gone between them.
‘We should take some refreshment while they put the horses to the traces,’ he suggested.
She nodded her agreement. ‘Coffee would be most welcome.’
Nicholas helped her down the step, calling imperiously to the landlord to see to her request. It was late afternoon, the day dull and damp, not actually raining, but the smell of rain was in the air. Serena stretched her aching limbs, removing her gloves and reaching up to rub the stiff muscles on the back of her neck. She looked over to find Nicholas watching her, and smiled tentatively.
‘I must apologise for my overreaction yesterday,’ he said stiffly.
She put a hand on his arm. ‘Don’t say any more. We both spoke in haste. Let us cry friends and forget about it.’
‘Friends with a woman,’ Nicholas said with a rueful smile. ‘That will be a first, but for you, mademoiselle—Lady Serena—I’ll try.’
The ostlers made the final adjustments to the tackle holding the four new horses to the chaise, then they were back in the carriage and on their way. The atmosphere was restored—almost—to the easy camaraderie of Knightswood Hall.
Lulled by the motion of the coach, Nicholas slept fitfully. Dusk approached and darkness began to fall. Serena was cold despite the rug she had tucked round her knees and the swansdown muff enveloping her hands. Outside she could hear the pounding of horses’ hooves, the occasional snatch of conversation between the two coachmen. Once, she heard the hooting of an owl.
Opposite her, Nicholas stirred restlessly against the squabs, one leg stretched forward, resting against her knees. She longed to sit beside him, to pull his head on to her shoulder, to smooth his silky black hair away from his brow, to feel the warm, reassuring heat of his body against hers.
In an effort to distract herself, she stared out at the night sky, where a waning moon could just be seen through the scudding light cloud. Surely it could not be much longer before they stopped for the night? She was stiff and sore from the journey. Nicholas mumbled, shifted in his seat, and quieted again. The sharp crack of a shot startled her from her reverie.
The coach jolted forwards as the horses reared at the noise, throwing Serena from her seat. Strong arms clasped her, preventing her from falling. A solid wall of warm muscle supported her. A reassuring voice asked her if she was hurt.
‘No, no, I’m fine. Nicholas, I think I heard a shot.’
He pulled her up on to the seat beside him and held her close as the coach slowed to a stop, feeling in his pocket for his pistol. ‘I didn’t hear anything—are you sure?’
‘Yes, it was quite unmistakable. Nicholas, do you think…?’
The words died on her lips as the door was wrenched open. A man stood framed in the doorway, his body muffled from head to toe in a black frieze coat, a large handkerchief wound up over his face so that only his eyes showed. The muzzle of his pistol pointed directly at Serena’s head.
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