The Heiress - Lynsay Sands [115]
“He tied us together,” Cedrick Madison explained. “He didn’t have any rope, so he ripped strips off your gown and used those.”
Startled, Suzette craned her head up and around to look at herself and saw that her dress was much shorter than when she’d set out that day. That explained why she was so cold, she supposed. “Where is he?”
“He was going to walk to the next inn to rent a hack and then come back for us. Hence the reason he tied us together. He figured that way if you regained consciousness before he returned, we wouldn’t get far.
Suzette stilled and asked, “How long has he been gone?”
“Long enough that if we are planning to escape, we should get moving,” her father said solemnly.
Suzette nodded, and immediately regretted it as pain shot through her skull. It felt like a squirrel was up there gnawing on her head above her right ear. She waited a moment for the worst of the pain to pass, and then said, “Count to three and on three we will both sit up.”
Her father began counting.
“We must be halfway back to the overturned carriage by now.”
Daniel didn’t respond to that fretful comment from his mother.
“Surely they would have got farther than this by now?” she added, her gaze slipping over the woods on either side of them.
Daniel’s mouth tightened, but he stayed stubbornly silent. He wasn’t going to turn back until they’d reached the carriage, though he was sure his mother was going to suggest that next.
“Daniel, I think——” Lady Woodrow began, and then paused and reined in her horse. “What is that?”
He reined in as well and glanced to her to see her leaning forward on her mount, staring ahead and off to their right with bewilderment, and then a little alarm.
“What kind of creature is that?” she asked, her voice going higher in pitch with anxiety.
Daniel turned his head, following her line of vision and searching the dark woods ahead until he spotted movement. He leaned forward now himself, trying to make it out. It was still a good distance away, and large, as tall as a person but bigger around than one. Under the moonlight it was a patchwork of whites, grays and black . . . and he didn’t have a damned clue what it was. It appeared to be leaping about, but was far too big to be a rabbit and its movements were clumsy, almost drunken as it weaved one way and then another in an awkward, hopping manner.
“I don’t know,” he finally admitted. Daniel watched it for a minute, and then said, “Stay here,” and urged his mount forward. He kept the horse to a slow walk, his approach cautious because he wasn’t sure what it was. But as he got nearer and heard the racket the creature was making, he realized it would never hear his own approach. The crackle of underbrush as it thumped about was loud enough to drown out any sound he was making. In fact, it was making so much racket that it took him a minute to realize it was speaking . . . English . . . in two different voices . . . one female and one male.
“Straight ahead, Father. You keep hopping to the right.”
“I am going ahead, Suzie. You are the one who keeps going to the side.”
“Not your ahead, parallel to the road ahead. Jump to your left instead of forward.”
“Oh. Well why didn’t you say so, girl?”
Suddenly Daniel knew exactly what he was looking at. Relief rushed through him, but was followed by a wave of laughter so strong that he had to bite his tongue and lower his head to keep it from bursting out. He knew without a doubt that his riding up, laughing his head off would infuriate Suzette immensely.
“Is that her?”
Daniel glanced around to see that his mother had ignored his order and ridden up beside him. This close, she apparently had also recognized that it was two people, bound back to back and hopping through the woods in the most ungainly fashion. Daniel nodded his head, not trusting himself to speak without a laugh slipping out.
“Well.” Lady Woodrow tilted her head as she eyed the woman who was soon to be her daughter-in-law. Finally, she said,