He had to nudge her awake to eat. Even though she seemed not to be tasting the food at all, she did eat with a steady speed and efficiency. What she needed was a full night of sleep, he decided, fighting the urge to take her to the inn in the village and tuck her up in bed. He scolded himself for being a rutting dog but he suspected he would just have to hear the words Primrose and bed in the same conversation and his desire for her would leap to life in hope.
The moment she set her plate down, her eyes closed, and Bened put his arm around her to keep her from falling over. He frowned and put his hand on her forehead just to make sure this was only exhaustion. It did not surprise him when Simeon rushed over to crouch in front of her but the angry look the man sent him did.
“Is she ill?” Simeon demanded.
Reminding himself yet again that the man was her brother and was well aware of the danger she was in, Bened answered pleasantly. “No, I think she is just tired. Riding about the countryside looking for you has not been easy for her,” he could not resist adding.
“No, it would not have been,” Simeon agreed softly and sighed. “I should have sent word to her about what I knew, or believed I knew, and where I was.”
“And have it fall straight into Augusta’s hands.”
“There is that. Maybe we should make it a short day of travel.”
“Or I could carry her up with me on Mercury.” He struggled to keep his expression one of pleasant blankness.
“If she does not wake up when we are all ready to leave, it might be a thought. But, I should do it.”
“If you wish, but Mercury is a bigger mount than yours, and built for some added weight. He can carry two more easily.”
Simeon looked at Mercury. “He is a big beast, like a plow horse.”
“Only half a plow horse and one of an old, honored breed. A very brave stallion about the size of your gelding romanced his mother. She let him live.” He almost laughed at the shock on Simeon’s face. “I named him Mercury for a reason as well so if anyone sets after us, my plow horse will leave them in the dust.”
“Truly?”
“No doubt in my mind. My father has begun breeding more like him although it can be a dangerous business. Mercury has a lot of admirers.”
“But you gelded him.”
“Had to but he bred a few before I took him and trained him. You do not really want a full stallion of that size for a riding mount, not with a stallion’s temperament.”
“Oh no, of course not. Fine then. If she is really exhausted, she will not even wake when you pick her up so then you take her up with you. If she does wake, she can ride on her own.”
An hour later, Bened mounted his horse and Bevan handed a limp Primrose up to him. He set her in front of her, almost grinning when she snuggled up against him and he got a hard glare from Simeon. It was not kind to pinch at the man who had to know what was between Bened and his sister, but Bened could not resist and the badly smothered laughter from his brother who rode at his side revealed that that sort of humor was clearly a family trait.
They rode as fast as they could without wearing down the horses. Bened understood the need to cover as much ground as possible while the weather favored them. Augusta was still out there and they all suspected that she was riding back to Willow Hill. The less time they gave her to destroy something or set up a trap the better. They also had to try to stop her efforts to be rid of anyone or anything that could be used against her. For a woman who had to be insane she was proving to be a formidable opponent.
Jenson watched his brother and his family, along with his child, ride away to stay with his wife’s brother and sighed. Now he had to warn the other servants and find a place to hide himself. But first, he thought, he was going to try to find something to help the Wootten siblings bring the woman down. He owed it to Sir Bened and Miss Primrose, who had not punished him for being with Augusta, but kindly set him free of the woman.
To his dismay his idiot employer, Rufford, found him before he could begin the search. “Jenson! Where the bloody hell have you been? I have been struggling with one of the pages here and it has been a dismal fortnight.”
Jenson winced as he looked at what the man was wearing. “Your wife demanded my services.”
“What use would that cow have for a valet?”
Jenson shrugged. “To tend her wardrobe.”
Rufford swore viciously and got himself a large snifter full of brandy, gulping some of it down as if it was cheap ale. “She too often forgets who is the man in this family. I will have a word or two about that when she returns.”
“She is returning?”
“Just got a letter from her saying she should be here in a day or two. She could not find my nephew. No idea why she went haring off to find him as she never much liked the lad. Hated that girl.”
“Miss Primrose?”