The Road to Gretna Read Online Free PDF Page A

neither new nor elegant, stocky Angus was no match in appearance for the baron’s stylish dress and handsome face. In that respect each couple was well suited. Henrietta’s dainty, golden-haired beauty was the perfect foil for Lord Kilmore’s dark good looks. Sighing, Penny recalled thinking them a striking couple when they entered the coffee room of the White Hart.
    Having once heard herself described as a “strapping great carrot-headed wench,” she was all too aware that she was as unable to compete with Henrietta as Angus was with his lordship.
    In manner, too, Angus came in second. Not that she cared about fashionable polish, or really minded carrying her own bag. But Lord Kilmore’s ready appreciation of the humour of their meeting was more attractive than she wanted to admit. Angus hadn’t seen the absurdity of it.
    Yet again she herself fell short of the ideal. She was a practical person with a mind of her own, and gentlemen preferred helpless, clinging females. Even Angus thought no worse of Henrietta for her lack of common sense. His reaction was a gallant impulse to rush to her rescue.
    That was true chivalry, much more important than carrying a portmanteau. Where character was concerned, Angus was the winner. His argument had convinced Penny that Lord Kilmore was more than likely a fortune-hunter. She had no doubt of Angus’s motives in that respect, having been put to a great deal of trouble to persuade him to elope with her. Had he wanted her money he would have agreed at once, but he had persisted in refusing to believe she was in genuine need of his protection from her uncle’s scheming.
    Glancing across at him, she felt guilty. He didn’t really want to marry her. She had traded shamelessly on his kindheartedness, for that and his dedication to medicine were the only characteristics she knew of him. Until she had decided her only option was to run away, their conversations had mostly concerned her aunt’s multitudinous ailments.
    “Tell me about Scotland,” she said impulsively. “You trained at Edinburgh, did you not? Is it a pleasant city to live in?”
    He looked surprised but complied. “A fine city, and the finest medical faculty in the world.”
    His description, more of his training than of the town, carried them as far as St. Neots, where they pulled in at the thatched Sun Inn. Unfortunately, the stop woke Mrs. Ratchett. Though her appetite for sleep was as gluttonous as her appetite for food, she was sated with both after her post-breakfast nap.
    Penny resolved to ignore her presence as much as possible.
    After a quick change of horses, they were about to leave when Lord Kilmore’s carriage pulled up beside them and its occupants descended. Feeling that it would be rude to depart without exchanging a word, Penny let down her window. Henrietta danced up to her.
    “Is this inn not charming? Nothing could be more delightful than a thatched roof, I declare. It is amazingly old; Jason says it was built in the time of King Charles II and I know that was a very long time ago, for he wore a wig as Papa was used to.”
    “A very long time ago,” Penny agreed, wondering how Mr. White would like being classed with the long-dead Merry Monarch. “We must be off. Perhaps we shall see you again along the way.”
    “The Falcon at Huntingdon, Miss Bryant,” said Lord Kilmore, with a slight bow of greeting and farewell.
    As the chariot began to move, Henrietta turned away and said to her abigail, “Cora, pray take Lily out of the yard. She will be frightened of the horses’ hooves.”
    Penny sank back in her seat, chuckling.
    “Who is Lily?” Angus wanted to know. “Surely Miss White has not brought two maids with her?”
    “Lily is a kitten. Can you imagine anything more ridiculous than taking a kitten on an elopement?”
    “She must be very attached to the wee beastie.”
    “It is kind in Lord Kilmore to allow her to bring it.”
    “No doubt he is prodigious anxious to please,” said