MONTGOMERY TRIED TO KEEP his thoughts from wandering hither and yon as he finished shaving, otherwise he’d end up slicing his throat. He was already dressed, had intended to go downstairs for breakfast with the Blackburn family, but then he’d thought about the end of next week, when the ladies would no longer be in residence, and he was struck with annoyance and something that might be melancholy.
Bloody hell. Charley’s distress was contagious. And yet he did wonder what the devil he was going to do with himself when the lovely distractions marched out the door and he was left wondering what could possibly have induced Vanessa to agree to marry a man she hadn’t met? The amazing wench who’d trotted across England in britches wouldn’t have done that. She’d bloody well stand up for what she wanted. Not having an answer to that was going to drive him crazy. And would he even know if she ended up turning Rathban down in the end? Not stuck in the country he wouldn’t.
He supposed he could stay foxed for the duration. He had initially thought that this particular favor for George was going to be a boring task and he’d been prepared to suffer through it—until Vanessa had arrived to liven it up considerably. But she’d very quickly become his focus and too much of a distraction. He couldn’t seem to help himself, even after finding out that she was a lady.
That he couldn’t get her out of his head wasn’t helping a’tall. Logically, the women’s departure was going to nip these unwanted feelings in the bud. He hoped. But what if it didn’t? Ridiculously, he was already missing her when she hadn’t even left yet!
Annoyed with himself, he went downstairs to see if anyone was left in the dining room. Charley must be, because Arlo, looking somewhat bored, was standing at attention outside the door in case he was needed. But then Montgomery paused when he heard the twins squealing in delight inside the room and one of them exclaiming, “A king in our house!”
He stepped into the doorway, noted that only the twins and Charley were in the room, caught the boy’s eye, and directed him out of the room but didn’t wait for compliance. He was already halfway to the front door when Charley complained, “Do wait up.”
“We’re going for a ride. If you don’t know how, too bad, we’re going anyway.”
“Is there a reason we’re going outdoors?”
“I might yell.”
“Oh,” Charley said, apparently guessing why. “Very well, but I have a good reason.”
Montgomery didn’t pause to hear it and his stride was long. He was angry, at Charley, at himself, at Vanessa for getting herself engaged to a rotter like Rathban. It was a bit much, and he didn’t want to take it all out on Charley, so he ignored the boy until they were mounted, along with Arlo, who had insisted on accompanying them and had ridden out of view of anyone in the house, then reined in under a stately oak.
Charley had kept up with him, did indeed know how to ride, sat on the horse almost in a military fashion, which was a bit odd, though who knew what sort of teachers the lad had had growing up.
Montgomery didn’t mince words, said with sharp censure, “Explain to me why you have utterly disregarded everything I warned you about?”
Charley wasn’t cowed, was instead a little loud in his explanation. “They intend to abandon us tomorrow!”
“What happened to next week?”
“A letter was delivered this morning. I was there when the countess made the announcement that it changes their schedule. That won’t do! These ladies are delightful. And I am in love with Vanessa. She cannot be removed from my entourage. I won’t allow it.”
“Boy, wake up. You’re too young to be in love. You are a target, so having women anywhere around you, other than in that house, puts them in danger as well. And you don’t have a bloody entourage, you have me.”
Charley sighed. “I had hoped they would remain here if they knew who I really am.”
Montgomery snorted. “Nothing will keep newly turned eighteen-year-old ladies of the ton from their first Season in London.”
“Vanessa missed hers.”
So she did, and Montgomery wished he knew why, but the lady was as secretive as he was about certain things. He narrowed his eyes on Charley. “You will tell the sisters you were joking and you will make them believe it.”
Feigned or not, Charley sighed again with unmistakable sadness. “I really am the last surviving king of Feldland, you know. I don’t know why you don’t want to believe it.”
“I’ll tell you why. Because it would scare the hell out of me if I thought for even a moment that I was the only hope for a country I’ve never even heard of, of keeping their monarch alive long enough to get back on the throne. You trying to scare me, boy?”
“Of course not. But I have every confidence in you. And if I must lie to the Blackburn ladies about who I really am, then we shall instead go to London when the ladies do to experience the Season, as they call it.”
“No.”
A full measure of haughtiness reared back up when Charley huffed, “Need I mention I outrank you?”
“Need I remind you we came to Cheshire to hide. You won’t be safe in London.”
“Yes, I will, if I wear a disguise.”
“Who the deuce gave you that idea?”
“Arlo has nagged me from the beginning that I ought to change my appearance.”
“Don’t say I did the same. I don’t nag.”
“You did want me dressed in rags on the way here,” Charley reminded.
“The devil I did. Putting on a cloak and removing your jewels was all I requested—and men in rags don’t hobnob with ladies.”
“But a simpler disguise would be possible, wouldn’t it? To allow us to move about in your society without being found out? No one would be looking for us in such circles.”
To hide in plain sight would indeed be possible. At least for the boy, but not for him when he had cuckolds looking for him in those circles. Yet damned if he wasn’t struck by a moment of temptation anyway, until he realized it was because he abhorred the idea of Nessi’s going off on her own to meet the cur she’d been promised to. But trotting the boy back into danger wasn’t the deal he’d made with George.
So again he said, “No.”
But he’d waited a moment too long in the second denial, which prompted Charley’s guess, “You were thinking about it. Don’t deny it. You must think more quickly. Their departure is imminent.”
He gave the boy a nasty look, but Arlo interrupted the argument. “Look yonder.” He was pointing to the south.
Montgomery turned to see a menacing group of mounted strangers approaching them. He didn’t for a moment think that they might be locals returning home. And he hadn’t brought his pistols, hadn’t been wearing them inside the house and hadn’t planned on the ride. Bloody hell.
“Do we return to the house?” Charley asked.
“No, we’re not leading them there. We ride fast for Dawton town, where they won’t dare attack.”
Which is what they started to do, but the men behind them had superior horses and were gaining on them. And then a shot was fired, which changed Montgomery’s mind. They were easy targets out in the open like this.
“Follow!” he yelled, and directed Charley and Arlo to a small copse of trees for cover.
He was furious at himself by then for not having a single weapon on him. He would have to yank the chasers off their horses and see if he could confiscate a few weapons to deal with the rest. But their pursuers reached them too quickly. No sooner did they get to the trees and dismount to take cover than the rebels were upon them.
Charley hurled a dagger at one man that struck true. Montgomery was a little incredulous, seeing that. What did Feldlanders teach their children? He grabbed the man’s pistol as he fell to the ground. Another shot was fired, and he panicked until he saw Charley and Arlo running behind a tree. Then Monty fired the confiscated pistol and snarled when he found it empty. He flipped it over in his hand and bludgeoned another attacker with it as the man was dismounting. He took his fists to the next one, and out of the corner of his eye saw Charley doing the same to another rebel, which infuriated him. Why hadn’t he remained behind the tree? With the boy not staying out of firing range, Montgomery was forced to get between him and the assailants.
But no more shots were fired in such close quarters and having to deal with the three men in front of him, he didn’t immediately notice when another man grabbed Arlo from his cover and rode off with him. Charley noticed and immediately jumped on his horse to give chase. Montgomery growled, cracked the pistol against another head, then leapt toward his horse to go after Charley. He glanced back to see if the last two assailants were going to do likewise, only to see they’d mounted and were riding off in the opposite direction. To get more reinforcements? And the mount he and Charley were chasing was still faster than the nags they were riding. They weren’t catching up to the abductor.