“You don’t,” Mr. Cain said. He glanced again at Rosalie, who was still watching him with a furious expression. “I have only my devotion for Miss Rosalie to prove that I’m not lying. If I send you in the wrong direction, I will lose her forever.”
“We only met two days ago,” Rosalie began angrily. “I don’t believe you would have planned to betray my father all along when you only became acquainted with me at the ball.”
“Er, well…” Mr. Cain hesitated, and it looked like he was thinking hard. “I always planned it simply because I hate yourfather. But falling for you has only increased my desire to do what is right!”
He looked rather pleased with himself for coming up with this line, and James had a very strong feeling that the man was not telling them the full truth.
“Some of us will stay here and keep questioning you, Mr. Cain,” he declared. “They will also make sure you don’t leave the house, try to send word to anyone, or sabotage our efforts to save Violet. Carfield, this will be your job. I am trusting you now to rise to this task with honor and diligence and ensure that this man does not harm your cousins anymore than he already has.”
“You can count on me, Your Grace!” Niles said, stepping forward and puffing out his chest.
“I will stay as well,” Lady Carfield offered. “I’ve spent enough time around liars to know when a man is bluffing.”
“I will also stay,” Rosalie added, grim determination lacing her voice. As if she actually wanted to say,If anyone can get the truth out of him, it’s me.
“Then Nathan and I will go after Violet and Crampton.” James did some quick math: it would take them about twelve hours to reach Barry, which was right outside of Cardiff, if they rode hard and changed horses as often as possible at posting inns. That should get them there around the same time as Violet and Crampton, who would be traveling by carriage and probably hadstopped to sleep in the night. “Hopefully, the wedding will not take place today.”
“It is scheduled for tomorrow, after they arrive,” Mr. Cain piped up.
James felt his blood run cold. “Then let’s go!” he shouted. “Now!”
Within minutes, Nathan’s horse and his had been saddled, and they were galloping away from the Cains’ residence. It would take them
James had instructed Lord Carfield to alert the Bow Street Runners and have them follow them to Barry. But he hadn’t waited for them, and he and Nathan had nothing with them except the clothes on their backs. That and the revolver that James had brought with him before they’d left Bolden House.
He could only pray that he wouldn’t have to use it.
“I’m glad that you made the right decision,” Jebediah Crampton said from his seat. “Lord Redfield will be most pleased. And, on a more personal note, I am pleased as well.”
It was the second day of their journey, and so far, Violet and her father had not said much to each other. He hadn’t said much either when Mr. Cain handed her over to him in Reading. He’dsimply taken the annulment papers and then hauled her in the carriage that would take them to Wales.
They had to stop, however, for the night. Violet didn’t even know the name of the town where they’d spent the night. The inn had been dirty and uncomfortable, the bathwater cold. Traveling with a fugitive meant not traveling in style and comfort, it seemed.
It had been many hours since they’d left the inn—too many to count—and Violet’s legs were starting to cramp. Her back was aching from sitting on the wooden bench for two days, but she wasn’t about to complain. She would face her fate with stoicism and not let her father see her anguish.
“What?”
She turned to look at him, having not let her mind fully process the words he was saying. She’d been thinking about distance and speed and trying to calculate how quickly they were moving. They had to stop several times to change or rest the horses. Her father’s fugitive status and limited budget meant that there were only two horses drawing the carriage.
That should slow us down considerably… and James will be on horseback. He’ll throw every penny he can for fresh horses and the fastest route.
But that was if he even knew where she was. Mr. Cain could have very easily double-crossed her.
“I’m glad you made the right decision,” her father repeated. “That it was you and not Rosalie.”
He was still dressed in the threadbare clothes he had worn in her home, but he looked less tired and old. Perhaps the thought of finally making his escape energized him.
“And why are you glad about that?” she asked.
She wasn’t curious, but at least when she was talking, she wasn’t thinking about the plan she had tried to put into motion and whether or not Mr. Cain would actually try to help her. It was her only chance, but he could have easily betrayed her.
“If I’m being truthful, my dear—and I think it best that I am, as this will be the last time we ever see one another—you have always been my favorite child.”
Violet’s stomach lurched. “What a compliment,” she said sarcastically.
“I know you don’t see it as such, and considering the circumstances, I can’t blame you.” Jebediah shook his head. “I know that Lord Redfield is not the Prince Charming that little girls dream of. I am not unaware that your marrying him is a sacrifice.”
“And yet you’re still making me do it?”
