“Sorry, miss, but we’re all sold out for that train today,” the clerk told her.
“Sold out?” Sabine eyed the schedule. “How is that possible?”
“Yep, some bloke bought a whole train car.” He shook his head. “Never seen that before.”
“Splendid. Well, can you tell me when the next train leaves for that area?” She had to get to Phinneas, and soon. Of course she could hire a coach, but that would likely take two days’ travel. The train would be so much faster because she wouldn’t have to stop to change horses.
“Not until tomorrow. Sorry, miss.” He shrugged his shoulders and gave her a sheepish smile. Dimples pierced his ruddy cheeks. “Oh, look there, that’s the bloke who bought the car.” He pointed a fat finger over her shoulder.
She turned and found none other than Maxwell Barrett leaning against a column. He smiled and waved.
She quickly gathered the coins she’d placed on the counter, scooping them up and dropping them into her purse. “Thank you,” she muttered to the man. Then she made her way over to Max.
“Precisely what do you think you’re doing?” She leaned closer and lowered her voice. “Are you following me?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I had need to go to Cornwall, and I prefer to have my space.”
“You knew damned well that I was going there today.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “Well, you will have to share your space with me. And don’t think to argue with me because I won’t have it.”
He held his arms up in defeat. “As you wish.”
An attendant wearing a starched black uniform with matching hat met them on the platform.
“This way, my lord. We have your car waiting for you,” he said. He led them down the arched corridor to an opulent car toward the front of the train.
Sabine stepped up into the car. The plush seats faced one another in groups of four. Wood paneling covered nearly every other surface save the windows. Luxury in motion, though at the moment, the train idled at the station.
“If I can be of any further assistance,” the man said. When Max shook his head, the man bowed and stepped back onto the platform.
“I did not realize one could purchase an entire train car for oneself,” Sabine said as she sat on the velvet-cushioned seat.
“It’s not customary,” he said. He sat directly opposite her and smiled broadly.
But he had paid for it, and now for the next several hours, they’d be completely alone. She needed to do her best to stay on guard. He was charming and devilishly handsome, and she could not afford to slip and allow his wit and seductive glances to distract her. Especially not now. He might find all of this entertaining and amusing, but for her, for her family, this was about survival.
A few moments later, the train jerked into motion. Sabine held the armrests firmly to keep herself from jostling about. She watched out her window as the station, then the bustling London streets, chugged by.
“What else can you tell me about these guardians?” he asked.
She looked out the window, and the landscape passed by in a blur. Her stare became unfocused until she saw her own reflection in the glass. He knew she was withholding information from him, so there was no reason to deny it. “I can’t tell you anything else,” she said simply.
“So you know who they are?” he asked.
She nodded once.
“Her majesty? Is she a guardian?”
“Heavens no,” she blurted out. The idea was ludicrous. “Queen Victoria is not Atlantean.”
He nodded but said nothing more. They sat quietly for several moments, and Sabine relaxed a measure.
“You consider me an adversary,” he said. He drummed his fingers on the wooden armrest. “That certainly creates an interesting dilemma.”
“I don’t consider you anything,” she said abruptly. Not precisely true, since she considered him devilishly handsome and dangerously tempting.
“You certainly know how to wound a man’s pride,” he said. He stretched his well-sculpted legs out in front of him. Even though they were encased in his trousers, she could tell his thighs were muscular.
Her mouth went dry.