She climbed in and settled herself on a seat, grateful the coach held only one other passenger. She’d have her privacy. The other man would too. His hat was low and his head was buried in a book. A reader. Good. Perhaps they would have something to talk about if she felt like talking later. She pulled out her own book and tried to busy her mind and forget her heart was breaking. Dimitri would be hurt when he woke. But he would understand, she took comfort in that. The carriage lurched into action. There was no going back now.
* * *
Five miles down the road, after a lengthy silence that bordered on odd—what sort of stranger offered nothing, not even a greeting—the stranger in the corner lifted his head and fixed her with blue eyes. ‘Hello, Evie. Seems we have a coach to Scotland to share. Four days on the road ought to be time to get reacquainted.’
Andrew. Her heart began to race. She didn’t want to be alone with him. Not after last night.
‘I hear Scotland’s great for exiles.’ He smiled coldly. ‘That gives us something in common. The Prince has ruined us both. That’s something else in common. Peas in pod, we are.’
‘I’m nothing like you.’
‘Oh, you are, you just don’t want to admit it. The Prince has shafted us, one of us more literally than the other, I am guessing. But he’s forced us both to flee our homes.’
She would not dignify that with a response. She was not going to tell Andrew all Dimitri had offered to give up for her just to prove him wrong. Evie turned her attention to her book, trying to treat Andrew as she would any prying stranger. How had she ever thought him attractive? Costume jewellery indeed. But it was hard to ignore Andrew. He was no longer just annoying, he was potentially dangerous. On two occasions he had threatened her with physical harm. This man was not her friend, perhaps not even her ex-friend. The realisation made the coach that much smaller. She glanced out the window, considering her options.
‘Do you think he’ll come after you? He doesn’t know I’m on this coach too.’ He made a general gesture with his hand. ‘This is all very serendipitous, you and I together. He has no reason to believe you’re in any danger or in need of rescue. Can you imagine how this might look to him? You and I running away to Scotland, land of the quick marriage, together right after you’ve left his bed. Perhaps I can explain to him how you gave me the drawings and then how I used the drawings to market the artefacts to buyers. He’ll think we were in it together all along.’ Andrew made a pouting face. ‘I don’t think that will go over well at all, considering he was most willing to take a bullet for you last night. Of course, how much this betrayal hurts, depends on whether or not he loved you.’ He paused. ‘Oh, I see. You think he does love you.
‘How quaint. The mighty prince in love with the country girl.’ He sighed. ‘He doesn’t love you, Evie. He is going to marry Ayfer Hanimsultan, a princess of sorts in his part of the world. It’s all been planned for years. I tried to warn you. He’s the real villain here. He misled you entirely.’ She was not going to cry. Of course he was going to marry Ayfer Hanimsultan. She’d given him permission when she’d left. It was what had to be done. She just wished it didn’t hurt so much.
To her horror, Andrew pulled out a small knife and began to do his nails. ‘I have to go armed now, Evie. The Prince has the made the world more dangerous for me.’
‘You shouldn’t have stolen his artefacts.’
He gave her a leer of a look. ‘I might steal more than his artefacts before this trip is over. It seems you never did give my kisses a fair try and I never did give you a fair try. Apparently, you have charms I’ve been unaware of.’ Andrew licked his lips. ‘Let’s play a game. It’s called obedience. My last mistress liked it quite a bit.’
Evie’s skin began to crawl, her pulse accelerated with fear. She could not let herself be afraid. She had to be more like Dimitri. Last night, he’d been decisive. Andrew was counting on fear to work in his favour. ‘Here’s the rules. I tell you to do something. You can choose to do it, or you can choose to be punished for refusing. My mistress liked spanking. Maybe there’s a foreign trick or two you can show me, something Dimitri liked.’
Andrew’s hatred of Dimitri was fully unmasked now. He’d never been Dimitri’s friend, just one of many who tried to use him for their own gain. It was the key she needed to unlock her own strength. This game would not conquer her. Evie sat up a little straighter and looked Andrew in the eye. ‘I will never like anything associated with you. I was wrong to have ascribed certain values to you for as long as I did.’ She made a point of returning to her book.
Bravado had been a mistake. In a lightning move, Andrew slid onto the seat next to her, knife at her throat, his hand in her hair, yanking her head up so that she cried out. ‘That is not how the game works, Evie,’ he growled.
He released her and she rubbed at her neck, panic becoming real. ‘Now, let’s try again, Evie. I’ll show you some mercy. We’ll start easy. Take down your hair.’
She had no choice. She was trapped in a moving box with a mad man. She was going to have to play. But she didn’t have to lose. It occurred to her that losing wasn’t defined by merely doing what Andrew asked, but rather by giving in to fear. Andrew wanted her in tears, wanted her to beg, as revenge on Dimitri and perhaps revenge on her. She would not give him either. She could do this. Taking down her hair was nothing. It was only embarrassing if she let it be. She would wait for her moment and when it came, she would seize it with both hands. With a fierce stare, she took her hair down, pin by pin.
* * *
Dimitri stared, dumbfounded at the note. He didn’t think Evie was the type to go back on her word. He’d read it and re-read it. She’d left? Because she loved him? That made no sense. He rubbed his hands over his stubbly jaw. He’d woken and found her gone. The bed was cold. It had been a while. She’d left and he’d missed it.
With fumbling fingers, he unwrapped the package, more out of reflex than curiosity. His mind was going through ordinary routines while it tried to assimilate what had just happened. Inside lay an exquisite piece of needlework depicting Kuban the way he’d described it to her: the river, the mountains, the shining palaces with their domes. He ran a finger over the threads. He understood the note better now. She was telling him to go to Kuban and fulfil his destiny because she loved him, because she would not take his life away from him.
That was unacceptable. She didn’t want to leave him. She only felt she had to. Everything last night made sense, the hint of sadness in her eyes, the desperation with which she’d made love. She’d known she was saying farewell. He had saved her life and now she thought she was saving his.
Dimitri dressed hurriedly. He would go to her parents’ house and convince her, convince them, he didn’t need saving. Somehow. He’d given her all his best arguments. He’d make them all again if need be. He’d show her the deed. He’d kiss her. He would think of something. He saddled one of the horses he travelled with, a shiny, fast black stallion, and ran through the options all the way to her house, only to learn she wasn’t there. She’d left for Scotland to visit her girlfriends.
The stallion was hot beneath him, wanting to run in the fine morning. Dimitri gauged the time. The coach couldn’t be more than an hour or two ahead of him, on a fast horse, even less. He wheeled the horse around and gave him his head. There was only one road north. He would find her and he would bring her back.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
‘Someone’s coming.’ Andrew dropped the curtain back in place with a scowl. The coach was slowing. Whoever was out there had ordered the coach to pull over. Evie could hear loud voices outside over the rumble of hooves. She tried to right herself as best she could. Her gown was undone, her chemise ripped, but she’d survived the game. She could not say the same for Andrew. He had a nail scratch down his cheek and he looked less immaculate. She’d made him pay for everything he’d demanded of her.
The goal was to survive intact and that meant modesty had to be sacrificed. In some cases, even pride. Her motto had become there was worse he could do and he hadn’t done it. Not yet.
Andrew pointed the tip of his knife at her. ‘Don’t think for a moment about making yourself decent. If it’s highwaymen they’ll not thank you for it. If it’s your Prince, I want him to see what he’s done. This is all his fault. He took from me and now I take from him.’
Andrew lifted the curtain again now that the coach was at a full stop. ‘Maybe he does love you.’ He shot her an appraising look. ‘I can understand that attraction better now after our little game.’ He motioned to the door. ‘We are getting out together, you first, my knife at your throat, so go cautiously and don’t think about blurting anything out. They could very well be your last words. Keep your hands down.’
Her moment was nearly here, Evie reminded herself as he dragged her against him, the blade at her neck, the edge pricking. It was frightening indeed to have one’s skin that close to death, but there was hope just the other side of that door. ‘I’m going to kill him, you know that, don’t you? Unless the sight of you kills him first,’ Andrew growled.
It was the very thing she feared. She’d not wanted to tidy her clothes for herself as much she’d wanted to tidy herself for Dimitri. She didn’t want Dimitri to see her like this, her hair mussed, her clothes torn, her body exposed. He would think the worst. She wanted to protect him from that, from the anger that would come. That anger would be his enemy. It would drive him to foolishness and Andrew would not hesitate. Andrew wanted him dead, but not before he had suffered.
She wanted to spit at him, wanted to fight, but Andrew was not above letting his blade draw blood. It was one of the lessons she’d learned early in the game. She had the cut to prove it. Only a coward would kill in the isolation of the country. Sunlight hit her eyes and she squinted, trying hard to keep her eyes open, not wanting to be blind for a moment. Even so, she heard him before she saw him.
‘Evie!’ Oh, God, that was the voice of her salvation. She wanted to give in to weakness and weep with relief even though Andrew held her a mortal prisoner against him. Dimitri had come for her, to save her from her own foolishness, she saw that now. She never should have left his bed. And now this good man who loved her, who was willing to give up everything for her, might very well end up giving his life. He’d not come expecting danger, only a stubborn woman. But Andrew was armed. To the teeth, it turned out. There was the little gun, the knife, and a larger knife and a larger pistol under the seat. She would go for those weapons the first chance she had. She would not let Dimitri fight alone.
‘Andrew, let her go.’ The command came, regal and loud atop the black stallion.
‘What? Is that all you have to say? Don’t you want to know why we’re together, or what we’ve been doing? Maybe she doesn’t want to come with you now that she’s had a taste of a real Englishman.’ Andrew’s other arm came up, the long pistol a deadly extension of his hand. ‘Shall I shoot him, my dear? Shall he join our little game? It’s more fun with three. Imagine what we could do.
‘Get off that beast of yours, Prince, and face me man to man and I’ll let her go. I was about done with her anyway.’
‘No, Dimitri, don’t get down. He’ll kill you!’ The blade bit and she felt a trickle of blood rise on her neck. The words were worth it. All that mattered was that Dimitri ride away from this, alive and well. He deserved that.
* * *
Dear God, Andrew was going to kill her. The man had gone mad. It became obvious this was going to be over in a matter of seconds. There was no chance to negotiate. Heaven only knew what she’d endured in that coach, and now this. He was trying hard not to imagine what these hours had been like for her, not while she was depending on his cool head and cooler hand. She’d made it this far, she deserved to have him help her the rest of the way. He would have only one shot. His hand closed around his first pistol, lying low against his saddle. There would be no chance to draw it. He would have to shoot from the holster, through the holster. He angled the horse, letting the horse prance. He could make this shot, but his margin for error was slim. If he missed, he risked hitting Evie. The shot would cripple her.
‘Evie, stand still.’ His words were cold and crisp and loud. He’d never been more terrified in his life. The woman he loved was at risk. He could not miss this shot. He squeezed the trigger. There was a breeze past Evie’s skirts. Fabric rippled. Andrew went down in a howl of pain as the bullet took him in the knee. Relief swamped Dimitri. He came off the horse in a fluid motion, drawing another pistol, tossing away the empty one as he advanced. “Evie, get behind me!” He barked when she glanced towards the coach. There were probably weapons inside and his brave girl would want to fight but he needed her safe.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Evie scramble towards the horse, towards safety behind him. Now he could give all of his concentration to Andrew. The coachman on the box began to protest. ‘I don’t take with violence on my stage.’
‘A little too late for that,’ Dimitri growled, his eyes never leaving Andrew. ‘You’ve allowed a woman to be molested in your coach.’ He trained his pistol on Andrew. ‘I should shoot you.’ This next bullet would take him between the eyes. Andrew began to whine, to beg. Dimitri cut him off with harsh words. He was beyond mercy. ‘Stop your snivelling, you coward. I won’t shoot you. I will, however, throw you in this coach with enough money for a doctor and your promise that you’ll never leave Scotland. If I catch you on English soil or near my wife ever again, I will shoot you on sight.’
He didn’t see Andrew’s hand move. A blade flashed on his periphery. Behind him, Evie screamed a single word. ‘Knife!’ Without her warning it would have been too late. All else happened in slow motion. The blade came up. There was no time to think, only to time to act. Dimitri fired his second pistol without hesitation on Evie’s warning. When the roar of the bullet ebbed, Andrew lay dead. But his other thought was: Evie is safe. Andrew could never hurt her again.
She half-ran, half-stumbled to him and he wrapped her in his arms, pulling her away from the scene. He was never letting her go again. He shrugged out of his coat, draping it about her. His brave girl was shaking. ‘Are you all right, Evie? Did he hurt you?’ They were inadequate words. Of course Andrew had hurt her. Her clothes were torn, her hair was tangled. The thin red line of a cut was visible on her neck, another high above her right breast. But he couldn’t bring himself to mouth the words he feared the most: Had Andrew forced himself on her?
‘I’m all right.’ She clutched at his shirt, her eyes searching his. She knew what he meant to ask. ‘He didn’t hurt me, not like that. But he would have. He made me play this game...’ She held nothing back, perhaps understanding his need to know. When she finished, he knew one truth. If Andrew were not already dead, he would have been now.
* * *
‘After all that, you still had the presence of mind to save me, Evie.’ He wanted to get her away from here more than ever as if putting miles between this place and Evie would help her forget. He boosted her up into the saddle and settled behind her, taking her deep into the vee of his thighs, letting her feel the press of his muscles around her, strong and alive, a reminder too that she was strong and she was alive. They were alive together. ‘You know, in Kuban, we have a tradition. When you save a life, that life belongs to you. You become responsible for it.’
He kneed the horse forward, back towards Little Westbury, back towards the life that was about to start. ‘Do you have any idea how I felt when I woke up and saw you were gone? That my life was over, Evie. You’re my life now. The life I’ve chosen and I don’t want you to ever run from that again.’
‘I left because I chose you.’ Evie half-turned, to stroke his face with her hand, her eyes shining with tears. ‘I didn’t think giving up a kingdom for me was a good trade.’
‘You’re right. It’s not a good trade. It’s not nearly enough. Not even two kingdoms, three kingdoms, would be enough for you, Evie.’ Sapphire tears glistened, threatening to spill. He wanted to lick them away with his tongue. His Evie should never cry. ‘I just need you to believe it.’
‘I do. You came for me. Not because I told you to, but because you wanted to.’
‘Because I needed to, Evie. You are my freedom.’ She smiled at him then—the smile he’d fallen for from the first. He knew he was home. It no longer mattered what the news from Kuban was. He would manage it, whenever it came, with whatever verdict it held. If he had to go back to Kuban and spirit Anna-Maria away, so be it. ‘Did you know, the first thing I noticed about you was your smile? I knew then I was in trouble. Just not how much.’
Evie laughed, facing forward. She snuggled her buttocks deeper against his groin. ‘What’s so funny?’ He would swear she was doing that wiggling bit on purpose.
‘The first thing I noticed about you was your trousers,’ she said coyly.
‘My trousers?’
‘Yes. We all did. Every woman in the assembly room wanted to get into your trousers that night, me most of all.’
‘Well, it looks like your wish came true, soon-to-be-Mrs Petrovich. How long does it take you to make a dress, Evie?’
‘What?’ The question caught her off guard. ‘Three weeks, I think. Maybe less if I don’t have any distractions.’
‘Three weeks? Good. Then you can wear it to your wedding.’
‘Hmm.’ She arched her neck and looked up at him with a considering stare, ready to tease him in return. ‘I like how this story is developing. Who would have thought I’d marry the Prince of Pleats?’
Dimitri laughed and held her tight. Who would have thought indeed? He’d not come to Little Westbury expecting any of this, but it was fast becoming his experience that the unexpected made for the best endings.
AWAKENING THE SHY MISS Page 22
