Stealing spices was a much easier and more lucrative business. You waved a pistol at the driver, he stepped down and out of the way, and you pinched his stuff. Everyone knew their place and how it all worked.
Everything had been working beautifully, right up until yesterday when the East India had decided it was done with being an easy target, and Robert’s whole business model had collapsed all around him.
Now all he wanted was to take his wife by the hand and get the hell out of here.
She is not going to make it easy for me.
Robert let out a resigned sigh. “Right, who has money? I need at least ten pounds to make this heist worth my while.”
“Don’t you bloody dare,” hissed Victoria.
The gentleman standing next to her, who had somehow decided he was her protector, put his hand on Victoria’s arm. “Now, my dear remember what he said, no heroes.”
She turned to the man. “Firstly, I am a woman, and if I decided to take on this brute, I would therefore be classed as a heroine. And secondly, I would thank you to remove your hand from my person before I turn rabid and bite you.”
He quickly snatched his hand away and mumbled something about ungrateful damsels in distress.
Robert considered Victoria, and it was all he could do to stop a sly grin creeping across his lips. She was well and truly riled, and there was something about Victoria and her heightened state of emotion that sent a ripple of lust shooting down Robert’s spine. His cock twitched at the mere prospect of the two of them tangled in bedsheets while engaged in a bout of hot, angry sex.
Victoria bent and stuffed her clothes back into her travel bag. Righting herself, she reached into her cloak and pulled out a coin purse. She took out a coin and handed it to him. “Here’s a sovereign to get things started.”
He had no other choice than to set down his lantern and take the money from her. Within a matter of minutes, the Duke of Saffron Walden had some eight pounds and fifteen shillings in his possession. When one of the poorer-looking passengers tried to press a few farthings into his hand, Robert shook his head. “You need that more than me but thank you.”
He’d got most of the money he had demanded, but not what he had come for—his duchess. Robert worried his bottom lip. He walked back to where Victoria stood, and when their eyes met, he could have sworn she was on the verge of giving him a serious piece of her mind.
Leaning in close, he whispered in her ear, “Help me. I am in absolute agony, and I just want us to go home. Please.”
She really ought to leave him to his fate, but the thought of her mother and what this scandal would do to her had Victoria racking her brains. She had to help come up with an escape plan. One which would see both her and Robert leave the coach while at the same time making sure that her wayward husband didn’t get shot for a second time.
She forced down her anger and focused on the problem at hand. Making good their escape.
“So do you still have a shortfall on your expected haul from this robbery?” she mused.
He nodded. “Yes, but I’ve come up with a solution for that little problem.”
“Really, and what would that be?”
Robert pointed the pistol at her head. “You are the solution to my problem. Your clothes are well cut. You speak with a fineaccent. I would say that your family has money, so I’ve decided that you are coming with me. I’ve heard that kidnapping can be quite lucrative.”
The gentleman standing next to Victoria mumbled something else, but she noted he didn’t offer to go in her stead. She’d clearly done her dash with him.
Coward. So much for being a gentleman.
“Alright, if you agree to let these people back on the coach and send them on their way, I will come with you. I’m sure my husband will pay handsomely for my safe return. And if he doesn’t, then you might just gain yourself a well-bred mistress. Considering how much of a clod my husband is in bed, I could be up for a spot of ravishing. What do you say?”
Victoria held out her hand, smiling sweetly as Robert was forced to shift the pistol to his left hand in order to shake. The move had him wincing with pain. She could see the bead of sweat on his brow as she squeezed his hand tightly when they sealed their deal.
You’d better get used to the pain, because there is more where that comes from.
Chapter Forty-One
The driver of the coach argued long and hard for Victoria’s release, but in the end, he had little choice but to get back into his seat and continue the journey on to London. Robert pointed the pistol in the direction of anyone who tried to talk him out of kidnapping poor Mrs. Brown. As the rest of the passengers all climbed on board the mail coach, they wished her the best of luck. Some offered prayers, others just gave the masked highwayman filthy looks. Everyone promised to send a search party to look for her.
The Duke and Duchess of Saffron Walden were left standing side by side on the road watching as the mail coach disappeared into the night. Eventually the sound of the horses and the crack of the driver’s whip dimmed to silence.
For a long time neither one spoke. Robert pulled his hat from his head and removed his face covering. He picked up his lantern. Victoria retrieved her scarf from her travel bag and wrapped it around her neck. She was still trying to find the right words to break the impasse when her husband finally spoke.
“If it’s any consolation, I do feel bad about taking their money. I will make sure that we get a copy of the passenger list from the coaching company, and everyone is fully reimbursed.”
