Page 82 of Scandal’s Daughter

“No.”

“You can pay us back!” she yelled, beyond furious now. “We’ll even charge you interest if it will make you feel better.”

“Oh, much,” he replied, his tone ironic. “And bearing in mind my father is as hale and hearty now as a man half his age, by the time your children have grown I’ll be so utterly beholden to you that you’ll own the shirt on my back!” he shouted. “I’ll put a gun to my own head before that happens, love.”

He fell silent again and she hoped he had given up on this outrageous scheme to carry her to Gretna.

Leaning against the door she put her ear to the wood and listened, but heard nothing, until a floorboard creaked close behind her.

She screamed as she realised someone was in the room with her.

“Oh good, God, you frightened me,” she exclaimed, seeing him standing half way across the room and holding her hand over her still thudding heart.

He laughed, though not unkindly.

“I’m not surprised. This part of the house is very old, and very haunted. The family was Roman Catholic, back before we ... lapsed,” he said with a smirk. “The place is riddled with secret passages and priest holes. We were a fanatical lot back then, went to a lot of trouble to hide people from the priest-hunters during the reformation.”

“How long has your family been here?” Her voice quavered as she backed away from his approach.

He chuckled, knowing well that she was stalling him. He took her hand, though he was gentler this time, and unlocked the door, meeting her eyes with meaning.

“This was built in the early sixteenth century, but we’ve been here a deal longer than that. One of the oldest families in England,” he said, but she heard that now familiar mocking tone again instead of pride in the fact. If Sebastian spoke about his father, there was such fierce pride in his eyes. All she could see in Beau’s was disgust. “Perhaps it’s time we died out,” he added, turning and grinning at her.

“Don’t say that, Beau,” she pleaded, tightening her hand on his.

“Why not? Sebastian will be here soon, I’ve no doubt. The timing was always going to be my undoing, but I had so little time to prepare, you see.” He drew her down yet another corridor and she wondered at his ability to find his way in the dark. “It’s my first abduction, so you’ll have to forgive me,” he added.

“Oh, stop it, Beau!” she cried, wishing with all her heart there was something she could do to untangle the mess they were in.

“Hush, Georgiana,” he said, turning back to smile at her. “You’ve played your part well, love,” he added, his voice full of admiration.

She paused, tugging at his hand.

“Let me speak to him, let me explain ...”

He laughed and shook his head. “Sweet, lovely, Eve. You are such a temptation. But no. I’ve been villain enough for one night. I’ll not compound it by hiding behind your skirts.”

They both turned to the window as the sound of horses moving fast over gravel came to their ears. In the glimmer of moonlight that glinted behind a thin grey cloud, a carriage and four grey horses could be seen, thundering towards the house.

“And here comes our hero,” he said softly. “Right on time.”