Jane Feather - Charade by Unknown (top rated books of all time txt) 📗

you understand." A gentle smile accompanied thesoft words. "Should you, of course, wish to renew your promise . . ."

Danielle responded to this with a cross sniff and climbed disgustedlyinto the chaise, leaving Linton to mount his horse, unsure whether thedesire to kiss or to spank her was uppermost.

The next four hours passed for Danielle in lonely tedium and sheclambered down with relief at their first changing post. The earl gaveinstructions for the mare to be saddled and ushered her into the inn.He made no attempt to explain her presence to the innkeeper judgingthat since he was traveling incognito, unless he had the misfortune tomeet an acquaintance, speculation could harm neither of them. He puther himself into the saddle of the mare before mounting the black andthen, to Danielle's momentary speechless indignation, reached across totake hold of the leading rein attached to the mare's bridle.

"You . . . you cannot!" she managed to gasp at last.

"Cannot what, brat?"

"Cannot lead my horse as if I were a baby!"

"You do not imagine, Danny, that I would be so foolish as to put you upon one of my horses without taking some precautions?" The note ofpolite incredulity brought an angry flush to her cheeks. "Of course,"he continued mildly, "you may prefer to continue your journey in thechaise."

"Infinitely," Danny stated and without another word swung easily to theground and returned to the stuffy discomforts of the carriage.

That night she ate her dinner in their chamber under the calm eye ofher guardian who, once she had finished, bade her a polite good nightand went to his own meal in the private parlor, locking the door behindhim. He had bespoken a room on the third floor—not nearly ascomfortable as the spacious chamber urged by the landlord, but onewhose small window offered no chance for escape. Danny toyed onlymomentarily with the idea of knotted bedsheets—it was a device that shestrongly suspected worked only between the pages of romances. Bymidmoming of the next day she was ready to exchange the coach for thehated leading rein and after three hours of this mortification decidedthat she was in no wise going to evade Justin, Earl of Lin ton. Shewould reach Mervanwey at the end of a leading string or ridingindependently, but he would be beside her.

"Milord?"

"Yes, Danny." He turned immediately toward her with that unfailingpoliteness.

"I will renew my promise."

The earl said nothing, merely leant sideways to unfasten the rein.

Danny looked speculatively at the broad green turf bordering the rathernarrow road. "I should like to gallop, sir, and unless I much mistakethis pretty lady would enjoy it also." The mare raised her head,sniffing the wind eagerly as if she understood and Linton laughed.

"Come then, child, let us try the lady against the stallion." Daniellewas off almost before the words were out of his mouth, leaning low overthe mare's neck as she encouraged the spirited filly to lengthen herstride. The black thundered behind them, drawing level, nostrilsflaring at the excitement of the race. For a while they kept pace, butDanny knew that her marehad not the chest of the earl's stallion and while she had the spiritto push herself to exhaustion must not be allowed to do so. As soon asshe sensed the animal beneath her had reached her limit she drew backon the rein allowing the other to forge ahead, murmuring soft words ofapproval and encouragement as their pace slowed to one easily withinthe comfortable capacity of her mount. Iinton, realizing what hadhappened, checked his stallion and she soon drew level again.

"You know your horse, Danielle," he observed.

"But of course. What rider does not?"

The earl kept his caustic response to himself. Danielle was clearly oneof those riders for whom a lack of skill was quite incomprehensible.How she was going to accept a docile trot in Hyde Park in habit andsidesaddle, he did not know. Quite clearly some compromise must befound, but that was just another of those complications to add to thealready long list he had formed.

Chapter 6

They reached Mervanwey on the afternoon of the third day. Their routetook them by way of the coast road and Danielle was entranced by thecontrast between the gentle green and gold countryside glowing underthe soft spring sunshine and the awesome gray cliffs rising from a wildfroth of surf as the dangerous blue green sea crashed against theirwild, rocky foundations. They passed through small hamlets and fishingvillages receiving only cursory interest from their inhabitants—theCornish folk being a reclusive race, preferring to mind their ownbusiness rather than that of others and assuming the rest of the worldwould follow suit.

Mervanwey stood, a long, low house of mellow gray stone, atop a tallcliff overlooking the sandy beach of a rocky bay. The child Daniellehad spent an idyllic summer running wild over the beaches and fields,exploring the rocks and winning her way into the hearts of the taciturnvillagers and fisherfolk. Her cheerful conversation died as they tookthe steep road toward the house—those memories were too full

of hermother to be welcome or comfortable ones and for the first time shewondered uneasily how her grandparents would^%ceive her unorthodox andutterly unexpected arrival.

"Your grandparents are expecting you, child." Linton's quiet voicebroke into her reverie, echoing her thoughts, and she looked at him inwonder.

"But how, milord?"

"I wrote to them from Paris," he replied calmly. "The messenger willhave arrived several days ago. He was instructed to makeall speed."

"Do they also expect you?" she inquired hesitantly.

"I certainly hope so."

"And . . . about . . . about

Maman?

"

"They know."

Relief washed through her and gratitude toward her self-appointedguardian who had foreseen and forestalled the unenviable task ofinforming the Earl and Countess of March of the violent, untimely

deathof their only, beloved daughter.

Lavinia, Countess