Her Highness and the Highlander: A Princess Brides Romance by Tracy Anne Warren

received the previous day, perhaps it would be wiser not to admit her
     true identity.
    She squared her shoulders. “My name is Wyndom.” Surely it would be safe to use her
     family name? “Miss Mercedes Wyndom.”
    “Well, Miss Wyndom, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”
    “And you, Sir Lionel,” she replied, politely inclining her head.
    “Forgive yet another impertinence, but did I hear correctly that you are making the
     long journey to London?”
    “Yes, I am.”
    “Well, providence must be shining upon us, then, since I too am on my way to that
     same great city. I daresay we shall get to know each other quite well during the next
     fortnight.”
    He was right; it would take that long to reach the city. She’d never minded the trip
     in the past, but then, she had always ridden in complete comfort inside a luxurious,
     well-sprung coach, her every need seen to, each of her wishes anticipated and carried
     out. But not this time. This trip would be unlike any she had ever experienced.
    She met Sir Lionel’s expectant gaze, sending him a smile. “My thanks, sir, for your
     kind regard. It is my pleasure to accept your offer and I look forward to furthering
     our acquaintance.”
    Grinning, Sir Lionel offered his arm and led her toward a pair of empty seats.
    Confident that she had found a reliable champion, she exchanged cheerful good-byes
     with Stewart, then settled in to wait for the coach.

Chapter 8
    “O ch, aye, she were ’ere. A bonnie lass with big brown eyes and dark hair. ’Ard to forget,
     that one,” the proprietor of the coaching inn told Daniel just before noon that day.
     “Wrote her name down on the passenger list meself. Wyndom, it were, as I recollect.”
    Daniel nodded. “Aye, that would be her.”
    So Mercedes had decided to use her real name instead of her “royal title,” had she?
     Apparently she’d had the sense to realize that she would manage far more easily if
     she didn’t go around trying to pass herself off as a princess.
    “Is she still here, by chance?”
    “Nae, lad. Left on tha coach this hour past.”
    Daniel exhaled in frustration, although he wasn’t really surprised that her coach
     had departed. If only he hadn’t taken the time to stop and ask after her at the inn
     where he and Mercedes had spent the night, he might have caught up with her by now.
     But just as he’d advised, she had used the money he’d given her to buy a seat on the
     southbound stagecoach. He was the one who had veered away from the original plan by
     changing his mind and coming back.
    He tapped his fingers on the wooden countertop that stood between him and the innkeeper.
    “What is the coaching route for the first day? In which towns will it make stops?”
     he asked.
    “Weel, I know the first three o’ four, but after that I’ll ’ave tae get oot the map
     tae make sure.”
    “Yes, do that.” Daniel slid a pair of coins across the counter that made the innkeeper’s
     eyes gleam with appreciation. “Have a fresh horse saddled for me as well and a meal
     made ready that I can eat quickly and then be on my way.”
    “Goin’ after ’er, are ye?”
    “Aye,” Daniel said with certainty. “That I am.”
    Mercedes didn’t know which was worst—the hot, scratchy dress that continued to abrade
     her skin or the constant jolting and swaying of the public coach as it sped along
     the turnpike.
    If one could call this a turnpike. More a road from perdition,
Mercedes thought.
    Seconds later her opinion was confirmed when the coach hit a particularly large rut.
     All of the passengers bounced up and down against the hard, thinly upholstered seats.
     She shifted her weight with a silent groan, searching for a comfortable spot.
    There wasn’t one.
    Truly she could not fathom how she had ever made this journey before. Then again,
     the coaches in which she was used to riding actually had springs! And they had thickly
     stuffed, luxuriously upholstered damask silk seats