Page 90 of No Ordinary Lady

“Shouldn’t it be me begging you to put a ring on my finger?”

“We already did that,” he said, catching up her hand and kissing the bauble, where it fit perfectly forgotten but cherished on her delicate ring finger. “The rest is destiny.”

“I never believed in destiny before I met you,” she admitted. “I never imagined I’d want or could have a life like this.”

Daniel pulled her onto his lap again. “I never did either.”

“What about my family?”

“Crossman and the others?”

“Yes. There’s likely more to the connection than your mother and grandmother told you about.”

“But they will tell you, which is almost the same as telling me,” he said, not surprised. “I suppose if we put our heads together, we can figure out a way to deal with them.”

“Together?”

“Of course. I can’t have you constantly living in fear and looking over your shoulder whenever we leave the estate. We’ll send for Bow Street Runners tomorrow and set them on their heels.”

“I’d like that, but Danny, I beg you, there’s one among them who deserves mercy. He’s just a boy.”

“Oh, you mean the one who crashed into me and emptied my pockets before I knew what he was about,” Daniel recalled, trying to remember if he’d ever seen the boy’s face clearly. He’d a vague remembrance of overlong hair and shabby clothes.

“I want to find him and take him away from Crossman as soon as I can,” she warned him.

Daniel could see she was determined. She wore exactly the same expression as his mother often had when he argued with her. “I can’t let you go alone. You would be putting yourself in danger. Perhaps Bow Street can catch your uncle, and we’ll catch the boy separately. If we try for him first, the others will notice and flee,” he warned.

“Very likely,” Marian admitted.

“See, there you go. We’ve already got the start of a plan. I’ll be the next victim he steals from, and when the others catch up to me, they’ll walk into a trap or suchlike.”

“That is a very smart idea,” Marian agreed. “I have some others.”

“I thought you might,” Daniel said, kissing her brow. “You know, loving you has changed me in ways I never imagined. But it will never be a hardship to become your husband.”

Marian burrowed into his arms, and he held her close.

“Oh, marry me, Marian,” he whispered. “Make me the happiest of all men. If it’s any incentive at all, I’ve a safe full of jewels that you can try to steal, even though they will all be yours to wear . There are many pretty baubles for you to wear on your fingers and neck and to our bed,” he said, and then glanced down at her, grinning, to see if she was at all tempted.

“Oh, well, that’s decided it for me,” Marian said with a laugh and then met his gaze. She stared at him for quite a while, and then she uttered a sigh. “I’d be a fool not to want to be your wife, Danny. I’ve loved you from the moment we met.”

Daniel set his head against hers and knew his heart was finally in the right place, and it was happy in Marian’s safekeeping. “Well, that makes two of us.”

Epilogue

Daniel flicked a coin up into the air as he strolled along the narrow, dirty alleyway behind a row of wooden town houses as if he’d not a care in the world. He’d grown a beard and had his hat pulled low over his eyes to further disguise his identity and the back of his neck continued to tingle as he walked along alone, moving toward his ultimate destination, leading his quarry toward capture.

It was hard not to turn around to see how close they were, but he had faith in the plan. Marian’s former friends and family had led them on a merry chase across the countryside, evading any attempts to lure them into committing another petty crime.

Until now, that was.

Daniel had painted a large target on his back when young Billy had picked up and kept a bright, shiny coin he’d dropped earlier. The boy had run off ahead of him now, and Daniel had already given the word to let him pass unmolested. He could afford to be lenient for a worthy cause, because the Bow Street Runners were lurking nearby to catch the bigger criminals.

Daniel would not have put himself in such a dangerously outnumbered position without knowing he had experienced men watching his back.

The thieves had picked up his scent as soon as he’d left the tavern where they’d stayed under an assumed name, weaving slightly on his way. Marian had chosen the most likely town and conditions for them to spring their ambush, and although she’d wanted to remain by his side for this part, Daniel had insisted she was kept out of it.

Besides, she had her own job to do elsewhere that was more important to her.