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‘I do not believe you.’
He shrugged. ‘That is up to you. There will be a terrible scandal, of course. As for Lord Wyndham...’ He gave a cracked laugh. ‘He will lose both bride and mistress.’
‘Do not be ridiculous. You are drunk.’ She was terrified, but trying not to show it. If she shouted for help, would someone come to her aid? She opened her mouth to scream, but he clapped his hand over her face, pushing her head hard against the wall.
‘I told my mother I had found a suitable bride and she naturally wishes to meet you.’ He grabbed her arm. ‘My carriage is waiting.’
‘Let me go.’ Her head was spinning from the impact with the wall. ‘I am not going anywhere with you.’
‘Unfortunately, my dear, you have no choice.’ He began dragging her towards the outer door. She opened her mouth to scream, but he had anticipated that and put one hand over her mouth and with the other thrust her arm up behind her back. She struggled, but he simply gave another tug on her arm. It was excruciatingly painful and forced her to move ahead of him. He propelled her out on to the garden path and round the side of the house towards his carriage. His driver was standing by it and opened the door. She felt herself being lifted bodily and dumped on the seat. Free of his hand over her mouth, she screamed and went on screaming. He lifted his hand to strike her. Then she saw another hand come up behind him, a hand brandishing a firebrand.
Bolsover abandoned her to deal with this new threat. The only weapon Paolo had was the burning stick and he was faced with two adversaries. He held them off with it, waving it from one to the other and shouting in Portuguese, poking it at them. They were all too close to the carriage for her to leave it. Then the hammer cloth caught fire. In the blinking of an eye, flames licked along the body work and caught the curtains.
The horses panicked and began rearing up, threatening to overtopple the carriage. Pandemonium ensued as other people arrived and tried to beat out the flames. Jane could not see them for the smoke, but she felt sure it was Mark’s voice she heard giving instructions. Then someone reached in and pulled her out. She felt herself being carried away from the heat and gently put on the grass some distance away.
She coughed. ‘Mark, is it you?’
He sat down beside her. ‘Yes, my love. You are safe now,’
‘Lord Bolsover?’
‘Overcome by smoke. He will recover to stand trial.’
‘And Paolo?’
‘His hands are burned and his hair singed, but Mrs Butler is looking after him. Are you hurt?’
‘No, only a little. I am thirsty.’
‘A drink you shall have.’
He picked her up and carried her into the house. ‘Bring Miss Cavenhurst a tisane and a drink,’ he instructed Mrs Godfrey as he passed through the kitchen to the parlour. He put his burden on the sofa and sat down beside her, putting his arm about her shoulders. ‘I only just arrived in time. Estaban could not have held them off much longer and the coach was well alight.’
‘He is a brave man. I think he knew Lord Bolsover. He had a score to settle and talked of revenge, but it wasn’t revenge after all, he did it to save me.’
‘He did indeed.’
Mrs Godfrey arrived with a cordial and a dose of tisane. He thanked her and helped Jane to drink.
‘It was dreadful, Mark. Lord Bolsover said he was going to take me to meet his mother and we would not trouble with a church wedding.’
‘It is all over, my love. Everything. He cannot harm you now.’
‘He has a wife. Paolo told me about his cousin’s English husband, but I didn’t know he was talking about Lord Bolsover.’
‘His lordship was under the impression he had killed her. He fled to England to escape Portuguese justice, but she recovered.’
‘He said Issie was going to elope with Mr Ashton.’
He laughed. ‘No, I do not think they will do that. Unless I miss my guess they will obtain the full consent of Sir Edward.’ He paused to kiss the tip of her nose. ‘We are free to marry, Jane, my darling. That is, if you will have me.’
‘Of course I will, but the scandal...’
‘There are to be no buts, Jane.’
‘Oh, Mark.’ Her head lolled on his shoulder as the tisane took effect. He smiled and kissed the top of her head and held her close. They would have plenty of time to talk when she woke. For the moment he was happy to sit with her sleeping body in his arms and contemplate a rosy future at home with the woman he loved.
