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S ophie smiled at the memory of Patrick’s words. He loved her, and while she was sure there were many more debates and arguments in their future, there was now also love.

“That is a very smug expression on your face, Countess,” Amelia said. She had her eyes closed because apparently her head ached from too much sugar.

Sophie had not said I told you so, but it was implied with a look.

“Did you and the Dark Lord?—”

“Ouch!” Sophie cried as the carriage swayed suddenly and she fell on the floor, banging her arm.

“What the bloody hell is going on?” Amelia yelled as she helped Sophie back to her seat. Opening the hatch, she yelled the same question at the drivers.

“We’re being chased, my lady!” Robbie called down to them.

Sophie leaned out one window, and Amelia, the other. There were four horses chasing them. Both girls pulled their heads back in as a gun was fired.

“Where is the man who was riding beside us?” Amelia asked.

Sophie hoped he wasn’t shot, but she kept that thought to herself. “Search for guns, Amelia, or anything we may use to slow them down. Check under the seats.”

She felt the long barrel of a gun under her seat and quickly unstrapped it. Amelia found another under the opposite one.

“Can you fire this, Sophie?” Amelia took it from her.

“Yes, it was the only worthwhile thing my father taught me,” Sophie said, throwing off her sling.

“It was the only useful thing my grandfather taught me too,” Amelia said, cocking the rifle expertly to check it was loaded and then handing it to Sophie. She then reached under her seat and grabbed the other rifle. “Right, then. Let’s give these bastards what they deserve.”

Sophie climbed onto the seat and lifted the hatch again. “Keep it steady, Robbie. Miss Logan and I will fire a few shots to see if we can scare them off.”

Several curses filled the air, which told Sophie that both drivers were not filled with confidence over their shooting abilities.

“Just don’t shoot me or the horses!” Robbie yelled.

Amelia muttered about men being fools as she moved to the window.

Sophie took up her position opposite and braced the gun on her injured arm, ignoring the tug of pain. She could not take aim until a rider came closer.

“I am going to lean out the window, Sophie,” Amelia said, doing just that.

“Can you see them?” Sophie yelled.

“Yes, they are getting closer,” Amelia replied as she pulled her head back inside.

“We have to protect the drivers!” Sophie cried, but as the words left her mouth, the carriage swerved, and she watched Patrick’s man fall and hit the ground hard. A shot then rang out, and Robbie fell next.

“No!” Sophie said, craning her neck to see if he lived. He rolled and then pushed upright. Relief flooded her.

“The horses!” Amelia cried, handing Sophie her rifle. She then opened the hatch and climbed out. “We have to stop them!”

Sophie followed, banging her head on the opening and cursing as she looked back at the men gaining on them. Wind pulled the bonnet from her head, and the pins flew free. Hair whipped around her face, covering her eyes.

“Fire, Sophie!” Amelia roared.

Bracing the rifle on the roof of the carriage, she aimed and pulled the trigger. One rider screamed, clutching his arm, but he did not fall. Reaching back into the carriage, she grabbed Amelia’s rifle. She watched one of the riders raise his gun and aim.

“Down, Amelia!” Sophie yelled as he fired at her. Shooting a quick glance behind her, she checked on Amelia and saw her friend was still hauling on the reins that she had somehow gathered into her hands.

Looking around, Sophie didn’t recognize any scenery, so she wasn’t sure how close they were to Garland Hall. How far behind her would Patrick be?

Aiming, she fired again and groaned when it went over the head of the man she was aiming for.

“Right, Amelia!” Sophie screamed, recognizing the fork in the road.

They were gaining on the carriage; two riders galloped past, and Sophie threw her gun at one of them. It bounced off his head but didn’t stop him, and then they were pulling the horses to a halt. She then watched as one of the men pointed his gun at Amelia.

“Come down here now!” another said, aiming at Sophie. “Both of you.”

“I can’t just jump from here,” Sophie said. “I will have to go through the carriage and out the door.”

“Hurry, or I will shoot your friend,” the man said.

Sophie watched a third rider appear as she climbed back inside the carriage.

“Don’t do anything silly, Amelia,” Sophie said to her friend.

“Move, Lady Coulter, or I start shooting!”

Sophie did as he asked. Climbing down into the carriage, she found her sling and slipped it on. Quickly, she felt beneath the seats again and this time found a knife, which she placed inside her sling.

“Come out of that carriage now!”

“I was putting on my sling,” Sophie hissed as she stepped down. “I have a hole in my arm from the last time you shot me.”

She could not see half of their faces, as they wore scarves, but noted one dropped his eyes.

“Come here, Sophie,” Amelia said.

She didn’t move, instead looking at the men. “Let Miss Logan go, as it is me you want,” Sophie said, taking a step away from her friend and closer to them.

“No!” Amelia cried, coming to stand beside her and gripping her hand. “You are injured and weak; I need to look after you.”

“I will never be weak,” Sophie said, eyeing the men. “Let me go, Amelia.”

“Absolutely not,” her friend said, slipping an arm around Sophie’s waist. “We stay together.”

“We have no time to argue,” one man said. “Get them on the horses. He’s waiting.”

Sophie knew who “he” was. Jack Spode would be waiting for her somewhere, and she would be ready. That man had tormented her long enough. It stopped now no matter the outcome. She just had to keep Amelia safe.

Hands gripped her waist, and then she was lifted in front of one of the men. The same happened to Amelia, and they were soon galloping away from everyone she loved. Patrick would come for her. Sophie didn’t doubt that; she just had to stay alive until he arrived.

“Is Jack Spode behind this? Whatever he is paying you, I can give you a lot more. My husband is the Earl of Coulter, and?—”

“Shut up, Countess. You will have your answers soon enough.”

“Do not tell me a big, strong man like you is frightened of Jack Spode?” Sophie mocked, but he just clenched his jaw and remained silent.

They rode for hours, or at least it felt that way to Sophie. Her arm ached, and her thighs felt raw, but she never moaned or spoke. She would not show weakness to these men. Amelia, too, stayed silent behind her.

Sophie nearly wept with relief when they slowed to a walk and turned into a driveway. She saw an old sign but could not make out the words. They rode under a canopy of trees that opened to a courtyard and a large moss-covered stone house.

She was lowered to the floor, and her knees threatened to buckle, but she locked them to hold her upright. Looking up the stone walls, Sophie shivered. He was there, behind those walls, waiting for her. She knew it.

“If you let us go now, you may be spared!” Sophie said, trying to sound strong.

“Now why would we do that, my lady?” the man she’d ridden with said.

“Because the Earl of Coulter and Viscount Sumner are powerful men with many resources. Do you really want to make an enemy of them?” Amelia added.

“Get them inside,” one man said.

This house wasn’t lived-in, Sophie thought as they entered. It smelled musty and unkempt. Windowpanes were cracked, and floor tiles missing. A hand nudged her toward an open door, and she entered. The room was cold, dirty, and damp, with only a narrow bed and chamber pot.

“Water and food at once!” Amelia bellowed as she looked around her. “And blankets,” she added. “This room is a disgrace.”

“You are bloody prisoners, not guests,” one man said from his position by the door. He then slammed it after he’d left, and they heard the lock slide home.

Amelia turned to face Sophie, who had sunk onto the bed.

“I’m sorry, Amelia. You are here because of me.”

“I understand that, just not why,” her friend said, joining her.

She told Amelia everything then, from her birth to her eventual escape by marrying Lord Monmouth, and then she told her about Jack Spode.

“Timmy is your brother?”

“Yes,” Sophie whispered, waiting for the look of horror to settle on her friend’s face.

“Fine. Now we must plan how we are going to escape from here.”

Stunned, Sophie could not speak for several seconds.

“I don’t care where you came from, only that you are now my friend.”

“Amelia, I love you.” Sophie sniffed, hugging her hard.

“I love you too. Now, what do we do?”

“I have a knife,” Sophie said, pulling it out of her sling.

“Excellent. Let’s hope we don’t have to use it,” she added.

They were brought a bowl of warm water and some rags but no soap, which Amelia scolded them for. Later, they received dry bread, water, and, surprisingly, a small cup of whisky.

“I would like one of Mrs. Stigg’s pies now,” Sophie said as she struggled to swallow the bread. “Or even one of Grandma Puckett’s.”

“Was she the one whose mouth seemed to be folded inside her face?”

“Yes,” Sophie said, then yawned loudly.

“Sleep, I think,” Amelia added, moving to the bed. “We must keep up our strength if we are to beat these men.”

“Yes, and while I doubt I will sleep, I would like to lie down.” Sophie climbed from the bed and circled the room.

She tried the window and then the door, but both were locked.

The windowpanes had been removed and replaced with boards.

Placing their tray and the water against the door, she joined Amelia on the bed.

“Very clever. When they return, the noise from the tray moving over the floor will alert us.”

“Oh, I have lots of clever tricks up my sleeves,” Sophie said, yawning once more.

“One sleeve. You must keep the sling on, as it hides the knife plus offers support for your arm,” Amelia said.

“True,” Sophie whispered.

They cuddled together for warmth.

“They will be looking for us by now, Amelia.”

“I know. I hope they find us soon,” she whispered.

“I am so sorry to have got you into this.” Sophie clutched her friend’s hand.

“You have saved me, Sophie. Saved me from my life that was so filled with misery and sadness, I sometimes wondered if I would ever escape.”

They talked until exhaustion forced their eyes closed and sent them to the oblivion of sleep.