Chapter Four
Nell hurried out to the street. The hackney that had brought them was gone. She looked left and right, searching for another one, her mind racing ahead. Exeter. How soon could she get there? “Where’s the nearest hackney stand?”
“Around the corner,” Mr. Black said.
Nell set off for the corner. Her father would have rebuked her for her unladylike haste; Mr. Black merely lengthened his stride, keeping pace with her.
“Do you know where the stagecoaches to Exeter depart from?” Nell asked him.
“From here.”
Nell stopped.
Mr. Black took hold of her elbow. “You are not going to Exeter by stagecoach.”
“I can’t afford a post-chaise.” The admission should have embarrassed her, but Nell was past caring what people thought of her. She tried to tug her elbow free.
Mr. Black tightene
