers. Not always kindly treated, but good enough. The parish helped me, as did individual villagers. In London, it seems as though one could be lost.”
Lost. That was a good word for it. The word rang true like a bell in the dark. A clear, pure sound that gave direction to his thoughts. More and more often, of late, he’d been dissatisfied with his life in London. Hard and dark, it was a place that had little love and no sympathy for a man’s aches and hollow places.
But a man who didn’t plan to marry had to fill his time with something… Gambling, women, and illicit businesses seemed as good a pastime as any. But sitting here, he wondered if he’d chosen well. If his life wasn’t taking as much as it gave. “We should go.”
“Do you think those criminals are still trying to find me?”
Part of him knew he should say yes. If they’d gone through all the trouble to bring her this far, they definitely had plans for her. What those plans might be, he couldn’t say. But another part of him wanted to protect her from the truth. “I don’t know, but I’d rather act as though they are just to be safe.”
She stood and this time, she reached out her hand to him, slipping her fingers into his as they started back toward his horse walking down the narrow trail through the tall grass hand in hand.
That little change in trust stole his breath.
What was it about a beautiful woman choosing to put her faith in him that was like drinking grog? His head swam with the effects of that tiny gesture.
And when he lifted her onto his horse, she allowed his hands about her waist without protest and snuggled back into him as they started down the road again.
“I love the summer. Couldn’t you picture just living like this? Flitting from beautiful place to beautiful place, sitting by streams and drinking in the sun?”
