.
Jo had been more than a little shocked when she ventured down from a restless sleep in her under-garments to find that James wasn't alone, and she had been a little anxious about the odd earl, but she couldn't deny that he treated his guests well.
His country house was still luxurious by Yorkshire standards, and he had put them in separate rooms in the guest wing. She knew that it was only right and proper, but a rather large part of her had gotten used to sleeping with James in a very short amount of time.
The Earl of Huntingdon kept them for two days, and when she and James announced their departure, he had sent them out with provisions and directions that would take them to London quickly, all while avoiding the main roads.
When she thanked him for his help, he looked pleased, though he only shrugged.
"I see few enough people out here that I think are worth speaking to at all. It seems to me that you and Lord Westmont are among that rare few."
"Regardless, you have my thanks."
As they rode away from the Huntingdon lands, she couldn't help glancing back at the house.
"What a strange man."
James snorted. "Strange isn't the word. I don't think anyone quite knows what the hell happened in that knot of scandal that made him leave London years ago. Maybe he doesn't even know."
"I think he does. And I hope he finds what he's looking for out here, wandering the woods at night."
Two days after they left Huntingdon, Jo wasn't thinking about the earl anymore. Instead, she was watching the great city rise up like a beast in front of them, seeing the great tide of people and houses and shops sprawled out, hearing and smelling the difference between the city and the country where she had lived all her life.
Tempest seemed to like it as little as she did, and the mare was restive under her hand, starting and flinching from every new thing she saw. The nerves that would serve her so well in battle were being tested and abused now, as she and her rider had to get used to the noise and the bustle of the largest city in the world.
James, for his part, looked entirely at his ease as they came into the city, and she might have hated him just a little for it if he hadn't looked at her with sympathy just that moment.
"It's a rather lot to take in, isn't it?"
"I've been to cities before... or at least, I thought that I had been to cities before. London's different."
"London's like anything else in the world, so believe me, there is no shame in being a little startled. Are you all right?"
"I am, or I will be."
James took a closer look at her and shook his head.
"I think I'm about ready for some lunch, and since we are not in the country anymore, we don't have to buy our supper from some little stand by the road. Come on. We'll rest the horses, and I'll buy you your first London meat pie, how's that sound?"
It sounded far better than being on a street that seemed crowded shoulder to shoulder with people, their belongings, and their animals, and the public-house he brought them to at least had a safe and sheltered place for Gunner and Tempest.
"Just try to get used to things, darling, I'll be back soon," she whispered to Tempest, and it struck her with another pang that her days, perhaps even her hours, with her mare were numbered. She pushed it aside, because that was what she had come to London to do, wasn't it?
She waited patiently as James wrote some kind of message, sealed it, and sent it off with a runner.
"Some affairs that I wanted my solicitor to see to. Nothing to worry about. Now let's see about getting you something to eat..."
Just as they were inside the door, however, Jo saw two young men who were getting a start on their drinking for the day. Apparently, drunks in London were the same as drunks in Yorkshire, and making a face, she started to move away. Then she realized that James hadn't followed her and instead was slowly turning toward the two men, who, all unheeding, were still talking.
"And, of course, he fled the city after the duel, couldn't stand to show his face."
"With an actress for a mother, I wonder that he dares to show his face at all."
What the other man would have made of that statement was lost because James simply grabbed the speaker by the cravat, pulled him to his feet, and struck him hard enough that he staggered back.
"James!"
James turned to look at her, but then the other man rose up, ready to engage, and the formerly bustling but otherwise peaceful public house turned into a scene of chaos.