The ostler who walked out of the stable recognized him and beamed and raised a hand in greeting.
As the man, Jacques, hurried up to take charge of the horses, Toby explained to Diana, “This inn is owned by the Martins. Despite appearances, they and their family are as English as you or I, but they’ve been here for so long, most of the locals have forgotten.”
“That must be handy for you and Winchelsea’s men.”
“Very. Having a place this close to the docks where we can wait in assured safety is a boon.”
After Toby climbed down, greeted the ostler with ready charm, and handed over the reins, he helped Diana to the ground, at which point the owners and several others who proved to be their offspring poured out of the inn, and the next minutes went in joyous greetings and rapid introductions.
To Diana’s distinct amusement, once again, Toby was embraced like a long-lost son by the owners and their family. Assisted by two strapping daughters, she helped the children and Helga and Bruno from the carriage. With many hands offering assistance, the carriage was soon emptied of people and luggage, and they were all swept into the inn.
Amid all the bustle, Diana noted that the inn wife had blithely assumed and rather deliberately labeled the rest of them as “Toby’s family,” and despite being aware of it, he made no move to correct or even amend that view.
Eager to help, various Martins urged them up the stairs and steered them to neat, comfortable rooms. Their bags and cases were brought up and sorted. While Diana fell in with the expectation that they would all want to be shown to their rooms to wash and rest before dinner, she noticed that Toby remained downstairs, drawing the owners aside and conferring over something.
When eventually, trailed by the others, also curious, she returned downstairs, she found Toby in the inn’s main room. He was sitting on a bench, idly sipping from an ale cup, but on seeing them, he set aside the cup, pushed to his feet, and came to meet them.
He smiled at the children, crouched and patted Bruno, then straightened and asked after everyone’s rooms and listened to Evelyn rattle off Rupert’s thoughts on his latest bed. Then, still smiling, he glanced at Diana. “I’m going to head to the docks to arrange our passage.” He looked at the others. “Until I get back, I would be grateful if you all remained inside the inn.”
“Can Helga and I go and see the kitchen?” Evelyn asked.
The boys promptly chorused, “We’ll go, too.”
Seeing the hope of some form of treat shining in the boys’ eyes, Toby grinned. “As long as Madame Martin says it’s all right, you can go and help her. Just as long as you remember?—”
“To stay inside!” the children chorused.
He laughed and released them with a nod, then watched them race toward the kitchen. Helga placidly followed, pausing only to tie Bruno’s lead to a table leg close by the kitchen door.
Briefly, Toby met Diana’s eyes, then, still grinning, turned to the door.
She followed him into the vestibule. “Are you going alone?” That struck her as potentially dangerous. If anything happened to him…
He paused before the door and faced her. “Yes, alone.”
When she frowned, he explained, “To secure passage for our party, I need to make contact with a sailor from one of the British ships waiting in the harbor. I have to do that in person—there is no other way.” He paused, then added, “I know that at this point, we’re ahead of our pursuers. I can’t see any way they could have reached Marseille yet. But my instincts say they won’t be far behind. Both Heinrik and Jager… Once they realize we left Cuneo just ahead of them and are making for Marseille, they’ll race all-out for the docks here, knowing that intercepting us before we board will be their last chance to get their hands on the dispatches.”
She sighed. “I’d almost managed to forget that we had those wretched things with us and weren’t simply”—she gestured—“hurrying to get home.”
His lips twisted in a reluctant grin. “There’s little value in dwelling on the danger. It’ll either find us or not.”
Exasperated, she countered, “I don’t want it to find you while you’re out there alone.”
The expression in her eyes made Toby feel ten feet tall. He found her hand with his and gently squeezed her fingers. “Don’t worry. Although I can’t see how they could have reached here yet, if I spot them, the last thing I’ll need is to be worrying over you or anyone else getting caught in the crossfire.”
She stared at him. “That’s… not exactly comforting to know.”
He stifled a laugh, then drew her to him, tipped up her chin, and lightly kissed her. He raised his head and looked into her eyes. “If anything happens to prevent me from returning this evening, I need to have confidence that you and the children will be safe and protected. The Martins know what to do, and if necessary, they’ll arrange safe passage for you and the others to England.” He held her gaze and quickly added, “But that’s just a fallback. Please stay here and watch over the others. Keep them safe, and don’t worry—I will be back.”
Diana searched his eyes and read his commitment to what was virtually a vow and couldn’t find it in her to protest further. She sighed, then stretched up and swiftly kissed him again. “All right. But I’ll be waiting—we’ll all be waiting—when you get back.”
He smiled at that, rakish and charming, then he opened the door and went.
* * *
As Diana had predicted,she, Helga, the children, and Bruno were waiting, sitting about a table in the main room, when with night falling, Toby returned to the inn.
At the sight of him, relief slid through her.
