“I’ll fetch you a cup, my lord.” Lizzie jumped to it.
Nash and Maddy both glared at the earl, annoyed by the interruption.
“Don’t mind me,” he said, waving them on with a lordly air. “It’s quite entertaining.”
“In any case, it’s nothing to do with running away,” Nash told Maddy. “I’ve arranged for you to meet my family before the wedding. And since the wedding is on Friday week, it doesn’t give us much time.”
“Meet your family?” Maddy couldn’t believe her ears.
“Yes, you’ve met Marcus. My half brother, Harry Morant, and his wife, Nell—Lady Helen—are expecting us tonight, and since their home, Firmin Court, is at least twenty miles from here, we’ll be traveling in the dark unless you get a move on with the packing.”
“What? They’re expecting us tonight? Why didn’t you tell me?”
Nash made an apologetic gesture. “So much to do, it must have slipped my mind. If we don’t arrive at a reasonable hour, Nell will worry. But if you don’t want to go . . .”
“No,” Maddy said. “Of course, we must go, if she’s expecting us. I just wish you’d discussed it with me before you wrote to her.” She narrowed her eyes at Nash, who wore a suspiciously innocent look. “You did it deliberately, didn’t you? Arranged the visit to Firmin Court because you knew I’d want to stay here and confront the Bloody Abbot. And now I have no choice.”
“It’s a habit of his, to arrange things to his liking,” Marcus said dryly. “Annoying isn’t it?”
“Very,” Maddy agreed. But she wasn’t going to side with his brother against Nash. “But this time it can’t be helped. I wouldn’t want to cause Lady Helen needless anxiety.” She hoped Nash noted the “this time.”
“Can I come with you, Miss Maddy?” Lizzie blurted as she plonked a cup of tea in front of the earl.
“What?” Nash looked at Lizzie in surprise. “Why should you—”
“Lizzie has agreed to become my maid, so if I’m going to Firmin Court, of course she will come with us,” Maddy declared. If she was going to be pitchforked with no warning into the bosom of his family—a family who she was sure would receive her with the same cozy warmth the earl was showing—she wanted an ally with her. Particularly one who could do her hair.
Nash made an indifferent gesture. “If you want Lizzie, of course she can come, though the chaise will be rather crowded. Still, the more the merrier.” He smiled. “Now, get packing.”
“I’ll run and get me bundle, miss,” Lizzie said. “Me uncle won’t mind me going off without any warning, not if you’re going to be married to Mr. Renfrew here. I’ll be back in a wink, see if I’m not.”
“Lizzie, tell your uncle not to tell anyone Maddy’s going away. I’m setting a trap for the Bloody Abbot.”
“Right you are, Mr. Renfrew, sir.” A sudden grin split Lizzie’s face. “I’ll have to miss the evening milking. That means I’ve milked me last-ever cow—Lord be praised!” She rushed off.
“I’ll fetch the children from the vicarage, shall I?” Nash suggested and strolled toward the door.
Nash’s brother, who had taken one sip of Maddy’s home-grown tea and put it down with a shudder, pushed back his chair and stood. “I’ll accompany you.”
“Oh, but I should tell the Mathesons—” Maddy began.
“I’ve told them. And you’ll be back before the wedding, in just over a week’s time. You can see them then.”
Maddy made a distracted gesture. “Oh, very well. Please convey my apologies to Mrs. Matheson. I really don’t know why it all has to be such a rush . . .”
“We don’t want to travel in the dark,” Nash said. Marcus gave him a sidelong look.
Maddy, her mind awhirl, nodded vaguely. “Go ahead. I’ll be ready when you return. Oh, I wish you’d told me about this earlier.” It went against the grain to flee from their mysterious persecutor, but her hand had been forced.
Besides, it could be days before he made another appearance, and she had a wedding to prepare for. A new life beckoned; she would put it behind her.
She regarded the various piles of clothes with a sinking stomach. She had nothing suitable to wear to visit someone called Lady Helen—presumably the daughter of an earl—and neither did the children. They were going to look like the veriest beggars.
It couldn’t be helped. She gritted her teeth and started packing again.
“Neat maneuver,” Marcus commented as they drove toward the vicarage. “Do Nell and Harry expect you, by the way?”
“No,” Nash said. “But there was no other way to shift her. She’s a stubborn little creature, my Maddy, and prideful.” And with too much courage for her own good.
