The outriders noticed them. One turned his head and shouted something Eleanor could not hear over the wind. The carriage lurched faster.
James cursed under his breath.
Eleanor leaned forward, urging her mare on. “We will not reach them before the next bend.”
“We will,” James replied, voice clipped.
“How?” Eleanor called.
James did not answer directly. He glanced toward the hedgerow and then toward the narrow ditch running alongside the lane.
Eleanor understood with sudden clarity. He intended to force the carriage to slow.
How could I not see his plan sooner?
“James,” she called sharply. “Do not!”
He looked back just enough to meet her eyes. “Stay behind.”
Eleanor’s jaw tightened. “No.”
James’s expression darkened. “Eleanor.”
“Do you want her caught,” Eleanor demanded, “or do you want to argue?”
James’s jaw flexed. Then he turned forward again, focus sharpened.
The constables closed behind them, spreading slightly to keep the carriage from slipping away if it took a sudden turn.
James shouted, “In the name of the King, stop!”
The carriage did not stop.
The outrider on the right drew something from his belt, perhaps a pistol.
Eleanor’s blood chilled.
James swerved, keeping his horse between the outrider and the rider he believed to be Roderick, which was to say Eleanor. The movement was protective and infuriating at once.
“You will get yourself killed,” Eleanor shouted.
James did not look back. “Then stay where I told you.”
Eleanor’s breath came hard. “You cannot command me.”
“I can,” James snapped, voice raw with strain. “I can because I cannot watch you die.”
The words hit her like a blow.
Before she could answer, the lane bent sharply, and the carriage slowed just slightly to take it.
James seized the moment.
He urged his horse forward, closing the gap so quickly Eleanor felt her heart leap. He reached out and grabbed the leather strap at the back of the carriage, hauling himself alongside it. The movement was reckless, stunning, and utterly James.
“Stop!” he shouted again.
The carriage rocked. The driver cracked the reins harder.
