The Wizard's Misery The Chronicles of the Midlands Book One

Chapter Twenty Four

As they rode along, the sun began climbing a little higher in the clear, blue sky even though the morning remained cool enough for Celine to keep the blanket wrapped tightly around her. Jackman kept stealing glances at her as he drove and every time she caught him looking at her, he would smile. "You're such a pretty little thing, Beautiful," he told her as he smiled. "Maybe I'll keep you for myself and just turn in the gem," he said with a thoughtful look on his face. "They're not likely to give me much of a reward for you anyway since you're not Brandon Smith."

They sped along through the gently waving reeds swaying in the breeze with Jackman looking like he was lost in thought for a while until he finally turned and gave her a serious look. "Would you rather stay with me than go to the Tower?" he asked her softly.

Celine immediately started thinking that maybe if she played along with him, he would untie her and give her an opportunity to retrieve the Wizard's Misery and escape. "I'll wait and act like I like him until he unties me. Then when I get a chance to get the stone, I'll fight him and take it and then flee in the coach and leave him behind," she quickly planned.

"I don't want to go to the Tower," she finally answered, giving him a pitiful look which she feigned.

He chuckled and slid a little closer to her. "Now, that's what I wanted to hear, Beautiful," he said with his brown eyes twinkling as he smiled her. "How old are you?" he asked curiously.

"I just turned eighteen," she answered and gave him a small smile, playing along.

"I'm twenty six," he told her. "And meeting you has finally made me ready to settle down with a wife," he said as he placed all the reins into one of his hands so he could put his free one on the seat behind her. "Don't you think I'm handsome, Beautiful? Most ladies think so," he asked her.

She looked at his chestnut brown hair and neatly trimmed beard and mustache with his big, brown eyes and long eye lashes and had to admit that he was actually a very handsome man but dangerous one. "Yes, you're very handsome," she agreed, smiling as he leaned back on the seat, happy with her answer.

"So, what's your name, Beautiful?" he asked her conversationally as he rested his hand on her shoulder. She stiffened and he smiled as he removed it. "I guess I'm taking things a bit too quickly," he said apologetically.

"Thank you," she said softly giving him what she hoped looked like a shy smile. "My name is Celine," she told him.

"That's a pretty name, Beautiful," he replied. "But, I'm still going to call you, 'Beautiful'," he told her with a smile. He looked at her big, sapphire blue eyes and then her Cupid's bow lips. "You and I will have some mighty pretty babies," he said chuckling as he continued to look at her.

"Don't you need to watch which way we're going, Beau?" she asked him questioningly, becoming uncomfortable at the way he was gazing at her.

"Nah," he answered, looking very pleased that she had used his name. "I won't know exactly which way to go until we see the Tower tomorrow. But, as long as we head in this general direction, we'll get there."

They rode along for awhile in silence with him stealing glances at her occasionally and she smiled at him every time she caught him, hoping to appear more friendly and willing to co=operate so he would let his guard down and untie her. Her efforts appeared to be working since he seemed to have relaxed a little since he leaned back with his arm resting on the back of the seat behind her as they traveled along.

As she looked at the sea of rippling reeds all around them, she thought about how easy it would be to get lost as there were no land marks anywhere to orient with. "When I get the stone and leave I'll only have the sun to guide me back," she realized as she looked where the sun was in relation to where they were traveling and seeing it off towards her near left, she realized that they were heading northwestward. "When I take off, I'll have to turn the coach and go southeast until I hit one of the main roads," she told herself, wondering if she'd be able to drive a two horse coach when all she had ever driven was a one horse wagon. "I better watch Jackman and see how he controls both horses at once," she thought as she began to watch what he was doing.