Kit pulled away first, his cheeks still burning and his heart still hammering in his chest, although for a completely different reason. He smiled at Emily, unable to help himself. She offered him a small, shy smile in return and a somewhat comfortable silence settled between the two of them. The sweeping feeling in his stomach grew and his body hummed in much the same way as it did after a successful steal.

He turned away from her and stared out across the horizon. The green fields disappeared into the bright blue sunlight and the heat had slowly started to dissipate as the afternoon went on. It would have been a perfect day had it not been for the poster in the town.

"What do we do now?" Emily said after a few minutes.

"I don't know." Kit sighed. "Those posters could be everywhere by now. I don't think your father is going to give up anytime soon."

"He can be really persistent when he wants to be. Maybe the posters haven't made it north. We could go to Manchester or Liverpool. They won't be able to find us there."

"But I promised I would take you to the coast. That was the plan."

"They have coasts up north. It's the only option we have if we want to stay hidden from Father. He would never think of us going up there."

Kit thought for a moment. Going further than they planned would put additional stress on the motorcar, and he wasn't sure they would have enough petrol to get them there. He knew they could stop off in another town, but if they did, it would just leave a trail for Mr Masters. Everything they did would lead a trail to wherever it was they ended up. Kit didn't want to be on the run forever, but he wasn't sure they had much choice.

What else could they do? Mr Masters wasn't going to give up and would follow them, no matter where they went. Kit knew, deep down, there was only one way to get Mr Masters off their backs, but Emily would never agree. Escaping him was one thing, killing him would be another. They'd need another way out, another exit they had yet to think about.

He pressed the back of his head against the seat, trying to come up with a new escape plan, but their options were limited. The poster made it impossible for them to go anywhere without their faces being recognised, even if they did go up north. Once it was clear they couldn't be found near London, the police and Mr Masters would start to look a little further afield.

"We could always leave the country," he said. Kit rolled his head to look at her with a slightly raised eyebrow.

"We don't have any documentation. The police officer had it when—"

"—I know, but you're forgetting I know people. It would mean driving back to London, mind, but just to the edge. We can avoid the police easy enough. Reckon he can get us the fake documents we need and we can be out of the country by the end of the week. Your father would never find us."

"Where would we go?"

"France? America? It'll depend on the documents and how much money we can scrounge. This friend owes me, anyway."

Emily tugged on the collar of her shirt, her jacket having been draped over the back of the chair because of the heat. "Can we trust him?"

Kit knew she was thinking about Matthew and about the trust she had put in him only for him to betray them. "With my life. He's helped me out a few times, and he owes me the same way Rob did. We can trust him."

"And I trust you." Emily nodded her head slowly. She tugged on a loose curl that had escaped her cap. "Alright, let's do it. Father isn't going to give up and he won't follow us that far. We can start new lives wherever we end up."

"Then let's do it."

Although Kit didn't want to go back to London, even if it was just the outskirts of the city, they couldn't leave the country without some form of identification. He knew people would be more than willing to let them cross for a small fee without the papers, but they didn't have that sort of money. All they had was the small amount left over from selling the ring.

Still, a plan out was better than no plan at all, and Kit was grateful to at least have someone to go to. Adam had helped him out of several situations in the past, even going as far as hiding him for a week until the police stopped looking for him. He would trust him more than he trusted himself, especially in such a sticky situation.

Adam would be their only hope, and he was willing to at least try. If they didn't try, then they might never have known if it could succeed. He'd never dreamt of a life in another country, but he never dreamt of getting close to someone the same way he got close to Emily. This adventure was full of new things.

"So, your Highness, where would you like to go on our across-the-sea adventure? The choice is yours," Kit said as he started the car and spun the car around so they were facing the way they just came.

"America? I read about the revolution and their newly formed government. And Father says that their economy has been doing really well recently. It might be fun."

"America it is then. We can figure the rest out as we go. First, we get those documents and we get on the next bus out of the country."

"To a new life."

"A new life where nobody knows who we are and where your father won't find us."

Emily nodded, a large smile stretched across her face. Kit smiled too. America would put them out of reach of Mr Masters and the police. They could start fresh, just the two of them, and not have to spend the time looking over his shoulder. He decided that he would drive all night if he had to, so long as he and Emily could make it to the outskirts of London.

Freedom would be theirs. Finally.

~~~

First Published - February 13th, 2024