“I always drive this fast.” Faster, honestly. The bite of wind across his cheeks, the power of his horses flying across the ground—he’d missed the feeling these past two weeks, too concerned over missing a report to do his usual daily riding.
Anna shook her head as she removed her bonnet and threw it on the floor at their feet.
Arfff.
Jackson pressed his lips together to hold back a surprised laugh.
Arfff.
Her voice light, she asked, “Are you well?”
She was askinghim?
He coughed into his hand. “Fine.”
More bodily sounds. Jackson was a gentleman and ignored them.
But Anna turned in her seat. “I understand your desire for haste, but if you need to stop so you may see to your... ah-needs, do not delay on my part.”
He startled. “Excuse me? I believe I should be concerned overyourneeds.” Good God, she hadn’t eaten the eggs, had she? “Grandfellow Hall is some miles back, but I may be able to beg some privacy at the next cottage we pass.”
Anna scoffed. “You cannot think thatIam the source of those crude sounds?”
“There is no one else here.”
Their standoff lasted two seconds.
Arfffffff.
They both leanedover the sides of the buggy at the same time, the unpleasant noise seeming to originate from beneath them.
Bunching her dress between her knees to bend further, Anna studied the undercarriage, something about the wooden beam running from one wheel to the other odd. “Does that connection look strange to you?”
The carriage ran over a rut in the road, and the beam groaned again.
One horse gave an alarmed whinny, and the buggy lurched forward as the startled horse urged its partner faster.
Another groan. Another shriek of the pair. Another burst of speed.
Her blood turned to frozen mist in her veins. That cracking beam looked awfully important to the integrity of the vehicle, and the horses had lost their heads in fear.
There was no chance of stopping.
Anna shot upright, panic a metal taste in her mouth. They’d have to jump or dive for the buggy seat or—
Jackson cursed beside her.
Then, two large hands clasped around her waist andpulled.
Anna flailed helplessly as her rump left the upholstered interior.
A weightless flight through the air—when the ground broke her fall. Something in her arm gave. Sharp pain shot up into her shoulder.
Anna rolled onto her uninjured side, and her temper urged her to her feet. “I understand the situation, but I am not some doll to be tossed—” She glanced around, but Jackson hadn’t made the jump with her.
Her gaze shot to the buggy, the vehicle racing at breakneck speed now. Jackson was standing in his seat, doing everything he could to calm the horses.
There was another groan, this one so loud, Anna winced.
