Jack on the Box Read Free Page A

another victory against Napoleon, and Jack was proud to be the herald of the Crown. He was not particularly eager to return to his old way of life.
    It was in this happy frame of mind one morning at dawn that Jack pulled up in front of the inn in Shipston and espied a rather unusual customer.
     

Chapter Two
     
    She was clearly a lady, as he could tell by the elegance of her traveling costume, but she was unaccompanied by either governess or maid. She was small, with a slight, pleasant figure, cloaked in a cashmere wool redingote after the fashion of a few years back, and her curly, chestnut-coloured hair beneath a coal-scuttle bonnet was becomingly cut à la Titus . As Jack hopped down from the box to receive his passengers, she approached him, anxiously clutching her reticule.
    “Is this the London to Birmingham mail?” she asked.
    Jack touched his forelock to her with respect. “Yes, miss. Are you meeting someone?”
    “No . . .” She flushed unexpectedly. “I tried to purchase a token, but the man in the booking office said there were no more places to be had.” She gave Jack a tentative look, as if hoping he would prove the man wrong.
    It went sorely against his inclination to disappoint her, but he had to shake his head. “Then I’m sorry, miss. If the seats are all taken, then I’m afraid you’ll have to wait for the next coach, or take the stage.” Jack regretted these words as soon as he said them, for her eyes, which had held a small gleam of hope, seemed to fade. There was something about her, despite her small size, which suggested pluck, and it seemed to Jack that she was a person who would face any problem head on. The lines of her face gave a hint of a happy temperament and a lively intelligence, but at the moment there was a droop to her shoulders, which did not seem to belong. His answer had evidently disheartened her, although something in the resignation with which she received it informed him that she was used to disappointment.
    She mused for only a moment before giving him a measuring look. He liked the clearness of her gaze.
    In a voice barely above a whisper, she asked, “Could you possibly find me a place upon the roof if I pay you my passage? I will be happy to give you full fare.”
    Jack suppressed a smile at this inexpert attempt to bribe him. He had to admire her courage in pursuing the matter, for he was a total stranger to her. What possibly could have happened to make her venture on a lonely trip on the mail, he wondered, when she appeared to be a lady who would travel in her own coach or private chaise.
    With a fear of Davies’s disapproving reaction in mind, Jack started to tell her of the company’s rule against allowing more than three passengers upon the roof, but as he opened his mouth to speak, something in her face arrested him. The young lady was gazing up at him, if not with desperation then with something very close, still clutching her reticule tightly with both hands. Something serious was disturbing her, and sufficiently so for her to need a faster means of travel than the stage.
    A cry from Davies alerted him that the coach was ready, and he must hasten. Gazing into her pleading eyes, Jack made a quick decision.
    He gave her a wink, and was amused by the momentary shock that registered in her face. Speaking loudly for the benefit of the people in the booking office, he said, “I’m quite sorry, miss, but this coach is full. You had better purchase a place in the next.”
    She gave him an uncertain look, but her face lit up, as he added in a hurried whisper, “I can give you a seat on the box, but I can’t take you up here. If you’ll give me your bags and walk to the edge of town, I will stop for you there. I’ll be there in less than two minutes!”
    Her eyes sparkled with sudden relief. “Thank you,” she said in an answering whisper. “But you do not need to bother about my bags. They can follow me later.”
    With a quick smile, she turned and