But what will you do when you find her?his brain queried. He didn’t know. The right course of action would be to wed her himself. But Amelia had already made it clear that she didn’t consider him a good marital candidate for Margaret. Why, then, would Amelia agree to wed him herself, despite her ruined reputation?
Unless the ton believed that she had, in fact, run off withhimand not the viscount.
Ahead, he spied the dim flare of a lantern in the darkness. There. It had to be them. His pulse quickened, and he ordered his driver, “Move alongside the coach.” He needed to see for himself if it was Lisford’s vehicle.
They would be nearly off the road, but there was a straight stretch where they could manage it. David waited until they were parallel to the other driver. “Pull to the side,” he called out to the man.
When the other driver responded by increasing the pace of the horses, David was certain it had to be Lisford’s vehicle. His driver, in turn, sped up until the coaches were both in danger of overturning. David hesitated, judging the speed. If he missed the other coach, he could break his neck in the fall. But then again, if Amelia was inside, she needed him to save her. There was no way to know if Lisford was threatening her, even now. He had no choice but to risk it.
Once the two vehicles were parallel again, he gripped the dashing frame and the seat. The only light gleamed from lanterns hanging on the side of each coach, while below him, the wheels jostled against the ruts in the road. It was madness to jump from a moving coach, for one misstep could mean being crushed beneath the vehicle.
David steeled himself and took a deep breath. Then he braced his hands against the seat and leaped across the space. His hands skidded across the seat irons, and he landed hard against the coachman. The driver lost his balance and barely kept from falling over. Before the man could react, David took command of the reins and forced the coach to stop. The vehicle lurched against the ground, but he brought the horses to a halt.
“Lisford has her, doesn’t he?” he demanded of the driver.
“I only did what I was paid to do,” the man protested, lifting his hands as if to surrender.
Then that was a yes. “Go now, and wait by my driver,” David commanded.
A moment later, the door opened, and he spied Lisford peering out. “Why have we stopped?”
Rage boiled through him at the sight of the man.Because I’m going to beat you senseless.
David climbed down and seized the viscount by his cravat, knocking his head against the coach. “Did you think no one would come after her?”
The viscount’s face paled with fear. He reached up, struggling to free himself, but David wouldn’t release him. Panic laced his voice, and Lisford insisted, “She wanted to marry me!”
Like hell.David followed up with a blow to the man’s jaw, and Lisford crumpled to the ground. The viscount didn’t even have the strength to give a decent fight, which was disappointing. He’d rather hoped the man would exchange blows, giving David a reason to break a rib or two. Instead, he stepped over the unconscious viscount and opened the coach door wider.
Inside, he saw the relieved face of Amelia. He half expected her to begin talking at a rapid pace, babbling her thanks or sobbing.
Instead, she moved toward him and sat down at the doorway to the coach, as if she didn’t trust her legs to move. Not a word did she speak. She was deathly pale, and he didn’t know what to say to her other than, “Are you all right?”
She gave a single nod but didn’t move. Without asking for permission, David lifted her up and carried her over to his own coach. She climbed inside, and after that, he gave instructions for the viscount’s driver to take Lisford to northern Scotland,without his bride.
It would take weeks for the viscount to return home, and in the meantime, David intended to take care of Amelia. “I’ll let you know when to start our journey back to London,” he told his driver. “She needs a moment to collect herself.”
He climbed back inside the coach and sat across from Amelia. The only sign of her ordeal was her shaking hands. For a long time, she remained silent, which was the strongest evidence of her fear.
“Do I need to go back and kill him?” he asked.
She shook her head. David waited endless moments for her to speak, but she never did. At last, he went outside and gave the order for the driver to begin their journey back to London. He would return her to her parents, and they would decide what to do after that.
Marry her, the voice of his wife seemed to say. He ignored it, watching Amelia. It took every ounce of his patience not to ask questions, waiting for her to speak.
But after long minutes passed and they traveled in silence, he caught the gleam of tears on her cheeks.
David cursed, afraid of what that meant. “Look at me, Amelia,” he demanded, using her name for the first time.
She did, and the misery on her face only strengthened his anger toward the bastard who’d taken her.
“This wasn’t your fault.”
Her shoulders bowed, and she covered her face, still crying. He didn’t know whether to speak words of consolation or reassure her that it would be all right. Instead, he pulled out a handkerchief and offered it to her. She sniffed and took it, staring at the linen for a moment.
“You’re supposed to use it,” he reminded her. “Not stare at it.”
An odd expression came over her face, and she wiped her tears away. From across the coach, she appeared lovely, like an angel struggling to remain strong in the face of danger. It struck him in the gut with no warning at all.
