Her thoughtfulness reminded him that she had nursed him though his seasickness after he had been so pompous aboutnotsuffering frommal de mer. And never once complained.
It wasn’t until Nettle was assisting Geoff to undress that he discovered how Elizabeth had managed to stop the theft of their horses.
Damn, she was turning out to be a remarkable woman.
“According to Kenton she marched right up with her pistol and pointed it at the servant trying to unhitch the horses and ordered him to cease.”
“What do you mean,servant?” He could not imagine that any master would order his servant to steal anything, much less a team of horses from a carriage.
“There was an English gentleman who said he needed the horses to get back home.”
“Do we know who he is?” If he found the cur, he’d write his father and have whoever it was arrested.
Nettle gave a rare chuckle. “The gentleman asked her ladyship if she knew who he was and she just stared at him like he was mad and said something about how could she know him when they had not been introduced, and she didn’t care who he was. She shot his hat off his head.”
Shot? For a moment Geoff couldn’t speak. “She did what?”
“Shot the gentleman’s hat off. Then told him if he didn’t want to lose anything more valuable, he’d leave.” His valet pulled off one of his boots. “By then she had one of the coaching pistols.”
Geoff was glad he was sitting down. Otherwise the news of his wife actually shooting at a thief would have had him falling down. Dear God. If anything had happened to her . . . He never should have left her alone, and the moment he saw her he would beg her forgiveness for having done so.
Devil it all. He was damned lucky she was all right.
When Elizabeth had said she knew her way around a pistol, he had no idea she would be forced to confront such a bounder. Most ladies he knew would have been in a panic. But she—his wife—had remained calm and in control of the situation.
She had also protected their servants from a possible arrest by shooting at the gentleman herself. If the man had been a peer, and based on his attitude, he might very well have been, Geoff’s coachman could have been in a precarious situation by threatening the man.
He didn’t know how he had been so lucky to have found and married her. In fact, his life would be perfect if he knew how to get her back into his bed, short of going to her room and carrying her to his.
Geoff had missed waking up to her and mating with her. His dreams had revolved around her and the two days they’d had together after their wedding. By the time the blasted bird had woken him, he’d had the hardest erection he’d ever experienced.
There had to be a way to get her to soften toward him. Including her in all his decisions hadn’t worked. Or only marginally. Shewasspeaking to him. If his next course of action—being more affectionate with her—didn’t produce results, he might have to try pure seduction.
Striding into the breakfast room, he was glad enough to find Elizabeth just sitting down to the table.
Bending, he kissed her cheek. “Good morning. I heard you had an interesting journey yesterday.”
He lowered himself into a seat next to her as a fresh pot of tea seemed to magically appear at her hand. She poured him a cup adding two lumps of sugar and milk. He took a sip, savoring the malty quality of her blend.
“More than I would have liked,” Elizabeth responded drily. “However, I believe I acquitted myself rather well.”
“From what I heard, you were superb.” Her cheeks became pink, and he was glad he’d pleased her with the accolade.
“Thank you.” She took a roll from the basket on the table. “How did you find Sir Charles?”
For the first time, it occurred to him that apologizing to her for not being there might insult her in some fashion. Still, he had to say something. “I will tell you in a moment, but first I wish to ask if you are angry about having to deal with the attempted theft by yourself.”
She drew her brows down, considering his question for several moments before saying, “The situation would not have occurred if you had been there. The man saw a coach with no gentleman to contest his right to take the horses. I assume he believed there was nothingIcould do about it.” A small smile played around her lips. “In that, he was mistaken. He actually dared me to shoot him.”
That was when Geoff understood how she felt about the incident. “It was a challenge. You enjoyed it.”
Her smile became full-fledged. “I did, rather. My brother taught me how to shoot, and I have always been good at hitting targets. To be able to hit what I wanted to in a real situation was thrilling. Being able to foil the thief’s plans was an exhilarating experience.” She waved her hand. “It made me feel . . . powerful.” She took a piece of toast from the rack that had been set on the table. “Now, how was your day?”
This was the most animated he had seen her in too long. Was she beginning to forgive him? “Unexpectedly busy.” He grinned. “I found Sir Charles easily enough. But there seems to be a great deal of chaos and uncertainty. The fact of the matter is that we are all waiting to see what happens when Napoleon arrives. I did discover why so many people were on the road yesterday. There was a rumor going around that the French were marching north and some of the civilians are fleeing.”
“Do we know when he is expected to arrive?” She took a bite and munched.
Preston placed a plate of meat and eggs in front of Geoff. “I take it there were no kippers to be had?”
