Page 37 of Betting on a Duke
Birds chirping outside the window and the early morning light had Clarice sitting up and stretching in bed. Her eyes drifted to Letitia, already dressed, and Mrs. Dunphy entering with their morning meal. She set it on the table and quickly left without a word. “I can’t believe I slept so late.”
“You’ve been going through a lot recently. You clearly needed it. I woke up at sunrise and couldn’t fall back asleep.”
Clarice got out of bed, went behind the screen, and took care ofher morning necessities. Then she searched her bag for a clean chemise. She quickly swapped the chemise for yesterday’s and put on her traveling clothes from the day before. There would be plenty of time to wash up and change into clean clothes once they arrived at the Red Lion Inn and her trunks were unloaded.
Joining Letitia at the table, she was pleasantly surprised to find fried eggs, sausages, and toast with jam, along with strong black tea for breakfast. One glance at the clock sitting on the fireplace mantel, and she was shocked to see it was already half past seven. “We should try to be on the road soon so we can reach Newmarket before afternoon tea.”
“That sounds perfect.”
“It seems like the rain has let up, and if Kirkland had noticed anything suspicious, he would have sent word. So everything must be fine with sneaking away.”
“Yes. Let’s hope the good luck keeps going.”
An hour later, they were back inside the carriage with the housemaid Penny and her trunk filled with Clarice’s belongings. While visiting Newmarket, Penny would serve as a maid to both Letitia and Clarice.
The ride was slow going at first because of the ruts in the road, which were overflowing with rainwater leftover from yesterday. But as they got farther and farther away from the Black Pigeon Coaching Station, the road conditions improved.
When they were nearing Newmarket and about an hour from the Red Lion Inn, the road became congested with other travelers heading to the horseracing town. The first race, according to what Clarice remembered from Samuel, was less than a sennight out, and all the festivities leading up to the first race would be in full swing, social parties that most racing enthusiasts didn’t miss.
“I’m nervous,” Clarice admitted. “We planned this on a whim, with no guaranteed place to stay and no formal invitations to anysocial events. The only person we know in Newmarket is Samuel. What were we thinking?”
Letitia giggled, then covered her mouth. When she took her hand away, she said, “I thought I was the only one nervous. And I agree with you, what possessed us to do this?”
“Gentlemen.”
“Oh, dear, you are correct,” Letitia agreed. “You want to see Stanton, and I hope to see Greyson. But really, what if the inn is full? What will we do then?”
“We will think of something. I can always send word to Staton letting him know we’re in town and have nowhere to stay. Perhaps he has friends we can stay with.” She tried not to notice how worried Penny looked upon hearing they didn’t have a definite plan for their visit to Newmarket. “If the worst happens, we turn around and go home. It’s better than having stayed home, wondering what could have been.” And it was. Better to have tried and failed than never to have tried at all.
Letitia sat up and looked out the carriage window. “You’re right. We’re coming into town.”
Clarice leaned forward, peering out the window on her side of the carriage, her eyes widening with surprise. “So we are. Look at all the people and carriages. I wonder where the Red Lion Inn is located. Do you suppose it’s in the heart of town?”
Neither of them knew the answer to that question, but they found out shortly when they turned off High Street onto Rous Road. It seemed the inn was made up of several buildings that stretched across Rous Road. Many people were coming and going, giving the impression that it was quite a popular place to stay. Kirkland opened the door and helped them exit. Two waiting stable boys and two footmen were ready to assist with the carriage and their trunks.
“My ladies,” Penny said with a curtsy, “I will go and inquire about available rooms.”
“Thank you, Penny. Two nearby rooms would be ideal,” Clarice replied.
“Yes, my lady.”
While they waited for Penny to return, the footman removed the trunks from the top of the coach and carried them into the hotel. “Oh, dear. I hope they have rooms for us,” Letitia said as she watched them go inside.
“As do I,” Clarice said as Kirkland removed their small portmanteaus from inside the coach and Penny’s bag, placing them on the ground beside their feet. Then he spoke to the two stable boys, who led the horses and carriage away to what Clarice assumed was a very large stable.
Penny came back with a smile, and the tension inside Clarice immediately slackened.
“My ladies, they had a last-minute cancellation. I was able to secure two rooms side by side with a connecting door.”
“Thank God,” Letitia said with a deep exhale. “I didn’t look forward to being homeless or traveling the two days back to London.”
“Me either,” Clarice agreed. “Shall we?”
The footmen picked up their bags and followed both Clarice and Letitia into the largest of the hotel buildings, with Penny walking at the back. They were greeted by a uniformed hotel worker who directed them to their rooms on the first floor. It was down one corridor to another when they reached their rooms, twelve and fourteen. As soon as the door was unlocked to each room, the footmen arrived with their bags and trunks. Penny indicated where each trunk belonged.
Clarice entered the room and was pleasantly surprised by how well-furnished and bright it was. She immediately approached a wooden door with a slide lock and knocked. “Letitia, are you there?”
“Yes.”
Clarice heard her unlock her side of the door, and she did thesame. Then she swung into Letitia’s room and found her smiling at her. “This will be convenient.”
“Indeed.”
They had afternoon tea in their rooms and then visited the inn’s spacious yet cozy dining room for dinner. After eating more than her fill, Clarice and Letitia went to bed early so they could wake up refreshed and ready to explore the town. Clarice had written a letter to Samuel and given it to the hotel concierge, who promised to deliver it first thing the next morning. What would he think when he read it? Would he be upset that she’d risked her father’s anger by coming to Newmarket? She hoped Samuel would be as excited to see her as she was to lay eyes on him.
Clarice lay in bed, listening to Penny make soft snoring noises as she slept on a pallet by the door. Her mind refused to rest as she imagined all sorts of scenarios involving her and Samuel sneaking private moments together. She wanted that more than anything, but she had to be careful of her father finding out. It wasn’t just her future she needed to worry about; Samuel’s future was at risk if her father caught wind of them together.
What frightened her most was that her father had shot Samuel once. Would he be so bold as to ignore the law and hurt a high-ranking member of the aristocracy again? Deep down, where her woman’s intuition resided, she believed her father would.
Rolling onto her back, she sighed deeply and stared up at the ceiling. If only she could see into the future, see that Samuel would be safe from harm, and she wouldn’t somehow be forced to marry another old man who was as mean as a troll. Curling onto her side, she closed her eyes and eventually gave in to the pull of sleep.
