Ladies of Deception 03 - Betraying the Highwayman Read Free Page A

sacrilege, though Olivia hadn't seemed to be bothered by it. She had better get used to it, she told herself. The disguise might prove to be her salvation, her only way out of England.

Chapter 2
    Looking around the room, Elenore sighed. She had just bade goodbye to Olivia, wishing her all the best in her new life, not sure if she should feel grateful or annoyed by the new opportunity she had presented her with. The itchy and cumbersome robe tempted her to lean towards irritation, but the thought of freedom won out, and she felt excited at the prospects that lay before her.
    Looking around the small room, she glanced longingly at the bed, her body aching with tiredness, but first things first. She knew she needed to retrieve her valise, anxiety filling her at the prospect of it not being where she had left it. She grabbed the hem of her tunic and lifted it, as she began to gingerly make her way outside of the inn, her feet still bare, since the prospect of putting the boots back on was too distasteful. She let the long robes fall from her hands as she entered the main part of the inn, hoping to completely cover her feet from view.
    It was with great relief that she found her valise sitting right on the ground where she had left it. She didn't even want to contemplate what she would have done had it not been there. Besides containing her one and only change of clothing, it held a pair of slippers, a cotton nightdress, a well-loved rag doll her mother had made her when she was just a babe—the only thing of real sentimental value she had brought with her---and a diamond necklace that had belonged to her grandmother. It was the only thing of value in her possession, and she had hoped to sell it to fund her trip to America, since she had no money.
    She sat on the bench and rummaged through her bag, ensuring that all items were still in place. She breathed a sigh of relief when it became evident that nothing had been tampered with, the diamond necklace safely tucked away into the side pocket. She set the bag in her lap and inhaled a deep breath of the cool night air. She couldn't remember the last time she sat outside in the dark of night and took a moment to look up at the sky glittering with stars. The moon was full, causing an eerie paleness to pour over the earth. She watched as a cloud drifted over the lower half of the moon and heard an owl who in the distance.
    Looking up at the vast sky made her suddenly feel alone. She wondered what Paul was doing, if he even thought of her at all. She wished that he would have been able to stay and take care of her at home in Bristol. It was hard enough losing both of her parents at once, but losing her brother to the army shortly after, had left her feeling completely abandoned. And now here she was, on her own, without a concrete plan, sitting in front of an inn by herself late at night. She tried hard to squelch the feeling of defeat that was attempting to wash over her, convincing herself that after a good night's sleep, she'd return to her usual optimistic self and be able to come up with a solution to her dilemma.
    Standing, she clutched her valise tightly to her chest and looked up at the moon once more. The silence of the night was interrupted by a sudden rush of horse hooves echoing through the woods and reverberating in her ears. She looked at the road with alarm and saw a carriage rushing towards her at a reckless speed. She barely managed to take a step back and move out of the way of the oncoming conveyance, as it whipped by her in a whirl of dust, its shiny gold crest gleaming in the moonlight. As soon as it passed, she sat staring at the road after it wondering what had caused its occupants to be in such a rush to drive at such a hazardous speed. Hopefully, they didn't keep up that pace for long or those poor horses would not hold up.
    Something gleaming in the moonlight caught her eye as the dust settled on the road. She squinted to see what had drawn her attention, when