The Devil's Love Read Free Page B

likes of her, answered coolly, “I am quite capable of fending for
    myself, Mrs. Petty.”
    Mrs. Petty mumbled something under her breath before flinging the coach door
    open. Without a word to Abbey, she climbed out and began to stalk away, taking
    giant steps in the deep snow. Finally she turned and glanced over her shoulder.
    “Well? Come on, then!” she snapped, and disappeared into the white haze.
    Abbey sighed wearily, pulled her hood up and climbed down from the coach. She
    certainly hoped Michael would show himself soon.
    Despite the heavy snowfall, the common room of the small inn was very crowded. A
    group of boisterous men was gathered around the dart board, while smaller groups
    of men and a few women were scattered about rough-hewn tables. The stench of ale
    permeated Abbey’s senses, as did the uncomfortable notion that heads swiveled
    toward her and lips curled at the sight of her.
    Mrs. Petty had stopped to talk to a rotund man with a red, rubbery nose and a
    dirty apron stretched across his ample belly. He bent his head forward, listening, then motioned toward the stairs with the three empty tankards he held
    in one hand. Without looking back, Mrs. Petty began to make her way up a rickety
    staircase. Abbey supposed she should follow, and lifting her chin, she marched
    past the ogling men at the dart board, wended her way through the crush of
    tables, and up the stairs.
    The room in which she found Mrs. Petty was small and sparsely furnished. A
    single bed was shoved up against one wall, just a few feet from a charcoal brazier that provided the only heat in the room. A mound of dirty blankets was
    stacked next to the single chair. The only other furnishings were an old basin
    and a small, tarnished mirror. Abbey glanced at Mrs. Petty, who was standing in
    the middle of the room with her feet spread apart and her hands on her hips.
    She returned a sidelong look at Abbey. “Can’t sleep on the floor. Got a bad
    back,” she announced, and tossed her cloak on the bed. The woman was beginning
    to grate on her nerves. Whoever this old goat was, Abbey suspected she had been
    paid well enough to see her to her destination and could at least be expected to
    be civil.
    “I will sleep on the floor provided you tell me how far to Blessing Park,”
    Abbey
    said defiantly.
    Mrs. Petty lifted her arms to remove her bonnet and shrugged. “Five miles, not
    more.” She tossed her bonnet onto the chair before stooping to stir the
    coals in
    the brazier.
    “Is Lord Darfield there?” Abbey asked as she removed her cloak and draped it
    across the back of the chair.
    “I told you, I don’t know. His secretary hired me on.”
    Abbey turned to the little window and rubbed the stiffness in her neck.
    Why on
    earth was it was too much to ask where her fiance was and when he would come for
    her? Calm down, she told herself. She had waited all these years; surely one
    more night would not kill her. At least she certainly hoped it wouldn’t.
    “Is he going to meet us here?” she asked hopefully.
    “You ask a lot of questions, missy,” Mrs. Petty replied rudely.
    Abbey groaned with exasperation, picked up the crone’s bonnet, and tossed it on
    the bed. With a frustrated sigh, she sank into the chair, righting herself when
    it swayed precariously with her weight. Mrs. Petty was busy with the brazier,
    and Abbey watched as she fidgeted with the thing, noticing how rough the woman’s
    hands were. She shifted her gaze to her feet, which were covered by a pair of
    old, cracked leather boots that looked as if they were as old as the woman
    herself. She felt a sudden, unwelcome pang of pity and could almost hear Aunt
    Nan urging her to be charitable. She was stuck with this woman at least for one
    night, and it would be to her advantage to befriend her.
    “I’m rather hungry. Do you suppose they’d send up a tray?”
    Mrs. Petty snorted derisively. “This ain’t no fancy inn. You got to go downstairs if you’re