She landed in an inelegant sprawl on the grass.
Flick dragged in a breath; curses burned her tongue, but she didn't have breath enough to utter them. Her bottom burned, too; her cheeks were aflame. Both sets. She glanced back. Demon was halfway through the window. Swearing weakly, she scrambled to her feet, dusting her hands on her thighs-she didn't dare touch her posterior.
The other sash window flew up, and more patrons piled out. Demon appeared beside her; grabbing her elbow, he shoved her away from the inn as others started using their escape route. An orchard rolled down an incline away from the inn-with Demon at her heels, Flick slipped between the trees. The twilight was deepening. Behind them, through the now open windows, they heard shouts, then the piercing whistles of the Watch. Glancing back, Flick saw more of the inn's customers scrambling through the windows, hurrying to disappear down the orchard's slope.
"Come on!" Demon grabbed her hand, taking the lead, lengthening his stride so she had to scurry to keep up. She tried to wriggle her hand free; he flung her a scowl, tightened his grip, and strode on even faster. She cursed; he must have heard but gave no sign. He dragged her, skipping, half-running, to the end of the orchard, to where a seven-foot wall blocked their way.
He released her as others joined them and immediately started climbing the wall. Flick eyed the wall, then edged closer to Demon. "Is there a gate anywhere?"
He glanced at her, then nodded to the others scrambling up and over. "Doesn't look like it." He hesitated, then stepped to the wall. "Come on-I'll give you a leg up."
Bracing one shoulder against the wall, he formed a cup with his hands. Balancing one hand on the stones, the other on his shoulder, Flick placed her boot in his hands.
He pushed her up. It should have been easy; The Flynn's back was nearly as high as the wall. But the top of the wall was hard and narrow, not smooth and slippery like a saddle. She managed to get half over, with the wall digging into her middle, but her legs still dangled down.
Blowing out a breath, she braced her arms, straightened her spine, and searched with her boots for purchase. But with her hips on the wrong side of the wall, if she straightened too much, she risked falling back down. And if she didn't straighten enough, she couldn't reach any toehold. She teetered, like a seesaw, on the top of the wall.
From beneath her came a long-suffering sigh.
Demon's hand connected with her bottom again. He hefted her up; in the most flustered flurry of her life, cheeks all flaming again, she quickly swung one leg over the wall and sat.
And tried to catch her breath.
He grabbed the wall beside her and hauled himself up. Easily. Astride the wall, he raked her with a glance, then swung his leg over and dropped into the lane.
Flick dragged in a breath and swung her other leg over, then wriggled around and dropped down-before he felt compelled to help her again. She picked herself up and dusted her hands, aware to her toes of the assessing gaze that passed over her. Lifting her head, she met his eyes, ready to be belligerent.
He merely humphed and gestured down the lane.
She fell in beside him, and they strolled to the road. There were too many others about to risk any discussion. When they reached the road, Demon nudged her elbow and nodded up a lane leading to the High Street. "I left my curricle at the Jockey Club."
They changed direction, leaving the others behind.
"You were supposed to send word to me the instant you learned anything."
The words, deathly soft, lethally restrained, floated down to her.
"I would have," she hissed back, "once I had a chance. But who could I send from your stable? Carruthers?"
"Next time, if there's no one to send, bring the message yourself."
"And miss the chance of learning more-like today?"
"Ah, yes. Today. And just how do you imagine you would have survived if I hadn't arrived?"
She studied the small houses lining the road.
"Hmm, let's see."
His purr sank deeper, sliding beneath her skin. Flick resisted an urge to wriggle.
"First we have the question of whether, quite aside from the brawl, you would have escaped notice, given you'd bought a pint and couldn't drink it. Your disguise would have disintegrated rather quickly, revealing to all the fact that the General's ward, Miss Felicity Parteger, was slumming in the Newmarket stews dressed as a lad."
"It was an inn, not a stew."
"For a lady found in it, the difference is academic."
Flick humphed.
"And what might have happened if you'd survived the brawl, with or without being knocked senseless, and landed in the arms of the Watch? One can only wonder what they would have made of you."
"We'll never know," Flick hissed. "The important thing is that we've identified Dillon's contact. Did you see which way he went?"
"No."
She halted. "Perhaps we should go back-"
Demon didn't stop; he reached back, grabbed her arm, and hauled her forward so she marched beside him. "You are not following anyone anywhere." The look he shot her, even muted by the gloom, still stung. "In case it's escaped your notice, following a man like that to his customary haunts is liable to be dangerous for a gentlewoman."
His clipped accents gave the words a definite edge. As they swung into the High Street, Flick put her nose in the air. "You got a good look at him and so did I. We should be able to find him easily, then find out who he works for, and clear up this whole mess. It's our first real discovery."
After a moment, he sighed. "Yes, you're right. But leave the next step to me-or rather Gillies. I'll have him go through the inns and taverns-our man must be putting up at one of them."
Demon looked up as they crossed the High Street; the Jockey Club stood before them. His horses were tied to a tree under the porter's watchful eye. "Get in. I'll drive you back to the stable."
Flick strolled to the curricle and climbed up. Demon went to speak to the porter, then returned, untied the reins, and stepped up to the box seat. He backed the horses, then set them trotting with an expert flick of his wrist.
As they headed down the High Street, Flick tilted her chin. "You'll tell me the instant Gillies discovers anything?"
Demon reached for his whip. The black thong flew out and tickled his leader's ears. The bays stepped out, power in every stride. The curricle shot forward.
Flick grabbed the rail and stifled a curse.
The whip hissed back up the handle, and the carriage rocketed along.
Demon drove back to the stable without uttering a word.
Chapter 5
After dinner that evening, Demon retired to the front parlor of his farmhouse to consider the ramifications of all they'd learned. Frowning, he paced before the fireplace, where a small blaze cheerily danced.
His thoughts were not cheery.
He was deeply mired in them when a tap sounded on the curtained window. Dismissing it as an insect or misguided sparrow, he didn't pause, didn't rouse from his reverie.
The tapping came again, this time more insistent.
Demon halted. Raising his head, he stared at the window, then swore and strode across the room. Jerking the curtains aside, he looked down on the face that haunted his dreams. "Dammit-what the devil are you doing here?"
Flick glared, then mouthed, "Let me in!" and gestured with her hands for him to lift the sash.
He hesitated, then, muttering a string of epithets, opened the catch and flung up the sash.
He was presented with a gloved hand. "Help me in."
Against his better judgment, he did. She was dressed in breeches-not her stable lad attire but a pair of what looked to be Dillon's cast-off inexpressibles, which fitted her far too well for his equanimity. Flick clambered over the sill and into the room. Releasing her hand, he lowered the sash and redrew the curtains. "For God's sake, keep your voice down. Heaven only knows what Mrs. Shephard will think if she hears you-"