Read The Belligerent Miss Boynton AND The Lurid Lady Lockport (Two Companion Full-Length Regency Novels) for Free Online

clear that I do not require your services."
    Jared cast his gaze along the dark alley that reeked of garbage and filth. "Do you then know where you are?"
    "I can manage."
    "As you managed a few moments ago?"
    "Oh, do be quiet! I must think."
    Jared took one foot from the stirrup and crossed it in front of him on the saddle. "Think, is it? Very well, my dear, but please make haste in your ponderings. I'm satisfied our two friends have long since vanished, but there may be others lurking in the area, and I don't feel any great desire to number them among my acquaintance. May I also remind you that if you hire transport it will be leaving a remarkably clear trail for your stepfather to follow." He flashed her an impudent smile. "Or did you, I sincerely pray not, leave him a note?"
    "Naturally I left him a note," she said as Jared groaned. "I don't wish Mrs. Halsey to take the blame for my actions. I told him what occurred at Almacks tonight, making no mention of your name, may I add, and then informed him I had taken passage on a ship crossing the Channel at Dover. That should send him off in entirely the wrong direction."
    Jared's snort of amusement impelled her to ask, " Now what do you find so hilarious?"
    "Nothing. Nothing. But I'm willing to wager a monkey that even Denton won't fall for that clanker. No one, my little scholar, flees to the Continent in the midst of war, not even such a nodcock as you."
    "That was a sinister remark, sir. Besides, I strive never to do the expected if it can be helped," Amanda said. Then her sense of humor rose and she laughed with him. "You're right. That is the last thing I would do, even if I had the fare, which I don't. The chaise will take my last penny."
    A sound from a nearby doorway reached Jared's ears and he immediately sobered. "Come, brat, it's past time we removed ourselves from this den of thieves. Follow me as best you can—we're off to Fox Chase!" Allowing no time for her to argue, he turned his mount and started back down the alley at a canter.
    Amanda hesitated for a moment, and then a dirty face appeared in that same nearby doorway and split in a toothless grin as its owner espied her. Amanda needed no further persuasion. "Wait for me!" she called as she barreled after Jared.
     
    #
     
    They rode in silence for what seemed to Amanda an interminable length of time, finally clearing the congested city and heading into the countryside. The morning sun had already begun to rise when Jared stopped before an inn that looked more sad and old than rustic and inviting.
    Turning to her, he warned tightly, "Listen carefully, Miss Boynton. You are my sister, and we're on our way to our aunt's house. We require breakfast in a private dining room, and separate accommodations in which to freshen ourselves. After we have eaten you may retire for a few hours sleep and we'll be on our way again. With luck, we'll reach Fox Chase by nightfall."
    Amanda nodded at him dumbly, as the tension of the past hours and her lack of sleep were fast taking the fight out of her, leaving her far too exhausted to resist, or even to summon the effort to point out the fact that his lordship was not in charge of her life. With only a sigh of regret for her humbled state, she allowed herself to be escorted to her assigned chamber.
    A quick wash in exceedingly cold water, however, refreshed her enough to do justice to a country breakfast of eggs and thick slices of ham. Jared, already at the table, waiting for her, tucked in ravenously as well, downing his meal in short order and following it with a mug of ale. Neither of them spoke a word as they ate. When finished with filling his stomach, and still without saying a word, Jared rose and made to leave the room.
    "Where are you going, my lord?" Amanda asked, immediately hating herself for betraying the slightest bit of interest in the man's plans.
    His broad smile told her he had noticed her discomfiture, damn him. "For someone who was so recently in such a