Page 135 of A Troublesome Circumstance

Her uncle swallowed, shifting his gaze from her to Jude and back again. “He—he had a pistol… I didn’t know what to⁠—”

“Mr. Broderick said you promised me to him,” Josephine said.

“Clearly, he is lying,” Lord Leroy attempted, shifting uncomfortably in his stance. “I would never do that to you, Poppet.”

Before Jude could fully think it through, his fist connected with Lord Leroy’s jaw. The man stumbled back, crashing onto the gravel, his eyes wide with shock and fear.

“Stay away from Josie,” Jude warned, each word infused with every ounce of fury he had been carrying since the moment he had arrived at the coaching inn.

Lord Leroy clutched his chin, his breath coming in wheezing gulps. “Josephine… please…”

Josephine looked at him for one long, unreadable moment. “You are not the man I thought you were, Uncle.”

“It was a mistake, a misunderstanding… you have to trust me,” her uncle attempted. “He threatened me if I didn’t help him.”

With a resigned sigh, Josephine said, “But I don’t trust you. Not anymore.” Then she lifted her chin higher and walked right past him.

Jude moved to follow her because every instinct he possessed screamed to stay at her side, to shield her, to make sure she didn’t disappear again.

But the constable cleared his throat. “My lord—the man who did this⁠—”

Jude’s entire body tensed. He didn’t want to stop. He didn’t want to waste even a second that could be spent walking beside Josephine, reassuring himself that she was safe.

But the very thought of Broderick lying unconscious in those woods—breathing, still alive after what he’d dared to do—sent fury clawing up his throat.

He turned back, his jaw clenched. Duty and love tore at him, pulling in opposite directions.

The constable shifted, waiting.

Jude exhaled slowly. “Before we go deal with Broderick, I want Lord Leroy arrested for helping in Lady Josephine’s abduction.”

“Yes, my lord,” the constable said, flicking his wrist towards a man standing back. “Arrest Lord Leroy at once.”

Lord Leroy’s eyes grew wide. “You can’t arrest me. I am the son of a marquess,” he declared pompously.

“We don’t care much for people abducting our ladies here,” the constable said.

Once Lord Leroy was being led away, Jude knew it was time to deal with Broderick properly. “Follow me, then,” he instructed.

The constable bobbed his head and fell into step behind him as Jude strode back towards the trees, each step heavy with reluctance.

He glanced once over his shoulder and Rupert tipped his head—an unspoken assurance passing between them.

Jude let out a sigh of relief, his shoulders easing by a fraction. If there was anyone besides himself he trusted with Josephine’s safety, it was Rupert.

Good, he thought. She will be safe until I return to her.

21

The morning sun hung low on the horizon, soft and pale, casting a gentle glow across the street as the coach jerked to a stop in front of her townhouse. Josephine released a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. Home. The familiar façade soothed her frayed nerves—yet the sharp weight of everything that had happened only hours earlier pressed heavily upon her chest.

The coach door swung open, and Jude appeared. He extended his hand. Without hesitation—without even thinking—she placed her hand in his. His touch grounded her, warmed her, steadied her.

Once her boots touched the pavement, he slipped her hand into the crook of his arm with quiet protectiveness.

“How are you faring?” he asked.

She offered the simplest answer. “I am well.”