Lady Faith Takes a Leap

by Maggi Andersen

  ****

  Faith shrank down behind a holly bush, afraid to move. After Warne had urged the coachman to go too fast, the carriage had veered off the road. Warne had jumped out and stood cursing the coachman. Seeing her chance, she’d crept out while his back was turned and run for her life. She ran until she couldn’t breathe and her side hurt but kept pushing forward until she’d fallen over that wretched log. Now, she had no idea where she was, only that she was miles from home. She was afraid to retrace her steps. Warne could be waiting for her anywhere along the road. She’d gone over on her ankle, which throbbed. It had turned red and was already swelling. She heard her name called in the distance and the thud of approaching footsteps. Warne was coming for her!

  “Please no,” she whispered, her heart pounding loudly in her ears. From her vantage point, she could see whoever came along the trail and only hoped they wouldn’t find her in her violet pelisse. Her head swam and tears blinded her. Faith tried to quell the sobs. She must be quiet.

  “Faith!”

  The man was near. The deep voice didn’t sound like Warne’s. She gasped suddenly, filled with hope. Could it be? Of course, it couldn’t.

  Faith peered through the bushes as a man appeared, leading a horse. She gasped and struggled to her feet. “Vaughn!” Her voice was annoyingly weak, her throat choked with tears.

  “Faith!” Vaughn threw the reins over a bush and waded through the undergrowth to her. He swept her up in his arms, knocking off her hat, his hand on her hair, cradling her head. “I was so afraid….Are you hurt? Did he…?”

  “No,” she whispered. “I’ve never been so glad to see you,” she said with a half-laugh. “Put me down. I think I can walk.” When she tried to put weight on her ankle, her leg buckled.

  “You’re injured.” Vaughn hefted her up into his arms. “I must get you home.”

  Faith was shuddering as Vaughn strode with her back to his horse. He carefully lifted her onto the saddle. “Who was that man, do you know?” Taking the reins, he led the horse back toward the road.

  “Thomas Warne. He’s not still here?” she asked faintly. She didn’t trust Warne not to appear with a pistol.

  “He seems to have gone. Who is this Warne?” Vaughn said through clenched teeth.

  “I met him at the Duke of Morven’s home in Cornwall. He was there on some kind of business. Honor suspected Warne was trying to get me alone, to compromise me. I don’t think any of us realized just how dangerous he is.”

  “He won’t get another chance.”

  She looked up at Vaughn’s angry face. “Are you sure he’s not hiding here? He’s a horrid man and best left alone.”

  “I don’t intend to let him get away with this, Faith, so don’t ask me to,” Vaughn said murderously.

  Her teeth were chattering. “He could be dangerous,” she stuttered.

  Vaughn took off his coat and put it around her shoulders. “I am dangerous.”

  She gave a weak giggle and clung to the horse’s mane as they emerged onto the road. The carriage had gone, and there was no sign of Mr. Warne. “He’s not here,” she whispered with relief.

  “Running won’t save him,” Vaughn said. “You’re shocked. You need to get home.”

  He steadied the horse and leapt up behind her. Taking the reins each side of her, he nudged the horse into a walk. “We’ll be home in no time and see to that ankle.”

  “When I’m in trouble, you always seem to be there, Vaughn,” she said dazedly. “I am most grateful.”

  “Glad I’ve been able to help.” He pressed his lips together, wanting to say so much more.

  As they trotted along the road, a landau came toward them. Faith gave a gasp of dismay. “Oh dear, I believe it’s the vicar.” Sitting sideways on the horse, her skirts awry, she made a desperate attempt to cover her legs. The vicar wasn’t alone. Two women from the church traveled with him.

  “Damn.” Vaughn groaned and pulled up the horse.

  The vicar’s shocked gaze studied them. “My heaven, Lord Vaughn, Lady Faith, has there been an accident?”

  “Vicar, ladies.” Vaughn bowed from the neck. “I came upon Lady Faith out walking. She has hurt her ankle. I am taking her safely home.”

  The ladies were wide-eyed with interest. “Walking along the road, this far from home?” Mrs. Norris said in an undertone. “A likely story,” she added with a snort.

  “And at this time of day!” Miss Graham’s penetrating whisper reached Faith’s ears.

  “I do hope it’s not a bad injury,” the vicar said with a frown at his companions.

  “I got lost and foolishly fell over a log on the woodland trail,” Faith said. “I’m sure it’s not serious.”

  “I’d best get Lady Faith home to have her injury attended to. Good day to you.” Vaughn urged the horse forward.

  Faith peered around him. The landau was continuing on its way while both women craned their necks to look back at them.

  “More horrid gossip,” she said bitterly, biting her lip. Grateful for the support of his arms, she fought the urge to lean her head against his strong chest, close to her shoulder, and give into a good cry. She was so dreadfully tired.

  Sensing her distress, Vaughn transferred the reins into one hand, his free arm circling her waist, and pulled her against him. “It will all turn out well. You’ll see.”

  Somehow, his masculine smell was reassuring. She closed her eyes. “I don’t see how. It couldn’t be worse. Now, you’ve become involved. ” She turned her head to gaze up into his face, set in grim determination, which was close to hers. “ I hope this won’t mean trouble for you.”

  “Don’t look at me like that, Faith,” he muttered in a strained voice. “You make me want to kiss you.”

  “You do?” A fluttering feeling filled her chest, and she fought the urge to reach up and draw his face down to hers.

  “A man can’t resist a distressed woman. And kissing you would be very ungentlemanly of me given the circumstances.”

  She wrinkled her nose. She didn’t want his sympathy. “I am so grateful to you, Vaughn. I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t….”

  “A woman should be safe walking about without being accosted,” he said heatedly.

  “My walks are important to me.” Walking was the small concession her father allowed her, her one tiny bit of freedom, but she knew he would ban her walks from now on.

  “Would it be more prudent to take Charity or Mercy along with you?”

  “Complaining at every step? Thank you, no. I shall plan for possible obstacles in the future.” Although Mr. Warne was hardly an obstacle one might be able to plan for. “Anyway, my father will never let me out the door after this,” she added gloomily.

  “I wish….” Vaughn’s eyes grew heavy-lidded.

  She felt the tension in his hard thigh resting against her leg. It was incredibly intimate to be this close. She remembered the feel of his mouth claiming hers, his strong arms around her the night of the fire. She couldn’t ignore the warmth of him, the rough texture of his trousers rubbing against her hip through her skirt. Desire flooded through her. In her weakened state, she would abandon any attempt at decorum if he…. Her body felt heavy and warm.

  “What do you wish?” She leaned back against his hard chest and drew in deeply of horse, leather, and male.

  “Nothing of import,” he said, cautiously shifting his legs.

  He didn’t want her. “I suppose Lady Montrose and Rosamond will be upset when gossip reaches them.”

  A muscle clenched along his jawline. “Perhaps they won’t hear of it.”

  In Tunbridge Wells? Impossible. Faith dropped her chin to hide her frown as the Highland Manor gates appeared.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “Faith!” Lady Baxendale rushed from the house, followed by Charity, Mercy, and Lord Baxendale. “What has happened?”

  “I’ve turned my ankle,” Faith said as Vaughn swung himself from the saddle and lifted her down from the ho
rse.

  “Best you come inside, Winborne.” Lord Baxendale put his arm proprietorially around his daughter and drew her inside.

  After a flurry of orders that had the servants running about, Faith lay with her foot propped up on the parlor sofa, her ankle bandaged. She was given a small dose of Laudanum for the pain. Lord Baxendale, who refused to talk until it was done, stood with his back to the fire. “Now I want it all. First Faith and then you, Winborne, if you will be so good.”

  Vaughn disliked Baxendale’s officious attitude, but as Faith explained how she was abducted, and what Mr. Warne had in store for her, sweat gathered on her father’s brow, and a line of white formed above his compressed lips. Of course, Baxendale was badly frightened, as any father would be. Faith’s story trailed away on how Vaughn had come and found her and brought her home, and the man’s rigid features melted into profound relief.

  “I am eternally grateful to you, Winborne,” he muttered in a low voice.

  Lady Baxendale, who was ghostly pale, bustled about ordering hot tea with honey. “It’s good for shock,” she said. “I shall have some myself.”

  “I’ll have a whiskey,” Baxendale said. “Winborne?”

  “I will, thank you.”

  “What a monster that man is!” Charity put her arm around Faith’s shoulders.

  “We’ll watch him hanged at Tyburn,” Mercy said with a bloodthirsty light in her eyes. Her anxious gaze settled on her sister. They were all badly frightened. Vaughn cursed under his breath, that something so sordid should rock this family’s world.

  “They haven’t hung anyone at Tyburn for years,” Charity said. “I prefer he rot in Newgate.”

  “Hush, girls!” Baxendale handed Vaughn a crystal tumbler of amber liquid. “We must first find this villain and see he never commits such a crime again.”

  “Edward is the best person to find him.” Vaughn swirled the liquid in the glass. “I believe he knows Warne, and being in the law, he will know best how to deal with him.” After Vaughn was finished with the scoundrel, that was.

  “Excellent.” Baxendale eyes brightened. “Will you notify your brother immediately? We cannot waste time.”

  “I planned to visit Edward in a few days’ time, as I’m to inspect a property not far from them in Surrey,” Vaughn said. “But I shall bring my journey forward and leave first thing in the morning.”

  “That’s good of you, Winborne,” Baxendale murmured before throwing back the contents of his glass. He suddenly looked what he was, a man getting on in years, burdened with worries, and clearly finding it hard to cope.

  “It’s my pleasure, my lord,” Vaughn said. “I’m keen to see Warne apprehended. And now I’d best leave your daughter to the loving bosom of her family.”

  Vaughn said his goodbyes and left Faith smiling mistily at him from the sofa. He mounted his horse. He wanted Faith for his wife, more than anything he’d ever wanted in his life. The frustration he felt would be a good deal more painful if he wasn’t filled with murderous thoughts of Warne. As he rode down the Baxendale gravel drive, he thought of the gratitude in her parents’ eyes and allowed himself a brief moment when he could believe they would be together.

  When Vaughn arrived home, he sought out Chaloner. His brother was a good deal shocked by the news. “Good God, is Faith all right? To be abducted outside your home. No woman is safe anymore. What is the world coming to?” he added with a worried frown.

  Chaloner would now be an even worse worrier. All the women in the household would have their activities severely curtailed. It would not sit well with them, he thought with a grim smile, foreseeing troubled times ahead.

  “Oh by the way, a missive has arrived for you. It’s in my study.”

  Vaughn entered the study and picked up the letter. He slit it open to find a hastily scrawled message from Rosamond.

  Dear Vaughn. I wanted to thank you for your generous assistance. Dr. Fellowes and I are most grateful, but as his relative has decided not to die, and has made a miraculous recovery, Mama will never agree to our marriage. William must take up his position in London at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital. I turned twenty-one today, fortuitously, and we are to elope tonight. I know I promised to wait and tell Mama, but I’m sure you see that I have no alternative. I cannot let William go alone. With affection, Rosamond.

  With a roar of disgust, Vaughn threw the paper onto Chaloner’s desk. Damn Rosamond, she’d made him a party to her deceitfulness. Her poor mother would be bereft. He must at least try to reason with them.

  Chaloner came into the room. “What is it?”

  Vaughn leaned back against the desk. He’d have to tell his brother before he took off after the lovers. “I’ve done something I now regret.”

  When he explained the full extent of his involvement, disappointment sparked in Chaloner’s eyes. Vaughn knew what that look meant. He wasn’t too fond of himself at this moment, either.

  “I thought you’d settled down, Vaughn.” Chaloner threw himself into his chair, “that you could be relied on to make sensible decisions.”

  “Lady Rosamond asked for my help, Chaloner,” Vaughn said, knowing it sounded lame. “I felt I should give it. I can’t argue with you now. I’m off to sort it out, before they elope.”

  “A silly young woman asks you to be duplicitous and fool her mother, and you agree?” He shook his head. “And I was about to release a good deal of money into your hands.”

  “And I thought you’d learned a thing or two about being human and making mistakes,” Vaughn snapped. He stalked out the door, leaving his brother to his virtuous thoughts. Chaloner should have been the vicar, not their brother, Bart. He headed back to the stables for a fresh horse. His enthusiasm at owning a stud farm turned sour in his mouth. Night was already falling as he rode out the Brandreth Park gates and down the lane. There was going to be a full moon at least, to light his way. However, a full moon was also providential for Rosamond. He hoped to catch the lovers and talk sense into them before they left. Surely, there was a reasonable way around this. If he was not too late?

  Why had he aided and abetted Rosamond? He began to question what lay behind his impulsive act. With him in attendance, she had the opportunity to sneak away and meet her lover on several occasions. He supposed it was because he’d always hated society’s strictures. Not only had they affected his life but also others he cared about.

  Faith. His Faith. Vaughn would never want anyone else. She’d been so frightened and defenseless, it had taken all his strength not to enfold her in his arms, kiss her soundly, and keep her there. He had no claim on her. Should he have kissed her when at her most vulnerable, he would merely be another scoundrel for her to mistrust. Moreover, he would fail them all if this business with Rosamond delayed his trip to Surrey. He sighed. Inspecting the farm would be a fruitless exercise if Chaloner changed his mind about granting his inheritance.

  Vaughn rode through the gates and up to the front door of the brick house. A groom appeared from the direction of the stables. Vaughn dismounted, threw the reins to him, and climbed the steps to the front door. The Montrose’s butler answered his rap on the heavy bronze knocker.

  “Lord Vaughn Winborne to see Lady Rosamond.”

  “She is away from home,” the butler said.

  “Lady Montrose then,” Vaughn said grimly.

  He was shown into the drawing room where Lady Montrose slumped on the sofa with a glass of sherry in her hand. A crumpled note lay on the side table.

  “Lord Vaughn,” she said faintly. “If you have come to see Rosamond, I am afraid she…she….” She gulped and stared at him owlishly.

  Vaughn strode across the room. “Where is your daughter, Lady Montrose?”

  “Shameful. My daughter has…eloped with Dr. Fellowes, some hours ago.”

  “Is that Rosamond’s note?” Vaughn pointed at the note at her elbow. “May I read it?”

  She nodded slowly. “You knew about this?”

  Vaughn smoothed out the missive
and scanned it. “Rosamond confided in me that she loved Dr. Fellowes,” he said. “But she promised me she wouldn’t elope.” The note was brief. Rosamond was deeply sorry to upset her mother, but she and Fellowes planned to marry and live in London.

  Tears flooded Lady Montrose’s eyes. “I knew she had feelings for him. That’s something a girl can’t keep from her mother. I hoped that you would make her forget him.”

  “Is he a good man?”

  She shrugged. “I believe so. He’s a fine doctor, but that is irrelevant.”

  “Rosamond loves him, Lady Montrose. She views the wife of a London surgeon to be a useful life, one that she would enjoy embracing.”

  Lady Montrose coiled her shaking fingers through her necklace. “But Rosamond’s father was a Lord of the Realm. Their daughters don’t marry doctors.”

  “It appears your daughter has decided that they do.”

  She harrumphed and rubbed her arms. “I shall be a lonely old woman then.”

  Vaughn suffered a rush of pity for her. He couldn’t leave things as they stood. “They will require a marriage license. It might be days before they can marry. I will go after them if you wish, but I won’t bring her back against her will, Lady Montrose. In fact, it would be better if you came with me. If you feel up to the trip to London, please allow me to escort you. We’ll find them, and you can make amends with your daughter. If you embrace her decision, I feel sure she will include you in her future.”

  “I was horrid to her.” She dabbed her reddened nose with her handkerchief. “I tried to do what her father would expect. I doubt she’ll forgive me.”

  “Why don’t we try at least?”

  She stared at him. “You would do that for me, my lord?”

  “I feel that I should, Lady Montrose.”

  She rose to her feet. “You are very good. That silly girl, does she have scales on her eyes?”

  “She’s determined, my lady.” Vaughn smiled. “Perhaps she takes after her mother?”

  Lady Montrose’s eyes brightened. She seized the bell and rang it vigorously. “I’ll have a bag packed.”