The Long Road to Love Read Online Free Page A

intruding on Angelica’s thoughts. She wished she could ride on top, for she could have saved half the fare, but the two females presently occupying seats outside were not proper ladies. Not wishing to draw undue attention to herself, she shared the hard wooden seats inside with a reed-thin solicitor’s clerk, a farmer’s aging wife and her young son. The child slept soundly beside Angelica while clutching a small carved frigate.
    The horn blasted from the guard to alert the inn of the arrival of the stagecoach, and it woke the young lad. He yawned and stretched before asking his mother when they would arrive in York, a question that dominated Angelica’s mind as well. The woman shushed him, then said they would arrive before dark.
    As the coach drew to a halt, Angelica could see the ostlers rushing out to change the team. The clerk made a hurried trip into the inn, but knowing the stop was of a short duration the ladies decided to wait until they stopped for a meal.
    Within minutes the clerk returned, clutching the small brown leather satchel he carried, and again sat with his back to the horses. The man had barely settled himself when the coachman called, “Gentlemen, take your seats.”
    The coach door opened a second time as a large man with greying hair and beard, in the garb of a vicar, climbed in and took a seat beside the clerk. He smiled at the other passengers.
    “Good morning, good morning, such a beautiful day to be traveling, is it not? I am the Reverend Mr. Albert Firth, of Overton.” His manner was so amiable that one couldn’t resist returning his pleasant smile.
    As the coach rolled out of the inn yard, the vicar leaned forward and tweaked the young boy’s cheek. “Fine looking lad you have there, Mrs. . . ”
    “Greenleaf, sir, and this ‘ere is Paul. We’re from Greenleaf Farm near York.”
    “Pleasure to make your acquaintance, ma’am.” He then looked at the clerk in a friendly manner. “First time on the York Stage, Mr. . . ”
    “Morris, vicar. No, for I travel a great deal for my employer. I’m on my way to deliver papers of some importance to the Marquess of Kerby.” The man puffed out his thin chest as if to show he was a person of some importance among the humble company.
    Angelica, having dressed in her mother’s black traveling grown and veiled bonnet, suddenly found herself the object of the vicar’s kind gaze. She had donned the widow’s garb to make it less improper for her to travel unaccompanied as well as to disguise her face, but now she must play the part of the mourning spouse.
    “My dear lady, death is a natural part of the cycle of life. God has willed it so. I grieve for your loss, Mrs-”
    Guiltily, Angelica uttered her mother’s maiden name, “Ansley, sir, and thank you.”
    “Was it your dear husband who passed?”
    Angelica nodded, hesitating to speak. She was at a loss for words, her thoughts racing for something to say; then her gaze lit upon the small wooden frigate. “He was lost at sea, Mr. Firth.”
    Mr. Morris, being in a particularly dull job, had often engaged in dreams of inheriting a fortune and traveling. To that end, he read the papers religiously to keep abreast of the news around the world. He eyed her suspiciously.
    “Haven’t read of any vessels going down in recent weeks.”
    “That is likely true, sir. His ship sank over a year ago, but I was only just notified so I thought it correct to engage in the proper mourning from the time I learned of the tragic event.” Angelica struggled not to smile. Even with her face behind the veil, she was certain he would know she was amused by fabricating such a tale.
    “It were sharks, weren’t it?” Young Paul gazed at her with bloodthirsty interest.
    “Sharks?” Angelica had trouble keeping her voice steady.
    “Yea, what got yer ‘usband. Me brother’s a sailor, and he says the ocean is full of’ em. A man can’t put ‘is toe in the water what it don’t get bitten--”
    “Paul,”