Nate shook his head. ‘Alas, my coffers do not extend to hired help.’ He quirked a mocking brow and added, ‘Come to think of it, mayhap Reinhardt’s plan does have merit.’ He watched her face suffuse with colour, wondering why he was provoking her. Looking at her beautiful,refinedface, he realised that deep down, in that secret place where all his resentment festered, he was angry – furious in fact.
A bloody abduction attempt. That was what it took to get a woman to visit his home. His anger was completely irrational. He couldn’t actually remember the last time he’d even invited a female to Carlingford Hall, let alone a lady.
She took a step back, and Nate could see she was on the verge of bolting. Angry at himself now, he held up a conciliatory hand. ‘You have nothing to fear from me,’ he said gruffly. ‘Just my twisted sense of humour, I’m afraid.’
She bit her lip but came no closer, and he could see she was clutching her cloth bag in a death grip.
‘I will keep you safe,’ he added softly. ‘I swear it. Until your father gets here. I will not allow any harm to come to you.’
For long seconds, she simply stared at him, then abruptly nodded her head. Once. It was enough. The relief engulfing Nate at that smallest of nods was so shocking in its intensity, he almost sagged against Duchess’s flank. What the hell? A small whine at his feet brought him back to the situation, and mentally shaking himself, he bent to fuss Ruby, then began to saddle the mare.
‘I think since we are going to be sharing the same four walls, it would be appropriate to ask your name?’ he declared over his shoulder as he heaved the saddle onto the horse’s back, ‘or at least what you’d prefer me to call you.’
He heard her step towards him. ‘It’s Mercedes – Mercy for short,’ was the small answer.
He turned round in surprise. ‘You’ll allow me to use your first name?’ He watched as her face coloured up for the second time, evidently realising her faux pas. Then she sighed and shrugged.
‘These are hardly normal circumstances. Should the world discover that I spent time with a man alone in his house, then your use of my first name will be the least of my worries.’
‘Better that than forced to wed a murdering bastard,’ he countered with a tight grin.
‘Succinctly put,’ she agreed with a small smile of her own.
‘No one will find out,’ he vowed, tightening the girth. ‘We do not mix in the same circles my lady…’ He paused, giving a small chuckle. ‘In truth, I don’t mix in any circles.’ He cast a droll look behind him. ‘I’m like the beast in the fairytale.’
‘You’ve read Beauty and the Beast?’ she asked in surprise.
‘Who hasn’t?’ he countered, taking her bag. ‘I thought it was requisite reading for all children. Parents the world over love a good morality tale.’
‘So do you have the good heart and generous spirit of the prince, then?’ she quizzed, stepping up beside him and stroking the mare’s flank.
Absurdly irritated that she’d referred to the beast’s character rather than his ugliness, Nate ignored her question, instead saying flatly, ‘Her name’s Duchess. Be careful; she bites.’ He shoved down the petty satisfaction of watching her step back a little and picked up the panniers containing his provisions, throwing them over the horse’s back. ‘We should have enough food for three days – four if we are careful. Unfortunately, it will not be the kind of fare you’re no doubt accustomed to.’
‘You have no idea what I’m accustomed to,’ Mercy retorted tartly, handing him her bag. ‘Do not make the mistake of thinking me a ninnyhammer, Mr. Harding.’
He cast her a wry look. ‘I stand corrected. And it’s Nate. As you say, we are well beyond the boundaries of propriety.’ He took hold of the horse’s reins. ‘I’ll lead Duchess out of the stables, keeping to the side closest to the inn. If you walk on her other side and keep your head bowed, you will hopefully be lost to the shadows. There is nothing we can do about the sound of her hoofs on the cobbles. The snow should muffle it a little.’
Mercy bit her lip and nodded her head, pulling up her cloak hood to hide her face. Nate clicked his tongue, urging the mare forward. Ruby was already at the door, tail wagging in enthusiasm. Watching the little terrier’s excitement reminded her of Flossy, lessoning her fear a little. As they stepped outside, she resisted a senseless urge to look up at the darkened windows, and kept close to the horse’s side, her head bowed, while they made their slow, tortuous way across the courtyard.
Two minutes later, they were out onto the deserted road. Little did she know that her life would never be the same again.
Chapter Six
The Reverend woke early, though in truth, he wasn’t really sure he’d actually been asleep.
It wasn’t often Augustus Shackleford questioned his own decisions. Introspection wasn’t generally something he indulged in since it tended to bring on his gout. And for the most part, he believed that if a course of action came to him, it had been put there by the Almighty. For that reason, it was perfectly acceptable for him to go along with it – though, in fairness, there had been the odd occasion where he had to admit (mostly after the event) that he may just haveslightlymisconstrued His meaning.
This could well be one of those occasions.
If he was being entirely honest, he felt completely out of his depth. Despite his determined words the evening before, he wasn’t entirely sure theirfootmenwere capable of protecting them against what were essentially a bunch of murdering land pirates.
And at the end of the day, he had no real idea why this American was looking to abduct Mercedes. The man had implied that he’d only recently come to England from the Americas. It wasa deuced long way to come simply to force a chit’s hand in marriage to get his hands on her dowry. And how had he come to know about her anyway?
And lastly, the most important thing. The one that had been nagging him since he climbed into bed. Christian Stanhope, Earl of Cottesmore, had lived in America for several years before returning to England to claim his inheritance.
At the time of his leaving, he’d been living in New York City, but before that, Augustus Shackleford knew his son-in-law had spent several years in the very same place as Reinhardt.
Boston, Massachusetts.
