Chapter Twenty-Two

Hannah had almost expected something to prevent them from hiring a private coach. Goodness, she had already hoped something would. After waiting two days for her promised dresses, they were on their way. The weather was fine and dry, the coach in excellent condition and Red's toe had reduced in size. Their drivers were capable and the horses in excellent health. She now wore a dress of cotton and silk in a lemon yellow. The skirts were full and the bodice high, pinched in with an elegant broach detail under the bust. It was quite the relief to be out of her lone dress.

Red offered a smile in her direction as the carriage moved at a fair pace. If all went smoothly, they would be in London in three days.

Three days.

She propped her chin on her hand and an elbow on the open window to watch the scenery pass by. The hills were gentler here in Somerset than in Devon or Cornwall. Like a rolling sea, they rose and lowered in careful arcs, dotted with lines of trees and hedges that segmented the farmer's fields.

So much of her wanted their journey to last longer which was ridiculous. She hardly minded travelling, but it had never been her favorite thing in the world. It had always been the destination that had excited her. Finding somewhere new, learning about it, and uncovering history she had never known of before.

Of course, the man next to her had much of an influence on her sudden liking for travelling. He had accused her of likely seeing him differently had she known about his activities when they had first met, but she didn't think that was true. His arrogance would still have grated on her and his ability to pick so perfectly on the things that would aggravate her would have riled her.

Nothing had changed. He was still the same man. And yet, no matter how often she reminded herself that, she could not fail to deny that everything had changed. Perhaps she had changed. Her lone focus was no longer the stone. Her passions had diverted. As much as she wanted to unlock the secrets behind the stone, it was not the only thing she wanted. She supposed that for once in her life, she wanted something for herself.

And that something was Red.

She sighed. What a conundrum. If she had ever thought she would fall for someone, she never thought it would be a smuggling earl. No, he would have had a brilliant mind, a passion for history but also a passion for her. None of those brilliant men she had met so far had been capable of passion for other people. Perhaps she had not either until now.

"We shall be in Hampshire by tomorrow," Red said.

She nodded.

Naturally, Red had a brilliant mind. Only a truly clever man could run an operation as he did. He did not have a passion for history perhaps, but he had a passion for helping his brother and the war effort. That was certainly to be admired.

Yes, maybe her feelings for him had changed, but it was nothing to do with her new knowledge. She had been aware of the creeping sensation for at least two days. It slowly consumed her mind, changed it and twisted it. If she thought hard about it, studied herself closely, she was awfully afraid that if she was not already, she might be half in love with him.

"Shall we travel near your home?" he pressed, drawing her from her thoughts and the realization that was making her frown.

"I have some family near Winchester, but my Father's house is in Alresford which is a little farther down the county."

"I know of it though I have never had occasion to visit it."

"It is but a small town. Few people have a reason to pass through."

"I do not venture from Cornwall often. As we know, the journey is not an easy one." He grinned, and she chuckled.

"I shall confess I have had less trouble visiting the farthest reaches of Scotland. I think I would rather conquer the Highland mountains than attempt that journey again."

"So you shall never visit Cornwall again?"

The way he said it left a hollow ache in her chest. "Oh no, that's not what I—that is, if I have occasion to, I certainly would. Cornwall is a beautiful place."

Oh dear, now she had made him think she did not like his home or that she never wished to see him again. It was what she had feared he had meant when he wanted the journey over. Perhaps he still did. She could hardly be sure. The way he had spoiled her with dresses and cream teas, she had considered that she might have misunderstood. But then, he was essentially a gentleman no matter how much he tried to be the rogue. It could have simply been him being gentlemanly.

"I have a fondness for it, of course." His smile was wistful. "The best society tends to avoid it. Not exciting enough for them, I suspect."

"Not everyone needs excitement. I think we have had enough to last for a lifetime."

He nodded. "We certainly have. Though I could not think of another person I would have rather experienced it with."

"Even our dreadful ferry experience?"

"No," he said firmly. "I never, ever want to see you on a ferry in such waters again. I thought you were to go overboard." He grinned. "And, of course, if I had rescued you and ignored the stone, I would likely have found myself in even deeper waters."

She tapped his arm. "Even I know the stone is not worth my life. Though I might have been tempted to dive for it in better weather," she admitted. "My father might not have been very understanding. I do not suppose any of his finds have caused him quite so much trouble."

"Ah. So you do think it's cursed."

"Not at all. We simply had a run of bad luck. Curses do not exist."

"Because they are not logical."

"Precisely."

"But luck exists?"

She shook her head. "It is just a saying. A string of bad things happened to us, completely coincidentally."

His smiled softened. "You have an excellent way of explaining things, Hannah. Sometimes, however, things cannot be explained."

His gaze locked onto hers, and she felt as though he must be able to see right into her thoughts. Deep, deep into them, digging out her secrets, her feelings for him. Her body practically screamed at him to kiss her. How obvious she had to be.

The coach came to an abrupt stop, forcing her to grip the door. She went to pop her head out, but Red pulled her back to her seat.

"Stay where you are," he ordered. His body was tense, his jaw tight.

Hannah's heart gave a jolt. She knew what he feared. Highwaymen.

He eased open the door and climbed out. She twined her hands in her lap, aware of the murmurs of men and her heart pounding so hard that it made her palms clammy. She could not hear what was being said but there was no shouting or demands to hand over any goods, just the low conversation of Red and the driver. What was happening?

After several more tense moments, Hannah gave up waiting. If it was a highwayman, surely something would have happened by now? She popped her head and nearly fell back to her seat at the sight that greeted her. She peered out again and laughed.

A sea of cows covered the road, hemmed in by the bushes on either side. There had to be at least twenty of them. They were stood in a face-off with Red and the other men. Slowly the cows were encroaching on them, surrounding them. There was no aggression behind the animal's movement, but none of the men could persuade the beasts to move.

Hannah pushed open the door and stepped out. Red did not spot her until she was in front of the carriage. By then, he was hemmed in and unable to move in any direction.

"Hannah, what are you doing?" he called.

She pressed a finger to her lips. "Shhh."

She eyed the first cow in front of her. The animal blinked lazily at her and shuffled slightly forward. Hannah put out a hand. "You are a lovely lady, are you not?" she said softly. "What a lovely lady," she cooed.

There were no calves, and it was early in the day. The cows were likely just curious and not feeling at all protective. As long as no one began shouting, they could be assured of remaining safe.

The cow nudged forward slightly and her nose connected with Hannah's hand. The animals were well-used to humans which was a blessing. She rose onto tiptoes and spotted the open gate in which they had likely emerged from. Unless they managed to move them, their journey could be delayed for quite some time.

She spoke to the animal, low and soft. The other men remained frozen, watching and waiting for her to make a move. Once she could be sure the cow was not concerned by her presence, she moved her hand along to the animal's shoulder blade and gave her nudge.

"Come then, girl. Time to move."

The animal shuffled slightly, moving to turn. The other animals were facing in various directions. Most had been quite content with filling the road and remaining there and had not been bothered by the carriage until the men had disembarked and given them something else to investigate. The movement of the one cow shifted the others around her. Hannah gave the animal another push and urged it to allow her to move between the animals and emerge slowly at the front. Once she started moving toward the gate, some of the other cows began to pay attention to her. She gave a few of them an encouraging push on the shoulder, and they all began to shift in the direction of the gate. The chances were they knew full well where they were meant to be, they just needed someone to give them some orders.

It was a painfully slow process. She motioned for the men to remain, but she could see Red was desperate to move to the head of the herd and help her. However, any sudden movements would have risked it all—including her life—and he likely knew that so remained where he was.

Once the last cow was in the field, she latched the gate and let herself relax. She had not felt particularly scared at the time, but once the tension left her, she realized she had been extremely fearful of a stampede.

Red rushed to her side and grabbed her waist. "Where the devil did you learn to herd cows?"

"My father and I live next to a dairy farm. I watched the farmer deal with the cattle many a time."

He hauled her close to him. "Thank the lord for your incessant need to study everything, though I'll tell you now, Hannah, you ever scare me like that again, I shall have to put you over my knee."

She felt herself flushing. "I didn't mean to scare you, but I could see you were getting nowhere with them."

Red motioned to the driver. "Let us move on before we encounter anymore animals."

He aided Hannah back into the coach. As soon as she had sat, he took her face in his hands. She stared at him, wide-eyed.

"Never scare me again."

"I will not," she promised, unsure why she was even vowing as much. How many more chances would she even have to scare him?

His stark expression softened. "I am so proud of you." He grinned. "Miss St. John, leader of cows."

She laughed. "I am not sure I want that title." A flush of warmth spread through her, though, at the thought of garnering his pride.

"Hannah, Queen of the Cows."

"No, I do not want that either."

"How about Hannah, the boldest, cleverest woman I ever did meet?"

"Now I like that."

"I could not stand to lose you, you know."

The intensity in his eyes made her stomach turn inside out. She drew in a breath and kept it there. Whatever did he mean? "I—"

"I feared I was going to lose you to cows." He smirked. "I'm not sure I could bear it."

"If I was trampled by cows?"

He shook his head. "No. Well, yes. But in general…"

Hannah tried to swallow down the knot in her throat. She longed to probe him more, but he looked as confused as she felt.

"Let's talk more in London."

Unable to summon a response, she nodded and settled back against her seat. Her gut was telling her something. If he could not stand to lose her…did that mean he wanted to keep her?