Cilla had been holding lightly onto his coat with one hand while sitting upright on the pad of blanket. She leaned against him now, reaching her hands around him as far as she could, and resting her head against his back. “Yes,” she said. “Oh, my darling. Yes, I will marry you, and be all those things you just said.”
He freed one of his hands from the reins to press it over hers, where they clasped together in front of his chest. “My wife, my partner, my friend, my lover. For all of our lives together.”
*
Bane
Livy was sittingstiffly, quietly, behind Bane, her only contact with him one hand gripping his coat.
He endured the silence for as long as he could, understanding her need to retreat into herself after such an experience. When he could stand it no longer, the words that tormented him burst out. “Did he hurt you?”
Had he been too late, he meant, but she took the words at their face value. “Some abrasions from the rope on my wrists and ankles. Some bruising from being tossed around like a sackof grain. A horrid taste in my mouth from the rag they stuffed into it. Considerable injury to my dignity.”
Is that allwould be the wrong thing to say. If she had been violated, she was not prepared to talk about it, and he would not further damage her dignity by being more specific in his questions.
He would settle for doing something about the taste in her mouth. He reached around inside his coat with one hand without taking his eyes off the road. There it was. His inside pocket, and within it, his flask, which he handed over his shoulder.
“Here. Have a sip of this. It is brandy, and will help with the taste.”
Her fingers touched his as she took the flask. A moment later, she said, “It bites. I am not sure that I like it.”
“Give it a minute, and you will get the flavors,” Bane said. “A couple more sips would not hurt, either.”
“Sort of sour and bitter, but fruity.” She was silent again for a moment. “A sweetness, too. How odd. It helps, Bane. Thank you.”
“Keep the flask,” he offered. “Sip when you wish, but be cautious. It is very strong. If you are not accustomed to strong drink, it might affect you more quickly than you expect.”
“Not necessarily a bad thing,” she mused.
That she was arguing was a good sign, surely? “It will be if you fall off the back of the horse,” he retorted, and was rewarded with a hiccup of a laugh.
“If I fall off, I shall blame you,” she retorted.
He should tell her that they were betrothed. No, that he had claimed they were betrothed, and she would need to agree to save her reputation. She was not going to be pleased, and he didn’t want to upset her. Wasn’t it better for her to have thepeace of the journey before she had to deal with the turmoil that was sure to be waiting for them?
But no. She deserved to be warned, but he could wait until they were nearly at the Finches’. They rode on in a companiable silence.
The distance they had traveled at such speed a short time before was farther than he’d realized. It must have been nearly an hour before he could see the towers of Finch Court ahead of him. “Livy, there is something I need to tell you. At Finch Court, when we confronted your aunt and Lord Curston, Drake and I told them and Lord Finch that we were betrothed to you and Cilla. A lot of other people were listening.”
Livy stiffened. “Oh,” was all she said.
Bane felt the need to explain. “Lady Marple and Lord Curston were claiming that you had gone willingly with their sons, that you had consented to marry them. Saying you were already betrothed to us gained us Lord Finch’s support to pursue you, and gave you some protection from the gossips. I am sorry if you do not like it.”
“I do not plan to marry,” said his future wife, firmly. “You know that. The whole world knows it. Cilla, I think, favors your brother. She can wed him, and I shall retire to Liverpool and ignore the Polite World.”
“Is it that…?” He had left it too late. They had turned in at the gates to the mansion. The Finch brothers and a dozen other people crowded as close as they dared to the horses carrying the rescued maidens, their words consoling and encouraging, and their eyes avid with the glee of a good scandal.
With no further time for private conversation, Bane had to leave it, and hope that she would at least understand the sense of using the cover of the fake betrothal today, and until the fickle ton had turned their attention elsewhere.
*
Livy
Pa was waitingfor them, striding impatiently back and forth across the forecourt of Finch Hall, his balled-up hands clenched at his side. Lord Finch and several of his guests stood on or by the steps to the front door, and started forward as the riders approached, with the carriage containing the villains behind them.
Ignoring everyone else, Pa made straight for the horse bearing Cilla, and was there to lift her down and fold her in his arms as soon as Drake halted the horse.
Bane waited until Drake had dismounted and the horse had been led away to bring their horse up beside Pa, but he had all his attention on Cilla and didn’t notice. It was Drake who helped Livy to reach the ground, and Bane who said, “Mr. Wintergreen, here is Livy.”
