Page 62 of An Unlikely Debutante

‘No. Very slowly I want you to gather all of your valuables and money and pass it to our comrade here.’

Alex was carrying his coin purse and a thin stack of notes—winnings from their time at the races. He also had a pocket watch, but didn’t like to adorn himself with copious valuables like some young men seemed to. Lina would have the twelve pounds she had won by betting on Dawnbreaker, but nothing more. Overall it would be a small loss, nothing he couldn’t live without. Certainly nothing worth risking Lina’s life for.

Slowly he reached into a pocket and withdrew the coin purse and the stack of banknotes held together by a silver clip. These he handed over, at the same time manoeuvring himself very slightly in front of Lina. It wouldn’t be enough to protect her from all six bullets if they were fired upon, but it might give her a fighting chance of diving for cover should one of the highwaymen become twitchy with his trigger finger.

‘And you, miss,’ the man in front of them growled, gesturing for Lina to hand over any valuables.

‘I don’t have anything,’ Lina said, her voice defiant. ‘And even if I did, I wouldn’t hand it over to you.’

‘Show some manners, or I might just have to shoot you.’ The highwayman took a step closer to Lina and Alex quickly stepped in between the pair, unsure if he was more worried about the man hitting Lina or Lina hitting the man. Not that he wouldn’t deserve it, but it was a way to ensure that they got shot and rolled into a ditch.

Behind him he heard Lina mumble something about manners, but luckily the wind blew her comment away from the highwayman’s ears.

‘You’ve got my money,’ Alex said placatingly. ‘Now, just let us go on our way.’

The men on horseback glanced at each other, as if trying to decide what would be the best course of action. Before they could come to an agreement, Alex saw movement out of the corner of his eye. His coachman, a middle-aged man who’d been travelling the roads of England long enough to know most hold-ups didn’t end well, shifted slightly in his seat. Quickly Alex took another step closer to Lina, grasping her by the shoulders as he saw the coachman raise the gun and aim at one of the highwaymen. As the pistol fired, Alex didn’t wait to see if it hit the mark; even if the one man was dead there were five more to shoot back. He pulled Lina sideways, flinging them into the ditch at the side of the road. Just before they disappeared into the icy water that lay at the bottom of the ditch, Alex felt a searing pain across his biceps which caused him to jerk and fall awkwardly. He recovered at the very last moment and managed to roll so he cushioned Lina’s landing.

For a few seconds the commotion from the road above them stilled as their heads dipped under the water, and as they re-emerged, Alex could hear confusion and the clattering of hooves.

‘Stay here,’ he instructed, knowing the cold, dirty water wasn’t the best place to spend more than a few minutes, but for now it was safer than the unknown situation up on the road.

‘Be careful,’ Lina whispered as Alex poked his head above the rim of the ditch.

It was chaos. Horses were rearing, men shouting, and as Alex hauled himself up to join the melee, another shot was fired.

Spooked by the unnaturally loud gunshot, the horses tethered to the carriage had sprung into action and Alex could see both the coachman and the groom desperately trying to control them. It was to no avail, and he watched the carriage head straight for the group of highwaymen, scattering them as it ploughed through their line at speed.

The remaining men struggled to calm their horses—two had been thrown in the commotion and were visibly torn between remounting and being able to defend themselves with their pistols. One decided to remount, and the other, with a quick glance at his companions, followed.

‘Let’s get out of here,’ someone shouted.

Alex almost cheered at the idea. He was standing unarmed and battered against six armed men. He didn’t have a chance if they decided to come after him.

The first of the highwaymen spun his horse and cantered away into the darkness, four more hot on his heels. Only the man who’d taken their money, the man who’d threatened Lina, remained for a few extra seconds, his pistol aimed at Alex from his position on the back of his horse.

There was nowhere for Alex to go. Either this man would shoot him or he wouldn’t. At this range, he would have a fifty-fifty chance of hitting his target, and seeing as Alex was unarmed there wasn’t much risk to the highwayman if he tarried for a few seconds longer to fire the shot.

Alex had always wondered what thoughts might assail him as he looked death in the eye and he was surprised that only images of Lina filled his mind. Lina smiling as she teased him. Lina slipping into the water of the lake on the estate. Lina dancing in his arms at the country dance.

Looking straight at the man in front of him, Alex shrugged, as if to indicate he was ready to take his chances. He saw the minute movement as the man’s finger squeezed the trigger, heard the bang as the powder propelled the bullet forward. The bullet went wide, very wide—thanks in no small part to Lina leaning out of the ditch and poking the horse the highwayman was seated on with a fallen branch just a moment before the shot was fired. The horse reared, danced forward and backwards a few steps, then shot off down the road so quickly the highwayman nearly lost his seat.

In an instant Alex was kneeling down, pulling Lina out of the ditch. She was shivering violently, covered in mud, and her dress was sticking to her body in a way that looked very uncomfortable.

‘You’re bleeding,’ she said through chattering teeth.

Alex glanced down at his arm. His jacket was torn and the shirt underneath was soaked with blood. He recalled the stinging sensation as he flung himself and Lina into the ditch and realised he must have been shot.

Despite her obvious discomfort, Lina did not hesitate in pulling his jacket from his shoulders and tearing the ripped material of his shirt to get a better look at the wound. In the darkness it was difficult to see, but he felt her fingers probing softly.

‘I need to bind it, try to stop the bleeding.’

It felt rather nice to have Lina’s fingers dancing across his skin, even if the wound did not burn and sting now, he’d become aware of it. Deftly, as if she dealt with bullet wounds all the time, Lina tore strips of his ripped shirtsleeve and fashioned them into a makeshift bandage, which she wound tightly around his biceps.

‘That’ll do for now.’

‘How about you?’ Alex asked, catching her hand as she was about to step away. ‘Are you hurt?’

‘Just a little bruised,’ Lina said with a shrug.