“Then you can see why I had to steal.”
“I can.” He nodded then took a deep breath. “Unfortunately, because you stabbed a peer and stole from him, there is only one way we can save you from going to prison.”
“Oui, I know. I must hide. I can give you half of what I took and you will take care of Grand-maman.Non?”
“No, hiding won’t be an option. They will find you. Leighhall is nothing if not thorough.”
Her heart skipped a beat and her hands grew clammy. What he said was true. Leighhall would never give up. “Mon ami, you must hide me.”
“I cannot. There is only one avenue for us to take to keep you out of prison.” His gaze was no longer soft, but determined.
When Anthony was determined, he succeeded. She already felt safe. “Tell me.”
“We must go to Gretna Green.”
Chapter Sixteen
Anthony waited forLissa’s temper to erupt, but instead she looked blankly at him. “Where is Gretna Green?”
Ballocks. He’d forgotten she wouldn’t know. She wasn’t raised in England. She hadn’t even known that at twenty-one she didn’t need her guardian’s permission to marry. “It’s in Scotland, just over the border. It is not far from my parents’ estate and mine.”
“I don’t understand why going to Scotland will save me. Please explain.”
As he studied her, it was clear to him that even if he hadn’t fallen in love with her, he would still make the sacrifice for her. He just hoped she wouldn’t hate him for long. “Gretna Green is the place couples go to get married to go against their parents’ wishes or to avoid the reading of the banns.”
Her mouth opened and closed before opening again to speak. “Married? I can’t. I just told you I can’t. YouagreedI can’t.”
Though he knew the odds were not in his favor, he had had the hope that she might at least consider him. “And so I did, because I know you well. I admit that marriage to me would only protect you somewhat, as I am but a baron. However, my father is the Duke of Roxburgh and has much sway.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Would he not help me simply because you are his son and I am a friend?”
His gut reacted to her argument, but he tried to keep his hurt at bay. “No. My father, unlike myself, is a traditionalist. He believes in the hierarchy of society. Since you are French and a woman of the gentry, he would feel no responsibility. That you have traveled alone with me and not only caused a peer to bleed, but stole, would have my father calling the magistrate himself.”
She looked away, obviously not happy with him. He had no doubt she searched for other solutions to her dilemma. “Would he help you if I were your mistress in truth?”
Again his stomach tightened as if punched. “No. He is faithful to my mother and does not believe a man needs a mistress if he chooses his wife wisely.”
Her shoulders slumped. “Is there not another country I could go to? I cannot return to France. As you know, my activities in the past there would have me hanged.”
He could listen to no more excuses. He turned her face toward him. “Lissa, would it really be such a terrible life being married to me?”
She blinked as if she’d not thought about the fact it would be him, which did ease him a bit. “No, I suppose it would not be terrible, but I would still be married. You would look at me differently, expect me to conform to what a baroness would do. Truly, can you see me hosting a dinner party at your estate?”
He chuckled, an image appearing in his head of her in male clothing sitting at the other end of the table opposite him with a dozen fancy-dressed guests between them. “No, I can’t, but I wouldn’t expect you to act the baroness any more than I act the baron.”
She cocked her head, finally looking into his eyes thoughtfully. “Would you really do this for me? You told me you would never marry.”
In that moment, he almost couldn’t keep his feelings at bay, but he swallowed them down hard. “I would do this for you.” He couldn’t bring himself to say it was because they were friends.
She rolled her lips in, her resistance still in place.
Cupping her chin, he stared into her eyes. “I cannot bear the thought of you in Newgate, buried deep in a squalid chamber with fifteen or so other women, starving or sick with disease. Or worse, trading your charms with a dirty turnkey just to eat. You deserve more.”
She looked down, clearly hiding something. Finally, she met his gaze again. “Could I continue to aid you in your investigations?”
Hope surged through him. “If that is what you’d like to do.”
“And would you take care of Grand-maman?”
