Lord Clarence paled. Sweat beaded his forehead, one trickle easing down his temple. He slashed at Ridge with the blade, but Ridge easily dodged.
“I’ll not be bested by a pasty-faced book worm,” Lord Clarence taunted.
Ridge raised a brow in a mocking manner. “Think you I spent all my time in books these past years?” He chuckled as if holding some great secret, amused by Lord Clarence’s foolishness.
It worked to cause Lord Clarence even more uncertainty. Fear crept into his eyes, and he lashed out with more carelessness.
Ridge leaped back, the blade narrowly missing his abdomen. He must end this quickly. India’s life was at stake. If she still lived at all.
He feigned right with his body, and when Lord Clarence committed his cane, Ridge gripped the polished wood with his right hand and yanked with all his strength.
Lord Clarence fell forward, sprawling on the ground. Ridge was on him in an instant. The coward had been easy to best once he wasn’t standing behind a pistol.
Ridge threw the cane as far as he could then grabbed Lord Clarence by the lapels and punched him in the jaw. Lord Clarence’s head snapped back and Ridge’s hands closed around Lord Clarence’s neck.
Ridge straddled Lord Clarence’s prone body, his fingers squeezing the life from the bastard. Never before could he have conceived of killing another human being, but in this instant, it was all he could think about.
“Ridge! Ridge! Stop! Son, don’t do it!”
Ridge’s hands loosened as shock arced through his system. He yanked his head up to see a man bursting from the crevice, running toward him. A man that looked remarkably like his father. But it couldn’t be. Or maybe he had truly gone mad the moment India was shot.
“Ridge!” the man called again as he drew closer.
Ridge cocked his head, his brows drawing together in confusion. “Father?”
Chapter Thirty-Two
Ridge watched stupefied as his father ran toward him. Lord Clarence began to squirm beneath him, and Ridge experienced a moment of indecision. He wanted to kill him. Rage whispered through his blood, humming, buzzing until he feared he would go mad.
“Ridge, thank God I found you in time,” his father said, his breath coming in labored spurts.
Slowly Ridge released Lord Clarence and stood up. What the devil was his father doing here? Had he indeed lost all vestiges of sanity in the horrible moment India had been shot?
He stumbled toward his father, his mind whirling. Behind him, he heard Robby shout a warning. His father raised his arm and Ridge saw the flash of a pistol just seconds before a shot rent the air. He turned to see Lord Clarence crumbled on the ground holding the cane tightly in his hand. He had tried to kill Ridge when he’d turned his back.
“Father?” He knew he sounded bewildered, but the entire world had gone mad around him. His father was here. How was he here? And he’d shot Lord Clarence?
The earl drew abreast of Ridge and put a hand on his shoulder. “Go to her. I’ll see to this snake.”
Ridge scrambled over the dirt and rocks to where Robby sat on the ground, holding India to his chest.
“She’s all right, I think,” Robby said, his voice shaky. “I mean she’s alive. The bullet entered her shoulder, not her chest.”
But there was blood everywhere. Ridge swallowed then swallowed again. He wanted to howl. He wanted to go back and kill the bastard himself.
He knelt and gathered India in his arms, surveying her pale face. He ran his hands over her body, fearing she would feel cold, lifeless. Her chest rose and fell slowly, too slowly. Each breath seemed to take eternity.
“What is Father doing here?” Robby demanded, his voice holding as much incredulity as Ridge’s had a moment ago.
Ridge ignored the question, his entire being focused on the woman in his arms. The woman he loved more than anything.
“Give me your shirt,” he ordered Robby.
Robby shed his shirt without hesitation and thrust it at Ridge. Ridge balled it up and pressed it to India’s shoulder, trying to staunch the flow of blood.
“Is she alive?” their father asked grimly.
Ridge turned his head to see the earl standing over them, concern etched on his face.
