“Six hours, give or take an hour,” Heathbrook said.
“Six hours!” Zack cried. “Itnevertook that long with Mother.”
When that clearly bewildered Heathbrook, Evan sighed. “That’s because Mother preferred to stay the night at Freeman’s Inn rather than go it all at once. So, it was really two shorter trips when we went to London.”
“Oh.” Zack looked at Heathbrook. “We’re not staying the night at Freeman’s Inn?”
“I hadn’t planned on it, no,” Heathbrook said.
“But I’mstarving,” Zack complained.
“Yes, I heard,” Heathbrook said dryly.
“I could do with something to eat myself,” Kit said.
“So could I,” Evan said. “And we’re not that far from Freeman’s Inn.”
Heathbrook groaned. Even he could tell when he was outnumbered. “Fine. We can stop for nuncheon at Freeman’s Inn.”
“Yay!” Zack said.
“But we’re not staying there, mind you. After we eat, we’ll continue on. I’d like to be at Longmead well before eleven PM.”
“Yes, Heath,” Zack mumbled.
God, the lad had a way of making him feel like a monster. To avoid thinking about that, he opened the panel and told his coachman about the change of plans, asking that he alert his other coachman about it, too. Since his landau was in the lead and the coachmen had possibly already planned to change horses at the inn, Heathbrook doubted it would require much communication.
It turned out Evan hadn’t been wrong. They were close to Freeman’s Inn, indeed. Twenty minutes later, they were pulling into the busy coaching inn’s courtyard. As he and the lads climbed down, he found himself seeking out Giselle and her mother. Odd how that had become his first impulse in recent days.
He spotted her standing beside her mother and gazing around at Freeman’s Inn. Though relatively large as coaching inns went, Freeman’s was a cut above the usual.
As he approached Giselle, she asked him, “How is it I have never been to this place in all my times traveling on the road to and from Bath?”
“It’s off the beaten path, purposely so. It caters to a wealthier clientele, who demand good fare and good horses. My family have been frequenting it since the place opened in 1769, long before I was born.”
“I see. So, it is very expensive, I suppose.”
“Don’t worry about that,” he said. “I’ll take care of it.”
“Heath—” she began in that tone she used to chide him.
“The boys wanted to stop here for a bite to eat,” he said in a low voice.
That brought a strained smile to her lips. “Ah. Of course. That explains it. In that case, you may ‘take care of it.’”
Zack dashed up to her. “I’m getting the apple cake. You should, too, Giselle. It’s wonderful!”
“You’ll be eating something other than just sweets, young man,” Heathbrook said sternly, then realized how he sounded when Giselle bit her lip in an obvious attempt to keep from laughing.
Sheoughtto laugh. He was turning into his parents, for God’s sake.
When they went in, Mrs. Freeman hurried to them at once. “Lord Heathbrook, what a delight to see you! And with your brothers, too. Such a pleasant surprise.”
As she showed them to a large table in a more secluded part of the dining room, Zack beamed up at her. “We’re having apple cake!”
She glanced at Heathbrook, who sighed. “Yes, do bring us apple cake, but after the meal.”
As Evan held a chair out for Madame Bernard, Heathbrook held one out for Giselle, then took the chair next to hers. “Is the menu the same as it usually is for a Tuesday?” he asked Mrs. Freeman.