Headstrong and unpredictable.
And yet, he was ready to risk his heart in the hope of making a love match with her. Syd, who was usually the smartest person in the room, did not seem to grasp the situation.
Would she ever get over her own insecurities to understand he could not bear to be without her?
He did not think so, not yet anyway.
He studied the beautiful swirl and sparkle of her eyes that glistened like pale green crystals, and saw she was troubled once again.
What now?
She was holding something back, a new worry perhaps?
He feared to let down his guard when watching her. One lapse and he risked losing her, especially now that they were so close to their goal. “A few more hours until Carlisle, Syd.”
She smiled, but her smile was strained. “And less than twenty-four hours until we are married. How do you feel, Octavian? Any second thoughts?”
“None at all. I feel just fine.” He leaned forward and took her hand as they jounced along the uneven roadway in their carriage. “The more important question is, how do you feel about our marriage?”
“I am committed to our make-believe marriage, so you needn’t worry that I will run away at the last moment. I can see the doubt in your eyes, but I give you my word of honor that I shall not run. Does this make you feel any better? I know you have been worried about me all along.”
“It does ease my mind,” he admitted, his tension ebbing now that she had assured him of this fact.
“I know you believe I break promises, but I do not.” She glanced out the window. “The more urgent question is whether the impending rain will delay us. Will you look at those dark thunderclouds? They seem to be overtaking us fast.”
He followed her gaze and frowned, for those thunderclouds were moving fast and now turning almost black. This meant a serious storm was about to unleash its fury upon them. “We’ll be all right, even if we have to stop before reaching Carlisle. We can stay in Penrith tonight, if we must. It is only a few miles away, and we are already within a day’s ride of Gretna Green.”
In truth, it seemed likely they would have to find themselves a room at one of the nearby inns. There were several good ones up ahead and none would be filled to capacity since the summer hikers had returned to London weeks ago and it was too early for grouse hunting season to begin.
He glanced out the window again, seriously worried the storm was about to swallow them up. “Yes, we had better find shelter right away.”
He knocked on the roof and told their driver to stop in Penrith. “Aye, Captain Thorne,” the man said with obvious relief.
Syd appeared fretful, but she had to know this was their only choice. Their route traversed the Lake District, a place of majestic beauty and plentiful hills that would be impossible to cross when the ground turned to mud. Also, the roads around here were more isolated than in the south of England. If they broke a wheel on a particularly barren stretch, they might lose days from the time help arrived to the time the carriage was repaired.
Fortunately, their luck held. No more than a few raindrops had fallen by the time they reached the Penrith Inn and drewup in its courtyard. The jovial owner immediately hurried out to greet them. “Good to see you again, Captain Thorne.”
“And you, Mr. Burton. May I introduce you to my wife?” He cast Syd a besotted look. “Married almost a week now.”
“Newlyweds!” The man clapped his hands and immediately offered them a charming corner room with ample windows overlooking the front yard. Conveniently, it also overlooked the side yard where the inn’s staff entered, and the nicely landscaped back garden.
Of course, Mr. Burton was giving them his best guest chamber because he believed they were newly married. But Octavian was pleased with the choice because it gave him a view of whoever came and went from the place, whether from the front entrance or the staff’s kitchen entrance.
As the rain began to fall in earnest, he signed the Penrith Inn’s guest register as he always did, Captain and Mrs. Thorne.
It amazed him how comfortable and right it felt to sign Syd in as his wife.
After he and Syd settled into their room, he left her there while he sought out the inn’s ostler. Perhaps he was being overly concerned, but they had hit a few ruts along the way and he wanted the carriage wheels thoroughly checked.
“The last stretch of road was rough,” he told the old man who had a weathered face, calloused hands, and obviously had a wealth of experience with horses and the carriages they drew. “Can you check this hired coach? We need to be on our way at first light tomorrow and I would not like any mishaps.”
“At once, Captain Thorne. Never ye worry, this is one of the Carville coaches out of Oxford, isn’t it?”
Octavian nodded.
“They’re as sturdy as they come.” As Octavian looked on, the man took several minutes to poke and prod each wheel and did the same for the carriage frame. “Ye needn’t worry, Captain. AsI said, she’s built sturdy. Nothing wrong with those wheels or anything else.”
This came as a great relief to Octavian, for they were so close to Scotland now and he did not want anything to delay their wedding day.
