Regency Romances for the Ages

by Grace Fletcher

  “But of course, there is one more thing that prevents me from being the heir,” Daniel said. “You.”

  Chapter 8

  Under Attack

  “I know nothing about your property disputes, nor do I know about these monstrous accusations you lay on Lord Bathurst,” Diana said. “Certainly, I do not wish to believe them before I give him a chance to defend himself. Surely, he might have something to say that will shed light on this—or discredit it.”

  “You still do not believe me?” Daniel asked. He felt despair wash over him. Since he had set eyes on her, Daniel had felt a connection between them that he could not define. In front of Diana, Daniel felt once again like the child he had been—eager, full of hope, his very life seeming to depend on her approval. He knew he was being hasty—for a woman to believe in her kidnapper’s tale so easily would be a sign of low intelligence. Surely, she had to have her doubts. His mind knew he must wait, must give her absolute proof.

  Yet he felt devastated. Part of him wished that she could simply believe in him. He didn’t know why it was so important—but it was.

  “I cannot simply believe you,” Diana said. “You must understand. I can’t. I’m betrothed to Lord Bathurst, after all. I must-”

  But anger and envy seemed to rise inside Daniel as she said Nathaniel’s name. Nathaniel, who had killed his mother. Nathaniel who had slit the throat of Sir Bernard. Nathaniel, who had committed crime after crime and in return received not a single punishment. Nathaniel’s name did not deserve to come out of the mouth of a woman like Diana—and he certainly did not deserve her hand in marriage.

  For the first time since she had been kidnapped, Diana felt afraid. The humor had been wiped off Daniel’s face, and a devil seemed to have cast a shadow over his eyes.

  “Do not say his name again,” Daniel said.

  “Whose? Lord Bathurst's?” a confused Diana asked.

  In one bounding step, Daniel covered the distance between them and swept her off balance. His lips pressed against her, and his hand clutched her hair. “Do not,” He growled. “Let his name fall from your lips again.”

  “Daniel!” Diana gasped.

  “Better. Much better. My name belongs there. Not his.”

  “You are jealous!” She exclaimed. “You are jealous of Nathaniel, aren’t you?”

  In response, he kissed her again, deeply and thoroughly this time. Diana pushed against him, determined to escape.

  But then, at some point, the hand that pushed against his chest curved, and clasped the lapel of his suit. Then, she was not pushing him away, but pulling him toward her. Her knees gave way, and she sank onto the blanket, her hair spilling out of the confines of their bow. He sank down with her, then stopped, and a look of horror spread over his face.

  He jumped aside and offered a hand to lift her up. His eyes would not meet her. “My lady—I beg a thousand pardons for what I have done. I kidnapped you trusting that I would treat you like the lady you were—and I have betrayed myself. I would cut off my own lips if I could.”

  “Daniel—please-” Diana protested.

  “It’s just—it drove me mad to see you in love with Nathaniel. It has driven me mad since I first entered his service as a footman a month ago to spy on him. I saw you all the time—and each time, you seemed the picture of dignity and good humor that an evil man like him would only corrupt with his touch. I burned to rescue you from him, Miss Honeyfield—not just because I feared what he would do but—because I could not bear to see his snide comments turn your smiling face into a mask of sadness. I swear I thought that I could control myself from taking advantage of-” the words seemed to roll off his tongue, unstoppable.

  She stopped them, by kissing him again. It was almost a mischievous kiss, light as a spring air, and just as perfumed. She caressed his cheek once, then pulled away.

  “There,” she said. “You have taken advantage of me once, and I of you. We are equals now. Pray, do not worry yourself.”

  Daniel stood there with a hand touching his lips, his face as full of wonder as a man who has seen the world turn upside down. He stood frozen there for another moment, and Diana found herself blushing.

  “I—don’t understand,” he said.

  “Neither do I,” she replied. “I suppose understanding comes later.”

  “Then you believe me?” he asked.

  “My heart does,” she said. “But my mind—Daniel—you do understand why my mind is not ready to believe just quite yet?”

  “I do understand,” he said. “Though God knows, I’ve been terrible at showing it.” He stepped forward then and held her hands in his. “Miss Honeyfield—I know that you and I have met only today. I know that I may seem an adventurer and a liar to you. I know I have caused you a shock, and your aunt hurt by spiriting you away like I did. But I ask you—could you, would you, in your heart, forgive me? If I do everything I can to make things right, if I see Nathaniel given to the law for his crimes, and if I prove to you the truth of what I have said—will you then do me the insurmountable honor of marrying me?”

  Diana closed her eyes, “Daniel—I-”

  “You do not need to answer,” Daniel said softly. “Not now. Not immediately. Just—just know that my intentions are-”

  From behind them, horsemen appeared, and Diana screamed. A bloom of red stained Daniel’s shirt sleeve. He looked down at it in almost comical surprise, to see an arrowhead appear. His head flung back with the impact, and he collapsed.

  In the distance, Diana saw clouds of dust rise up as horsemen rode toward them, swords bared. Three carried crossbows, and arrows seemed to fill the air. Reacting instinctively, she grabbed Daniel’s arm, and put it around her neck, then tried her hardest to raise him.

  “Move Daniel—I beg you move! They will be upon us in a second.”

  His breathing was shallow, and Diana felt a horrible cloud of doubt pass through her. Was Daniel alive?

  Chapter 9

  Defending Her New Love

  D iana raised him as much as she could and somehow found the strength to drag him toward the carriage. Daniel stirred a little, clearly in pain, but did not open his eyes.

  Antonio appeared, screaming “They’re after us!” and helped her drag Daniel into the carriage. Around them, arrows buried themselves into the earth and trees, each of which they somehow dodged.

  “We are doomed,” Antonio said. “Nathaniel’s men are on us. They will take no prisoners. Daniel will be killed.”

  Diana could feel hysteria knocking on her mind’s door. It would be so easy to react—to scream and demand that Daniel wake up, or to pass out until the conflict was over. Tremors made their way across her body as she and Antonio gently placed Daniel in the carriage.

  If these were Nathaniel’s men, Diana had to decide now whether Daniel was telling the truth. With only a few moments separating them from death, the truth still seemed to hide from her. Her heart and mind were tugging in opposite directions. But one thing seemed clear—if she left his side now, Daniel would die.

  “Give me whatever weapon you have,” she instructed Antonio. “Then drive us as fast as you can to a safe place.”

  Without questioning her, Antonio handed her two throwing knives. “These are all I have, but they’ll have to do. It is only a few miles to my home. We can tend to Daniel there.”

  Diana nodded, and jumped into the carriage, even as Antonio spurred the horses and set off racing down the hill.

  They had a momentary advantage—they were moving downhill while their attackers were still climbing uphill. For a few short moments, there were no arrows. Then, as the horsemen came into view again, a volley of them hit the carriage.

  Ducking as best as she could from the arrows, Diana wielded the throwing knives. She aimed one at the horsemen. She took a deep breath. This was it. Long ago, on an evening when he’d had too much wine, her grandfather had taught her how to play darts. Diana had only been jesting, but grandfather had been serious and taught her well.r />
  “The most important thing,” she remembered him saying, “is to be calm. A calm mind can take down more with one throw than a distressed mind with an entire army.”

  She aimed, took deep breaths to steady herself, and then threw. Almost immediately, she knew she would miss. The weight of the knife and her unsteady aim caused it to flop into the ground a great distance from the horsemen. She almost fancied that a few had laughed at her.

  However, the men chasing them seemed to become more cautious now that they had been attacked. For a moment, they almost seemed to slow—then they redoubled their speed, and more arrows flew into the air.

  Diana took another breath and another. “Calm,” she told herself. She aimed, although the jolting of the carriage made her hand shake. She measured once, then twice, and with a smooth release, threw the second and last knife.

  In the distance, she saw a man swerve to dodge the rotating knife as it flew toward him—and the sudden motion made the man’s horse stumble. The rider was thrown into the air and landed in a cloud of leaves and dust.

  One rider rode ahead of the rest, urging his horse with the spurs on his feet. He had almost reached the doors of the carriage when Diana turned on him. Searching desperately for something to hit him with, she pounced on Daniel’s walking cane and began swinging. The man reached up to the carriage and swung open the door. Stretching his arms, he reached inside to capture Diana. Diana screamed, and moved away, trying to hit him with the cane. The rider swung inside the carriage easily and blocked her attempts to hit him. The few times she was able to connect the cane with his shoulder seemed to have no impact on the rider’s health—clearly a remarkably strong man.

  Diana felt the blood rise in her. She was all that stood between the prone form of Daniel, which lay on the seat behind her, and the nameless man who clearly meant him harm. Swinging the cane like a club, she charged the man again. With one hand, the man blocked the cane, and with the other, he slapped her mightily, so that she fell to the floor. She looked up to see him snap the cane into two and throw the pieces out of the window. He gave her a villainous smile and advanced.

  “Only a mile more to safety!” She heard Antonio cry out from the front of the carriage, even as the man approached her.

  “Has Lord Bathurst sent you?” she asked, looking up. “Has my fiancé sent you?”

  In reply, the man took out a knife from his belt and thoughtfully ran a finger along the blade.

  Fear condensed in the pit of Diana’s stomach. Her mind raced as she tried to come up with ways to stop what was bound to happen next. It wasn’t herself for which she felt fear—Daniel was what mattered.

  As the man approached, Diana realized that there was only one thing she could do—she had to throw herself on the man and hope that they both tumbled out of the carriage so that Antonio might have time to carry Daniel away to safety. Drawing herself together, she prepared for the right moment.

  The man raised his knife, and she tackled him, the force of her body throwing both of them out of the moving carriage. Even in the air, she found herself struggling to control the knife, and felt it slice her arm. For a minute, the world was a blur of rock, sky and trees—then, Diana felt something hit her head and everything went black.

  “Fool!” she heard a man shout, just before she blacked out. “Do not harm her! Not yet!”

  Chapter 10

  Reunited with Nathaniel

  W hen she came to, she was in a dimly lit parlor, with Nathaniel and Aunt Florentia sitting next to her. A bandage was wrapped around her head, and a blanket covered her up to her chin, hiding her clothes, which were tattered and dusty.

  “My poor darling!” Aunt Florentia sobbed. “Oh, it’s the Lord’s judgment on me for letting that wicked man talk us into disobeying Lord Bathurst. I should never have agreed to it! My poor darling Diana!”

  “That’s enough now, Lady Egerton,” Nathaniel said, irritation apparent in his voice. “You don’t want to excite Miss Honeyfield in her delicate state, do you?”

  “No,” sniffled Aunt Florentia, and blew her nose on a delicate lace handkerchief.

  “Good,” Nathaniel said. “Now, if you’d be so kind as to leave us alone for a little time. There are many questions I need to ask Miss Honeyfield.”

  “Daniel—what happened to him?” Diana asked.

  “He escaped, the devil!” Aunt Florentia said as she made her way out of the room. “But never fear, Lord Bathurst will soon have him! Then he’ll be hanged as likely as not!”

  “Aunt Florentia-” Diana stopped herself. “Lord Bathurst's right, please do give the two of us some time alone.”

  Nathaniel smiled as he sat next to her, and Diana noticed that though his lips moved, his eyes remained the same: dark and impenetrable.

  “So, my beautiful fiancé had a most eventful day,” Nathaniel said. “I pray you were not in any way harmed by that wretch?”

  “I was not. He was a gentleman through and through.” Diana said. “Tell me, my lord, how did he come to be your footman?”

  “He gained access to my house through unlawful means. Deception,” Nathaniel said, his face menacing. “Be sure that I have punished already all those who aided him.”

  “Oh, but I do not believe they would have deliberately aided him,” She said. “Your servants had good intentions, surely.”

  “Every mistake that causes me harm is what needs to be punished. It does not matter what their intentions were,” Nathaniel said.

  Diana sat up a bit on the bed, wincing as she did so.

  “I’ve arranged for a priest to come here,” Nathaniel said. “We are going to hasten our marriage—it will be tonight instead of the day after tomorrow.”

  “Why?” Diana asked. “Surely—after the trauma I’ve faced today, you’d have some consideration-”

  “Your reputation is what I’m taking into consideration,” Nathaniel said. “No one must know what has happened to you. As for Daniel—I’ll make sure he meets his maker.”

  “Nothing happened to me,” Diana said, irritation rising in her. How kindly Daniel had spoken to her—what care he had shown. Nathaniel, as usual was bossing her about as if she were yet another jewel that he wanted to show off to society.

  “Well, I have made my decision. We are to be married today,” Nathaniel said, rising.

  “No,” Diana said.

  “Excuse me?”

  “No. I cannot marry you. I beg your pardon sir, but I would not make a suitable wife.” Nor you a suitable husband, she almost added.

  Nathaniel looked down at her, his nose wrinkling, then said, “Clearly that blow to the head has affected your mind. The priest will be here soon. Get ready. I will not marry you in this filthy dress you’re wearing.”

  “You will not marry me at all, sir,” She said angrily. “I am afraid that my heart does not possess for you the depth of feeling and the kind of affection that every wife ought to have. I-” She hesitated, then to make sure that he would break it off, added, “I am sorry to say, I kissed Daniel earlier today. He did not force me—if anything, it was I who forced myself on him. I am only telling you this to beg your apology—at the time you and I were still betrothed.”

  Nathaniel’s eyes narrowed into slits. “Perhaps, my girl, you do not fully understand. I wish to marry you today. You will obey me.” His voice held now the full menace of a man who had murdered people to have his way—and Diana felt her heart sink as she heard it.

  Daniel had been true, every doubt in her mind was extinguished when she saw the murder in Nathaniel’s eyes, and heard the ice in his voice. Nathaniel was very capable of murder—and perhaps in the back of her mind, she had known it all along.

  Steeling herself, she said, “No. I will not. Don’t you understand? I’ve given my heart to another.”

  “To Daniel? That wretched kidnapper?” Nathaniel laughed. “You have such poor taste, my dear girl. Goodness knows I tried to educate you in the better ways of life, but you were stubborn as a mule when
I tried to teach you.”

  “A good marriage is built on mutual understanding and respect,” Diana countered. “Neither of which you hold for me.”

  Nathaniel laughed again. “What ideas you have! In any case, my dear, your mewling about love makes no difference to me. I mean to marry you and I will. I have enough influence to see that it is done, too—either by the point of a sword or the exchange of some gold.”

  “Daniel was right about you,” Diana said. “Everything he said was true, wasn’t it? You murdered his mother. You murdered your own father. You tried to murder Daniel.”

  “But the wretched boy didn’t die,” Nathaniel said, hate spewing from his breath. “I slit his throat, and he still survived, somehow!”

  “Why?” She asked. “Was money and land really worth killing your own father for?”

  “Money and land?” Nathaniel laughed. “Why I’d have killed my father for a wager, so little did I care for him. My dear, you will learn soon that I see the world as divided into two halves—the people who obey me and the people who do not. I see no point in the existence of the second kind.”

  Diana paled at his words but said once again. “You cannot force me to marry you, Lord Bathurst. I will not obey you anymore—now that you have shown me your true colors.”

  “No?” Nathaniel smiled. “That’s a pity. I thought you were rather more devoted to your aunt, my dear.”

  “What do you mean!” Diana tried to get up, but with one easy push, Nathaniel had her lying on the bed again.

  “You will be dressed, and ready to marry me in the next hour,” Nathaniel said. “Or else you will find out what I mean.”

  Chapter 11

  Nathaniel's

  True Character

  H e meant to kill Aunt Florentia.

  Diana felt her world tilt and spin as she tried to get out of bed. The blow to her head had made her weaker than she had realized. She stumbled out of her room, and Aunt Florentia was immediately there, fussing over her and telling her to get back into bed.