Midnight by Beverly Jenkins Page B

offered loaf and motioned her forward. “Go on.”
    “I was told to leave it around back.”
    They were already dividing the loaf between them. One nodded his approval, so she drew in a sigh of relief and hastened to the back of the large home. In the darkness she lifted her skirt, pulled the coded message free of her petticoat, and stuck it into the sack beneath the bread. Placing the sack at the foot of the steps, she quickly made her way back to the street. “Thank you. Long live the King.”
    The soldiers offered farewells around the mouthfuls of bread, and a pleased Faith set off into the darkness to retrieve the mare she’d left tied up outside the church.
    W atching her depart from his position in the darkened doorway of a closed shop down the street, Nick didn’t know what to make of what he’d just witnessed. Why was she delivering bread at such a late hour? Was it another one of her many chores? He wasn’t yet familiar enough with present-day Boston to know who might be living in the home she’d visited but the soldiers posted out front offered two possibilities: either a high-ranking British official or someone needing to be watched, such as a rebel leader. He tried to make out the address so that he could ask Prince about the residence the next time they were together, then left the doorway to follow her.
    As he remained careful to keep her in sight, the conundrum surrounding her continued to plague him. On one hand her actions could have been simply what they seemed, nothing more than a delivery; he’d tasted her bread and it was superb. Or was there more to this than met the eye? He now had two choices: either stop her and confront her, or let her go and make himself batty trying to figure it out. He chose the former.
    When she passed the tavern where he’d left Hades tied up, he quickly retrieved the stallion and mounted. He had no idea if Dom and Gaspar were still inside but he didn’t have the time to enter and see.
    He caught up to her and reined the horse to a walk. “Good evening, Miss Kingston.”
    Faith startled and looked over with surprise to see Nicholas Grey. “Mr. Grey. What are you doing here?” She pulled in a breath to calm herself. His unexpected appearance had been frightening.
    “I could ask you the same question. You didn’t mention coming into town.”
    Her wits now in hand, she tossed back, “Neither did you.”
    “Are you on your way home?”
    Faith wondered if he’d seen her leave the inn and had been following her the entire time. She prayed she’d not have to explain herself. “I am. My mare is just up the street.”
    “Then let me ride you there. It isn’t safe for a woman to be out this late.”
    “That isn’t necessary.”
    “I insist.”
    Faith could tell by his tone that he wouldn’t be taking no for an answer, and the longer she stood here debating the matter with him, the longer it would take her to return home. “Then I will avail myself of your generosity.”
    He leaned down and before she could blink, his hands were around her waist and she was being lifted into the air. She came to rest in front of him. The warmth of his hands and the heat of his body pressing against her were enough to make her swoon.
    “Hold on to me, so that you don’t fall.”
    Faith looked up into his strong face. She’d never ridden with a man this way. It was both intimate and overwhelming. However, she didn’t want to fall, so she complied but attempted to keep their bodies separated.
    “You’ll have to lean back a bit so that I can see ahead.”
    She got the sense that he was amused by her plight, but she had no choice but to comply and hoped he would be a gentleman. When his arm circled her and eased her closer to make certain she was secure, she was startled by it, but before she could react further, he urged the horse forward and set it on a slow pace.
    “What are you doing out so late?”
    “I had bread to deliver. And you?” she added quickly to keep him from