AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Guy made a clucking noise with his tongue. “We both know you aren’t going to shoot Miss Locke,” he said. “She is the only reason you aren’t dead yet.”
“I will do it!” Mr. Huxley exclaimed. “Then you won’t be able to have her, either!”
Miss Locke chose that moment to lift her foot up and slam her heel down onto Mr. Huxley’s boot. She jerked out of his hold as he yelped and moved to the side, giving them enough room for a shot. Without the slightest hesitation, Guy fired, hitting Mr. Huxley in the arm.
Mr. Huxley dropped his pistol to the ground as he howled in pain. “You shot me!” he yelled.
“You’re lucky we didn’t kill you,” Guy said as he retrieved Mr. Huxley’s weapon.
He tucked both pistols into the waistband of his trousers and approached Miss Locke, leaving Huxley to Hawthorne. “Are you all right?” he asked.
She looked back at him with wide eyes. “You saved me.”
“I did, but I couldn’t have done it without your help.”
“Thank you,” she said, taking a step closer to him.
He smiled at her. “It was my pleasure.”
“Why did you put your life at risk for me?”
“I believe you know the reason,” he replied in a soft voice.
A blush came to her dirtied cheeks, and he noticed one was swollen. “Did Mr. Huxley hit you?” he asked, tenderly touching her cheek.
“He did,” Miss Locke replied. “Just once, though.”
Anger welled up inside Guy’s chest. He turned and approached Mr. Huxley, who was holding his bloody arm. Without saying a word, Guy punched him in the jaw, rendering him unconscious.
Hawthorne eyed him curiously. “Was that truly necessary?”
“It was,” Guy said. “He struck Miss Locke.”
“Then I don’t blame you.” Hawthorne glanced down at Mr. Huxley’s unconscious body. “What do you propose we do with him?”
“We could always leave him,” Guy suggested. “A walk back to Anmore might give him the clarity that he needs.”
Miss Locke spoke up. “But he is injured,” she pointed out. “I don’t wish any further harm to fall upon him.”
“Even after what he did to you?” Guy asked in disbelief.
Miss Locke placed her hand on his sleeve. “Even then.”
Guy watched her for a moment before saying, “Let’s put him back in the coach and send him home. I shall report his actions to the magistrate once we arrived back in Anmore and demand that he be arrested at once for your abduction.”
Hawthorne motioned towards the footman and the driver. “Put Huxley’s body in the coach and be on your way,” he ordered.
The driver and footman moved to do his bidding, and it wasn’t long before the coach rolled down the road.
Guy turned towards Miss Locke. “Do you mind riding with me back to Anmore?”
“I don’t.”
After he had her situated, Guy mounted behind her and urged the horse forward, being mindful not to go too fast. His arms were around Miss Locke, and he realized how perfectly she fit there. He wished he could keep her there forever, but he knew it was not his place. Miss Locke was not his, and she never would be.
Mr. Huxley had been right. He didn’t deserve her, but he already knew that. No matter what he accomplished in his life, he would never be worthy of her.
Guy slowed his horse’s gait after a while and said, “It might be best if we give the horse a reprieve.”
