Page 39 of A Marriage of Necessity

Anne prayed he was. “Get her down the stairs and out to James—quick.

“I cannot leave you, my lady,” he said.

Anne released Rose and Matthew hugged her closer. “You must save the lady,” she hissed. “I can take care of myself. She is just a woman.” Anne whirled.

Their attacker might be just a woman, but she was a woman racing toward them as if the devil nipped at her heels—a women who stood a head taller than her.

Candle in hand, Anne walked quickly toward her. An instant later, she was within ten feet of the woman and stopped in the middle of the hallway. “Halt, madam. I am Viscountess Buchanan, the Earl of Buchanan’s daughter-in-law.”

The woman stopped so quickly she stumbled forward two paces before catching herself.

“What are you doing with my husband’s sister?” Anne demanded.

The woman’s eyes flicked past her and came back her face. “You are not supposed to be here.” She started forward as if to hurry past Anne’s left side, but Anne slid into her path.

The woman halted. “Out of my way,” she growled.

“My husband will not be pleased that you mistreated his sister, Rebecca,” Anne said.

Fear flickered in her eyes, then was followed by fury. Anne noted the subtle change in her stance and realized the woman was about to charge. Rebecca lunged. Anne whipped aside and stuck out her foot as she hurtled past. Rebecca stumbled, hands out, and crashed into the wall. She dropped to the carpet and lay motionless.

Anne retreated two paces, heart pounding, knees so weak she feared they would give out. Bootfalls echoed from the direction Rebecca had come. Anne whirled and raced down the hallway in the opposite direction. She reached the stairs and was forced to slow in the pitch darkness. A hand on each wall of the narrow staircase, she forced herself to slow, and prayed her legs wouldn’t give out.

At the bottom, she gave thanks that Matthew and Rose were nowhere to be seen, then hurried through the kitchen pantry and out into the cool night. She pumped her legs faster and reached the front of the house in seconds. She nearly cried, at sight of Matthew and Rose passing through the wrought-iron gate where James stood.

A moment later, Anne reached the wrought-iron gate then turned and nearly collided with Matthew. “Dear Lord,” she burst out. “What are you doing here?”

“James is assisting Lady Rose,” Matthew said. “I couldnae leave you there alone.”

She grabbed his arm and pulled him into a run.

A shout went up somewhere near the house. They sprinted around the corner. Anne thought her lungs would burst, but she kept going. They reached the carriage. She didn’t wait for help, but grasped the door and jumped inside and onto the seat beside Rose.

“Hurry, James, we must go now.”

Matthew leapt inside, pulling the door closed behind him.

Anne pulled Rose close as the carriage tilted left, then jolted into motion hard enough for to have to grab onto the handle. Rose cried into Anne’s bodice and Anne willed herself not to burst into tears herself.