The man had lived, and didn’t want to recount the story, which Erroll knew was the only reason the magistrate hadn’t been called. Erroll’s father had banished him to Scotland the remainder of that year and through the bitter Highland winter. But the incident with Miss Crenshaw was worse. Far worse. And here he was, chasing her to Gretna Green.
*****
Eve couldn’t believe it. Lord Halifax had changed horses and driven them through the night as if she and he were truly lovers making a run for Gretna Green. During the first two stops, she’d remained silent. But every subsequent stop thereafter, she had protested that he spent too much money on what was supposed to be a jest. He’d answered that no one could possibly dispute what had happened with so many witnesses along the way. His manner had darkened, however, at their last stop, when Eve announced with a laugh that they’d gone far enough. His “I will tell you when we have gone far enough,” was devoid of humor, and Eve was at a loss to understand what he truly intended.
Morning was fast slipping away and she calculated they would reach the border within two hours. What were the chances they would reach Scotland in time to witness Grace and Lord Rushton pronounced man and wife?
Eve jolted awake. She blinked, and another hard jolt reminded her that she rode in a carriage with Lord Halifax. She hadn’t meant to sleep, but she’d grown unnerved staring at him through the morning hours, and had closed her eyes in an effort to blot out his face. The carriage slowed, and Eve pulled aside the curtain. Five years had passed since she’d been on this road, but she hadn’t forgotten the green hills that marked the approach to the Scottish border.
She released the curtain and shifted her gaze to Lord Halifax. “Sir, we have gone far enough. We need not cross the border.”
For the dozenth time, a chill crept up her spine when his gaze dropped from her face to her breasts, then returned to her face.
“You are not particularly rich,” he said. “Three thousand pounds a year. Not nearly as rich as Lady Hancock, but she has a dozen young bucks at her feet.”
“I am sure she will marry the man she loves,” Eve said.
He gave a condescending laugh. “Such alliances aren’t based on affection.”
“If she has the pick of the lot, why not choose a man she cares for?”
“Females are not capable of soft emotion.”
“On the contrary, we are known for our tender emotion.” Though Eve knew he was more right than she. Many women were, in fact, incapable of any emotion other than jealousy and pride.
Lord Halifax studied her. “Are you saying you could love a man?”
“I would marry for no other reason.” A fact that had her well on the way to a lonely spinsterhood.
“I would not object if my wife loved me.”
Her heart jumped more with anger than fear. He spoke nothing of loving his wife, but she kept her voice genial and said, “Of course. You should insist that your wife love you.”
“I am speaking of you.”
Eve laughed. “You need not take the joke so far, my lord. The world will believe I ran away with you. That is all we need.”
“Your father would believe we eloped because you loved me.”
She startled at the strange statement. “Forgive me, but I do not love you and, as you say, you want a wife who loves you.”
“You don’t really know me,” he said. “You could learn.” His eyes narrowed. “Unless you love Rushton.”
“I do not know him. How can I possibly love him?” But she hadn’t been able to forget the play of muscle beneath her hand while her fingers were wrapped around his arm, the moist warmth of his mouth on hers, the hard planes of his body when she’d been mashed up against him…and the deceptively lazy way he’d warned Lord Halifax away from Lady Gallagher in the garden.
“I will make you forget him.”
Eve startled at the wonder of how Lord Halifax had read her mind, then realized he hadn’t. “This is a joke, sir, a way to embarrass Lord Rushton. You know I have no wish to marry.”
“I hadn’t given it any thought, but the carriage ride has given me time to reflect. Three thousand pounds will sustain my property. You will live as well as you always have.”
“I am sorry, but I will not marry you any more than I will marry Lord Rushton.”
“We have spent the night alone in my carriage while racing to Gretna Green. There’s no turning back.” His mouth twisted into a smile. “Particularly if we consummated the wedding before the ceremony.”
*****
“You say they passed through two hours ago?” Erroll asked the farmer in Shap.
“Aye,” he replied. “We was having breakfast when he stopped and demanded new horses.”
“You are sure it was Halifax?” Somerset asked.
“The crest was a silver shield with three red inescutcheons like his lordship here said,” the farmer replied.
“That’s the one,” Erroll said. “We will need horses.”
“I only have his horses and one chestnut,” the farmer replied. “He promised to send my horses back in exchange for them.”
“Those are his horses?” Erroll nodded at the two bays grazing in the corral alongside the barn.
“Aye.”
Erroll nodded. “They will do.”
“They ain’t my horses to rent,” the man said.
“Nevertheless, we will take them. When we see the earl, we will make sure he gets them back.” With interest, Erroll silently added.
“What about me getting back my horses?”
“You will have our mounts as collateral. We will need the chestnut, as well.”
“He is my favorite. I can’t sell him.”
“Name a price,” Erroll snapped. “Otherwise, I will simply take all three.”
“I’ll have the sheriff on your arse in ten minutes,” the man retorted.
“I know Halifax’s taste in horses. With a ten minute head start, the sheriff will likely not catch us. If he does, my companions and I will testify that you sold us the horses.”
The man glanced at Oscar, who folded his arms across his massive chest and glared.
“Twenty pounds each,” the man said through tight lips.
“I will leave my note,” Erroll agreed.
“A piece of paper means nothing here,” the man said.
Erroll pulled his wallet from his trouser pocket, and said, “I feel certain you are not implying I would cheat you,” as he withdrew the five notes he had on hand.
“You said you would take the horse if I didn’t sell them,” the man replied.
“If you insist on being an ass, I will make good the threat just on principle.” Erroll handed him the money, then called for paper and pen. He left the money and note, along with an assurance that he would have the funds sent once he reached home. The farmer grumbled, but fresh horses were saddled twenty minutes later.
“If we pace ourselves properly, we might catch them in two hours,” Erroll said as the three of them turned the horses toward the road.
“Why is he traveling so fast?” Somerset said. “Does he truly plan to marry her?”
That question had puzzled Erroll more with each passing mile. “One would think he expected Miss Crenshaw’s father to give chase.”
“Lord Tolland will shoot him, once he learns what the bastard has done,” Oscar said.
Erroll shifted his gaze onto the big man. “Will he, now?”
Oscar shrugged without looking at him. “If there is anything left after I get through with him.”
“As formidable as you are, dear Oscar, the earl will not expect you to be hot on his trail.”
“He ain’t all that smart,” Oscar said.
“I agree,” Erroll replied.
But he might be smart enough to have deduced that the lady’s father would, as Oscar said, kill him—or, even more pressing, that Erroll would kill him—which would mean he had concluded that he had no choice but to marry her.
Chapter Eight
“There is no turning back.”
Fury swept through Eve. Lord Blane had said much the same thing when they’d made their mad dash for Gretna Green. She’d believed him and had accepted the logic that consummating their union before the vows were taken was the only way to ensure that no one could stop their marriage.
In truth, while her father had paid Lord Blane to disappear, it had been his father who caught up with them. The earl planned for his son to marry a rich heiress, not a baron’s daughter with a meager income. She’d often wondered if Blane had hoped that the accusation she was pregnant would force their fathers to allow them to marry after they’d returned to England. The fact was, however, his father had done her a great service by forbidding the marriage because Blane would have made a terrible husband—far worse than Lord Rushton.
Lord Halifax would be worse than the two put together.
“Lord Halifax, I will not marry you.”
He shrugged. “I can bribe someone to marry us. These Scots allow anyone to claim they are married as long as there’s a witness.”
“I do not understand,” she said. “You expressed no wish to marry. In fact, you have vigorously avoided marriage for thirty-eight years.”
“Yes,” he agreed. “I admit that I have no love for the institution, but—” The carriage slowed and he lifted the curtain and looked outside. “Damn, I see the church spire in the distance.” He dropped the curtain. “We had better get this over with.”
“This?” Eve repeated, but needed no explanation when he shifted onto the cushion beside her. She scooted closer to the door. “This has gone far enough.”
“We both know this isn’t the first time you’ve spread your legs for a man in a carriage. Everyone knows Blane took your maidenhead during your last trip to Gretna Green and there is no telling how many other men you have accommodated since.”
Eve slapped him. His eyes widened, then narrowed, not with anger, but with a shrewd glint that frightened her.
“Had I known of your predilection for violence, we would have done this long ago.”
“I will not agree to be your wife,” she snapped. “Nor will I...do anything else.”
He gave her a malicious smile. “But you will, for your father won’t believe you didn’t beg me to fuck you in order to ensure I married you.”
Eve’s shock at his crude language was shoved aside by the chilling realization that Lord Halifax had concluded what she should have deduced the moment he kidnapped her: her father would kill him.
Panic sent her heart pounding. “My lord, you need not concern yourself about my father. He will not take to heart this jest.”
“Do you think I am a fool?” Lord Halifax yanked her against him. “We have little time, so you will forgive me for not savoring you this first time.”
“Have you lost your mind?” Eve tried to twist free, but his arms tightened painfully around her. “I will have you thrown into Newgate.”
“A husband can do with his wife what he chooses.” His hot breath washed over her face.
“You will never be my husband.” She drew a breath to scream and he gave her a rough kiss to the mouth.
Eve jerked her head aside, but he grabbed the side of her head and forced her still as he shoved his tongue into her mouth. She half screamed, half gagged, and he groaned in response. He yanked her across his lap and pinned her against his body with one arm while he jammed his free hand between her legs. Eve instinctively clamped her legs together, but his fingers were like iron and rammed between her clenched thighs.
She bucked and became aware of his hard length beneath her buttocks. Her stomach roiled. She yanked her knee up and, in the instant before her knee made contact with his cheek, felt the cruel, hard probe of his fingers in her tender folds. Pain radiated up her leg when her kneecap made contact with his cheekbone. He cried out and his hold loosened. Eve shoved away from him and thudded to the floor onto her backside.
“Damn you.” He seized her arm.
“Re-lease me!”
A cry went up from the driver. Eve thought he’d heard the commotion. She knew a sudden urge to cry in relief—then the carriage sped up. Lord Halifax tumbled from the seat onto her. His weight knocked the breath from her and she gasped for air. He grabbed her shoulders and pinned her to the floor. Eve had the fleeting thought that he couldn’t possibly lay between her legs on the small space of the floor and she thought she heard another shout, this one some distance off.
“I will beat you,” Lord Halifax hissed.
Eve clawed at his face. He screamed like a schoolgirl as she raked her nails down his left cheek. Another shout outside, this one louder, and the carriage listed hard to the right, then rocked to a stop. The door flew open. Lord Halifax blocked her view, but Eve saw large fingers seize his coat at the shoulder, then he was up and off her as he tumbled backwards out of the coach.
Eve scrambled to her knees, then grabbed the handle near the door and shoved through the opening, nearly falling out and onto the ground. She righted herself and took in the few thatched roofs, clay cottages, an inn, and church that surrounded them. She gave a small cry when Oscar and Lord Somerset jumped from their horses while Lord Rushton yanked Lord Halifax off the ground by his collar.
Two men rushed from the nearest cottage as the earl drove a fist into Lord Halifax’s stomach. Halifax doubled over with a groan. He retreated and Lord Rushton matched him step for step, throwing a punch to his chin, then another to his stomach. More men emerged from cottages, but no one tried to stop the fight and Eve realized with growing horror that they were accustomed to the sight of brawls in their square when an angry parent or brother caught up with a would-be groom.
Lord Halifax held up one hand, palm facing Lord Rushton. “Enough,” he wheezed.
“Not hardly.” The earl pulled a pistol from his waistband and Eve’s heart jumped into her throat.
“There are witnesses,” Lord Halifax cried—and there were, a dozen more than before. “You can’t murder me in plain sight of the entire town.”
Lord Rushton swung his gaze onto the carriage driver, who remained motionless atop the vehicle. “Get down here. You will act as Halifax’s second.”
The man didn’t move.
Eve’s heart thundered. “My lord,” she began, but Lord Halifax cut her off.
“This is outrageous. We cannot conduct a duel in the town square. Dueling is against the law.”
Lord Rushton didn’t take his eyes off his pistol, which he was inspecting. “You will count your paces and do your damnedest to shoot me, Halifax, or I will shoot you outright.”
The lack of emotion in his voice sent a chill through Eve. Lord Halifax must have heard it too, for he shouted, “Someone call the sheriff!”
“I have no doubt he is already on his way,” Lord Rushton said.
“We dinna’ allow dueling in Scotland any more than you do in England,” a man in the forefront of the crowd said.
Lord Rushton lowered the weapon and looked at the man. “Do you allow men to kidnap another man’s fiancé, then try to rape her?”
Startlement flashed across the man’s face. He looked at Lord Halifax, eyes fixed on the scratches down his cheek, then shifted his gaze to Eve. She kept her eyes level with his and prayed the churning in her stomach didn’t reflect in her expression, but his gaze dropped from her face and she glanced down and gasped at sight of her dress’ torn sleeve.
The man took a step forward and stopped beside Lord Rushton. “I will act as his second.”
“You said yourself, dueling is forbidden,” the earl replied. “Halifax’s driver can stand in.”
“If you kill his lordship I will swear it was a fair fight,” the man said. “I will be believed. The driver will no’.”
“I accept,” Lord Rushton said.
Eve took a step forward. “Lord Rushton, there will be no duel.” For the first time, he looked at her. “I am all right, sir.”
“You call being kidnapped and accost
ed all right?”
“I am none the worse.”
“Your dress and his face say otherwise.” His mouth thinned and she had the terrible feeling he sensed the tremble working its way through her body. “I assume the scream we heard was when you wounded him?” he asked.
For an instant she didn’t understand his question, then recalled Lord Halifax’s scream when she scratched him. “Yes.”
“You were right, Oscar,” Lord Rushton said, then added, “Please escort Miss Crenshaw into the nearest cottage.”
Oscar didn’t move.
“Oscar.”
Oscar glanced at her, but still didn’t move.
“You threaten to put a knife through my heart and shoot Halifax, but that slip of a girl frightens you?” Rushton demanded.
“Oscar,” she cried. “Say you did not make such threats.”
He glanced at the ground like a schoolboy. “I did, Miss.”
“Shame on you,” she said, then to Lord Rushton, “As for you, I am no slip of a girl.”
“No, madam, you are not.” He turned to Lord Somerset. “Somerset, if you have the bollocks, see to Miss Crenshaw. As for you, Halifax, have you a weapon?”
“I do not,” he snapped.
“I have one.” Another man stepped from the crowd as Lord Somerset reached Eve’s side and grasped her arm. The first man stopped beside Lord Rushton and withdrew the pistol stuffed into his belt.
“That’s a Scottish pistol,” Halifax said in obvious horror. “It must be twenty years old.”
“Thirty-two to be exact,” the man said.
“You have an advantage with that new French pistol of yours, Rushton,” Lord Halifax said. “It isn’t a fair match.”
Lord Rushton handed his weapon to the man. “The earl will use my pistol. I will take yours.”
The man’s brows rose, but he said nothing and handed his gun to Lord Rushton while Rushton his newer pistol to Lord Halifax’s second.
Daring Lords and Ladies Page 19
