Page 6

“Took you long enough!” Bash chided Telford, glancing back at Evie. He needed to get to her, but he didn’t dare turn the dagger away from the brutes until he was certain Telford had them under control.

“Had to find my boots. I’ll see them to jail while you complete your mission. If they run, they will see the damage my rifle can do.” He gestured with the barrel. “Put your hands where I can see them, good fellows, before my trigger finger slips and one of you loses a limb.”

The men lifted their hands above their head, one dropping the bloodied dagger.

“That’s better.” Telford stepped around them, keeping the gun trained on the men while guiding them toward the jailhouse. He called over his shoulder, “Your package is stirring, by the way.”

Bash closed the distance between Evie and himself. “Evie? Are you well?” He knelt beside her, gathering her into his arms. “Did they hurt you?”

Her lashes fluttered, and then she sagged into him in a faint once more.

He examined her arms, neck, and anything visible.

Her gown was not torn in any fresh places, merely muddy.

He lifted her into his arms, her form limp.

He raced back to the gig and tucked her inside with the blanket over her, slapping the reins.

He needed to get them as far away as possible from Somersetshire before anyone asked why a man in a livery costume was seated beside his unconscious employer and was driving like the devil himself was at his heels.

He paused at the edge of town and twisted in his seat to face her.

He checked his mask and gently stroked her arm.

She didn’t stir, so he grasped her shoulders in his hands and shook her.

Her head listed to the side. “What on earth is amiss? Why won’t you awaken?

” He grasped her delicate face between his hands.

Her full lips spoke of the sweetness of the lady and, after that world-shaking kiss, of her tender heart as well.

He brushed back her golden locks. “My lady, I beg you to awaken.” The pale hue of her skin made his heart pound in dread.

Her pulse was faint, her fingers chilled, and her chest hardly moving.

“Evie?” He leaned forward, pressing his forehead to hers, offering her all his strength and warmth. She was too still.

How did one wake a lady from a faint without salts?

He raked his fingers through his hair. How did knights in the past wake a sleeping beauty?

He’d heard that kissing stopped hysteria …

Would it do the trick? A kiss had sent her into the swoon …

would it get her out? He would be lying if he said he did not wish to kiss her once more.

But he was a knight and a man of character, and he held himself to the highest of standards.

He shook his head. Kissing is the solution of fairy tales—and poorly written ones at that.

If she did not wake soon, he would need to consult a doctor, and he couldn’t wear a mask for that.

His entire mission would be at stake, and the Prince Regent would not save Bash, or his title, if he was discovered.

He tried gently shaking her again, silently begging her to wake, to no avail. “Forgive me, my lady, but I see no other course but to try to shock you awake.” He reached for his canteen and dumped the entirety of its water on her head.

“Oh!” She gasped, sputtering as she jerked upright. “W-what was that for?”

He gritted his teeth against the admission. “You were unconscious. I couldn’t wake you, and I—”

“And you thought dumping water on me would be the best course of action?” Her voice rose an octave.

“It was a better idea than kissing you awake. It seems to have done the trick.” He ran his hand over the back of his neck. “My sincere apologies for the forwardness, but you did not have any smelling salts in that reticule and—”

“But nothing.” She crossed her arms, her cheeks puffing. “I think I would have preferred kissing you again to being drenched and potentially catching a cold from all of your bright ideas.”

“So you dream of kissing me again, do you?”

Her cheeks flamed even in the moonlight, and he felt a pang at teasing her over the lovely kiss.

“I-I did not say that. Besides, I never carry smelling salts, as I take pride in the fact that I never faint … or rather, I did take pride in that. Since meeting you, I’ve swooned twice in two days.”

He crossed his arms. “I’m beginning to doubt your word on the matter.”

“It’s the truth. And my fainting never would have happened if you hadn’t had the audacity to take me in the first place,” she shot back.

He bowed his head. “Again, I extend my sincerest apologies for the inconvenience. Please be assured that I tried everything I could think of to rouse you, and I feared you may have been concussed. I did not wish to bring you to a doctor until I had exhausted the possibility of waking you by other means. It would have meant revealing my true identity.”

She snorted. “Some highwayman of honor you are. You would rather keep your identity secret than to see to my welfare?”

Where was all the tenderness of only moments before? “I may be a man with a code of honor, but I am no fool. Besides, you would not have fainted again if you had listened to me in the first place and stayed put inside the gig.” The moment the retort exited his mouth, he knew it was incorrect.

“Because you abducted me.”

“True.” It was all his fault. He was desperate to right the wrong, but as the highwayman, he had to protect his true identity or lose everything. It was all so muddled now. The plan had seemed simple at the time.

“Honestly, Bash, have you never taken someone against their will before? It would be unnatural for a lady not to run away.” She huffed, sending a curl spiraling away from her forehead.

“I have never taken a lady before and pray I never will have to again, given all the trouble you have put me through. You almost had me killed when my objective in Somersetshire was supposed to be straightforward.”

She frowned. “Not that I concede that any of this is my fault, as I did not create this situation, but because of your actions, it is good for you that I, beyond reason, trust your word—a fact that should see me in Bedlam should anyone hear of our adventures and of my kissing my abductor in a moment of weakness. Were you successful in your … objective? Or shall we call it what it really was—a handoff?”

“My part is finished, and I am free to see to your needs now.” He gathered the reins.

“Good.” She brushed at the mud caking her pelisse. “Put me on the next stagecoach to Bath. There is no need for you to return me to Bath.”

“In your current state? No, it is not safe, especially as not all highwaymen are as gallant as I.”

“As you have stated before.” She pressed her lips into a line. “However, I am not eager to give you my address.”

“I fear I have no other option of seeing you safely home. I will not abandon you in the city after this night, and those cads nearly put their hands on you.”

“But is it wise to give you my address?” She eyed him. “I fear you will rob me the moment I open the door to my home.”

“I give you my word that I shall not.” He placed his hand over his heart. “You said you trusted me—after saving your life, I might add, yes?”

“I’m a fool, but yes. Take me to the Circus terrace homes.”

He released a whistle as she mumbled the house number. “Fancy.”

“Do not crow until you see it.” She motioned to his mask. “Are you going to wear that the whole way?”

“If I do not, will you promise not to fall in love with me? I’m considered quite dashing.”

“I see you have been gifted with great modesty as well.”

He grinned. “At the very least, promise you will not have me arrested?”

She rolled her eyes. “Would you believe me if I did promise?”

He chuckled and slapped the ribbons. “It was worth asking. We shall be to your townhouse before sunrise, my lady. Try to rest. After your fright, I do not think it will be difficult.”

The pair rode in silence until they reached the outside of the city of Bath, where Bash dismounted, removed his mask, and rode on Brigand with Evie in the gig, as he had in Somersetshire.

He directed the horse into the city, glaring at anyone who dared to look too long at Evie.

The streets were not busy, but as some parties yet continued, the risk of Evie being recognized pressed on him.

He’d ruin her fragile reputation if he did not make haste.

He halted his mount before the impressive terrace home that bore no flickering lights in any of the windows.

He kept his face averted as he dismounted and held the reins, facing the grove of trees in the center of the Circus even though he longed to look upon her as they parted …

but the risk of her seeing his face was too great.

“Unfortunately, my lady, our time together is at an end.”

“So it is.”

She seemed to be waiting for something—an apology? “I do not enjoy stealing from women. My sincerest apologies for robbing you, my lady.”

“Sincere enough for you to return my funds?” The gig shook in her attempts to gingerly dismount, and she grunted at the jostling.

His body pushed him to aid her, but with all the flickering lamplights, he could not risk being seen without his mask.

He planted his feet and dared to glance over Brigand and caught her running her hand over her skirts, whacking away at the mud caking them.

“Not quite.” He looked away as she crossed her arms and glared at him from the sidewalk.

“What of my beaded reticule? I doubt a lady’s emptied purse holds interest for you.”

“I consider that reticule a treasure,” he teased. He reached into his livery coat pocket and tossed her the small reticule over the horse’s back. “But if that is what it takes, consider us even.”

“Hardly.” She retrieved the key from her necklace, limped up the steps, and fitted the key to the door.

She smiled over her shoulder at him and opened the door.

No servants awaited her, it seemed, but from the dim light of the flickering streetlamp, he spied a pile of trunks at the foot of the stairs.

She glanced back at him, and he shielded his face with his shoulder.

“You can hide your face from me now, but know that I will find you, Bash.”

He dared to peer around Brigand’s mane, keeping his hat pulled low to shadow his features. “You are most welcome to try, my lady, but as I said, I am quite good at hiding unless I wish to be found.”

“Believe me, we shall see each other again, as I will see to it that you pay for your crimes … one way or another.” She closed the door between them.

“And after that kiss you bestowed upon me, I most heartily wish to find you once more,” he whispered. “But duty is waiting.” He sighed, stripped off the livery coat, and slipped into his black coat before snapping the reins and vanishing into the night.