The lady’s maid had been a gift from the Duchess of Frederick, Lily’s godmother, during the Season, but they had rubbed along well, so Lily had asked if Chastity would extend her employment and accompany her to the country. It was a special boon because Lily had left for Derbyshire several days before her parents, permissible only because she had her lady’s maid to travel with her as an erstwhile chaperone. As there was no need to spend the night at an inn, she did not need a more formidable one.
Sighing happily again, Lily leaned back against her bench seat, inwardly smiling when Chastity ignored her this time. Several years older, Chastity’s sober demeanor was a good match for Lily’s quiet, bookish ways.
If she never had to go to London for the Season again, she would be perfectly happy. The only reason she had done so was her friend Evie had asked her and her other two best friends. Josie had thrived on her first foray into Society, and Mary had deftly dealt with her second Season, but Lily had hated every moment.
Gentlemen, she had discovered, did not like a woman with a mind of their own. At least, not the nincompoops she was introduced to. Several had been drawn in by her relationship with the Duke and Duchess of Frederick, but they had not stayed after realizing Lily was the type to speak her mind. Which was a relief, even if it was lowering. She had always imagined marrying and having children, but if that was what London had to offer…
Unfortunately, the options in Derbyshire were not much better. Perhaps she would become an aged bluestocking spinster, firmly on the shelf, playing doting auntie to her friends’ children. After her first Season, Lily found the prospect far more appealing than she would have countenanced.
Granted, she had not gone into the Season with high hopes, knowing she was not what many considered ‘sociable,’ but whatever hopes she had were quickly crushed underfoot by the general attitudes of theton.Her very first week out in Society, she’d heard the incredibly handsome Lord Broderick—with whom she’d thought she had a very interesting conversation—remark to one of his friends that the only way she would find a husband would be to sew her mouth shut.
After that, to gauge the gentlemen’s reactions, Lily became even more outspoken about her views and opinions. Like Lord Broderick, they were polite enough to her face, but she saw through their facades and overheard enough of their comments to know those gentlemen were assuredlynotfor her.
The carriage came to a sudden, jerking stop, tumbling the occupants about. Chastity cried out, flinging her arms wide as she was thrown forward, and Lily opened hers to catch her. They fell back against Lily’s bench, shocked by the abrupt halt.
“Stand and deliver!”
What? A highwayman? Lily and Chastity exchanged disbelieving looks before Lily quickly released her maid. Knowing she was being a perfect twit, Lily leaned out the window to see a man on horseback, wearing a long black cape and mask, pointing a gun at the carriage.
Botheration. This was the last thing she needed today.
“I said, stand and deliver!”
“We’ve already stopped,” Lily called back waspishly. “What do you want delivered? And how?”
“Miss, get back in the coach,” the driver ordered. Lily scowled. She was notoutof the coach. Not truly. “I will deal with this blaggard.”
“No—” Her protest was cut off as she watched in horror when her driver lifted his own arm, gun in hand, only to jerk back against the seat. The sound of the highwayman’s gunshot seemed to echo across the fields, and her entire body went numb with shock. The driver slumped and fell to the ground, startling the horses. Lily was flung back painfully against the window’s edge, causing her to drop back into the carriage as the horses lurched forward.
Chastity screamed, but the movement was over almost as soon as it began, and through the ringing in her ears, she could hear the highwayman shouting something.
He stopped the horses from running away with us.
Is that good or bad?
They were not in a runaway carriage, but that meant they were now at the mercy of the highwayman.
He killed the driver.
Lily did not even know the man’s name, had not asked. A fact which she now felt wildly guilty about. The man had meant to defend her, and perhaps he had gone about it foolishly, but to pay with his life when she had not even known his name…
This is not a constructive line of thought, and you do not have time to dwell. You can find out his name later. Right now, you need to get you and Chastity out of this alive.
The door to the carriage was yanked open, and Chastity screamed again, quickly covering her mouth with her hands as a gun was leveled at them. The highwayman was dressed completely in black, his face mostly hidden by a black scarf wound around the lower half and the hat pulled down atop his head, but she could still see his cold, dark eyes as his gaze flickered back and forth between her and Chastity.
Fear for her life, the first time she had ever felt such a thing, paralyzed her.
ChapterTwo
Nathan
Tying Merlin to the inside of the gate, Nathan dashed up the stairs, though he slowed when he got to the door, listening carefully. The quiet was far more unnerving than anything he might have heard.
Bloody hell.
He slowly crept inside, moving as stealthily as he could. Pausing for a moment just inside the door, he moved to the right where the drawing-room was. It only took a moment to discover that the room was empty. Grabbing a poker from the fireplace, he returned to the hall.
“Josie!”Elijah’s voice echoed through the house.