Page 36

With her heart in her throat, Caroline couldn’t help but watch the scene outside while Miss Perkins urged her toward the window. As Felix approached on his horse, he seemed to hear the report of the pistol, but it was too late.

As if in slow motion, his body jerked, and the horse reared. Then his hand went to the side of his head, he fell from the saddle, and the horse jogged away several feet to graze on the grass, but Felix lay on the path not far from the door to the folly.

“Felix!” She tried to wrench herself from Miss Perkins’ hold, but the woman dug her fingernails into her skin. An ache set up around her heart, for the longer she stared, the more the major didn’t move from where he’d fallen. Surely, he couldn’t be dead.

Oh, Felix, please prove them wrong!

“More’s the pity, hmm? The major was quite a handsome man.” The croon in her voice scraped across Caroline’s consciousness. She glanced at Mr. Lockhart. “You are a lovely shot, Devon. I’m increasingly impressed by your skill.”

“Thank you.” He tucked his spent pistol into the interior pocket of his jacket. “Did we really need to kill him, though? He seemed a decent fellow.”

“We did because he was trying to thwart our plans.” While Miss Perkins’ was distracted by giving the skittish duke-to-be praise, Caroline once more glanced out the window…

except the major wasn’t on the ground any longer.

Her pulse pounded. He was alive? So then where was he?

Not wishing to call attention to that fact, she pretended to faint from shock.

With a soft sigh, she let herself collapse against Miss Perkins’ chest and then slipped to the stone floor. Was it her imagination or did she truly hear footfalls on the stone steps below?

“None of that, Miss Ives. Your part in this little Drury Lane story isn’t over.” As she bent over Caroline’s form, she surged upward, hoping to catch the other woman off guard. She managed to topple Miss Perkins from her feet. “Bitch!”

They rolled on the stone floor, grappling for the knife, which was difficult to do while her wrists were bound.

Eventually, Miss Perkins scrambled to her feet, hauling Caroline up with her.

She set the tip of the knife at her throat.

“Enough. We’re wasting time.” Her voice was a bit strained from the exercise.

“Devon and I need to be on our way in the hopes the roads won’t prove too muddy and rutted to gain the coast.”

“Let me guess, you used one of your father’s connections to secure a sloop or another vessel that will take you either around England or to the Continent,” Caroline said as she stood, but not before her heel caught in her dress and the fabric tore.

“You’re clever, I’ll give you that, but unfortunately, the world won’t ever see it.” The other woman wrenched Caroline’s arm. “Your turn to die.” And she dragged her closer to the window.

“Sorry, but that will not be happening today.”

Three pairs of eyes went to the stairs where Felix entered the shallow room.

Blood streaked his left cheek and ear, for the ball had apparently grazed that side of his head, rendering him like a ghoulish specter.

Thank goodness Mr. Lockhart’s aim had been slightly off.

Accident or by design? After all, he’d managed to kill Mr. Blythe as if he were an expert marksman.

He held a pistol in his right hand with his cane tucked beneath his arm as he trained the nose on Mr. Lockhart. “What the devil is wrong with the pair of you?”

Lockhart’s face paled. “You aren’t dead.”

“Clearly not.” He gestured with the pistol. “Stand against the wall. ”

“Don’t listen to him, Devon,” Miss Perkins hissed with narrowed eyes. “You will soon be a duke and are in no way obligated to do what he says.”

“That is not true. At all.” Felix glared at them both. “Move, Lockhart. My patience long ago faded when it comes to the lies you’ve both told.”

Caroline struggled with Miss Perkins’ hold. “They have both confessed to all of it.”

A chuckle came from her captor. “Too bad you won’t be on this mortal coil long enough to relay that information to him. And sadly, he has no other proof.”

“That matters not. I’ve pieced together enough that I can turn you both over to the magistrate.

A few inquiries into other things will provide the motivation, for I suspect you’ve coerced Mr. Lockhart in all of this.

” Briefly, he flicked his gaze to Caroline before focusing on Miss Perkins once more. “Drop the knife, Miss Perkins.”

“I don’t think so.” She darted behind Caroline and held the blade to her throat. “Put your pistol down, Major, else I’ll slit her throat.”

Caroline met his hazel gaze, surprised to see golden flecks swimming in those depths, possibly because he was under high emotion. “She’ll kill me anyway. Don’t give in.” Even though she was terrified about what would happen, seeing Felix alive brought her a wave of relief and peace.

“Fine.” As soon as he laid his pistol on the floor, Mr. Lockhart darted forward and grabbed it up. Felix kept his gaze on Miss Perkins. “It’s over. Let her go.”

“As you wish.” Then, before Caroline could brace for action, Miss Perkins pulled her backward. Then she quickly stepped aside and gave her chest a shove.

Caught off balance, Caroline stumbled. Her heel hit the low window ledge and then her weight and momentum did the rest. She fell out of the window with a high-pitched, terror-filled scream. “Felix!”

At the last second, and by a random miracle, she was able to grip the crumbling window ledge with her hands, hampered as though she was by her tied wrists.

Oh, dear God, I don’t have the strength to hang on.

“Caroline!”

Hellfire and damnation.

When he watched in disbelief as she fell out the window, and he couldn’t help but imagine her broken body lying on the ground at the base of the folly.

But then he caught sight of her pink fingers gripping the window ledge.

Even in this, she was stubborn, and rightly so.

Still, his chest was tight, for that didn’t mean she was safe.

With anger rising in his chest in a hot tide he hadn’t experienced since he’d lost his leg, Felix uttered a cry.

He lashed out with his cane, as time seemed to slow, knocking the duplicitous Miss Perkins out of the way.

Then he threw himself onto his knees with his false leg stretched out behind him.

“Damn it, Lockhart, remove your stones from Miss Perkins’ hold and for once, be a man with a purpose who matters.

” Annoyance threaded through his command as he risked a glance at the man holding his pistol.

“Subdue what we can only hope will soon be your former fiancée, for God’s sake, by any means necessary.

” Then he peered out the window to lock gazes with Caroline. “I’m here, Caro.”

“I can’t hold on!” Terror clung to her voice and reflected in her eyes. “Already my fingers are slipping.”

“I’ve got you.” Ignoring the contretemps occurring behind him, Felix reached down with both hands. He encircled her delicate wrists with his fingers. “I’m going to pull you up but you must help me distribute your weight.”

“How.” Tears gathered in her eyes. “I don’t understand.”

“When I tug, use your feet as leverage against the stone walls. Push upward with your toes and sort of walk upward so all the strain won’t fall on your wrists. Otherwise, you risk dislocating them.”

“Don’t let me go.”

“I don’t plan to.” Not now, not in the near future. But that was a conversation for another day. Then, still holding onto her wrists, he eased back and planted his booted feet against the shallow window ledge. “Climb, Caro! Climb and it will soon be over.”

Inch by inch, little by little, he tugged her upward.

When her head then torso appeared over the ledge, his confidence grew, and with a final hard pull, the rest of her came through the window to sprawl on the stone floor half on and half off his body.

With a whoop of victory, Felix wrapped his arms around her and simply held her as his heart beat out a wild rhythm.

She sobbed softly against his chest, and damn if moisture didn’t rise into his own eyes.

Then the sounds of a struggle reached his ears. Clearly, the other couple was having a horrible spat, and it seemed that Mr. Lockhart’s pleas to look at things logically wasn’t doing what he’d hoped.

Bang!

As Felix struggled into a sitting position and Caroline eased off his lap to stand, he glanced at the scene behind him while the sound of the pistol report echoed in the stone tower .

Mr. Lockhart had apparently had enough of his fiancée’s explanations, for he’d used Felix’s pistol to shoot her in the shoulder. The ball went through the fleshy upper part, but it was enough to land the woman on her rear and subdue her.

“Good show, Lockhart. You’ve finally pulled your head out of your arse and started thinking clearly.” With a tired huff, he struggled to his feet, and with a grin at Caroline, he reeled her into his arms. “See, I told you I would protect you from harm.”

She snorted and raised a watery gaze to his. “Only just, but I don’t know if I would call this protection.”

“Semantics,” he said softly as he put a curled finger beneath her chin, lifted her head, and then claimed her lips with his.

Not for worlds would he let her see how worried he’d been or how afraid he was when he saw her go out that window.

Perhaps one day, but not today. It was enough that they were both here now.

May 1, 1820

May Day Ball