Regency Society. Ann Lethbridge
good, but I do not have a fever. My mind is quite clear now. I think I slept for a long time?’
‘Yes, you did. I stayed with you all night. There was an attempt to gain access through the window, but it woke me and I faced the intruder down with the poker. He ran away, back to the stable.’
Luke’s mouth thinned. ‘In league with the innkeeper I imagine? Some of these fellows are rogues. Not content with their pay, they will rob the unwary.’
‘He must have thought you were alone. I am afraid I have wasted two shillings of your money. I did not use the room I asked for at all.’
‘Well, you should go there now and rest. But first, give me my pistol—it’s in my coat, the inside pocket—and then ask the landlord to bring food and drink, Roxanne. I doubt he will try anything in broad daylight, but if he does I shall show him I’m no fool. I shall enquire what kind of transport is for hire—but if there is none available here we shall go on together on my horse.’
Roxanne fetched the pistol from amongst his things and handed it to him. Had she known it was there, she might have used it to protect them instead of the poker the previous night.
‘Are you sure you can manage to move on so soon? The doctor said you should rest and he would come again today.’
‘My ankle feels sore at the moment and there is some pain in my calf, but the excruciating pain of yesterday has gone. I would rather leave if I can manage it.’
‘If we can hire a chaise of some sort, will you leave your horse here?’
‘I doubt I should see it again. I shall pay the man for the hire of his vehicle and change at the next posting house, but take my horse with us.’
‘I confess I cannot wait to see the back of this place. Had I not been with you, you would certainly have been robbed as you slept.’
‘I should not be the first vulnerable traveller to die in his bed at the hands of rogues calling themselves landlords.’ Luke frowned. ‘I have much to thank you for, Roxanne. It seems as if you have saved me from my own folly more than once.’
‘I have done nothing any decent person would not,’ she said, a faint flush in her cheeks. ‘Travelling with you will save my small store of money and I shall reach London sooner.’
‘I might not have reached it at all without you.’
Luke’s gaze was so warm and so intent that her cheeks flamed and he laughed as he saw her discomfort. ‘Now I have embarrassed you. Forgive me, Miss Roxanne. I have not forgotten my promise. I shall not try to seduce you—at least until our bargain is at an end.’
‘You should not try it at all, sir. You will be disappointed. I have no intention of becoming your mistress—or any other man’s.’
‘So you say.’ Luke smiled lazily. ‘You are far too beautiful to remain untouched for the rest of your life, Roxanne. Someone will persuade you to part with your innocence—I should prefer that it was me.’
‘I think you must have a fever, sir. You hardly know me—and you should know better than to mock me.’
‘I was not mocking you, Roxanne. Believe me, there are not many women who make me feel the way you do—but I shall not tease you, because I might frighten you away. I may be able to leave this place soon, but that doesn’t mean I am safe until I get to London.’
‘Are you thinking of your enemy?’ Roxanne looked concerned. He might be arrogant and too sure of his power to charm, but she did not fear him, as she had Black Bob. ‘I thought it was one of the landlord’s rogues trying to rob you last night, but your enemy may have followed you here to try to kill you.’
‘No, I do not think so.’ Luke frowned and wished he had not spun her such a tale. ‘He might want to punish me, but he would not kill me.’
‘Oh—then I dare say it was not he.’ Roxanne looked thoughtful and he wondered what was in her mind. ‘If you truly know a theatre manager who might give me a trial, I should be grateful.’
‘I shall help you, as you have helped me,’ Luke promised. ‘Whatever else I may be, Miss Roxanne, I am not ungrateful. One day I may try to make you my mistress, a position you might find to your liking if you gave it a chance, but it shall not be while we journey together.’
Within two hours, they had left the inn. The groom who had first aided them the previous day was driving a chaise, which was in reasonable order, with Luke’s horse tied and trotting behind. Roxanne sat beside Luke on the seat facing forwards so that they could see the groom’s back. He had told them his name was Harold and seemed likeable. Hopefully, he was honest, but they would only need his services until they reached a well-known posting inn a few miles further on the London road. Roxanne was not sure what Luke Clarendon had said to the innkeeper, but though he had looked at her in a surly way when they left, he had not spoken to her disrespectfully. She had previously returned Luke’s gold to him and he had paid for their lodging and the doctor’s fees.
Roxanne was certain their host had added extra to the bill for himself, because his charge of two guineas for the doctor’s visit seemed extortionate to her, but Luke had paid it cheerfully.
‘It was worth treble for the relief he has afforded me,’ Luke said. ‘I am still in pain, but it is bearable now.’
‘I am glad to hear it.’ Roxanne was thoughtful. If Luke Clarendon was capable of travelling alone now, she ought to leave him and make her own way. He had offered her help, but she was uncertain of the price she might be asked to pay.
Sofia had so often warned her to be careful of gentlemen, especially those who smiled and promised her help or a fortune. This man was charming and handsome, but she did not quite trust him.
Well, he might attempt seduction, but she did not believe he would force her—the way Black Bob would have had she stayed with the travelling players. Luke Clarendon was a gentleman, after all.
Roxanne knew that his warnings were valid. If she became an actress, she would be offered protection by various men—perhaps the manager of the theatre himself or gentlemen who came to watch her perform. If she gained admirers, she might follow in Sofia’s footsteps and become the mistress of an aristocrat or even royalty. It was not what Sofia had wanted for her or what she planned for herself, but it might be impossible to avoid some such relationship.
Why not a man she had already begun to like?
The thought had wormed its way into her mind against her will. Roxanne did not wish to become any man’s mistress, but if it was inevitable— Her thoughts were interrupted as Luke glanced at her.
‘You look pensive, tired. Why do you not lean your head back against the squabs and sleep for a while? I think we may trust Harold. Relax your guard and rest.’
‘Yes, perhaps I shall.’
Roxanne leaned her head back against the squabs, closing her eyes. When Luke Clarendon looked and spoke to her in that way her defences crumbled. He was such an attractive man and she was beginning to like him all too well.
When she woke an hour or so later, the chaise was drawing into the yard of what was clearly a prestigious inn. She discovered that she had been leaning against Luke’s shoulder and apologised, her cheeks warm.
‘Forgive me, sir. I hope I have not made you uncomfortable. Does your leg pain you very much?’
‘It is sore and, yes, a little painful,’ he said. ‘I shall live, Miss Roxanne—and you did not make me uncomfortable at all.’
The groom had brought the chaise to a halt. One of the inn’s employees had come to open the chaise door and let down the step. Seeing that Luke was carrying an injury, his breeches split and opened to allow for the bandages, the man offered his hand, helping him to descend. Luke did so slowly and carefully, his flinch of pain not going unnoticed by either the ostler or Roxanne.
‘I have suffered an accident,