Free Always Come Home (Emerson 1) by Maureen Driscoll Page A

formalities, especially since your
reputation would still be in peril if people found you were travelling with me,
regardless of Maude’s presence. So, please call me Colin. You can ‘my lord’
me to your heart’s desire once we reach my estate.”
    “All right, Colin,” she said, as if trying out the
name to see if it fit. “My name is Ava.”
    “Thank you, Ava. Now, how much longer is it until
we reach the village?”
    “About two miles, sir.”
    “No ‘sirs,’ Ava. A sir is simply an abbreviated ‘my
lord.’”
    “Will there be many more rules, my…Colin?”
    “If there are, I shan’t hesitate to let you know.
Part of me is very earl-like. If only I had the corresponding purse.”
    They walked along in silence. Colin could hear the
quiet murmurings of Stemple and Maude behind them. He and Stemple hadn’t had
much of a chance to speak as they packed, since Clayton’s guests had come in to
regale him with their drunken wit. But Colin had a feeling Stemple would be
willing to walk across England if he could do so with Maude beside him. And
just from a few glances at her face, it appeared the cook’s assistant was not
at all unhappy with the arrangement, either.
    The light pink of dawn was just beginning to brighten
the sky when they reached the village. Though warmed somewhat by the walk,
Colin still felt chilled to the bone. His boots had apparently been made for
fashion and not long walks in the snow.
    “Maude said the inn rents carriages,” said Stemple,
pointing to a ramshackle business in the lane. It was still early, but there
was smoke coming from a fireplace.
    The four of them walked to the inn and Colin asked a
sleepy stable lad to fetch the owner. Several minutes passed before the man
appeared before them, looking none too happy to be called out into the cold.
    “I would like to rent a carriage,” said Colin.
    The innkeeper surveyed them, taking note of the cut
of Colin’s coat. “I got none to rent you.”
    Colin looked at the stable before them. “It appears
that you have plenty of horses and more than a few carriages.”
    “That I do. But I got none to rent to you.”
    Colin could not understand the man’s reticence. He
even had coin to pay him. But then he recalled the sound of a rider setting
out from the manor as he’d been packing. What had Clayton done?
    “I must return to my estate. Surely you have some
conveyance to rent me?”
    The innkeeper looked truly conflicted. “But you’re
the Earl of Ridgeway, ain’t you?”
    Damn Clayton .
“I am.”
    “Then I can’t do nothing. Viscount Clayton’s orders.
He told everyone in the village the same thing.”
    “I can pay you.”
    “Not much from what I hear. And if I take your coin
now, Clayton will see to it that I never get any business from his estate ever
again. He’s got a long memory, he has. Can’t afford to make him angry.”
    “He would never know.”
    “He would. Got spies everywhere, he does.”
    Colin considered going door to door, hoping to find
someone willing to help them. But the innkeeper had the right of it. Clayton
was vindictive. Anyone who defied him would suffer, and Colin had no wish to
be the cause of someone’s punishment at the hands of his old school chum.
    “How far is it to the next village?” asked Colin.
    “Ten miles or so. But that’s just a small one.
If’n you want to get to a town of any size, it’s another six miles after that.”
    Colin wanted to groan aloud. He wanted to go back
to the manor and break Clayton’s nose again. But he couldn’t do either of
those things because he had to find a way to get everyone to his estate in time
for Christmas, whereupon he would retire to his nice warm suite and sleep for a
good week.
    Speaking of sleep, he realized neither Stemple nor,
he suspected, Maude had slept at all the previous night. He and Ava had only
slept a few hours. It was imperative that he find a carriage to rent. But
even before that, they needed food.
    “Can you