A Penny's Worth of Affection novel Chapter 28

Storm

Fiona stared at Penny in shock. "Run away? Surely you are joking!" She shook her head in disbelief, her eyes straying to Lucy who was sobbing hysterically in the arms of her friend Kate. "I had no inkling something like this was going on. You never said a word."

Penny shifted uncomfortably. She was eager to be off on her search for Edward, but she could hardly foist Lucy off on Fiona without a reasonable explanation. "I had hoped it was merely a passing infatuation," she replied with a sigh. "I thought wrong."

Fiona leaned forward and patted Penny's leg in sympathy. "At least you have the Duke on your side. Are you certain you wish to go all the way to Scotland? I worry about your leg, and your reputation will be horribly compromised as a lady traveling all on her own. I think you should wait until the Duke retrieves the couple."

Penny shook her head. "I cannot do that, Fiona. I do not trust the Duke to keep his promise, and Edward will surely put up a protest, and I fear His Grace's temper will get the better of him. No, I must go."

The front door opened and Colin, Fiona's son, came in. He was a big, strapping lad of seventeen, good-looking but painfully shy. He nodded a greeting to the ladies, his eyes downcast as he stood twisting his tweed cap between his fingers.

"I have brought the carriage round, Miss Inglewood," he muttered, still gazing at the floor, though his skin flushed a bright red. "If ye are ready?"

Penny rose, reaching for the small box in which she had stashed a few necessary items for the journey. "Are you sure you don't mind taking me all the way? I can do quite well with a lone horse..."

"Don't be silly, Penelope," Fiona cut in sternly. "Gently bred ladies do not go traipsing the highways on horses. Colin will go with you. He is quite capable of offering some sort of protection should you run into trouble. Besides, it is a closed vehicle, so the chances of someone recognizing you are nil."

Lucy tore herself from Kate and hurried over to throw her arms about Penny. "Oh, do be careful, Penny, and please bring Edward back? I will miss you terribly."

"What is going on?" she called up to Colin. He jumped down from the driver's perch and came to open the door.

"There is an accident of sorts, Miss," he replied, helping her down from the carriage. He nodded towards a cluster of people gathered around what appeared to be a loaded wagon and three horses. "Might take a while to move that."

Her heart sinking at his words, Penny moved closer to the disaster, praying his prediction was wrong. The sight that met her eyes made her groan aloud. The wagon would have to be unloaded before any attempt to move it, and that could take hours. The people gathered were shouting and arguing amongst themselves on how best to begin unloading the wagon. The heavy wheel had broken, and someone was dispatched to fetch a blacksmith. A good number of people settled down to await the eventual clearing and were clustered in small groups chatting.

"Oh Lord!" she muttered, running a hand through her hair in despair. "It will be too late." She was so close. If only this had happened much earlier to slow the two runaways.