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“Those men?”
“It’s possible my mother knows them, but hopefully by the time she realizes we’re gone…”
Clara nodded. “They were headed in one direction, us in another.”
“She hasn’t had time to tell them anything but the longer we dally here, the more likely we are to run into them I think.”
Clara gave a shiver. “It’s a good thing you’re my favorite nephew. This is whole new level of trouble. Even for you.”
He winced, the comment touching on that open wound of his. He’d never exactly been good. He’d been birthed by the viper, after all. “Do I cause a great deal?”
She rose too, patting his shoulder. “Your trouble is usually the fun kind. You’re a good boy, Jacob. Always have been. That’s what’s so irritating about what she’s done to you.”
Jacob had never heard his aunt talk like this, and the words shocked him. They echoed some of Emily’s in this way that seemed meaningful and significant.
“Well, whatever she has or hasn’t done, I’ll tell you this, I won’t let her hurt Emily.”
Clara’s brows lifted into two artful arcs. But she said nothing more as she took the glass back from his hand. “I’ll sleep while we drive. I’m not letting the wine go to waste.”
He let her take it.
Might be nice if Clara fell asleep. It would give him some time with Emily…
CHAPTER NINE
Emily followed Jacob down the back stairs and out the kitchen door, not questioning why they were sneaking out in the middle of the night.
Some deep part of her trusted him. Trusted that he had her best interest at heart and that he’d keep her safe no matter what.
He reached back, grasping her hand and pulling her closer to his side as they approached a waiting carriage.
But she stopped several feet away. “Jacob. That’s a different carriage.”
“My mother’s,” he chuckled. “Or as you pointed out, mine.”
Her lips parted as she stared at the highly polished vehicle. His was a plain black that had likely cost half of what this carriage cost. “She won’t notice?”
“Oh, she will. But by then we’ll be halfway to our good friend, the Duke of Wingate. And the men following us won’t recognize this carriage.”
“That is smart,” she gushed, giving him a wide smile. He smiled back and then tugged on her hand, helping her into the vehicle and onto the seat next to a sleeping Clara.
“There is something you should know, however,” he whispered even as the carriage began to move, quietly rolling down the dirt packed road.
“What is it?” Fear skittered through her, but she snapped her spine straight. She wanted to know, and she appreciated Jacob sharing the details with her.
“My mother. She had a letter from Mister Barrow.”
She gasped, her eyes growing wide.
He reached into his pocket pulling out a sheet. With trembling hands she took it, and unfolded the paper to read the words, her brows knitting in confusion. “Is it just me or do the pieces not seem to fit?”
“It’s not you.” He took the note back, returning it to his pocket. “But we’re going to find all the pieces and fit them together. You have my word.”
Grabbing up her skirts, she pushed off the seat and half stood to shift herself so that she could sit next to him.
For a moment, she wondered what he might do but he instantly moved, making room for her, and placing his arm on the back of the bench behind her.
The moment she settled in, he touched her shoulders, drawing her close. She willingly melted into his embrace, her face tilting up to his. “I have every confidence.”
