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“I want to see your face,” he grunted when she blinked up at him in surprise at the rapid change of position.

“Oh,” she whispered, and he pressed his mouth to hers and finally allowed himself his release.

Afterward, they lay in a tangle of limbs, and he pulled the blankets up and over them, kissing her shoulder and settling against her. He would get up in a minute and see to what needed doing. Lizzie fell into a deep sleep as soon as he wrapped his arms around her. An hour or so later, Benedict dragged himself out of bed, lit the fire, and heated the water.

One of Lizzie’s parcels looked distinctly loaf shaped, and he was tempted to see if he could make some supper out of that. He washed and roused Lizzie to do likewise, though she grumbled and tried to push him away at first. “You need to come wash and eat,” he insisted, and finally, she rolled onto her back and regarded him.

“What time is it?”

“A little after eight.”

“In the morning?”

“At night.”

“Oh.” She dragged herself out of the blankets, and he helped her don her nightgown.

“Is this bread?” he asked lifting the parcel.

“Yes. There’s a small cheese and some apples in another.”

Benedict felt the other parcels until he found the right ones, then he carried them outside to slice. By the time he had prepared a plate of sliced apple and cheese, he figured she would likely be washed. He knocked on the door and passed the plate inside.

“Are you coming in to eat this with me?” she asked. “Or do you want me to come out there?”

“I’ll come back inside once I’ve seen to the horse and made the tea.”

Lizzie nodded and he joined her half an hour later to find her sat up in bed and swathed in a shawl. She had brushed her hair but left it loose.

“Animals are seen to,” he said pulling the door shut and slipping off his braces. He had not troubled to don a shirt. He had his wash, listening to Lizzie crunching on her apple.

Lizzie yawned. “Good,” she murmured.

He soon joined her under the covers where she was dozing back off again. “Lizzie?”

“Hmmm?”

He hesitated. They hadn’t really cleared the air about Winchester Street, but he was strangely reluctant to rock the boat now they were back in tranquil waters. Taking another bite of bread and cheese, he decided he’d better let her sleep. It was only fair after he’d exhausted her like that. Setting the plate down on top of the trunk, he rolled into her and dragged her pliant body against him. She sighed and Benedict smiled against her hair.

It would be alright. He just had to find the right words.

26

Lizzie spent the next morning mixing her toothpowder and mouth rinse solution. She made enough for Benedict also and put the little supply of bottles in the bottom of the second trunk, surrounded by linen. Hopefully, they would be safe that way from breakage during their ride to Andover. They only had two more days left here at Putney, and the next journey would be a substantially longer one and take a day and a half.

She found she wasn’t too worried, for Benedict would be at the reins this time instead of Frank, and she felt the trust between herself and Sebastian had grown stronger with each day. She would not be in a constant state of panic this time that he would attempt to jump down from the moving cart.

Hearing a stifled ‘woof’ from him, Lizzie glanced across to see him bounce up from where he had been lying next to the fire. Someone was approaching in a dark gray coat with a shabby looking fur collar, clutching a battered valise.

“Here, boy!” Lizzie snapped her fingers, and Sebastian came to her side. It was a woman, a very beautiful looking woman with sherry colored eyes and curling chestnut hair. She had an anxious look in her eye and came to an abrupt halt a few feet away.

“Are you Mrs. Benedict Toomes?” she asked in an attractive low voice.

“I am,” Lizzie answered, as a sudden suspicion entered her head. “Are you Maggie?” she asked with suppressed excitement.

The woman bit her lip and nodded. “I am,” she said in a wobbly voice. “I got your letter.”

“You must have set off at once,” Lizzie marveled. “I never expected you to come so soon. I mean I hoped … ”