“Hand over the valuables.”
Lord Knightly’s body blocked her, but the soft metallic jingle leaving his waistcoat pocket told her he handed over his coin purse. Her heart pumped wildly as she resisted the urge to bury her face against his strong back. With a gun aimed at them, it would take nothing at all for the man to kill them regardless of their compliance.
“You have what you want. Let us go on our way.” Lord Knightly took a step backward, forcing her to sidestep the carriage and retreat a step. Sensing his intent, she took another step back. Perhaps they could escape unscathed.
“Not so fast,” came a voice behind her. Spinning around, she screamed as another man approached. “They’re holding out on us, boss.”
Pain sliced through her fingers as the man snatched the reticule from her grasp. She bit her lip to keep from crying out again as she drew her hand to her chest.
Angling his body to the side, Lord Knightly, once again, placed himself between her and the thieves.
“Please, gentlemen.” His eyes traveled between the two men. “We have nothing else.”
“Not quite.” The first, more slender man moved toward them. As he trained the pistol directly on Lord Knightly’s head, he reached for her.
She couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t move. Time ticked slowly by as her mind conjured all types of horrors that would befall her now.
When his hand reached her chest, spots filled her vision as nausea swirled in her stomach. With the terrifying ripping of fabric, his hand was gone. She looked down. He had stolen her brooch. A stab of regret pierced her at losing one of her favored items. She cast the thought aside. Their lives remained in danger.
Lord Knightly moved quickly, and had her once again behind him, as if he didn’t care about the threat posed by the pistol. Tears traced down her face, but she made no sound. She never imagined returning home from an innocent picnic outside of London would have such a horrific ending.
“This will fetch a fancy price,” the man said as he closed his fingers around the bauble.
Keeping the pistol pointed at them, he pocketed the brooch and moved toward the carriage. As their driver followed suit and climbed onto the box, Claire began to feel lightheaded. If they took the carriage, she and Lord Knightly would be stranded.
As soon as the gunman disappeared into the carriage, the viscount grabbed her arm and pulled her off the road and into the trees. Everything inside her screamed that they needed to find a way to retake the carriage, but she followed his lead.
Her breathing grew more rapid, but she pushed past the urge to panic as she straightened her shoulders. She had to think. Night would be upon them before long.
She stopped. They had to go back.
“Come, Claire. We can’t remain along the road. They might come back. Or worse, another band of highwaymen could arrive.”
She shook her head vehemently. “No. We have to go back. The other carriages—”
“Were ahead of us.” He glanced up, using one hand to shade his eyes. “I don’t think our driver followed the caravan for long. The sun is in the wrong place.”
Looking deeper into the forest, fear threatened to strangle her. “We’re lost then,” she whispered.
He offered her one of those crooked grins that used to turn her knees to butter and fill her cheeks with a heated flush. “Are you forgetting who you’re with? Don’t you recall who always helped us find our way home when your brother got us lost? Or, who found you every time the butcher’s son tried to hide you away in the woods?”
A tweak of humor shined through the bleak moment. Taking deep breaths, Claire managed to tamp down her panic. He was right. If anyone could get them out of this, it was Lord Knightly.
“He didn’t try to hide me. He felt sorry for me, so he decided to help make my life more exciting.”
One of Lord Knightly’s eyebrows rose. “You make it sound as if those encounters were entirely innocent, but I remember the way he would look at you. And, the guilt. He never made eye contact each time I had to drag him back to his father.”
Anger burned off most of her current fear. “Only because you berated him, every time. He never did anything wrong.”
His jaw clenched as he walked up to her. “Are you telling me he didn’t even try to kiss you?” He stopped directly in front of her. “Not even once?”
She had to look up to stare into his eyes. They were focused on her lips, as if the thought made him want to kiss her now. Breathing in slowly, she kept control of her pounding heart. It had been years since she’d even thought about kissing him. Well, that wasn’t exactly true, but she refused to acknowledge the truth.
Reminding herself how much she hated him, she crossed her arms over her chest and stuck out her chin. “Pete was a perfect gentleman with me.”
“Liar,” he accused, then walked away.
Incensed, she stomped after him. “How dare you say such a thing to me?”
There was no way he could possibly know about the one time Pete had tried to force his attention upon her. It wasn’t one of her favorite memories. Besides, when she had set him straight, he never tried to kiss her again.
“It’s the truth,” he muttered over his shoulder as he continued walking.
She wanted to argue, but he moved too rapidly. In addition, navigating through the bush proved to be difficult, especially with her skirt and slippers. Had she known the outing would become more than an easy picnic with her friends, she would have worn her boots and dressed in a sturdier fabric. As it stood, her promenade gown snagged on everything she passed.
“Where are you going, Lord Knightly?”
He stopped so fast, she nearly ran into him. “As you are well aware, my name is Ian. You’ve grown up calling me that, and I refuse to answer to Lord Knightly out here.”
She rolled her eyes for his benefit, but the idea of calling him Ian did strange things to her insides. “Very well, Ian. What are we going to do?”
Desperation added a hysterical edge to her voice.
His eyes softened. “Don’t fret. We will simply make our way back to London on foot. Since we traveled south to attend the picnic, we must go north now.”
“What if we are off course? The driver could have taken us another direction.”
“We will be fine. You just have to trust me.”
She didn’t see how she could under these circumstances, but she nodded, regardless. What other choice did she have? They were stranded in the middle of nowhere and probably would never see London again.
She had to remain hopeful. Focusing on Ian, she tried to put her faith in him. Dressed in his fashionable jacket, waistcoat, and breeches, it was hard to imagine him guiding them through the wilderness.
“Besides locating me on familiar grounds, have you ever done anything like this before?”
“Try to find my way back to London after being stranded?” He chuckled. “No.”
She huffed out a short breath and narrowed her eyes at his back. He always knew how to irritate her. “You know exactly what I mean.”
“Perhaps, but I like hearing you explain yourself.” He shot her an amused look over his shoulder, then laughed as soon as his eyes made contact with her angry ones. “Okay. You win. In my youth, I spent lots of time in the woods with your brother, or with Lord Starsen. As it happened, we got lost a lot and managed to make our way back.”
“So, how long do you think this will take?” If they could be home by nightfall, no one would have to know what happened.
Ian paused so long Claire began to worry. “It’s hard to say.”
“Tell me,” she demanded.
“Perhaps a few days.”
Fear lodged in her throat. They would never make it.
Ian pushed branches out of the way, breaking them off
to clear a path wide enough to pass through. The idea of having Claire trail behind didn’t sit well with him, but he couldn’t let her accept the danger of being in the lead.
Clenching his teeth tightly, he tried to ignore the anger welling up inside of him. Claire. Why did this have to happen to her? So delicate. So innocent. She shouldn’t have to put up with the elements like this.
Sweat dripped down his scarred back, the itch more intense than usual. He didn’t care for the stagnant heat of the low woods, but preferred it to the biting cold. However, this amount of heat added another level of discomfort, as it reminded his body of the fire that maimed his back.
He gulped. Thinking of that incident never served him. Had Gordon not been there to lift the burning beam off of him . . . he couldn’t bear to contemplate the outcome.
“I think we should stop here for the night,” he admitted, his voice thicker than usual.
Claire looked at the sky as if suddenly realizing they were quickly losing daylight. Then, she glanced around as panic seeped into her eyes. Her answering nod did nothing to help him ascertain her thoughts.
In all the years he’d known her, she hadn’t spent this much time in silence. The fact she hadn’t spoken in over an hour frightened him. This wasn’t the Claire he knew.
Resisting the urge to close the distance between them and take her in his arms, he remained immobile. He didn’t want his actions to frighten her further. It was important for him to keep things positive and light.
“We will be fine, Claire. I know this isn’t ideal, but I’m confident I can get us home.”
Another nod was all he received in response, and he couldn’t take it any longer. In three long strides, he was in front of her. Without waiting for her to reject him, he drew her to him and ran his hands along her back. To have her in his arms, like this, was a dream. One he’d feared would never come true.
“Trust me,” he whispered, ignoring the miraculous feelings coursing through him, doing the thing he’d wanted for so long. When her slight body trembled, he felt like such an ass to have gained enjoyment in the moment.
“What can I do to help?” He tipped up her chin to look into her eyes. Helplessness was not something he was accustomed to experiencing.
She pushed at his chest, and he let her go. Her pleading eyes burned into his. “Promise me. No, swear it to me.”
Prickles of doubt surged. How could he let her down? He swallowed, eradicating all fear. He would do anything for her, even at the cost of his own life.
“You have my word. I swear to you. I will get you home.”
She took a deep breath. “Very well. So, how do you propose we do this? I can’t say the idea of resting my head in the dirt is appealing.”
Dropping his shoulders a little, he tried not to show his relief at her easy acceptance. He needed the adventurous, feisty woman he’d always known. Otherwise, they wouldn’t make it through this.
“Lying against the tree might be a better choice.”
With tight lips, she looked around. “Apparently, there are no other options.” Then, she sat beside the tree as gracefully as if she attended tea. He shook his head, wondering how it was possible for her to be so appealing under these circumstances.
Her torn, dirty gown gave off a dull quality, which only added more luster to the magnificent brown locks escaping the confines of her coiffure. Even the dirt smeared across her face managed to accentuate her high cheekbones and rich brown eyes.
Tearing his gaze away from her, he forced his thoughts to a safer subject. The night would be taxing enough without adding his unfulfilled desire to it. Besides, Claire needed him to keep his mind focused on their task.
“I’m so hungry. I feel guilty about every scrap of food I’ve wasted in the past.” Claire shook her head slowly as if surprised at the person she’d been just hours before.
He chuckled. “I know what you mean. Tomorrow, I fully intend to find us water and possibly something to eat.”
So far, the only water he’d located had been a stagnant pond. At this point, he wished he’d been less discriminating back then. Any water surely would be better than none at all.
“What if you can’t? What will we do?” Her voice broke.
His heart ached at the thought as he lowered himself down next to her. He couldn’t bear her pain. Nor could he stand the thought of losing her.
He opened his arms. “Come here.”
Her eyes were wide as her mouth dropped open. He would have laughed had her reluctance not bothered him so much. What did she think he planned to do?
“I believe my reputation has been compromised enough for one day.”
Unable to help himself, he gave into his laughter as he pulled her into his arms. He couldn’t help but notice how she put up no resistance.
“Here we are, stranded in the middle of nowhere, and you are worrying about what other people are thinking.” He shook his head. “You have changed.”
“Everyone must grow up,” she argued, even as she snuggled her head against his chest. “Perhaps you should try it one day.”
A familiar feeling of heat washed over him. Not many times in his life had he enjoyed the ability to hold her, and he fully intended to savor every second. She just didn’t need to be aware of his motives.
“I prefer life exactly like it is,” he murmured thinking of how right she felt in his arms.
She pushed up against his chest and looked him in the eyes. “Truly? You have no desire for anything more?”
He swallowed. Of course he wanted more, but with her in such close proximity, his brain wasn’t working very well.
“I meant to imply, the direction my life has taken shall offer me what I seek. What about you, Claire? What do you want out of life?”
The sigh escaping her lips sounded weary. Guilt swamped him. After the day they’d had, he hadn’t wanted to make it worse.
She settled herself back against him. “No one has ever asked me that before.”
“But, that doesn’t mean you haven’t thought about it. I know you, Claire. You will have—”
“Travel,” she quickly admitted. “I want to travel. To go to Bath and see if the waters taste as foul as I’ve heard. To go to Scotland and see if it’s as green as they say. To see Paris and experience the fashions firsthand. And, there are so many other places as well. I want to experience them all.”
His body tensed at the passion in her voice. He would like nothing more than to scale mountains simply to fulfill her every dream. After spending her childhood taking care of her younger sister and father, she deserved to have her fantasies become reality.
“Is that why you turned down Lord Higgins’s suit? Gordon told me how unhappy the earl was at the news.”
“I haven’t entirely dismissed his suit, so my brother needs to learn to keep his mouth closed. But, yes, the fact Lord Higgins’s idea of travel meant walking three blocks down the street did play a large part in my decision. He is not the one for me.”
Curiosity burned within him. “Then, who is? Have you already decided?”
Her body stiffened as her hand clutched the fabric of his shirt. “I think that’s enough about me. Why don’t you tell me what you want out of life?”
Biting his cheek, he kept from pressuring her for a response. Was she in love with another man? Bile rose to his throat. He didn’t want to think of her belonging to anyone else but him. From a very young age, he had decided he would marry Claire. She just didn’t know it yet.
“A wife,” he croaked out in a voice he didn’t recognize.
“Is that all? Then, why haven’t you married?”
He closed his eyes and concentrated on each breath. “I don’t want just any woman. I want someone who makes me long for the night, so I can hold her while she falls asleep. And,
someone who makes me crave the day, so I can spend countless hours in her company.”
Claire didn’t move or respond. He began to believe she had fallen asleep, then her fingers moved a fraction, lightly caressing his chest. He sucked in his breath. Was she even aware of what she was doing?
“She sounds like quite a woman. How do you know she even exists, or have you found her already?”
“I have no doubt of her existence. Now, go to sleep. We have another trying day of ahead of us tomorrow.”
The next morning, Ian woke up in so much pain, he couldn’t move. However, he couldn’t bring himself to care. With Claire draped over him, and her leg pressed up against his groin, it was a wonder he could think at all.
Looking down at her peaceful face made his chest ache. All these years and she never understood, or even knew, her effect on him. He wanted to tell her, but considering how much she hated him, he didn’t imagine it would go over well.
As if sensing his thoughts, she shifted. “Is it morning?”
“Yes.”
The gravelly quality of his voice must have shocked her, because she bolted up to a sitting position and looked at him with wide, albeit sleepy, eyes.
“I’m sorry, my lord I—”
“Stop right there. First of all, I’m Ian, remember? And second, there is no reason for apology here.”
She nodded, but didn’t make eye contact with him. “I let my dreams take hold of me for too long. It was pleasant. After all, I dreamed we made it back home.”
Pulling himself forward, he stretched his aching muscles and accepted the twinge in his back, an acceptable payment for sleeping with Claire in his arms. “Rest assured that your dream shall soon become a reality. For today, however, why don’t we concentrate on finding water?”
With tight lips, she stood, and he did the same. His body protested further, but he ignored the pain. With the walk ahead of them today, he couldn’t afford to give in to petty grievances.
Embracing the Knight Page 2
