She should wait for him as he had instructed but found she could not.
And anyway, she had been careful through the duration of her journey through England. In the time it had taken her to reach Scotland, never had anyone appeared to be following her or watching her. She had to be far enough away by now to finally relax her vigilance.
No one even knew to follow her. How could they possibly?
She drew the heavy black veil over her face and pushed out of the carriage into a blustery wind that tried its hardest to pull the covering from her face. With a hand clasped over her black bonnet, she rushed into the building.
The tavern keep took one look at her and indicated upstairs. “I directed your driver to the third room on the right a while ago.”
A while ago? It should have only taken moments for him to deposit her effects in the room and reclaim her.
Something knotted in her stomach. She rushed up the stairs as quickly as decorum would allow and shoved her way into the door the innkeeper had indicated. Her effects were sprawled across the floor, and her trunk splayed open on the bed. More of her items were scattered over the pillowy surface, amid combs and slippers.
She rushed to the mess and frantically searched through her costly belongings. But the finest item of all was missing.
The diamond necklace.
It had belonged to her grandmother and what she planned to use to hire someone to teach her how to run a distillery and share a contact who could help her transport the final product to England. She had other baubles, but none were so fine as that necklace.
Her hand balled into a fist at the duplicity of her driver, who clearly had been biding his time until their arrival into Scotland. It had been his suggestion to distribute her wealth among her bags in case they were held up by a highwayman. She had thought he was being nice when he’d indicated the valise she kept tucked closely at her side. Now she realized how naïve she had been.
That would not happen again.
Thankfully, she’d kept most of her jewelry within the valise. She had only been deprived of the diamond necklace.
And it was gone forever. She’d paid her driver handsomely to ensure his silence about having driven her from London to Scotland. He knew she would not approach the authorities.
Blast.
There was nothing for it but to make her way downstairs in her widow’s veil to request her meal be delivered to her room, as well as making inquiries about a new driver. This time she would not be so foolish to trust so easily.
Doubtless, her journey would not be an easy one, and this was but her first difficulty to encounter. Thus far, the rest had been surprisingly easy. Thank heavens.
She returned to her room and skimmed through the small journal she’d been slowly filling with information gleaned from her conversation with Lord Kendal, putting to paper every memory she could of their conversation about whisky.
Sadly, he’d been careful not to mention any names. That would have indeed been helpful, as she could have sought someone out in particular for advice.
In all honesty, she thought of Lord Kendal often. Not only what he’d said, but how he’d said it, arrogant almost, as though he were proud of his misdeeds. He’d piqued her interest with his candid admission of wickedness— how it made his eyes flash with something that set her pulse quickening. She found herself often wishing he was there with her. Not only for his expertise but also his confidence.
And he was confident.
It was apparent in the set of his broad shoulders, the straightness of his lean back, and the little smirk that lifted the corners of his mouth when he spoke. Perhaps then she wouldn’t be so lonely.
Dinner was a sad affair with one candle to light the inn's cramped room, casting long shadows over the stained walls, and only herself for company. If she’d anticipated this pressing solitude, she might have acquired a pet to bring with her. Her father had never been one for dogs, but she would enjoy a small one at the moment. One that would fit perfectly on her lap and follow at her heels, tilting his head this way and that at every little thing she said.
If it weren’t for the loneliness, she would be doing spectacularly well.
How different things might have been if her father had given her a few more months, even weeks, to find someone else to marry.
Anyone other than Mr. Mongerton.
She shook her head. The offense still stung. No longer hungry, she pushed away the remnants of her roasted pheasant and vegetables. It was so baffling. The more she considered her father’s decision, the more confused she became.
Not that it mattered now.
She was in Scotland. She was safe. Yes, she was missing a very costly necklace, but she had the rest of her jewels she could sell. Yes, she was alone, but she would make new acquaintances. Yes, the unknown of it all rattled her a bit more than she cared to admit, but she always managed to work her way through whatever was tossed her way.
Now that she had crossed the border, she wouldn’t have to run as fast, as hard.
After all, how would her father possibly know where she was going? And if he hadn’t caught her thus far, how could he do so now?
4
It was not the first time Kendal was in search of a missing woman. It had taken him nearly six months to track down Marguerite after she ran away.
Of course, the last time, he hadn’t had to travel to Scotland. Navigating all of England had been bad enough.
His arrival at Gretna Green had been with good timing, perhaps enough to locate Lady Sophia. After all, Gretna Green was a frequent post for rest within the Scottish border, allowing one to change horses and recuperate from the journey, as she would most likely require.
Based on the conversation he’d had with the innkeeper just that morning, where the man claimed to have seen a widow earlier that day, Kendal knew he was close to Lady Sophia. Rather than rest there as had been his intention, he’d exchanged his horse and pressed on to catch her.
His back ached from prolonged time in the saddle. His skin was gritty from travel, and exhaustion left his limbs with an impossibly heavy sensation. Even now, at his desired location, he didn’t want to waste time requesting a room. Not until after he’d gone to several taverns to inquire who might have seen her.
If she were in Gretna Green, he would locate her.
He entered the first tavern he found and strode in on legs that threatened to buckle. Beneath the odor of sweat and ale came the unmistakable aroma of roasting meat. Kendal’s stomach snarled with hunger. He couldn’t recall the last time he’d eaten but knew it had been a while if he found the smells of a rustic tavern meal that enticing.
The man nearest the door eyed him. “Getting married or traveling through?”
The scents inside the stuffy room mingled in a noxious blend that threw Kendal into disorienting light-headedness.
He frowned at the man. “I beg your pardon?”
“Everyone comes here to get married.” The patron shrugged. “Unless ye’re passing through. But if ye just married, Dirk will buy ye an ale.” He nodded to the bar before lifting his glass with a wink.
“I’m not wed,” Kendal replied smoothly. And he was not. At least not yet.
He shoved the thought of marrying Lady Sophia Stopford from his mind, the same as he’d done for the whole journey. First, he had to catch her. Then he had to convince her to wed. Which, though it would prove difficult, would not be nearly as impossible as rallying his own enthusiasm.