Niki looked in the bag and saw shoes, pants, shirt, jacket, and a vest. She looked from the bag back to Edward.
“Are you leaving the room?” she asked him.
“No, I’ll just sit here.”
Without hesitation Niki shook her head.
“You’ll have to leave.”
Edward frowned. “Don’t be silly. I’ll sit here with Denley, my back to the room, and you’ll change. I can’t go out again until we see how these fit.”
“You can wait in the hall.”
“To anyone who cares to notice,” he replied, his voice holding the patience of Job as he attempted to explain how odd this would appear, “there are two men staying in this room. Why would I need to exit while you change?”
Edward held her eyes for just a moment. He then repositioned the chair and sat down, his broad back toward her.
Niki stared at the width of his shoulders, just five feet away. She might not look like a woman, but she was one. If he ever decided to do something against her will, she would have only her sword as a defense, and at the moment it wasn’t close by.
“Are you done?” Edward asked, his back still to her, fairly certain she hadn’t made a move.
“No.”
“Well, get going.”
Niki saw no help for it. Rushing so that she nearly tore her fancy clothing, her eyes on Edward at all times, she changed as swiftly as she could. The pants were a good fit, as was the shirt, but the vest was on the large side, and she suspected the jacket was too short.
“All set?” Edward asked when she stopped moving.
“Yes.”
Edward stood and faced her.
“Not bad,” he commented, his voice detached. “Turn around.”
Niki’s look was long-suffering and a bit mutinous.
“Go ahead,” Edward commanded, making a circular movement in the air with his finger.
“No,” he said when she spun for him, still sounding like a man on a mission with little emotional attachment. “That jacket won’t do at all, much too short.”
Niki stood mute.
“Take it off so I can see how we did with the vest.”
Niki obeyed, a sense of unreality stealing over her.
“Perfect,” Edward declared.
“It’s huge.”
“Not for a servant’s servant.”
“Is that what I’ll be?” Niki sounded slightly horrified.
“Of course. You’d be a lousy gentleman’s gentleman. You’re too used to being waited on. You’ll answer to Denley and he’ll answer to me.”
“Denley is sick,” she reminded him patiently.
“We’ll give the appearance of your answering to Denley. In truth, you’ll probably be doing all the work.”
“I can hardly wait.”
Edward ignored the comment and put the coat back in the bag. He started for the door and then stopped.
“Once I leave, change back to your gentleman’s clothing. You shouldn’t be seen like that until we’re headed out of town.”
“Then you’ll probably have to hire the coach.”
“I’ll take care of it. What time do you wish to leave?”
For a moment Niki didn’t know. Edward had taken over in the last few hours, and she’d let her guard down.
“Five o’clock and with as little fuss as possible.”
“I’ll arrange it.”
The door had closed, but Niki had still heard the words. I’ll arrange it was something Denley would say. Niki never doubted the job would get done. Edward had proved to be good at his word.
Her heart heavy inside of her, Niki went to the chair by the bed. She didn’t change as she should have but sat close to Denley, aching for some sign that would comfort her heart and assure her that everything was going to be all right.
Denley felt himself wake up but didn’t open his eyes. He lay still, feeling some relief, as though he’d just awakened from a long, restful nap. A few more minutes passed, and then without stirring he opened his eyes and had all he could do not to jerk with a start.
Sitting by his bed was Nicola Bettencourt as he had never seen her. The clothing was clean and new, but the gentleman was gone. An ill-fitting vest in colors that were all wrong for her hung on her frame, changing her looks entirely. While Denley still studied her, she turned.
“You’re awake.”
“And you’re not a gentleman anymore.”
Niki looked down at herself.
“Mr Steele’s idea. What do you think?”
“I think you’ll throw them off.”
“I hope so. We leave at dawn. I’ll be a servant’s servant now.”
It was too much for Denley. His eyes closed in pain.
“It’s the only way, Denley. I keep getting spotted, and we have to get back.”
Denley nodded and sighed deeply. There was no help for it.
“How are you feeling?” Niki asked.
“Better,” he answered, looking into her eyes. “I’m actually hungry.”
“That’s a good sign. I’ll change and order food.”
Denley nodded, even as he closed his eyes again. Niki changed without a thought, forcing her mind back into the role of being in charge. Edward might be outfitting her as a servant and taking care of their transportation, but Denley’s needs and their destination were ultimately her responsibility.
“Here,” Edward said in the quiet of Niki’s room the next morning, handing her a cap. “I picked this up after I dropped off your coat yesterday.”
Niki placed the gray cap on her head. Edward reached to adjust it a bit.
“What do you think, Denley?”
“The change is amazing,” Denley commented, unable to take his eyes from Niki.
“Shall we be off?” Edward asked.
Niki nodded and started toward the door. Edward caught her arm and bent a little to catch her eyes under the brim of the hat.
“You have to carry the bags.”
“Oh, right,” Niki said, giving her head a little shake.
“Also, sit in the seat with Denley until we leave. Once we get underway, we’ll move around so Denley can rest.”
Once the plans were in place, they exited. On his feet but still weak, Denley took the lighter load. Edward acted very much himself. Having been waited on all his life, he took it all in stride, even as his eyes darted for signs of the mystery man.
He was careful to give no deference to Niki, expecting his needs to be met and seeing to his own comfort with apparently no thought for anyone else. Once the carriage set off, he felt as though he could breathe again and moved over so Niki could join him.
“Did you see him?” she asked, settling on the seat. It was very dark inside the coach.
“No. All was very quiet.”
“Last night I paid the innkeeper for tonight and asked that we not be disturbed today. If someone asks after us, he’ll be mute.”
“That was good thinking. By the way, did you know the man watching the inn?”
“Not personally, but they all look alike.”
“How’s that?”
“They’re either French or British, and they don’t blend in very well. Added to that, each one thinks I’m a fool.”
“So they know you travel as a man?”
“They think I am a man. Osborne has been acting as Nicola’s solicitor, so they think that by following him they can get to her.”
Edward thought the whole plan rather clever but didn’t comment.
Alone with her thoughts, Niki remembered the price she paid for her deception. She made up her mind. This was the end. She would get home and not do this again. It was too taxing; the cost was too high. It might seem sudden to some, but she had been coming to this point for a very long time.
“Are you all right, Denley?” Edward asked.
There was no answer.
Niki moved to check on him.
“I think he’s asleep.”
“That sounds like a good id
ea.”
Edward settled back and got comfortable. He never minded the rocking of a carriage; he found it relaxing. Niki wasn’t in the same state. Until it grew light, they wouldn’t know if they’d been followed. Wishing there was some way to know so she could turn her brain off, she laid her head back and tried not to think.
It had happened again, only this time Edward had decided to use Niki as a pillow. She woke up to find the carriage well lit with daylight, Edward’s head heavy against her shoulder. She shifted a little, but he didn’t move.
When she looked across at Denley, she found him sitting up and awake.
“Are you all right?” he asked.
“Yes. You sound as though you feel better.”
“I do, thank you.”
Their conversation did not reach Edward. Niki gave him a little push, but that was just as ineffective.
“Shall I wake him?” Denley offered.
“I’ll do it. Edward,” Niki tried, but he only moved to make himself more comfortable, even going so far as to slip an arm around her waist.
“Wake up, Edward Steele!” Niki commanded, but her voice was never very loud, and Edward was quite sleepy.
Seeing no help for it, Niki pinched the skin on the back of his hand. Edward started a bit and opened his eyes.
“I’m sorry.” He was instantly contrite as he sat up. “Did I smash you?”
“No, I’m all right. I couldn’t wake you.”
“What did you do?” Edward asked as he worked to orient himself, vaguely aware that he’d been hurt.
“I pinched your hand.”
“Were we followed?” he asked, his eyes already bright.
“It doesn’t appear so, but we won’t actually know until we arrive.”
Edward consulted his watch and saw that they’d been on the road for several hours. The warm darkness of the coach had served to make them quite comfortable.
“I think a stop is in order,” Edward commented, his fist going into the roof without waiting for permission.
It felt good to stretch their legs. Once in the nearby woods, Edward and Denley headed one direction and Niki another. When they met back at the carriage, Edward told Denley he wanted something to eat. That man was swift to obey and turned to Niki.
Denley gave quiet orders to Niki, and Edward glanced from time to time to see if the coachmen had taken any interest. They checked their horses and the bags loaded at the rear, not appearing to pay any attention to the travelers.
When the carriage was back on the road, the three ate without conversation. Denley slept again, this time sitting up with his head against the seat. As the coach continued toward the port city of Porto, Edward found that his mind had done some traveling of its own. He suddenly spoke to Niki.
“I have it figured out.”
“What’s that?”
“You have an overbearing father who’s forcing you to marry a man twice your age, a business partner of his. The arrangement is intended to keep the money in the family.”
Niki’s brows rose. “Has anyone ever told you that you have an overactive imagination?”
Edward looked back at her and smiled a little. “Has anyone ever told you that you look good as a servant? You should take it up.”
“You told me I wouldn’t be any good,” she reminded him.
“That’s true; I’m probably right. We’ll have to work on that.”
Niki shook her head a little. “Did you say you have sisters?”
“Yes, why?”
“It’s beginning to make sense.”
“What is?”
“You must be the youngest in the family; you’re something of a pest.”
“I’ll have you know I am not the youngest in the family,” he took pleasure in informing her.
“Then you must be the youngest male.”
That she had guessed accurately made him smile.
“I thought so.”
“What gave me away?”
“Your unruly nature. As a child you would have been called incorrigible.”
She had pegged the situation again, and Edward shifted in the seat so he could stare at her.
“And what of you? I would have to guess you to be a bossy older sister. How close am I?”
“I’m an only child.”
“Ah,” Edward sounded triumphant. “That makes my overprotective-father-with-the-forced-marriage theory look better all the time.”
Niki had all she could do not to laugh. Instead, she changed the subject.
“When are we supposed to arrive?”
“Probably another hour at least.”
Niki nodded. “I want to find lodgings near the docks so we can get underway as swiftly as possible.”
“Have you been to Porto?”
“No.”
“Neither have I. It’s hard to say how busy it is. There are no guarantees that a ship will be leaving tomorrow.”
Niki had no answer to Edward’s warning, but she didn’t want to hang around Porto any longer than she had to. She wanted to find a ship headed for England, board it, and be left alone. Laying her head back, she closed her eyes and tried not to worry.
Porto, Portugal
Porto, on the banks of the River Douro, was an active destination for the three weary travelers, but at least part of Niki’s wish came true. They found an inn, a clean one, near the docks. Two rooms were available, and they settled Denley inside one of them before walking toward the ship that was in the harbor. They were told that the vessel was headed in the wrong direction but also informed that the Henderson was due in the next day. It was headed for England.
“Which means it might not be leaving until Sunday,” Edward told Niki as they walked back to the inn. “You’ll be stuck in the role of my servant until we leave here.”
Niki idly wondered if Edward might think of sparing her by taking all his meals in his room but didn’t voice this.
Edward glanced at Niki’s enigmatic little face under the flat gray cap and wondered what she was thinking. Taking a second look, he decided not to ask. At any rate, it was more interesting to watch the people who walked past and around them. To a person, no one gave Niki a second glance. She looked like a male servant walking with his employer, and they took that at face value.
Back at the inn, Edward almost stopped and let her precede him inside but remembered just in time and went ahead. In the common room the innkeeper was on hand, and he asked after their accommodations. Edward stopped to speak to him.
“Ready my clothing for dinner,” Edward ordered Niki casually and then turned away as she went silently up the stairs.
He didn’t linger over his conversation with the innkeeper, telling him that for the moment all was in order. He did ask about the regularity of passenger ships headed for England and learned a little more. He then took the stairs two at a time and went to the room where he’d last seen Denley. He entered without knocking.
Standing in the middle of the room, Niki rounded on him and glared. Edward just held his laughter as he commented, “I take it my clothing isn’t ready.”
“You know it’s not.” Her voice was cold.
He smiled then, his sense of humor still in place.
“You look the part, but I was right, you make a dreadful servant.”
Not waiting for her to reply, even though her mouth opened in outrage, Edward walked to the bed and put his hand on Denley’s brow. The servant was cool to the touch, his breathing easy.
“It looks as though he’s out of the worst of it. You’d better order him some food before we go down for supper.”
When there was no answer, Edward looked at Niki. She was in the same place, looking none too happy with him, her mouth set in a grim line. It looked as though she might be ready to give him a full view of her anger, but Edward spoke first.
“I don’t know exactly what you have at stake,” Edward shocked her by saying, his voice compassionate. “If Osborne has been followed, you’ll never be spotted. The
change is that drastic. If you want me to go below and dine on my own, I can do that, but I dare say you’re better at spotting these chaps than I am, and as I said, you certainly must have more at stake than I.”
Niki’s shoulders slumped with the truth of it all.
“Do you really need me to see to your clothing?” she asked.
“Not at all. I’ll take my time changing, so you can see to Denley. We’ll go down when you’re ready.”
Niki only nodded, unbelievably relieved that he wasn’t going to be impossible after all.
“My tea is cold. See the kitchen about a fresh pot,” Edward ordered Niki an hour later, nearly unrecognizable with his bored looks and condescending air.
Niki lifted the cool pot but did not immediately move from the table near the window where he was the lone occupant. Her eyes spoke volumes, and seeing them, Edward’s voice dropped.
“If you dump that over my head, you’re sure to be noticed.”
“You’re enjoying this way too much,” she hissed at him.
“Do you think?” he asked, his eyes growing so large with feigned innocence that she had to turn away or laugh out loud.
She moved to the kitchen—her third trip—and returned with the hot tea. She noticed for the first time that he was nearly done and hoped that meant she could eat next. The incongruity of it all suddenly hit her, and she had all she could do not to howl with emotion.
Edward, a near stranger, ate in comfort while she waited on him. Her servant ate in the privacy of their room, with no need to take care of anyone but himself. Niki thought she might last another few minutes but no longer.
“I’ll order a tray for you,” Edward said quietly, not even looking at her.
“Thank you,” she said softly, her shoulders slumping again and thinking he was the better actor. The thought sent her eyes to him. She looked at him a moment too long and was caught.
Edward’s eyes twinkled with amusement, as though he could read her mind, before he shifted to greater comfort in his chair and reached for his tea, seeming for all the world like a man with nothing on his mind.
Denley stood by the side of the bed to stretch his legs. He didn’t think he would ever be well again, but there was no denying that his body was finally on the mend. Those hours in the carriage and sleeping in beds he couldn’t even remember were blurry just now, but they still managed to bring a vague, unsettling memory.