“As if I were what? Your brother?” Marcus leaned in closer to her. “No, I am most definitely not your brother, but for his sake as well as your own, I intend to see that you don’t end up in Newgate. Or Bedlam, for that matter.”
He blew out a sigh. “Surely you can see the sense of coming up with a plan that does not entail foolhardy risks.“
The footpath had taken a turn into a denser copse of trees, and before Augusta had a chance to answer him, two rough-looking figures leapt out from the shadows and hurled themselves at the earl. As one of the men knocked her down as he rushed at Marcus, Augusta caught the glint of steel.
“They have knives!” she cried, struggling to regain her feet.
Marcus was quick enough to parry the first strike. He twisted away to one side, lashing out with his boot to catch the first assailant a vicious blow to the knee. With a howl, the man fell to the ground, writhing in pain . The second one held up and approached with a bit more caution.
The earl slowly backed up, trying to draw both men farther away from Augusta. “Run,” he ordered in a low voice. “Go back to the carriage.”
“No! I’ll not leave you alone!”
“Goddamn spawn of—” Marcus’s words cut off as the first man recovered his footing and made another lunge at the earl’s midriff. This time, he knocked the man’s arm up with one forearm, then delivered a hard jab to the fellow’s ribs, drawing a torrent of foul curses.
“Watch your bloody language,” he snapped as he landed another punch. “There’s a lady present.”
While Marcus was engaged in fighting off one attack, the second assailant had edged around to come at him from the rear.
“Behind you, sir!” warned Augusta, throwing herself forward.
He tried to dodge away, but the fellow managed to get a firm hold of his arms. The first assailant’s blade slashed out, but at the last moment it fell short as his head snapped back from the impact of a flying reticule. The man staggered back, dazed, the knife falling from his grasp. His comrade, on seeing what had happened, let go of the earl and took to his heels.
The other man, on recovering his wits, decided to do the same.
Marcus drew in a ragged breath and regarded the wicked-looking slash through his clothing.
“Good Heavens, are you injured, milord?” cried Augusta, running up to take hold of his arm.
His head came up, a wry expression on his face. “Ah, another waistcoat slain, I’m afraid.”
“It’s nothing to joke about. You might have been killed!” Her fingers came out to touch his side. “Why, youarehurt!” she cried in stricken voice, staring at the blood on her glove.
“Hardly a scratch,” he said lightly. “They were certainly very desperate footpads, to risk accosting law-abiding citizens in broad daylight.”
Augusta chuffed a snort. “I should hope you wouldn’t think me so addlepated as that, sir. You know as well as I those were no thieves in search of a plump purse. They meant to do you harm.”
“Yes,” he agreed. “They did. How perceptive of you, Lady Augusta.” The irritation in his voice had become more pronounced with each word. “So why, may I ask, did you notobey my order and take yourself off to safety when you had a chance?”
She fixed him with a withering look. “Oh, that would have been a fine thing to do, leaving you alone to face the two of them by yourself. Did it occur to you that a female might possess a sense of honor ,as well as a brain? Besides, we just agreed we are working together. Remember?”
He muttered something under his breath.
“And instead of raking me over the coals for it, you should be thanking the fact that I didn’t fall into a fit of vapors, else your so-called scratch may have been considerably worse.”
“What the Devil was in that reticule?” he demanded, walking rather gingerly to where it lay among the leaves.
“Oh, a brass spy glass, a tape measure and a set of picklocks.” On catching sight of the expression that came to his face, she hastened to add, “I told you, we were just having a look.”
She added an injured sniff. “Youcouldsay thank you.”
He returned to her side. “I could also do a number of other things, but being a gentleman, I shall restrain the urge to throttle you.”
She opened her mouth to retort but stopped abruptly on seeing the look in his eyes.
“However,” he continued in a soft voice, “You are right. Thank you.”
“Y-You are quite welcome, my lord.”
