“Lockwood has two men with him,” he said, his military training reasserting itself. “That’s three against however many we can muster. But they’ll be encumbered by Courtney, especially if she’s fighting them.”
“Four of us,” Rockwell said immediately. “Wolf, Blackstone, you and myself.”
“Five,” came a weak voice from the settle. Ashley was attempting to rise despite the physician’s protests. “I’m going with you.”
“Absolutely not,” Lucien said firmly. “You’re injured, and—”
“And I watched him take her,” Ashley snapped, her eyes flashing. “I failed to protect her. I won’t compound that failure by sitting here uselessly while she’s in danger.”
The guilt in her voice was unmistakable, and Lucien felt a stab of sympathy. But he couldn’t allow sentiment to cloud his judgment.
“You’ll slow us down,” he said bluntly. “And if there’s fighting…”
“There will be fighting,” Blackstone said with cold certainty. “Lockwood won’t surrender peacefully. Not after what he’s done.”
The duke’s tone suggested he was looking forward to the confrontation, and Lucien found himself sharing that anticipation. The thought of finally having Lockwood withinreach, of being able to exact payment for Kitty’s murder and Courtney’s abduction…
“I’ll organize fresh horses at the coaching inns,” Farah said, her practical nature asserting itself. “Send word ahead so you don’t lose time changing mounts.”
“And I’ll contact the magistrate. They might be able to stop him until we can catch up,” Wolf added. “Make sure they understand the urgency when Lockwood is apprehended.”
When, not if. Lucien appreciated his friend’s confidence, even as his own doubts gnawed at him. They were making assumptions about Lockwood’s route, his timing, his intentions. What if they were wrong? What if even now Courtney was being subjected to horrors he couldn’t bear to contemplate?
Rockwell said, “Graves has already sent a missive to her father and brother at Tattersalls. I’ve asked for Fane, Axton, and Julian to aid us too.” He turned to Lucien and added, “We have the numbers on our side. Plus, we will be on horseback and he’s in a carriage. We will be faster. We will catch him.”
The thought of her alone, terrified, possibly hurt, made his chest tighten with an emotion he’d been trying to deny for weeks. It wasn’t just desire or companionship or even deep affection that drove his desperation to find her.
He loved her.
The realization hit him with startling clarity, cutting through his fear and rage to settle in his chest with warm certainty. Not the remembered love of their youth, but something new and fierce and entirely his own. The love of a man who had been through hell and found someone willing to share the journey back.
And he might lose her forever because he’d been too much of a coward to simply tell the truth from the beginning.
If he’d just announced to society that he’d been deceived in Ireland, that his marriage had been a fiction, that Ava-Mariewas illegitimate—yes, there would have been scandal, whispers, social ostracism. His sisters’ prospects would have suffered. His own standing would have been damaged.
But Courtney would be safe.
Instead, his need to protect his family’s reputation had trapped him again, just as it had five years ago when he’d felt obligated to buy his colors and serve in Ireland. Once again, the weight of the Furoe name and legacy had led to disaster.
“I should have told the truth from the beginning,” he said suddenly, his voice raw with self-recrimination. “About Ireland, about Ava-Marie. None of this would have happened if I’d simply been honest.”
“Lockwood would have simply found something else to use,” Rockwell said firmly. “The man’s a monster, Lucien. This isn’t your fault.”
“Isn’t it?” Lucien laughed bitterly. “I’ve spent my entire life being shaped by what’s expected of a Furoe. Five years ago, I felt duty-bound to serve in Ireland because our family has always sent sons to war, quite forgetting I was an only son and therefore it was an idiotic thing to do. Now I’ve hidden the truth about my time there because I couldn’t bear to bring more shame on the family name. And in both cases, the people I care about have paid the price.”
Blackstone’s expression was grim but understanding. “The burden of legacy,” he said quietly. “I know it well. But you cannot let guilt paralyze you now. Lady Courtney needs you focused on the present, not the past.”
The duke was right, of course. Self-recrimination was a luxury he couldn’t afford while Courtney’s life hung in the balance. But the knowledge that his choices—his cowardice—had led to this moment would haunt him regardless of the outcome.
“Twenty minutes,” Wolf said, checking his pocket watch. “That’s how long it will take to ready horses and supplies. We can be on the road within the half hour.”
It felt like an eternity. Twenty minutes during which Lockwood could travel another several miles, during which Courtney could… Lucien cut off that line of thinking before it could fully form.
“She’ll slow him down,” Ashley said suddenly, as if reading his thoughts. “Courtney’s stronger than she appears. Smarter too. If she can find ways to delay their progress…”
“She will,” Lucien said with fierce conviction. “She’ll fight him every step of the way.”
And God help Lockwood if he hurt her while she did. Because when Lucien caught up with them—and he would catch up with them—there would be a reckoning that would make Kitty’s murder look merciful by comparison.
