She absorbed the horrifying images in the space of a heartbeat, and just as swiftly she realized that Giles was completely defenseless. Thomas Slater, who had already attempted to murder her brother, was now on the verge of killing the man she loved more than life itself, and she knew she had to do something, anything to prevent the inevitable.
Not giving herself time to even consider the danger, she abruptly rushed from behind the bush, screaming with all her might as she struggled through the fine sand in an attempt to reach Giles’s side. Her unexpected appearance had an explosive affect on the men before her, and with a jolt of surprise, Thomas Slater turned to watch her stumbling approach, the gun glinting in the moonlight as he instinctively pointed it in her direction.
Roma thought she heard someone yell, but she ignored everything but the aching need to save Giles from certain death. Battling her tattered skirt and the thick sand, she struggled forward, her breath catching in her throat as Giles suddenly leaped from his horse and crashed on top of the distracted Slater. A gunshot pierced the night air and she cried out in fear, her wild gaze pinned to the two men rolling across the beach.
For a moment she was stunned into immobility; then, just as she realized that she was too faraway to help Giles, there was a rustle behind her and as if on some silent command, the entire beach filled with men, most in military uniforms, shouting and giving orders.
In the seething confusion, Roma dropped to her knees, the relief that Giles was indeed safe making her legs too weak to continue another step. Men rushed past her trembling form as they hurried to capture Thomas Slater and his accomplice, and she thought she glimpsed the familiar face of Jack Howe as he ran toward Giles with an anxious expression. But she couldn’t move; in fact, she could barely think as the delayed shock quaked through her system.
Chaos reigned supreme for a time, and at first Roma barely noticed that her name was being shouted over and over. But as a large frame suddenly shoved its way through the milling soldiers, she glanced up to discover Giles charging toward her with savage intent.
Her sluggish heart gave an abrupt beat as she took in his bedraggled appearance, the love she had at last accepted singing through her in an intoxicating rush. He looked ludicrous with his elegant clothes half-ripped from his muscular body and his raven hair tousled across his forehead, but Roma was quite certain she had never seen a more wonderful sight. At least that was her thought until he drew close enough for her to read the fury etched across his stark features.
Her eyes grew wide as he halted in front of her, his hands reaching down to grasp her arms in a biting grip and jerk her roughly to her feet. Her gasp of pain went unnoticed, however, as he sharply shook her slight frame until it grew limp.
“Of all the loose-screw, dim-witted, idiotic things to do,” he shouted at the top of his lungs. “How you have continued to live as long as you have is beyond my comprehension.”
Thoroughly furious at his beastly attack, she glared at him with raging disbelief.
“My life was doing quite well until you forced your way into it, Lord Carlton,” she stormed with a toss of her head. “And now that my brother is safely home, you can rid yourself of my annoying presence with a clear conscience.”
He faltered, obviously surprised by her words. “Your brother is alive?”
“Yes, Freddie has been hiding him at his estate. They are the ones who set up this trap for Thomas Slater.”
The vivid eyes rolled heavenward. “I might have known. It appears your brother has the same knack for risking my neck as you do. If I had any sense at all I would get back on that horse and flee to London as swiftly as possible.”
‘I have told you that you are free to leave,” she said stiffly, unaware of the misery that shimmered like a beacon in her eyes. “Perhaps you and Lady Hoyet can ride back to London together.”
He growled in the back of his throat, his features abruptly softening as he gazed into her vulnerable expression.
“I said that is what I would do if I had any sense, but that is something I haven’t possessed since I spent the night in a barn with a hazel-eyed sprite who bewitched me to the point that I didn’t even realize I had been captured until far too late.”
“I …” Her heart clenched at his rough voice, wanting to believe he was sincere, but wary that she had somehow mistaken his meaning. “You must be teasing. You are always furious with me.”
He gave a rueful chuckle, his eyes filled with a blinding tenderness that threatened to melt her lingering mistrust.
“Not always, my love, just when you frighten me half to death, which seems to be all too often. When I saw you running toward me tonight—” His voice abruptly broke, and she found herself being hauled against his wide chest in a sudden motion. “I love you, Roma. I love you more than I thought possible, and it doesn’t matter what I have to do or how long it takes—I will make you my wife. I absolutely refuse to live without you.”
The arrogance in his voice was tempered by the flare of painful uncertainty that rippled across his dark features, and with a surge of joy, Roma threw her arms about his strong neck. She might not understand how such a man could have fallen in love with her, but she had no intention of wasting another moment on her long-held insecurities or the vague fear that he might prefer a glamorous woman like his mistress. He had proved time and time again that he was a man she could trust with both her life and her heart.
“I suppose I have no choice, Lord Carlton,” she teased gently. “Besides, I have heard that marriages of convenience often work out quite well.”
“I have a premonition that there will be nothing convenient about choosing you for my wife, Roma Allendyle, but I wouldn’t exchange you for a dozen demure debutantes. It seems I have a decided preference for fiery sprites who are constantly stumbling into one scrape after another.”
“No more,” she promised, her eyes shining with stunning emotion. “As Lady Carlton I will have my reputation to think of, you know.”
He gave a shake of his raven head. “The only thing you have to think of is staying the same lovely, impetuous woman I adore.” He lowered his head to place demanding lips against her willing mouth, savoring her sweetness before moving away with a tortured groan. “Especially if your impetuous nature is enticed by the thought of a swift marriage by special license rather than the more conventional wedding your aunt is planning.”
The urgency in his husky voice was echoed in her pulsing blood, and with a provocative smile, she leaned even closer to his trembling form.
“Well, I have never been a conventional kind of woman …”
Lord Carlton’s Courtship Page 24
