He rose and extracted a handkerchief from inside his coat and handed it to her. “Here, lass. You’ve got, ah, something on your face.”
He meant Fletcher’s blood, of course. She swallowed hard and began scrubbing her face, sternly telling herself not to cast up her accounts.
When she got back to Kinglas, she intended to find a quiet room and have a thorough cry. Or get sick, she hadn’t yet decided which.
She tried to hand him back his kerchief.
“Leave it on the ground,” he said.
“How did you know?” she asked with a vague wave.
He took her arm and started walking her toward the trees. “First things first. Back to the carriage, yes?”
“Is Alec all right? There was a shot.”
“Och, that was me, lass. Gilbride is as right as rain, aside from a sore head.”
Her legs went weak from relief. “Thank God. And the others?”
“Some ninny from Glasgow took a shot in the shoulder, but he should be all right. Old Tommy and that young constable are helping Alec keep an eye on the men who attacked you.”
She glanced up at him, taking in his calm expression. Apparently, subduing ruthless villains might be all in a day’s work for Logan Kendrick. “You’re quite the hero, sir.”
He flashed her a charming smile, looking uncannily like his older brother. “Are you sure you don’t want to marry me, instead of Nick?”
She had to repress the urge to burst into hysterical laughter—or tears. “No, thank you,” she said in a quavering voice. “I only want him.”
* * *
Nick leaned over the stallion’s neck, letting the animal go flat out. Two grooms from the inn at Arrochar followed him, doing their best to keep up.
Victoria needed you, and you weren’t there. You failed. Again.
He forced the thought of past and present failures from his mind as he rounded a curve in the road. If Fletcherhadgotten his hands on Victoria, then succumbing to fear wouldn’t help. And Nick would do any damn thing necessary to bring her back to Kinglas, including tearing the bastard limb from limb if he had to.
The forest that marked the beginning of Arnprior lands rose before him, the road narrowing as it entered the trees. Nick slowed the horse, even though he chafed to do so. But breaking the animal’s leg—or his head, for that matter—would be the height of stupidity.
As soon as Ben Munroe, the innkeeper of the Golden Thistle, told him that Fletcher had departed for Glasgow instead of waiting for Victoria, Nick had known something was very wrong. Just as suspicious, Ben had spotted Fletcher lurking behind the inn last night with a couple of disreputable characters. The innkeeper knew almost everyone from Glasgow to Edinburgh, so he’d recognized one of the men as a notorious smuggler. There was absolutely no reason for a wealthy, respectable man like Fletcher to be talking to a ruthless criminal unless he was up to no good.
Acting on instinct, Nick had asked Ben for his best horse and two grooms, then set off toward Kinglas.
He could only ride as fast as he dared and pray he wasn’t too late.
A few minutes later, he spotted the carriage listing awkwardly at the side of the road, and his heart jumped into his throat. The coachman was crouching down to inspect a wheel, but the vehicle appeared empty.
Too late.
He’d just switched the reins to one hand and started to fumble for his pistol when Victoria and Alec came around from the back of the carriage. The shock and relief at seeing them had Nick almost dropping the reins. Not wanting to spook the carriage horses, he pulled the stallion to a halt some yards back and on the opposite side of the road. He swung his leg over the saddle and dropped to the ground, hitting it at a run.
Victoria flew toward him, her skirts hiked up to her knees and her face shining with joy. When she launched herself into his arms, he swept her up, spinning once with the force of their momentum. She peppered his face with kisses, sobbing, laughing, and talking all at once. Nick quietly held her, mashing her to his chest and sending a silent, heartfelt prayer of thanks to the heavens.
“I thought I would never see you again,” she finally managed in a wobbly voice.
Holding her with one arm, he untied her bonnet and tossed it to the road. He smoothed back her hair. “Hush, darling. I’m here now, and I’ll never leave you.”
She gazed up at him, her gorgeous blue eyes bloodshot and shimmering with tears. Her nose was red and her skin was splotchy, but she looked more beautiful than ever.
“Do you promise?” she asked.
