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Georgina forced a sweet, practiced smile. “Yes, please. Would I be able to rent a horse? I will return before dawn.”

The boy hesitated. “I don’t know if I should—”

She reached into the small reticule at her wrist and withdrew a few coins. “There is a few extra there for your trouble.”

His eyes widened, and after a moment, he nodded. “All right, miss, but be careful. This mare is a spirited one and it is the only one we have available.”

“She will be all right,” a man said from behind her. “I will ensure it.” Georgina turned and met Adrian’s gaze. She grinned at him like a ninny. Of course, he had come. How could she have ever doubted otherwise?

*

Adrian had left Havenwood as soon he had discovered that Georgina was no longer there.

He had intended to go to her father to ask for her hand and his plans had not changed.

He still wanted to marry her. What he did not understand was why her father had removed her from Havenwood.

Did he have other plans for her, and if so, what were they?

He had left Havenwood with more questions than answers.

What he had not expected on his way to visit Georgina’s father was to find her in the stables of the inn he had decided to stop at for the night.

It was a welcome surprise. He had grinned when he realized it was her speaking to the stable boy.

When she turned to meet his gaze, his heart had leapt inside his chest. If this was not fate, he didn’t know what else would be.

“Hello, darling,” he said in a soft tone. “Where are we going?”

She smiled. “I was coming back to you. Home is the last place I need to be.” Georgina stepped closer to him. “Besides, I never really felt as if I belong there.”

“No?” he said. “You don’t like your family home?”

“It is all right.” She shrugged. “But it has never been welcoming. My father can be a harsh man. He means well, but sometimes I wonder if he has the ability to empathize with anyone. It will not go well for me if I return there.”

“Then you shall come with me.” He had intended on asking her father for permission to marry him, but he had never been against eloping with her.

Adrian had already been making plans to abscond with her if need be after he realized she was no longer at Havenwood.

If she did not feel comfortable returning home, then he would take her to Scotland.

They were not nearly as close to the border now, but it was not impossible to reach Scotland by morning.

“Where will we go?” she asked. Georgina nibbled on her bottom lip. “I fear that my brother will come after me. He will not be pleased to discover me missing.”

“If my sister ran away with a reprobate such as me, I’d be displeased as well.

” He grinned. Adrian lifted his hand to caress her cheek with the pad of his thumb.

“I love you,” he told her. Adrian had never said those exact words to her before, and he should have.

She should know how he felt. “Are you certain you wish to come with me? I have quite the scandalous past.”

“I would go anywhere with you.” She stepped closer to him. “Now where shall we go?”

“First,” he said. “We have to wed. I will not allow you to live in shame. We will go to Scotland. It will be faster than trying to go to London for a special license. Besides, there is a higher chance that your father could stop the marriage from happening if we went that route.” He lowered his head until his forehead touched hers.

“Are you all right with eloping with me, darling?”

“Of course I am,” she said. “There is nothing I want more than to be your wife.” She closed the distance between them and brushed her lips over his. “Now let’s go before my brother discovers I am not in my room. We do not have a moment to waste.”

Adrian grinned. Oh, how he adored this woman. “Let me help you on that horse of yours.”

Once Georgina was safe in her saddle, he went to retrieve his own horse.

Luckily, he had not had the saddle removed from his stallion.

They left the town in a rush but once there was some distance between them and the inn, they slowed to a walk.

Adrian did not wish to overtire the horses, and he doubted that anyone would be on their trail this soon.

He fully believed they would be wed long before her brother discovered her missing.

The night air was crisp, carrying the distant scent of rain and the earthy fragrance of the countryside.

He hoped they would not run into a storm on their journey to the Scottish border.

It would not do for them to become drenched.

The rhythmic sound of hooves against the road filled the silence between them, but it was a comfortable quiet, laden with the promise of what was to come.

Adrian glanced at Georgina, his heart swelling at the sight of her astride her horse, her form willowy and supple against the moonlit backdrop.

He had never loved a woman as he did her, and now they were heading in a direction that would lead to their forever.

A forever that included her, at his side.

“Adrian,” Georgina said softly, drawing his attention.

He turned his head, his dark gaze meeting hers. “Yes, my love?”

“Are you certain this is what you wish?” She almost sounded hesitant, as if doubts were starting to loom over her. He hoped not. The last thing he wanted was for her to be uncertain about their future. He wanted her to be happy. He would never steal her joy from her for any reason.

“Have you changed your mind?” he asked her.

“No,” she told him. “That is not it at all.” She nibbled on her bottom lip. “I just want you to be certain. My father is not going to be happy about any of this.”

“Do not worry about that, darling,” he said.

“Once you are my wife, I will visit your father and explain that you will be with me. That as my countess it is my place to care for you.” He smiled, slowly and wickedly, the sort of smile that he hoped sent thrills through Georgina.

“It will be my pleasure to take care of you in every way.”

“All right.” She sighed. “I just had to make sure. It will take us all night to reach the border. I did not want you to have any regrets.”

He smiled at her. Adrian would go through any discomfort for her. “I wish there was a faster more comfortable way for you to travel. I hate that at our wedding you will be tired and sore after our mad dash to the border.”

“I would rather be weary and wed than rested and separated from you,” she told him without a moment of hesitation. “Besides, this is hardly a mad dash. It is actually quite the sedate pace we are keeping.”

Adrian let out a soft chuckle as he shook his head. “You are quite the remarkable woman, Georgina.” Admiration filled his tone as he stared at her with reverence.

She grinned at him. “I would not be so bold without you.” He liked that he brought that out of her. He adored her beyond reason. She was the blessing he never thought he would have in his life. Georgina meant more to him than he could ever express.

He reached across the small space between them, brushing his fingers over the back of her hand where it rested upon the reins. “Then I shall spend the rest of my life ensuring you are always this bold, my darling.”

They continued their ride in companionable silence, the road stretching ahead of them. “I hope that it takes all night for my brother to discover my absence. I would hate for him to find us before we say our vows. I do wish we were in Scotland already.”

His grin was positively sinful. “Impatient to be shackled to me already?” He liked that she was just as anxious as he was to be wed. There was no other woman he could ever see as his countess.

“Desperately,” she confessed with a teasing smile of her own.

His laughter rang through the night, warm and rich. “Then let us not delay, my love. By morning, we shall belong to each other forever.”

And with that promise hanging between them, they urged their horses forward, toward the border, toward their fate, toward a love that would endure beyond scandal, beyond expectation, and beyond all else.

Toward forever. He did not dismiss Georgina’s worries though.

Her brother could present a problem for them.

He would not allow him to come between them though.

Adrian fully intended that come morning, Georgina would be his wife.