gave her a wry smile. He’d spent the better part of the last week trying to not think about Matilda Ramsey. Of course, he’d seen her the previous day at their joint family gathering, but with his large family, it was easy to avoid her in those situations. Now, however, he had no choice but to face her.
He leaned against the carriage. “Freckles, what the devil are you doing out here stranded in a carriage all alone?”
She blew out a breath and it made the curls framing her face flutter. “I didn’t want to wait to ride back to London with my mother, so I readied a carriage and left. But something happened to the wheel and the driver has gone off to find assistance.”
“Well, carry on, then,” he said and turned to go. Of course, he wouldn’t actually leave her here, but she didn’t know that, and there was something oddly satisfying about pretending to live down to her expectations of him, if only for a few brief moments. That flash of anger that would hit her eyes almost made her hatred of him worth it.
“Where are you going?” she asked, her voice rising with a hint of panic.
“Back to London. I much prefer to lie about in my own bedchamber.”
“You aren’t going to do anything to help me?” she asked.
He spun around and leaned against the carriage door. “I would, but you know my slothful nature might get in the way.”
Her eyes rolled upward. “I—”
“Yes, you hate me,” he interrupted her before she could finish her sentence.
“That’s not what I was going to say,” she said coolly, but the flash of anger in her eyes said otherwise.
“Of course not.” He sighed, debating his options. “Now then, are you going to come with me?”
“You can’t possibly expect me to leave with you,” she said. “Can’t you fix the wheel?”
He leaned out of the doorway and eyed the broken wheel—the axle was split in half. Something about the break looked suspicious. He glanced at it again, noting the angles of everything. He didn’t want to further alarm Tilly, though, so he schooled his features as he looked back at her. “No, that wheel can’t be fixed. So your alternative is to wait here. Alone. In the middle of basically nowhere waiting for a highwayman to come and accost you.”
She blew out a breath.
Her expression of pure exasperation would be cute on a woman less annoying.
He held up one finger. “And it is about to storm.”
As if on cue, thunder rumbled around them and she started, her eyes going wide with fear.
“I do not care for storms.”
He held out his hand. “Come on, Tilly, I’ll find somewhere for us to wait out the storm, then we’ll be on our way to London. I promise I will let no harm come to you.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Why should I trust you?”
Why indeed?
Because he was a gentleman. Because he was a man of honor. Because he had never once given her any reason not to trust him. Despite all that, naturally Tilly would assume his motives were suspect and his actions questionable.
Through gritted teeth, he said, “I’ve never given you any reason not to.”
She opened her mouth to argue with him, then shut it with a frown. She knew that was the truth. He might know her deepest secret, but he’d never told anyone about that night. Though every time he relived it, a knot formed in his stomach. His brother, Thomas, who held her affections, was nothing short of a manipulating arse. The man did not deserve the love and devotion from a feral barn cat, let alone a woman like Tilly, even if she was the most bothersome woman of his acquaintance. Even if she was currently looking at him as if trying to decide which was worse: being accosted by both the weather and highwaymen or accepting his help.
Eventually, she leaned forward and took his hand, her smaller one fitting perfectly in his own. He assisted her out of the carriage, then swiftly brought her to his own rig and ushered her inside just as the sky opened up and rain poured from the darkened sky. There was no reason to head back to her family’s estate; they were already closer to London. But there was no making it all the way back to the city tonight. Not in this weather. They were going to have to find somewhere to stay.
“There’s an inn a few miles back where we can stay