He caught his breath as a thought struck. Yet it made sense. “I have a better idea, Callie. Marry me. We can be in Scotland in two days and we’re old enough to marry there without permission.”
She gasped, her hazel eyes widening. “And you thinkI’minsane! We’re too young to get married, even if it is legal in Scotland. Marriage is forever.” She bit her lip. “I’ve always wanted to marry for love.”
“My parents did that and it didn’t work out particularly well,” he retorted. “I’ve always thought that in the unlikely event that I marry, it would be to a friend, and aren’t we best friends?”
She frowned as she considered his proposal. “I suppose marrying you would be better than a fat old planter with damp hands.”
He grinned. “I amsovery flattered.”
“You know I didn’t mean it like that! It’s just that marriage seems so . . . so extreme.”
“It is, but so is being bullied into marriage to a man you can’t stand.” He shrugged. “If someday you meet someone you really want to marry, I won’t stand in your way. It’s easier to get a divorce in Scotland than in England. In the meantime, you’d be better off with me because I won’t try to force you to do anything you don’t want to.”
“There is that,” she admitted. “If we’re married, we’ll both be free of our fathers and able to look out for each other.”
“It would be a grand adventure,” he said, liking the idea more and more. “At twenty-one I’ll have control of half the money my godfather left me. It’s enough for us to live comfortably. Between now and then, we’ll discover what life is like for average people. We’ll find work with some decent country squire. You can be a lady’s maid and I’ll look after the horses.”
Callie’s face lit with laughter. “You’re right, it would be an adventure! Far better than marrying a dreadful stranger. We’ll make it work. We always do. No more adults telling us we’re too rebellious and ill behaved!”
“Too wild and fated to come to a bad end!” Exhilarated, Gordon swept Callie into his arms and kissed her. He started the kiss as a friend, and ended it as . . . something else. She was sweet and warm and strong in his arms, and for the first time ever he thought of her as a girl. No, not a girl, but a young woman ripe for marriage.
She also reacted to the kiss, leaning into him, her lips parting. Heat kicked through him. He’d admired his share of pretty girls and stolen a few kisses, but this was different. More. She would be his wife and they would have physical and emotional intimacy beyond anything he could imagine. The prospect was alarming, but also exhilarating.
Callie drew back, her eyes shining. “The adventure of a lifetime,” she breathed. “And the sooner we begin, Richard, the better!”
* * *
Within a quarter of an hour, they were on their way. Gordon had always been good at saving, and he had nearly a hundred pounds, a small fortune. He tucked it into a money belt around his waist, then dressed for the journey. He gave Callie a hat to stuff her hair under and a shapeless coat he’d outgrown. He grinned at the result. “You can pass as my little brother if no one looks too closely.”
“That should make us harder to follow.” She folded a light blanket into a canvas sack that could go into a saddlebag. “What route should we take?”
“There’s only one decent road toward Scotland from here, but once we get beyond Lancaster, we can cut east on some less traveled roads. Slower, but we’re less likely to be discovered.”
“Do you think we’ll be pursued?” She slung the canvas sack over one shoulder. “Even if they figure out that we’ve run off together, they might just think good riddance to both of us.”
Gordon shook his head. “My father won’t miss me. I’m just a third son and one he doesn’t like. Since your father has an advantageous marriage for you, he won’t shrug off your disappearance. But it will take them time to realize that we’ve eloped. If we travel fast, we should be in Scotland before they can catch us.”
Silently they left his bedroom. He wondered if he’d ever see it again. Callie’s father might not want to let her go, but his own father would be glad if he disappeared.
They left through the kitchen, adding bread and cheese to their bags. The wind was from the west and there was a faint, sulfurous smell of burning from the smoldering coal seam not far away. He wouldn’t miss that smell.
In the stables, he saddled two horses that he knew had excellent endurance, and they headed out. They made good speed along the moonlit roads for several hours, but rain blew in from the Irish Sea as dawn approached.
Callie was drooping with fatigue, though she’d never admit it, so he suggested, “Let’s stop for a few hours in that barn there. We and the horses need rest, and with the rain, it’s hard to see the road.”
Wordlessly Callie turned into the lane that led to the low barn. No farmhouse was near, so they should be safe for a few hours. In the barn, they tended to their horses, then curled up together in a pile of hay since the night was chilly. As Callie tucked the blanket around them, she murmured, “Thank you for saving me, Richard. We will do well together.”
He brushed a kiss on the top of her head, feeling a tenderness and protectiveness that were new to him. “We will. Sleep well, Catkin.”
He knew society would find their elopement outrageous, but they were both used to outraging people. It gave them so much in common. With a smile, he drifted off.
* * *
“They’re in here!” a voice bellowed as the barn doors swung open.
Sunlight flooded into the barn as Gordon fought his way free from the blanket and hay. He knew this was disaster even before the looming figure of Callie’s father, Lord Stanfield, appeared in the open doorway. Behind him—dear God, it was Gordon’s father, Lord Kingston! And two Stanfield grooms.
“Lord George Audley. You filthy bastard, you’ve ruined my daughter!” Stanfield carried a driving whip in his right hand, and he slashed it viciously at Gordon.
