But the sun was rising. It was time to leave. His general and his friends were both waiting for the information.
His wife.
Samuel wanted a lifetime with Frederica and a family. But one short wedding trip might be all the time that they had together. He could not wait any longer. He needed to tell her the truth—that he loved her. Loved everything about her. From every stubborn hair on her head to her sharp heels that she had stomped on his feet with. She had well and truly caught him this time and he would never let her go if the choice were merely his.
But it was not.
He heard his wife moan as she pulled the dress over her head. The coarse material must have brushed against the bruise on her face. She walked towards him with her shiny brown curls tumbling over her rounded shoulders.
‘I finally understand why men as a whole rule the world.’
Samuel pulled up his other boot. ‘And why is that?’
She turned around and glanced over her shoulder coquettishly. ‘They can do up their own buttons. Men’s buttons are on the front of their clothes, and a lady’s buttons are always on the back, making them eternally dependent on another.’
Moving his hands to her shoulders, he carefully buttoned her dress up. His fingers shaking a little. ‘That is why God made man and woman. To button for each other what the other cannot button. I solemnly promise to always unbutton your dress for you.’
Giggling, she spun around in his arms to face him. ‘And button it back up?’
He kissed her hard on the mouth. ‘Well, eventually.’
She made a trail of kisses from his mouth to his ear. She licked it and then nibbled on the end. ‘That’s more than fair.’
They dressed in a hurry and ate a small breakfast, before Samuel paid their remaining shot at the inn. The ostler brought their horses and they were fresh. Samuel helped Frederica onto her grey and then mounted his own mare. They trotted down the street slowly, as if they were not in any hurry to beat an entire army to Brussels. Frederica was unusually quiet as they rode and Samuel felt light-headed. The air felt charged with lightning. The hairs on his arms stood to attention like an ensign before a quartermaster.
Samuel leaned over nearer to Frederica. ‘I am going to take us another way. If someone should question us, let me do all the talking. And if I say to make a run for it, do so immediately. With or without me.’
‘Yes, of course.’
She would never have agreed to such terms in England. Nor would he have asked them of her, if their situation was not fraught with peril.
They passed several soldiers. Samuel lifted his hat to them, and Frederica waved merrily. She even blew a kiss to one of the soldiers with a shaking hand and a tremulous smile. He could tell that she was scared, yet she still put on a brave face. His bride was truly the most remarkable of women.
They rode under the gates of the city and onto the road that led to Brussels. They urged their horses to a canter and eventually a gallop. After two hours of hard riding, Samuel told Frederica to slow her horse down to a walk for a mile or so. She did and directed her grey close to Samuel so that their knees were touching, a small, but helpful, comfort. He was beginning to depend on her presence. He did not wish to live in a world without her. He needed to get her to the safety of Brussels as quickly as possible.
‘Where did you learn to fight like that? With the French colonel?’ she asked with a small smile. ‘I doubt that it was covered at Eton. You could not even beat Matthew in fisticuffs then and he isn’t very good.’
He shook his head, his own lips twitching. ‘Your brother is several years my senior, but I learned how to improve my fists and my swordsmanship from an army guide in the Peninsula.’
‘You would pummel Matthew now.’
Her brother was an amusing fellow whose best weapon had always been words. ‘Seven years. I suppose Matthew has changed a great deal.’
‘Not a whit,’ she assured him with a chuckle. ‘He is still quite nutty about steam locomotives and you should never trust him with a pen. He will write the stockings off your toes and charge you double for them.’
His heart lightened. Matthew had always been a clever cove, but a kind one. ‘Didn’t he get married a few years back?’
Frederica beamed at him. ‘Yes. To Nancy. She is one of my dearest friends. She taught me how to wield a dagger and twirl it between my fingers.’
‘A paragon,’ he quipped, knowing that weaponry was indeed the way to Frederica’s heart.
‘She used to be a part of a criminal gang.’
‘I look forward to improving my acquaintance with her,’ Samuel said and he was not lying. He had forgotten how wonderful it was to be a part of a large and loving family. He had missed the Stringhams in all their absurdity, criminality, and animality. Smiling, he looked forward to being among them again. To belonging.
‘And Wick’s wife, Louisa, is very nice too,’ she added conscientiously. ‘She doesn’t wield a knife, but she is quite wicked with a sewing needle.’
‘You said that Wick has taken over the estate management.’