“Erm…” Mr. Hawkins tilted his head in Elinor’s direction.
“Oh! Oh, I see. Yes. Quite. Miss—that is, Miss…” He frowned. “I beg your pardon, but I can’t quite remember…”
“That,” said Mr. Hawkins, “is because you haven’t been introduced. Your horses knocked her over, not ten minutes ago, and sent her into the ditch. That is why she is in such disarray.”
“I say!” Mr. Aubrey lowered his pamphlet, looking horrified. “I do beg your pardon, Miss...I’m afraid I don’t recall your name. But we knew you already because…?”
“We didn’t,” said his friend patiently, “but now we do. She lost all of her money in the ditch when your horses knocked her over, so you’re going to put her up at the local inn tonight and pay for her to eat a bang-up supper as apology.”
“I am?” Mr. Aubrey’s frown deepened into a scowl.
Heat crept through Elinor’s cheeks. She pulled Sir Jessamyn closer to her chest. “If you would rather not, sir—”
“Oh, no,” said Mr. Aubrey. “If we have inconvenienced you, we must make up for it, certainly. I was only trying to remember when we had decided all of this.” He sighed. “I’m afraid the discussion has quite escaped my memory. How terribly embarrassing.”
“No need to be embarrassed, my dear chap.” Mr. Hawkins patted his shoulder. “This is the first you’ve heard of it. I was the one who made the decision.”
“Aha!” The frown vanished; Mr. Aubrey beamed at Elinor, his angular face lighting up. “That’s quite all right, then. It is a pleasure to meet you and your dragon, Miss—?”
“Tregarth,” she said, and let out the breath that she’d been holding. “Elinor Tregarth. And this is Sir Jessamyn Carnavoran Artos.”
“A pleasure.” Mr. Aubrey’s words were fervent as he tipped his head to one side, examining Sir Jessamyn again from a different angle. The spectacles slid slowly but inevitably along his perfectly straight nose as he inquired, “How oldisSir Jessamyn, precisely? Have you noticed any peculiarities about him?”
“We still haven’t finished our introductions.” Mr. Hawkins sighed. “Miss Tregarth…” He sketched a half-bow from his seat, dislodging more books. “Benedict Hawkins, at your service. And this dragon-mad fellow is Cornelius Aubrey. One of Cambridge’s finest, you understand, but without much experience in the non-scholarly world.”
“I…see.” Elinor looked at Mr. Aubrey, trying to gauge his age. Surely he couldn’t be much more than one-and-twenty? “Are you a student at Cambridge, sir?”
“A student?” He lifted Sir Jessamyn’s tail, peering closely at the scales underneath. “No, no. I study, only.”
“Aubrey took a First at Cambridge at sixteen,” Mr. Hawkins explained, “and never left. He’s a genius, you see.”
“Mm.” Mr. Aubrey was tracing the under-scales with one long finger now, while Sir Jessamyn watched him nervously.
Yawning, Mr. Hawkins leaned back in his seat and crossed his trouser-clad legs. They brushed against Elinor’s gown on the way, inciting quite a disconcerting sensation, but he shifted swiftly to grant her more space in the crowded footwell. “I do apologise, Miss Tregarth, for our tight quarters. Aubrey’s on a visit now to one of his mad colleagues in Wales, you see, and was kind enough to give me a lift along the way.”
“Wales!” Elinor’s chest tightened with longing; for a moment, excitement pushed her to lean forward, drawing a breath. Her sister Rose was in Wales. Perhaps—?
But no. She could hardly beg a ride so far across the country with two strange gentlemen, no matter how kind and harmless they both seemed…and even if she did, Rose still wouldn’t be allowed to take her in. There was no use in even asking the question.
Elinor sighed as she sat back and tried to remember her manners, despite the highly irregular situation. With her muddy hair drying stickily against her skin, it was uncomfortably challenging simply to keep herself from scratching her chest in public, much less to make any polite conversation. Worse yet, every time the carriage took a turn, her legs bumped unstoppably against those of either Mr. Hawkins or Mr. Aubrey. Thank goodness, Mr. Aubrey paid no attention to the contact, and Mr. Hawkins looked perfectly comfortable even with the noxious smell of his dragon-slimed waistcoat rising up to fill the carriage.
He really was unnervingly handsome. She’d never in her life sat in such close proximity to even one attractive gentleman, much less two in the same carriage—and as much as she reproved herself for her forwardness, she couldn’t stop sliding discreet glances at Mr. Hawkins’s broad shoulders, which were outlined far too well by his fashionable coat. His rumpled brown hair fell haphazardly across his brow, just begging for her to reach over and stroke it back into place…
No! She jerked her eyes away and kept her wayward hands firmly clasped around her dragon. Common sense was more than enough to inform her that the wealthy and too-appealing Mr. Hawkins was well beyond her reach. Still, even after she forced herself to lower her gaze to the dragon in her lap, her whole body prickled with awareness at every carriage turn that brought the two of them together.
If she didn’t distract herself soon, she might begin to drool, and that really would be unacceptable. So she forced herself to begin, with an air of polite interest, “How much further is your journey to—?”
“Here we are!” As the carriage pulled to a halt in front of the local inn, Mr. Hawkins straightened and jogged his friend’s elbow. “Forget the dragon just for the moment, old man. There’ll be plenty of time to inspect him over supper.”
“I beg your pardon?” Elinor stared at him. “I thought you two were going to Wales and only leaving me here!”
“Oh, Aubrey is, but I’m not. I’ll be staying in the area for quite some time,” said Mr. Hawkins. “We’re just sharing one last evening of leisure tonight before Aubrey goes on to Wales and I embark upon my great matrimonial adventure.”
“Your great…” Elinor blinked. “Oh, you’re betrothed?”Wanton, Elinor!How could she have allowed herself to ogle a betrothed man’s shoulders? Her skin burned with the shame of it.
“Oh, no, I haven’t even met the lady yet—and she’s never heard of me.” He opened the door and leaped to the ground, ignoring the folded carriage steps. “Come, let me assist you.” He held out his arms. “It was enormously helpful to meet you today, actually. As a local yourself, you can advise me on my best matrimonial strategy over supper—you must have met the lady I’m meant to woo, if you’ve spent any time in this area.”
“I must?” Elinor repeated. A hideous presentiment began to dawn inside her even as she leaned inevitably forward towards Benedict Hawkins’s broad chest.
