Page 69 of The Lord Meets His Lady

Lord Bowles’s eyes narrowed on the possessive hold. “I am, and we’re here to escort you off my land.”

“I will gladly leave with what is rightfully mine.” The sharp English rolled off Reinhard’s tongue.

“Rightfully yours? You mean Miss Turner?” Lord Bowles’s brows snapped. “She’s not chattel.”

“As I said, she leaves with me.”

Lord Bowles’s hazel stare pinned her. “Do youwantto leave with this man?”

His intense gaze boded another question:Do you want to stay with me?

Tenderness flickered inside her. He promised fierce protection. Lord Bowles was at least a stone or two less than Reinhard and three inches shorter, but he faced down the Prussian soldier, not giving up on her.

Throat tight, she swiped a hand across her eyes. “I wish I could stay—”

“She wants to stay.” Lord Bowles’s smile was a cold slash of white in the dark. “Your first clue should’ve been her screaming and runningawayfrom you. Always a bad sign when a woman does that.”

Reinhard’s lips thinned. “This does not concern you.”

“Oh, but it does. I want you gone. Now. Or I’ll put a hole in you.”

“I think not,Englisch.”

Reinhard reached one hand inside his coat, and Lord Bowles raised his pistol to shoot.

“Wait!” Reinhard’s empty hands shot up. “I have something to show you. It’s in my coat pocket.”

Freed, Genevieve darted to a tree beside Lord Bowles. She took quick, harsh breaths and leaned against the tree. Bitter truth roiled her insides. Mr. Beckworth and Lord Bowles glanced sidelong at each other. Air hung thick as a suffocating blanket in the late-day forest. The truth was coming.

“Slowly,” Lord Bowles ordered. “I won’t hesitate to shoot if you try anything.”

Reinhard dug inside his coat pocket and pulled out a paper folded neatly in quarters. “Read this,Englisch. Then you’ll understand.”

A frigid breeze skirled through the woods, chilling Genevieve to the bone.

Mr. Beckworth stepped forward, snatching the paper. “Let me see that.”

A bag of stones could have been in Genevieve’s stomach, sinking her body and soul. The ground tilted, and she hugged her cloak about her, glad for the tree’s support. Her knees stung. Her scraped hands hurt. Trees menaced everywhere, and she couldn’t stop shaking. Mr. Beckworth held the paper up to waning light. He scanned the page, his scowl deepening. One didn’t need full light to see large, condemning words written boldly across the top.

This Indenture.

Her body wilted from the weight of that paper. “It’s true,” she admitted. “I’m a runaway indentured servant. I have to go with him.”

“Not if you don’t want to,” Lord Bowles said fiercely.

Mr. Beckworth folded the contract and held it out for Lord Bowles. “Want to see it? Looks authentic.”

“No. Burn it for all I care.”

Reinhard held out his hand for the contract. “Genevieve has her own copy. Let her show you hers.”

There was nothing anyone could do. She was the Prussian’s chattel.

She took a step, but Lord Bowles’s arm blocked her. Staring at Reinhard, he spoke to her. “I’ll ask again. Do you want to go with this man?”

“No.”

“Then it’s settled.”

Tucking the contract in his coat, the Prussian sneered, “If she doesn’t come with me today, I’ll be back tomorrow with a magistrate. By your own laws,Englisch, she’scompelledto come with me.”

She shivered. That word. He’d said it before when he’d told her he was taking her away toKönigsberg. Reinhard and Lord Marcus eyed each other, two foes measuring an opponent. With Reinhard’s size and fighting skills, she feared for Lord Marcus. Yet, his arm barred her.

“Samuel, would you escort this trespasser to the road?”

“Gladly.” Pistol aimed at the Prussian, Mr. Beckworth’s chin jutted toward the cottage. “You heard him. Get moving.”

Reinhard’s eyes flashed, but he was no fool. Skilled fighter that he was, two pistols at close range were something he dare not challenge.

“I’ve waited this long. One more day won’t deter me.” His mouth turned in a grim smile. “Until tomorrow.”