The venom attached to that statement made him clear his throat. “Pardon me,Lady Isabella,”hecorrected, and when she didn’t reject the name, he continued. “I want you to know that I won’t letWistenberrysucceed with his plans. You will be perfectly safewith me.”
“Is that so?” Her lovely eyes narrowed.When he nodded, she asked,“And where exactly arewe going?”
“ToWalmerCastle,on the coast.”
She snorted.“Isn’t thatcloserto France?”
He resisted the urge to shift in his seat. Was it bad that her anger both unnerved and aroused him at the same time? “It is, but rest assured, we will be in a fortified keep. It’s used as the personal retreat for Lord Liverpool, who is also the appointed Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports.” He shrugged. “However, since the earl is currently in London taking up his new post as Prime Ministerfollowingthe mess regardingPerceval’s assassination, he allowed me thetemporaryuse of the castle.”
Ridge had been rathersurprised whenLord Liverpool had approachedhimwith theidea.But then, the earl mentioned he was a close friend of Isabella’s father, Lord Ashfield, and that he would do everything in his power to see that his goddaughter was safeguarded against a criminal like Wistenberry.
However,consideringthestern look on Lady Isabella’s face, somethingtold him she wasn’t going to be convinced as easily.
“Let me get this right,” she said,holding up one hand.“I’m going to be taken, against my will, to a fort a stone’s throw away fromhostileterritory, where my traitorous husband intends toreturn andwhisk me away for his own nefarious purposes.” As she spoke, she ticked the items off on her fingers. “Whereas, youaresupposed to be my singledefensebetweenbeing a refuge ora captive in the enemy’s hands?”She shook her head. “Explain to me whythe bustling streets of London, under my father’s roof with additional reinforcements, didn’t seem to be the better option?”
She sounded so condescending that hehad to grindhis teeth. “If I have any hope of capturing Wistenberry, we need to give him access to you. That won’t happen in London.”
Shecrossed her arms,and he couldn’t help but allow his eyes to be drawn to her heaving bosom.While it might sound like a terribly, overused description of a ladies’ breasts, in this instance, it rather fit. The gentle swells of flesh teased him quite mercilessly withherevery determined inhale.
“Why should I trust you?”
Her query brought hisfocusback toher face. “Honestly? Because you really have no other choice.”
“There’s always a choice, Mr. Claymoore.” She stared at him with those wide, brown eyes.“But in my case, it appears I made the wrong one. I shouldn’t wish to entrust my life to the hands ofjustanother deceiver.”
Great job, you inconsiderate ass.From what Ridgeknewofthe lady, she was little more than a spinster who had run off with the one man whohadpaid her any sort of attention, andnow she was paying the price forthat devotion.
And he expected her to trust his word without due course, when she had been fed plenty of lies from Wistenberry already?
“I apologize, Lady Isabella.My intention is not to demand your cooperation, but rather to earn it.” With that, he turned his head to stare out the window, falling silent.
After a few moments, he heard her sigh.“I’m sorry if I soundedcurt, Mr. Claymoore. It’s just…”He turnedand foundher twisting her hands in her lap. “The past few weeks have been a maelstrom of emotions. The man I’d imagined myself in love with was paying his addresses, and I was overjoyed.When he convinced me to run away with him—”She broke off. “Needless to say, I couldn’t see through the lies until it was too late.Now he’s absconded with my dowry and left me to rot with nothing but the benefit of hissordidlast name at my disposal.So if I seem a bit out of sorts, I’m sure you can understand why.”
Sheliftedher brown eyes, and the turmoil he witnessed swimming in those depths touched something in his chest that he thought had withered and diedlong ago. His brows drew together.“I do. More than you know.”
***
Isabella didn’t even try to comprehend such a crypticstatement, although she was rather curious about it. Obviously he’d suffered as much as she had, even if the cause of his past disappointmentsmight not havebeen a broken heart. Then again, looking at his handsome visage, she rather thought there mighthavebeenseveral he’d left in his wake. What, with that strong jawline and those full, masculine lips…
Stop it right now!Her inner voice chided. It wouldn’t do to be having irrational fantasies toward another man justdaysafter she’d pledged her loyaltyto another, however misplaced those words might have been. Yes, Mr. Claymoorewas handsome with his piercing dark eyes and sandyblond hair, and she could tell that beneath his simple clothing he had no need of padding, that it was musclesalonewhichmade his poorly tailored jacket burst at the seams, but he was still aman, the one thing she should be shunning,notentertaining lewd thoughts about.
Intruth, the more she studied her companion, themore he reminded her of Simon, although it wasn’t their similarity of coloring, but rather the fact that both of themwould stop at nothing to get what they wanted.
And she was stuck right in the middle.
Feeling ill all of a sudden, she put a hand out to steady herself against the rocking carriage. “Stop the coach!”
Mr. Claymooreleaned forward and regardedherwith a critical eye, but her face must haveappearedas ashen as she felt, for he immediately rapped on the roof. As the carriagecame to a jarring halt, he wrenched open the door and climbed out. Isabella rose, but her head was spinning,andshe could hardly stand upright.She didn’t have to worry about making it outside in time, though. The agent’s strong hands lifted her effortlessly and assisted her to the ground without her having to take a step on her own.
His hand continued to steady her as she took severaldeep,bracing breaths.Now that she was on solid ground and the motion insidethe stifling carriage had eased, she started to feel better. She turned to Mr. Claymoore, who was watching her carefully.
“I think I’mrevived now. We can continue on—”
He released her.“This is as good a place tostop for a light repast as any.” He glanced at the horizon. “It will be getting dark soon. Besides, something in your stomach might help combat the persistent effects of the ether.”
Isabellanodded, but she continued to be wary of her companion.She still hadn’t quite resigned herself to the fact she was traveling to parts unknown with a man she barely knew, whosesoleclaim of being in service to the Crown was hisword. After all of Simon’s false promises, she wassuspiciousof men and their supposed integrity.
Mr. Claymooreretrieveda blanketfrom the carriage and laid it outon the ground.He then gathered a basket and began unwrapping cheese, bread, tarts, and even a cask of wine.After a moment’s hesitation,Isabellasat down, decidingthat perhaps something other than the weak ale she’d had at the Cellar would be in order.
