Three Rogues and Their Ladies - A Regency Trilogy by G.G. Vandagriff

Author:G.G. Vandagriff [Vandagriff, G.G.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Regency Romance
Publisher: Orson Whitney Press
Published: 2012-11-21T23:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

IN WHICH OUR HERO APPEARS ON THE SCENE

In the third day of his pursuit of Walsingham, Jack prayed he had made the right decision to take the Dover Road. He was fairly certain he knew the equipage the earl was using from enquiries he made at his last stop. He thanked Providence that the earl’s looks were so striking and easy to recall by the ostlers at the inns where he had stopped to change horses. He was a little puzzled that, knowing Jack to be in pursuit, the earl had gone by way of London.

He cursed the fact that he had let himself be seen by Walsingham in Devonshire when the traitor was making his handoff. This circumstance had obviously frightened him into attempting an escape to France. And Jack had been held up by his first priority—retrieving the intelligence the earl had passed on and convincing a magistrate to place the smuggler under arrest for treason. By the time he had that in hand, Walsingham had an approximately five-hour head start.

For a reason Jack did not understand, however, his prey was no longer traveling on horseback, but by carriage, which slowed his progress considerably. As he spurred his own horse on from the inn where Walsingham had changed horses scarcely an hour before, he wondered if the earl had been vain and stupid enough to stop merely to acquire his personal effects in London. That did not seem like the man Jack was coming to know.

When he reached the point on the road where he believed he might overtake the earl, he was further surprised to see the spy’s carriage sitting in the yard of an inn three quarters of the way to Dover. Why had the man not pressed on? Trouble with his horses? The carriage? Surely, he had not merely stopped to dine! But perhaps Walsingham had realized that Jack would intercept him in this vicinity and thought to make a better stand against him on foot.

Leaving his horse to be rubbed down by an ostler, he entered the inn and rang the bell for the innkeeper. When the man appeared, Jack was surprised to see a gleam of suspicion in the man’s eye as he looked his prospective guest over from head to toe.

“Yes, sir? You be wanting some supper? Or a room, maybe?”

The man’s tone was surly. Jack was prompted to take the arrest warrant out of its pouch under his shirt.

Handing it to the innkeeper he said in a low voice, “I am pursuing a traitor who is on his way to Dover. He is quite tall with the unusual combination of fair hair and black eyes. His carriage is in your yard.”

The innkeeper perused the document. “A traitor is he! Well, well.” He handed the warrant back to Jack. “You’ll find him in yon private parlor with his young lady.”

An awful presentiment visited Jack. Drawing his pistol out of his greatcoat pocket, he strode to the door of the parlor and yanked it open.

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