The Resolute Runaway Read online

  Her cousin glanced over at her with a patronizing smile usually reserved for small children and senile older relatives, then began picking up her scarves and adjusting them around her shoulders in preparation for leaving. “Well, I am sure I would not wish you to be as bored as I have been this evening. I vow, I would not wish such a fate on anyone!” Then she cackled, amused, no doubt, by her own wit.

  I must be sure, Lady Letitia thought, following her cousin toward the door, to marry dear little Prissy off to someone from the north, lest Esmerelda have the slightest excuse to come south again.

  Then her thoughts turned to other, more interesting things, such as Dorie and Lord Glengarry, Miss Pettigrew and Nicholas, and that insufferable Miss Dillon and Lieutenant Gryndle. There was danger in that last pairing—should she drop a word of warning in Mrs. Dillon’s ear?

  She should ... but she rather thought she wouldn’t. Little Mary Dalrymple had become quite stuck on herself ever since she snared the rich Mr. Dillon, and she deserved to be taken down a peg or two. And it would serve her spoiled, self-centered daughter right if she got leg-shackled to such a ramshackle fellow as Gryndle. Moreover, it would be such a relief for his long-suffering family to have his hand in someone else’s pocket for a change.

  * * * *

  Dorie had just reached the bottom of the stairs when the front door opened and she heard Nicholas say something and Alexander respond. Quick as a flash, she darted through the nearest open door. She was not, absolutely not going to be trapped once again into entertaining that fumbling, bumbling lack-wit from Scotland.

  Unfortunately, in her haste to evade them, she picked the library, realizing too late that her pigheaded cousin and her unswerving suitor were not proceeding on up the stairs to pay a call on the female occupants of the house, but were coming into the library for a private conversation.

  Forgive me, Cousin Beth, she thought to herself. I know I promised you I would refrain from deliberate eavesdropping, but this definitely qualifies as accidental. Ducking down, she crawled under a library table. She scrunched herself up into a ball, trying to make herself as small as possible, and hoped no one would spot her in the shadows.

  There was the usual desultory conversation, brandy was offered and accepted, followed by the clink of bottle and glasses, and then someone—Nicholas, apparently—came and leaned against the table.

  Boring, boring, boring, she thought, listening to them talk of the people they had seen at White’s, the cards they had been dealt, the bluffs they had called. Then abruptly her interest was piqued.

  “There is a cockfight Tuesday night. Allingham is putting his reds up against Morwell’s grays. Are you interested?”

  She could not quite hear Alexander’s response, but she listened intently to her cousin’s recital of the exact time and place where the competition would be held.

  To her great relief—and more to the point, to the relief of her knees and back—the two men dallied only a short while longer before leaving the library with the declared intention of joining the ladies in the drawing room.

  Waiting only until she was sure they were safely out of earshot, she crawled out from under the table and began to dance around the room. At last, at last, she was going to have a real adventure. And Nicholas would never discover what she was about until it was too late to stop her!

  * * * *

  Nicholas was so easy to outwit, there was no real challenge in it, Dorie thought. Having checked her dance card and Joanna’s also, and having seen no undesirable names, he had yielded to her mother’s request to partner her for a few hands of whist.

  Unfortunately for his efforts, he had no way of knowing that the Mr. Brown, whose name was inscribed for the next waltz, was in actuality Lieutenant Gryndle, who had been only too happy to cooperate in playing a joke on her cousin. Joanna had already taken her place on the floor, and Dorie’s other watchdog, the aggravating Lord Glengarry, had not yet put in an appearance, which meant that as long as Nicholas did not take it into his head to check on her in the next five minutes, she would have her dance with the handsome officer, who was even now approaching to claim her.

  “Miss Donnithorne, I believe this is our dance,” he said with mock formality.

  “Why, Mr. Brown, I do believe you are right,” Dorie replied, allowing him to lead her out.

  She should have been born a man, she thought. With her aptitude for intrigue, she could have been a spy. But on the other hand, being female did not automatically preclude her from such activities. During the course of history there had been numerous examples of women ferreting out important secrets and changing the course of history. Perhaps she should give up her ambition to be an explorer?

  While she was musing on the possibilities of a career in espionage and not paying strict attention to where they were dancing, the lieutenant waltzed her out onto a balcony. The fresh breeze brought her back to the present, and she became aware of her surroundings and Gryndle’s treachery only seconds before he kissed her.

  Instead of weakly slapping his face or struggling ineffectually against his superior strength, she did exactly what Billy, the groom, had instructed her to do under such circumstances. The technique was more effective than she had ever dreamed it could be.

  The lieutenant gave a cry of heartrending anguish, his arms went completely slack, and she was easily able to step away from him. Without her support, he doubled over and his knees slowly buckled; then, sucking in his breath through clenched teeth, he toppled to the floor like a felled tree.

  Feeling not the slightest pity for him, Dorie looked down where he lay moaning pathetically, then turned her back on him and reentered the ballroom.

  She was quite proud of the way she had handled what could have been a compromising situation, and she felt thoroughly satisfied with her ability to take care of herself, no matter what Nicholas thought. Her cousin might consider it necessary to hedge her around with all kinds of restrictions—for her own protection, of course—but she had just proved him wrong. Joanna, to be sure, was as timid as a mouse and in need of masculine protection, but she, herself, could best any man.

  Of course, she really should remember to thank Billy for his lesson in self-defense. Although then she would have to tell him exactly how and why she had needed to use it. On further thought, she had better not say a word to him, or indeed to anyone, not even to Joanna.

  * * * *

  “Billy, there’s a female here to see you.”

  Hanging up the tack he was cleaning, Billy followed the other groom out into the stables, where one of the upstairs maids was fidgeting impatiently, her skirts fastidiously lifted up off the ground, as if he did not keep the flagstones as scrupulously scrubbed down as any floor in the house itself.

  “Mornin’, Polly, what brings you out ter the stables?”

  She bobbed a quick curtsy. “You told me I was to tell you if Miss Dorie did anything suspicious—anything at all, you said.”

  “That’s what I said. The duke sent me along special to keep her out of mischief.”

  “Well, this looks like mischief to me, it surely does. I can’t think of no other reason for a young lady like her to have a suit of boy’s clothes hidden under her mattress. And it wasn’t there yesterday when I changed the sheets, neither, and that I can swear to.”

  Thanking her for her help, Billy escorted her back to the kitchen door, where they parted company. So, Miss Dorie had a suit of boy’s clothes hidden under her bed....

  He could, of course, simply tell Nicholas, who would doubtless remove the offending items. But would that stop Dorie if she were determined on her course? More than likely not. It would just drive her to ground.

  Well, he would put Joe to watching the back of the house during the day, and he himself would have to take a nap so he would be fresh enough to watch all night. He doubted even Dorie would be brazen enough to march out the front door dressed as a boy, but beyond that he could find little to be thankful for.

  * * * *<
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  Miss Hepden finished brushing Joanna’s hair and left for her own room, and Joanna climbed into bed and snuggled down. Sleep eluded her, however, and she finally decided to read for a while. Relighting the candle by her bed, she looked for the book she had been reading, but it was not where she had left it.

  A quick perusal of the room also failed to turn it up. She had not returned it to the library, and the maids would not have touched it. The only thing Joanna could think of was that Dorie might have started reading it.

  There was a faint light shining under the door connecting their two rooms, so Joanna tapped lightly, then without waiting for an answer opened the door and went in.

  “Dorie, have you got the third volume of the novel by Jane Austen I was—?” Joanna stopped in dismay. There was a boy in Dorie’s room!

  “Oh, heavens!” Joanna said faintly, not sure what she should do. Then the “boy” turned around, and she saw it was Dorie. “Oh, gracious! Whatever are you—?”

  Hurrying across the room, Dorie clamped her hand firmly over Joanna’s mouth. “Shhhh! Don’t wake the whole household!”

  Joanna jerked her head away, but she obediently kept her voice lowered. “Just what do you think you are doing?” she hissed.

  “I am going to have an adventure.”

  “You are clearly deranged! Nicholas will be furious if he discovers you have sneaked out of the house dressed as a boy.”

  “Then we shall have to make sure that Nicholas does not find out, won’t we?”

  “But, Dorie, it is after midnight already! Where on earth can you go at this hour? Do you have a secret assignation with a man?”

  “Now it is you who are being ridiculous. You know my opinion of men. How can you even think I would do anything so foolish? If you must know, I am going to a cockfight.”

  “And you do not call that being foolish? Nicholas would definitely disapprove of such a thing.”

  “That is all you know. Nicholas himself is going to this cockfight, which is how I learned about it. And that paragon of boring virtue, Lord Glengarry, whom you are always trying to foist off on me, will also be there. Obviously, if attending a cockfight is all right for them, then it is also acceptable for me.”

  “Dorie, you cannot do everything a man can do—

  “There you are wrong.”

  Even in the dim light Joanna could see the determination in Dorie’s eyes, and her heart sank. It was obvious to her that nothing short of being chained to her bed would serve to deflect Dorie from her chosen course.

  “I can do anything a man can do, and I shall do anything and everything that men are allowed to do.”

  “Why? At least tell me that before you go. Why are you so determined to follow such a dangerous course?”

  “Dangerous? Say ‘exciting,’ and I will agree with you. I am going because anything is better than a future of sipping tea and listening to gossip and living a dull, insipid life.”

  “Please, Dorie, do reconsider.” Joanna’s eyes filled with tears, and she could not hold back a sob.

  Dorie hugged her quickly; then, before Joanna could stop her, she broke away and darted noiselessly from the room, leaving Joanna in a quandary. Should she awaken Dorie’s mother? A moment’s reflection and Joanna realized a hysterical female would do nothing but worsen the situation.

  She would have to find Nicholas and let him... But no, Dorie said he had gone to the cockfight. One of the servants? But who could be trusted to keep it secret? And who might know where the cockfight was being held? The footmen were unlikely candidates ... but perhaps one of the grooms?

  Yes, they might have heard about the cockfight, especially Billy, who had come with them from Colthurst Hall. And Billy, at least, could also be trusted to hold his tongue.

  But she could hardly ring for a servant and say that she needed to speak to a groom—not at this hour of the night. Which meant she would have to go to the stables herself ... alone ... in the dark ... and somehow wake up Billy. Oh, dear, she was not even precisely sure where he slept.

  Quaking at the thought of what she was about to do, she dressed quickly in her plainest gown, wrapped her cloak around her, and tiptoed through the darkened house. She was almost to the bottom of the stairs when someone opened the front door and she heard familiar voices.

  “Nicholas, oh, Nicholas, thank goodness you are come home!” Without stopping to think, Joanna flew across the short distance separating them and threw herself into his arms. Clinging to him, she felt her fear subside, only to be replaced by bittersweet longing.

  For the moment, even her worries for Dorie were pushed aside—she wanted this man with an intensity that amazed her, and the pain of knowing she could never be his wife cut into her like a knife.

  Chapter 11

  It should have been pure delight. Joanna was in his arms, where Nicholas had for so long dreamed of having her. Unfortunately, not only was Alexander standing only a few feet away observing them, but Joanna was also shaking all over, crying, and babbling something about Dorie, which rather spoiled any romantic illusions he might have had.

  “Shhh, shhh, calm down.” He soothed her as best he could, stroking her hair, rubbing her back ... wishing he could simply kiss her until she rested quietly in his arms ... or until she returned his passion. “Take a deep breath and then tell me what Dorie has done.”

  “Sh-she has dressed herself up like a boy—”

  Beside him Alexander cursed under his breath.

  “And she has gone off to a cockfight, and she said you and Lord Glengarry were going and if you could go, then it was all right for her to go because she can do anything a man can do.”

  “That wretched brat! There are some times when I think my cousin is not playing with a full deck, and the rest of the time I am positive of it.”

  With great regret Nicholas disentangled himself from Joanna’s arms and held her slightly away from him. It had to be one of the hardest things he had ever done in his life, and he added it to the reckoning he had to settle with his cousin.

  Kissing Joanna’s hands when he wanted nothing so much as to kiss her lips, which were now trembling sweetly, he said in a calm voice, “Go back up to bed now, my dear. Glengarry and I will take care of Dorie.”

  Glengarry, in fact, was already around in the stables saddling a horse by the time Nicholas caught up with him. Glengarry was also about as angry as Nicholas had ever seen a man get.

  * * * *

  Geoffrey Anderby, the Earl of Blackstone, listened to the assorted cheers and groans of the assembled crowd when the gray cock dealt the red a death blow. He was not especially interested in the birds, although that particular gray had just won him two hundred guineas.

  No, the pretty bird he recognized on the other side of the cockpit showed promise of being much more profitable than the feathered variety.

  It would appear that the lovely and hoydenish Miss Donnithorne, who would come into a considerable fortune when she arrived at the age of one-and-twenty, and whose family were quite protective of her, had managed to slip her leash, at least for a short period of time.

  Previously he had not felt it worth his while to attempt to fight his way past the ranks of her defenders ... but if the young lady herself could be persuaded to cooperate? The possibilities that would then open up were numerous. He could compromise her reputation and thereby force her family to give him her hand in marriage ... or he could run off with her to Gretna Green ... or perhaps easiest would be if he merely enticed her into a situation from which her family would pay to have her extricated.

  Before he made up his mind, he would have to check with his sources in the City and see just how considerable a fortune she stood to inherit. But in the meantime he would make a start at cultivating her friendship. More than likely she had already been warned against him and others like him, but as willful as she was, that could easily work to his advantage.

  With an inward smirk he began to ease his way through the crowd of yelling and cur
sing men.

  * * * *

  How on earth was he going to persuade Dorie to leave this crowded, smoky, noisy hellhole? Too late Billy realized he should have had a long discussion with the duke about what to do in cases like this.

  A man tried to shove his way between them in order to get a better view of the fighting roosters, but Billy was not about to let himself get separated from Dorie. He jammed his knuckles into the man’s side, about where the kidneys should be, and the man staggered backward with a grunt of pain. Other men quickly surged forward to fill in the gap, their attention luckily on the fighting cocks instead of on Billy and Dorie.

  Billy racked his brains trying to think of some plan to persuade the most stubborn female it had ever been his misfortune to encounter into acting in a reasonable manner for the first time in her life, but he was stymied by the explosive nature of their situation.

  It would take only one man—one man realizing that Dorie was a girl—and the crowd could easily become a mob. The lighting was dim, and all the men were fully occupied watching the fighting roosters. That was all that had saved Dorie from discovery so far, but luck could not be counted on to favor them forever.

  And he knew very well that if he revealed his presence, she would immediately, without stopping to think, begin to argue, to berate him, to tell him just what she thought of him for being such a sneak as to follow her.

  And with the first word out of her mouth, she would reveal to everyone around her that she was a young, gently bred female.

  On the other hand, if he waited, someone might bump into her and feel a woman’s curves where they were not supposed to be, or knock off her hat and see a woman’s hair tumble down, or simply notice the line of her neck, which was too elegant to be a boy’s.

  Someone abruptly shoved him aside and grabbed Dorie from behind, one arm around her waist pinning both her arms, and the other hand firmly clamped over her mouth. Just as Billy was about to repeat his kidney jab plus a few other special blows, he recognized the man efficiently removing Dorie from the scene as the redheaded Scottish baron, Lord Glengarry, who was always hanging around the Donnithorne household, trying unsuccessfully, or so the maids reported, to court Miss Dorie.