Last Night's Scandal by Loretta Chase

thunderous pounding.
    Olivia was impatient to be off again. It was better to be far from London by the time Lisle caught up. All the same, whatever he thought of her judgment, she wasn’t a reckless fool who’d risk the servants or the horses.
    She and Bailey climbed down from the carriage and hurried into the inn.
    T hough the dowager seemed to think he’d easily catch up with Olivia, and though he’d spent a wearying day, Lisle did not go to bed and take a few hours to rest, like the sensible gentleman he was.
    Instead, as soon as he returned home, he speedily bathed, changed his clothes, and ordered his valet to pack. Nichols being accustomed to hasty departures, they were able to set out from London by half-past two o’clock in the morning.
    A carriage followed, bearing trunks and valises and whatever household goods Nichols thought they’d need and could be collected on short notice.
    That was how Lisle and his manservant came to be riding on the Old North Road, ten miles from London, when the wind gusted up, tearing over the countryside, and the great black clouds massing over his head gave way, and the rain went from drizzle to downpour to deluge in three and a half minutes.
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    Chapter 5
    O livia found her traveling companions already comfortably settled at a large table in a corner of the public dining room, food and drink before them. Other stranded travelers had gathered here as well. Some were drying off in front of the fire, others were at table, and still others were using the respite for a shave or boot cleaning.
    She’d always liked stopping for a meal at a coaching inn. There one encountered so many different kinds of people, of all classes, unlike the beau monde, where they were all the same, and most of them were related.
    Since her usual stops were never long enough, she would have happily joined the company here, if the short nap in the carriage had not made her aware of how deeply tired she was.
    It usually wanted a week or more to prepare for a long journey like this one. She’d organized everything—for herself as well as the two ladies—in less than forty-eight hours.
    That left almost no time for sleep.
    That was why, instead of joining the company, she hired what the innkeeper claimed was the best bedchamber in the house. She sank into the large, comfortable armchair placed before the fire.
    Despite the warmth and quiet, her mind wouldn’t still. It was a long time before the whirl of thoughts and feelings began to blur and she sank into forgetfulness. A moment later, it seemed, she felt the light touch of a hand on her arm, and jolted awake.
    “I’m sorry to startle you, miss,” said Bailey.
    Her mind still thick, Olivia looked up. A crease had appeared between Bailey’s sleek eyebrows. Not a good sign. Bailey didn’t worry easily.
    “The ladies,” said Olivia. She stood up so abruptly that her head spun.
    “Yes, miss. A row about a card game. I’m sorry to trouble you, but they’ve upset the local squire’s son. He’s making an ugly scene and calling for constables and magistrates, and nobody’s putting him in his place. The innkeeper’s afraid of him, it looks like. I thought you’d wish to take the ladies safe away.”
    While she spoke, Bailey was tidying Olivia’s hair and shaking the wrinkles out of her skirts and otherwise concealing evidence of her mistress having slept in her clothes.
    Aware they’d probably need to make a speedy exit from the inn, she contrived to get Olivia into most of her outer garments while they hurried along the corridor. At the top of the stairs, the raised voices were plainly audible. Olivia raced down and into the public dining room.
    That was when she realized she’d spent more time with her unquiet mind than she’d supposed. Not only had the rain stopped but grey daylight illuminated the scene outside of Page 44
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