Jo was suddenly aware that no one else was about and a sliver of fear went through her. ‘I have no wish to know you, sir. I must go in or my aunt will look for me…’
‘You shall pay a forfeit before I let you go,’ Carstairs said and grabbed hold of her. ‘I’ll take a kiss at least for my trouble.’
‘Let her go, Carstairs!’
Jo heard the voice behind her. She had not realised that anyone was there, but his command had an instant effect for the man let go of her and she pulled away. Turning, she found herself looking at the gentleman she had seen contemplating the moonlight the previous night. Seeing him close to for the first time, Jo realised that he was very good looking with his dark hair and eyes, and a firm chin that spoke volumes of his determination.
‘Thank you, sir,’ she said. ‘I must go in before I am missed.’
‘You would have done better not to come out at all,’ Hal told her sharply. ‘An inn yard is not the right place for a young lady alone—especially at this early hour when few are about.’
‘I dare say you are right,’ Jo said and walked quickly away. She did not dare to look back, though she knew that a heated exchange was going on behind her.
‘Damn you for interfering,’ Carstairs said. ‘I only meant to kiss the girl!’
‘I know what you intended, and a kiss was the least of it,’ Hal said. ‘We are in England now and there is no war—no excuse for that kind of behaviour. I know what occurred at Badajoz and we don’t want that kind of thing happening here.’
‘You can’t blame me for what happened there,’ Carstairs said, but he could not meet Hal’s stern gaze. ‘The men were out of control, driven by bloodlust and the needs of a long campaign.’
‘I blame no one for anything that happened out there,’ Hal said. ‘We were all driven a little mad by it—but that was war. The girl you were molesting is innocent and deserves to be treated with good manners and respect.’
‘Well, no harm was done,’ Carstairs said, giving him an uneasy look, for he knew that he wasn’t up to Hal’s weight and would go down under a hammer blow from him. He would need a pistol in his hand to stand a chance against him. And the time might yet come when he would need it. ‘She has run back to her dragon of an aunt and I dare say that is the last I shall see of her.’
‘Take my hand,’ Hal said. ‘We should not be bad friends over this, Carstairs.’
‘Come to the mill with us,’ Carstairs invited again as he took Hal’s hand in a show of friendship that was not felt. ‘I can promise you a good time.’
‘Thank you, but I was on my way,’ Hal said. ‘Perhaps we shall meet in town?’
‘Yes, perhaps,’ Carstairs said, an angry glint in his eyes as he watched Hal walk away. Arrogant devil! Beverley and his clique had always thought themselves above everyone else—but that hadn’t saved Matt Beverley from breaking his neck in a fall from his horse. A fall that might just have had a little assistance…‘And perhaps you may meet with a similar fate to your brother’s one day, my fine fellow.’
Jo glanced round the Pump Room, sighing as she saw that almost everyone was of her aunt’s age. This was the fourth time they had been here in a week, and she was finding it tedious, but at least they were to attend the Assembly that evening, where she hoped at last to meet some young people.
‘I think I shall bathe,’ Lady Wainwright announced suddenly, surprising Jo out of her reverie. ‘There is no need for you to stay, Josephine. You may visit the library or do some shopping if you wish. I shall take my nuncheon here and we shall meet for tea at home.’
‘Thank you, Aunt,’ Jo said feeling grateful that she was not required to accompany her aunt into the baths. ‘I hope you enjoy your bathing.’
‘It is not a matter of enjoyment,’ Lady Wainwright told her. ‘I am doing this for my health.’
‘Yes, Aunt,’ Jo said. ‘Is there anything I may fetch you from the shops?’
‘Yes, I should like half a pound of peppermint creams from the teashop near the library. Make sure they give you fresh stock and not something that has been tucked away under the counter for weeks.’
‘Yes, Aunt. I shall ask for fresh.’
Jo made her escape before her aunt could change her mind. It was only rarely that she was allowed to go off on her own, though she had managed to join a ladies’ debating circle and had attended their weekly meeting. Her aunt had allowed it because one of her friends had suggested that Jo might like to join, and had entertained Lady Wainwright while Jo was visiting a house just a few doors away. It was a treat to have the freedom to do as she wished for most of the day.
She lingered to look in a few of the fashionable shop windows, admiring the expensive items on display, but was not tempted to buy anything. Her aunt had seen that she had an adequate wardrobe for their visit, and Jo thought that the two bonnets she and Marianne had made were equally as stylish as anything that could be bought in the milliner’s. One shop had a display of gold and silver articles, and a little silver box caught her eye, because it had a singing bird that popped up when it was opened and sang a tune. She had seen one like it at the house of Lady Eccles, who was here for her health like Aunt Wainwright. She had admired it when she was shown how it worked, and thought that, if she could have afforded it, she would have loved to buy one for Lucy. She had spent only a few shillings from the purse Lady Edgeworthy had pressed on her before she left. If she had sufficient when it was time to return to Sawlebridge, she might ask the price of the fascinating trinket.
As she turned away from the window, she almost collided with a gentleman. He grabbed her arm to steady her, and she found herself gazing up into his face as she thanked him, the words dying on her lips as she saw that he was looking at her very boldly, his dark eyes warm with laughter, his mouth curving wickedly at the corners. For a moment she had the oddest notion that he wanted to kiss her, and her eyes widened in surprise, because it was the man she had seen gazing at the moon—the same one that had saved her from a rough handling by that other one in the inn yard.
‘Forgive me. I was not thinking…’ Jo’s cheeks flushed, for she was a little embarrassed because of what had happened at the inn, but he did not seem to recall it—he was behaving as if they had never met before. ‘I am sorry.’
‘Take care, sweeting,’ he said. ‘I might have knocked you down and I should have been grievously sorry for that—indeed, I should never have forgiven myself.’
‘It would have been my own fault, sir,’ Jo said. She stepped back and he let go of her arm. She decided that she would follow his lead. Perhaps he had already forgotten her. ‘I was thinking of my sister, Lucy, and how much she would like that singing bird in the window and I did not realise that you were there.’
‘Ah, yes, a pretty trinket,’ the man said glancing into the shop window. ‘Is your sister partial to trinkets of that kind?’
‘She has never had such a thing,’ Jo replied. ‘But she is a dreamer, a romantic, and I think she would love it, but I am afraid it may be too expensive.’
‘Yes, I dare say. Perhaps she has a birthday soon? Shall I buy it for her to make up for startling you?’
‘Oh,
