Lord Melvedere's Ghost Read Online Free PDF Page A

have noticed his fingers stiffen on the
reins, his shoulders straighten slightly, and every muscle in his
body tense in preparation to fight. His heart rate slowed; every
sense was acutely tuned to any sound, any sight, any hint of
anything unusual.
    “ You appear to be a natural rider,” Jamie declared, studying
Cecily’s comfortable posture and delicate hands on the reins. The
horse was responding to her confidence and was obediently plodding
along, his ears pricked forward alertly. It was as though the horse
himself was aware of the danger that was lurking ahead and was
waiting for his lady’s command. Jamie assessed her posture and the
easy way she was sitting in the saddle. She should be able to
handle a fast gallop if they needed to make a run for freedom.
Satisfied that she stood a better than average chance of staying on
board for the ride as long as it was over relatively smooth ground,
he turned his attention back to the area around them.
    The
small row of cottages lay to the left of them, backing on to open
fields. Although the fields were not ploughed yet, they were rough
and uneven. He didn’t want to risk the horses’ legs by attempting
to run over such uneven terrain, and it would be a lot to expect of
any lady rider, especially a novice like Cecily. Frowning around
them, his eyes met and held Jonathan’s steady gaze.
    “ What is it?” Cecily murmured, shivering at Jamie’s dark,
forbidding expression. She had never seen this harder edge to him
and wasn’t at all sure she was comfortable with it. The easy
camaraderie, and affable, if persistent, charm was gone. In its
place was a cold, forbidding man she hadn’t met before. It made her
wonder if she and Portia had done the right thing by placing their
trust in these strangers who claimed to be working for the
government. After all, she didn’t exactly have any proof they are
who they say they are. They could be anyone.
    A small
voice warned her that she was being silly. Archie had fought for
them, and had gone without sleep and food in order to keep them
alive, and safe. If it hadn’t been for Archie’s quick thinking in
the church, both she and Portia could very well be dead. As it was,
Archie had asked them to trust him, and they had, but that didn’t
mean the same applied to Jamie. Although he was a friend of
Archie’s, how was Archie to know what Jamie had been up to while
they had not been in contact?
    “ Jamie?” She persisted when he continued to study the area
around them, and showed no sign of answering her.
    Jamie
snapped back to her, his face softening so quickly, in such stark
contrast to his sinister expression of moments earlier, that Cecily
began to wonder if she had just imagined the last few moments.
Still, he had been looking for something – or someone.
    “ We are being followed,” Jamie whispered quietly, studying her
reaction closely for several long moments. He was pleased to note
that her initial fear was quickly replaced with curiosity, followed
by a frown of concern as she stared at him helplessly for several
long moments.
    “ What do we do?” She whispered, feeling cold shivers snake down
her spine.
    Jonathan
turned in his saddle and glanced back at them. “We go through the
gap in the hedge further ahead.” He nodded to the narrow gap a few
feet ahead of them. “Then gallop across it. We have to double back
around the village and head up over those hills over there.” His
head remained perfectly still, leaving his eyes to flicker
furtively toward the rolling hills to the left of them. “Just hold
on Cecily. Your horse will follow ours but you need to let him
run.”
    “ Run?” Cecily whispered weakly, staring in horror at first
Jonathan, then Jamie.
    “ You are a natural, don’t worry. We have to go around the
village and double back to make sure we aren’t followed.” He
sincerely prayed there weren’t any fences to jump or they were
going to have a problem on their hands. “When we have gone into