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She cast a sidelong look at him. His attention was forward, giving her his profile. The chiseled edge of his clean-shaven jaw, the rich brown hair falling onto his shoulders. Broad shoulders they were, straining the confines of the shirt he wore today. Perhaps the reason he hadn’t done up all the buttons was because it simply wouldn’t stretch that tight. When he cast a sidelong look to meet hers, she swiftly looked away.
“I’ve proven perfectly capable of handling any brigands on my own.”
Her voice, at least, didn’t betray her lack of conviction. She felt easier, more confident on the horse than she had in the carriage. She could do this—and she had known the risks when she’d left London unescorted.
“It would gut me if you were hurt.”
Perdie was confused by the unexpectedness of his response. “You do not know me,” she whispered.
“Does that mean I should not care about you and your two companions?”
Befuddled, she stared at him, and his hawklike gaze returned her regard unflinchingly. Her future indeed looked vague and shadowy, but she had not imagined herself hurt. “I will not allow anyone to hurt me or them. I will also reach my destination in a few days.”
“Simply because it hasn’t happened yet doesn’t mean it won’t happen in the future. It all depends on how far you will travel and how many days you will be alone for. It is unlikely you will encounter the same robbers, but these are hard time for county folks who have turned to desperate means to make a living, and you are three lovely lasses travelling alone.”
His words made her blood run cold as, for a moment, she thought he meant the bandits rather than the trouble at the inn. She could sleep under the sky if need be. Not a one of them would be comfortable, and she would avoid it as much as possible, but if that was the price she needed to pay for momentary freedom, then she would pay it.
She scanned the bushes at the side of the road again but saw no hint of movement aside from a bird hopping from one branch to the next. As the horse stepped lazily beneath her, she let its rolling gait relax her tense muscles.
“I will handle whatever arises on my own.”
He made a considering sound in his throat. “If we’d been in Scotland, it would not be subterfuge.”
The burr was thick in his voice again. She turned her head and her eyes locked with his. Whatever he meant to convey, she couldn’t read it from a look.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean to say that if we had been in Scotland, we would already be married.”
She jerked herself to her full height and yanked on the reins to stop the horse. He drew his stallion alongside her easily, looking unperturbed. Perhaps even amused.
“I’ve not consented to marry you. I will not. And if it’s the impropriety of our traveling together that has you speaking in such a way—”
He held up his hand to forestall her. “Now, lass, don’t fash yourself. I only meant to say that in Scotland, it is enough to marry a man and wife simply by announcing it before witnesses. By my law, we’re married.”
Perdie choked on her own tongue. Aileen had not been jesting. Perdie had never heard anything so outrageous. She took a few gasping breaths and glanced behind her. Hattie had drawn the carriage to a stop out of earshot, though both she and Lionel were speaking in interested whispers. They couldn’t have heard. Perdie gave a wave to the pair, hoping to avert any unwanted suspicions, and kicked the gelding into a quick walk.
Thaddeus easily kept pace, of course. His ease and satisfaction with the situation gave her the liberty to snap at him. Whatever in her behavior he had taken for encouragement, it must stop now. “We are not in Scotland. I’m not your wife.”
He gave her an easy smile, one she might have admired under different circumstances. “Easy, tiger. I know we aren’t at home. But I am a Scots. Just because I am on England’s soil doesn’t mean I ignore the customs of my land. So as far as I am concerned you are my wife.”
Perdie laughed, her incredulity reaching new heights. What mess had she gotten herself into with this stubborn stranger. She needed a moment to reorient herself and asked a most pertinent question. “And what rights do you dare to believe you have?”
“The right to protect you,”
He said it quietly and with such intensity it alternately thrilled and frightened her. They stared at each other for several moments in silence, an odd tension mounting in the air.
He wanted to protect her. Perdie should be annoyed with him, that he did not know her but wanted to make decisions about her person. Just like Lord Owen and even her brother. Yet peculiarly, a strange warmth blossomed through her body and pierced her bones which had felt cold and disillusioned for too long.
The right to protect you. Perdie could also see he was most assuredly serious. The strange affection she felt frightened her.
“I know how dangerous the roads can be. Allow me, Lady Perdie to do this. You don’t have to worry I’ll take you up and ravish you.”
Involuntarily, she tightened her legs around the horse. The gelding, taking her cues, quickened into a trot, and she had to quickly rein the beast back before he stepped wrong in a rut and twisted his ankle. Thaddeus’s quiet chuckle followed her as he followed at a more sedate, even pace.
Her heart was fluttering, and she didn’t know how to hide it. She fell into the role she knew how to play, that of a duke’s sister, and drew her horse to a stop. Without looking at her companion, she told him, “As long as we’re heading in the same direction, I see no fault in remaining together for safety of numbers.” That should deter any brigands who happened upon them, at least. “But only for as long as our paths converge.” Even though she suspected he had detoured his entire trip simply for her and her companions. To protect them. The honor and kindness it showed about him fairly stole her breath. Who are you, Thaddeus?
He mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like, “How very gracious of you.”
She ignored him and kicked her feet free of the stirrups. “If you’ll excuse me, I think I’ve had enough fresh air for the moment. I’ll return to Felicity in the carriage.”
Perdie was running away, but Thaddeus had enough self-preservation not to point it out. If only Felicity had been so accommodating, but she would rather fend off her friend’s awkward questions than spend another moment with a man who pretended to be her husband.
