Page 28 of A Countess of Convenience

“Calloway, my lord. Just a moment.” The innkeeper turned to a wall filled with long skeleton keys. “You’ve arrived early enough you can get your pick of the rooms. Here.” He plucked two keys from the wall. “Daisy,” he called over his shoulder, and a fresh-faced young girl with white-blond hair appeared.

“Yes, Da?”

“Show Mrs. Harper and Lord Haxby to E four and E seven. The lady in seven with the parlor, if you please.”

“Sure, Da.” She turned big blue eyes on John. “This way, my lord.” She grabbed a candle from the bar, lit it, and started up a steep flight of stairs.

“After you, my dear.” John let her go first, and Judith had a moment to realize they had passed the test with flying colors. Neither the innkeeper nor his daughter had thought anything strange about their request. There had been no sidewise looks nor knowing tones to suggest they were doing anything improper. Perhaps John’s scheme was going to work after all.

The narrow corridor had three closed doors and a staircase that led to an upper floor. Daisy opened the first door on the right. “Here’s the room with the parlor, my lady.”

“Oh, I’m not ‘my lady.’” The words were out before Judith could stop them. Lord, but she wanted to bite her tongue. “Lord Haxby is my late husband’s cousin. He’s escorting me to London.”

“Beg pardon, missus.” The girl ducked her head. “The bedroom’s through here.” She led them through to a larger room with a wide bed and a smaller trundle beneath it. “I hope you’ll be comfortable in here.” She turned to John. “Your room is down on the left, my lord.”

“Lead the way, Daisy. And can you have someone bring up our baggage? My man is not with me on this trip.” John leaned over to Judith as he passed by. “You don’t have to explain anything, my dear. You are the customer and nothing else is anyone’s business.” He followed the girl out the door, closing it behind him.

Her strength running out as soon as John was no longer in the room, Judith sank down onto a chair pulled up before a crackling fire in the bed chamber. She needed to catch her breath.

“Should we go down for the bags, Mrs. Harper?” Mary, the elder of the two sisters who worked at Ruecroft, gazed about the room. “Or is there something else we should be doing?”

“No, Mary, thank you. The inn staff will bring up the bags, but when they arrive, you can change the bedding and lay out my night things on the bed.” The bedroom would be a challenge. The bed looked big enough for four people to sleep in, while the trundle barely had room for one. Judith sighed. “I believe you girls should have the proper bed tonight. I doubt you can both squeeze into the smaller one.”

“Oh, no, Mrs. Harper.” Rose had been staring out the window, fascinated by the workings of the innyard. She turned to Judith, eyes wide. “A coach and six just pulled into the yard. I’ve never seen so many big horses in my life.” She hastily came toward Judith. “I mean, Mrs. Harper, Mary and me can share the trundle. ‘Twon’t be any bother for us.”

“No, ma’am, it certainly won’t,” Mary chimed in from the parlor.

Judith wanted to accept their kind offer with all her might. Her bones had been shaken to pieces at times during the drive today. She wanted nothing so much as to curl up in the big bed and fall asleep right this moment. But the trundle was simply too small for both girls. And though the bed was large enough for three, she didn’t fancy sleeping with two other people. “Nonsense. It’s only for one night, and I declare I could sleep on a bed of nails and not feel a thing. So after dinner, we can all enjoy a quiet night’s sleep.”

A knock on the door brought a strapping servant with Judith’s trunk and the girls’ smaller kit. The maids set about at once opening the trunk and setting a chair before the fire with Judith’s night rail draped over it to warm.

Another knock brought John, who seemed to have washed and shaved, for he looked as though he’d stepped out of a band box instead of having ridden the entire day. “Mary, Rose, I will escort you to a private room in the tap for supper. Mr. Calloway’s going to look out for you, make sure no one bothers you while you have a good dinner then I will bring you back here once I finish mine.” He glanced at Judith and smiled. “When I return, our dinner will be ready in the parlor.”

“Thank you, my lord.” They had agreed on the outward trip they would be formal when in public and before the maids.

After shepherding the girls from the room, John shut the door behind him, and Judith rose and stretched. That inviting bed beckoned her like a siren sunning herself at sea. Was it truly as comfortable as it looked? She sidled over to the tall bedstead, stepped on the stool provided, and flung herself backward onto the dark blue coverlet. Softness enveloped her as she sank into the mattress and sighed. What bliss. And she’d given it up to her maids tonight. Well, perhaps a good deed now would help her plight in the long run, if the preachers’ sermons were to be believed. She closed her eyes and relaxed for the first time that day.

“Judith?”

Someone was calling her. Judith struggled up out of the depths of sleep and opened her eyes. John hovered over her, his mouth so close she could almost taste it. Perhaps she should. John couldn’t float like a cloud, so this must be a dream, after all. Smiling, she pursed her lips and raised her head until her mouth met his, warm and sweet, causing tingles to run down her body.

Judith’s eyes snapped wide open, and she sat up to find the real John standing at the foot of the bed, his handsome face marred by lines of concern. “Are you all right, my dear? The supper is ready, and I called to you but received no answer. So I came in here to find you fast asleep but moaning most strenuously. Fearing some relapse of your condition, I was about to waken you.”

“Thank you, John.” She hastily slid onto the floor. Good lord, what he would think of her if he knew the truth. “I fear I am overly tired by the traveling today. I will retire as soon as we have eaten.”

“That sounds an excellent plan, for we must get away early tomorrow as well, if we are to make London by nightfall.” He smiled as he led her into the parlor, where the innkeeper had furnished a sizeable repast. “After that, you may sleep the entire next day and recuperate while I seek out Blanchard and discover what must be done to secure the guardianship.”

After seating Judith, he served them both the roasted fish, oyster pie, cheese, bread and butter, green beans in anchovy sauce, and a jellied pudding. “I hope this tastes at least as good as it smells,” he said as he sat and began to eat with gusto.

“What kind of fish do you think this is?” Judith savored the flaky forkful she’d just put in her mouth. “It’s delicious.”

“Calloway said char when I asked what he was serving the girls.” John paused for a sip of wine. “It’s the same fare everyone receives, apparently. And yes, it is excellent and well prepared.”

“Riding has given you quite an appetite.”

“As it has you as well.”

The smiled at one another and continued to eat heartily.