baby to Verity, and as the carriage rolled by he waved his
fingers coyly at the soldiers.
Verity put the baby to the breast again, her eyes wide with fear. “Father and Henry both hereabouts! Dear heaven.”
“Those soldiers suspected nothing,” Charles reassured her.
“But what if we meet with Father or Henry at an inn? We mustn’t stop anywhere!”
“We have to stop,” said Cyn with deliberate, authoritative calm.
“For one thing, Hoskins cannot drive all day without a halt. For
another, we all need food and rest. I will look after you. Besides, if
you fret, you’ll upset William again.” He held her eyes until she
relaxed a little, then smiled at her. She smiled tremulously back and
returned her attention to the child.
Cyn considered Charles, who looked distinctly strange. It must be
because of Toby’s words about Lord Cyn’s effect on women. He wondered
if they were doing his cause with his damsel good or harm. “I wish I’d
been able to ask Toby where your pursuers have made their headquarters.”
“You do know him, then?” Charles asked.
“Very well, but we haven’t met for three years. Don’t worry. He
won’t twig it. I really do have a cousin called Sarah Inchcliff who
lives near Goole.”
She nodded, and resumed her frowning contemplation of the passing scenery.
By great good fortune the exhausted baby dropped off to sleep again.
Cyn looked around for something to do, and saw the neat pile of
news-sheets. These were the ones Mrs. Crupley had wrapped around their
purchases. Nana had frugally saved them and sent them along in case
they came in use.
He picked them up and smoothed them out. “A wondrous miscellany. Three sheets of the
Gazette
, two of the
Morning Post
—all different dates—and a sheet of the
Grub Street Journal
.
I doubt there’s any news of interest, but have you heard of the latest
amusement? One reads the lines across the page to see what nonsense can
be made. Just occasionally it throws up a treasure. Let’s take a sheet
each.‘”
He became aware as he passed over the papers that Charles was strung
as tight as a bow. What could be alarming her now? She took her paper,
one of the
Morning Post
sheets, and looked first at the date. Then she relaxed. “Lud,” she said, “these are ancient. This is from ‘59.”’
So, thought Cyn, there could be something revealing in a more recent
newssheet. Something about Verity, or about his damsel herself?
Cyn scanned his paper. “Here’s one. It goes across from the
obituaries to the news from Gloucestershire. ‘She was a virtuous lady
well known as… the best milker the shire has ever seen.’ ”
Charles said, “I don’t believe it!” When shown the line she gave him the victory and set about a careful study of her own sheet.
“I have one,” said Verity. “Look at this. It goes across three
columns. ‘Wentworth the highwayman… having conceived a strong
affection… has increased the population.’”
“More than likely,‘” said Cyn with a grin. “That Wentworth had a procession of weeping women following him to the gallows.”
“I have one,” said Charles.“‘An infant of three years… has
piratically seized a merchant vessel’… If I cheat and go down two lines
I can add… ‘by judicious use of
sal volatile
!’ ”
“The navy should learn that trick,” said Cyn, enjoying her relaxed
amusement. He could make a life’s work out of making his damsel smile…
‘Struth, but a wiser man would leave the coach at the next stop and take to the woods before total insanity overwhelmed him.
Soon they entered Salisbury with its famous tall spire. “We should
stop here if it’s safe,” Cyn said. “I confess, however, that if I were
to make my headquarters in this area, I would choose Salisbury. It’s
admirably central, and anyone traveling from the Shaftesbury area to
London or Maidenhead would be bound to pass through. We had best make
inquiries first.”
Hoskins had pulled into the
fingers coyly at the soldiers.
Verity put the baby to the breast again, her eyes wide with fear. “Father and Henry both hereabouts! Dear heaven.”
“Those soldiers suspected nothing,” Charles reassured her.
“But what if we meet with Father or Henry at an inn? We mustn’t stop anywhere!”
“We have to stop,” said Cyn with deliberate, authoritative calm.
“For one thing, Hoskins cannot drive all day without a halt. For
another, we all need food and rest. I will look after you. Besides, if
you fret, you’ll upset William again.” He held her eyes until she
relaxed a little, then smiled at her. She smiled tremulously back and
returned her attention to the child.
Cyn considered Charles, who looked distinctly strange. It must be
because of Toby’s words about Lord Cyn’s effect on women. He wondered
if they were doing his cause with his damsel good or harm. “I wish I’d
been able to ask Toby where your pursuers have made their headquarters.”
“You do know him, then?” Charles asked.
“Very well, but we haven’t met for three years. Don’t worry. He
won’t twig it. I really do have a cousin called Sarah Inchcliff who
lives near Goole.”
She nodded, and resumed her frowning contemplation of the passing scenery.
By great good fortune the exhausted baby dropped off to sleep again.
Cyn looked around for something to do, and saw the neat pile of
news-sheets. These were the ones Mrs. Crupley had wrapped around their
purchases. Nana had frugally saved them and sent them along in case
they came in use.
He picked them up and smoothed them out. “A wondrous miscellany. Three sheets of the
Gazette
, two of the
Morning Post
—all different dates—and a sheet of the
Grub Street Journal
.
I doubt there’s any news of interest, but have you heard of the latest
amusement? One reads the lines across the page to see what nonsense can
be made. Just occasionally it throws up a treasure. Let’s take a sheet
each.‘”
He became aware as he passed over the papers that Charles was strung
as tight as a bow. What could be alarming her now? She took her paper,
one of the
Morning Post
sheets, and looked first at the date. Then she relaxed. “Lud,” she said, “these are ancient. This is from ‘59.”’
So, thought Cyn, there could be something revealing in a more recent
newssheet. Something about Verity, or about his damsel herself?
Cyn scanned his paper. “Here’s one. It goes across from the
obituaries to the news from Gloucestershire. ‘She was a virtuous lady
well known as… the best milker the shire has ever seen.’ ”
Charles said, “I don’t believe it!” When shown the line she gave him the victory and set about a careful study of her own sheet.
“I have one,” said Verity. “Look at this. It goes across three
columns. ‘Wentworth the highwayman… having conceived a strong
affection… has increased the population.’”
“More than likely,‘” said Cyn with a grin. “That Wentworth had a procession of weeping women following him to the gallows.”
“I have one,” said Charles.“‘An infant of three years… has
piratically seized a merchant vessel’… If I cheat and go down two lines
I can add… ‘by judicious use of
sal volatile
!’ ”
“The navy should learn that trick,” said Cyn, enjoying her relaxed
amusement. He could make a life’s work out of making his damsel smile…
‘Struth, but a wiser man would leave the coach at the next stop and take to the woods before total insanity overwhelmed him.
Soon they entered Salisbury with its famous tall spire. “We should
stop here if it’s safe,” Cyn said. “I confess, however, that if I were
to make my headquarters in this area, I would choose Salisbury. It’s
admirably central, and anyone traveling from the Shaftesbury area to
London or Maidenhead would be bound to pass through. We had best make
inquiries first.”
Hoskins had pulled into the
Similar Books
