"But the letter," Christiana said sharply. "I read it, my lord, there was no misunderstanding. You flat-out said you would not marry Suzette and as good as called her little better than a light skirt."
Daniel cursed under his breath, and then glanced to his mother as she took his arm to urge him past the women toward the tables.
"You need to eat," Lady Woodrow reminded him firmly. "You promised you would eat as soon as we arrived at the inn. It is the only reason I agreed to leave Woodrow without insisting you eat first and you shall keep that promise."
"But I need to speak to Suzette." Daniel glanced toward the stairs, sure she must be up in her room. Probably crying her heart out. Poor thing, he thought.
"You can speak to her while you eat. Now sit down and eat before you fall down."
"Why would he fall down?" Lisa asked, moving closer to get a better look. "He's so pale. What's wrong with him?"
"He was shot on his way to Woodrow," Richard answered. "And he didn't send the letter."
"What?" Christiana asked with horror.
Daniel started to turn around, intending to insist they tell him where Suzette was, but a shaft of pain as he twisted his upper body made him freeze and suck in a bit of air.
"Sit," his mother said firmly. Once she had him on the bench, she moved away saying, "Richard, go speak to the innkeeper and arrange for broth and a hearty meal."
Daniel, recalling what happened the last time he tried to turn, simply stood up and moved around the table to the opposite side so that he could see what was going on as Richard hurried over to the innkeeper and his mother turned her attention to Suzette's sisters.
"Now, you must be Christiana and Lisa," she greeted, taking each girl by one hand.
"Yes. How did you know?" Christiana asked.
Rather than point out that they had just been attacking Daniel on their sister's behalf and so were easily identifiable as relatives, she simply said, "Because I knew neither of you could be Suzette."
"Why not?" Daniel asked with a frown. He hadn't described her looks to his mother, just her personality and actions.
Lady Woodrow frowned when she saw that he'd moved, but merely shook her head and said calmly, "Because no doubt she is on the way to Gretna Green right now with what she thinks is merely some bachelor in need of coin who just happened to show up in her hour of need."
"What?" Daniel asked with disbelief and wondered where she could have come up with such a ridiculous idea. Suzette was upstairs, her heart broken and sobbing over the loss of him. At least that's what he'd thought, so was startled when Lisa nodded with wide eyes.
"Yes, Lord Danvers arrived and offered to marry her in exchange for Father's markers and she accepted. How did you know?" Lisa asked with surprise.
Daniel was so stunned by this news that he almost didn't catch his mother's reply as she said, "Really, what else was the letter for but to ensure she thought there was no hope for her love for Daniel and would be willing to leave here promptly with another?"
"Damn, she's smart," Robert muttered to Daniel as he settled at the table next to him. "That hadn't occurred to me."
"Me neither," Daniel said grimly, getting to his feet. So much for her being upstairs nursing her supposedly broken heart.
"Sit, Daniel," Lady Woodrow said without even glancing around to see him on his feet.
The woman always had seemed to have eyes in the back of her head when it came to him, he thought grimly, and sat back down. He didn't know why he'd got up anyway. Suzette didn't love him. She'd cared so little she'd run off with the first man who offered for her. She hadn't even waited a full bloody day. He really had just been the first handy bloke to suit her needs and, apparently, any man would do. It was damned lowering after what they'd shared in the stables. If Suzette thought she would experience that kind of pleasure with just any man, she had a sorry disappointment coming . . . and it served her right, he decided.
"How long ago did they leave?" Robert asked as Richard rejoined them.
Despite his suddenly glum mood, Daniel found himself waiting tensely for the response.
"No more than an hour ago," Christiana murmured. "Father insisted on going with them and made them take the time to eat first. He also dallied as long as he could over packing though I'm sure he never unpacked here. I think he hoped you'd return with news before they left."
"Bless him," his mother said and then glanced to Richard in question, "How long until the food will be ready?"
"The innkeeper assured me it would be out right away. His wife has a stew on the hob and some left-over roast beef from last night. She's going to bring the juice of the stew and a roast-beef dinner for him right away."
"Good, good." Lady Woodrow ushered Christiana and Lisa to the table, and then suggested, "Perhaps we should all eat then."
When Richard hesitated and glanced uncertainly toward Daniel, Lady Woodrow waved her hand in a dismissing gesture and said, "Never mind him, he is sulking. His nose is out of joint because Suzette has run off to marry another. It's for the best anyway. This way we need not fight to get him to keep his promise to eat and he does need to eat."
"I am not sulking," Daniel said through gritted teeth as Richard moved off to let the innkeeper know they would all be eating. "And stop talking about me like that. I am sitting right here."
"I notice you don't deny your nose is out of joint," Lady Woodrow said easily as she settled on the bench next to him with Christiana and Lisa on her other side.
"My nose is not out of joint," he said now, and then raised his chin and added, "She has done me a favor. If she cares so little for me that she would run off with the first man who came along, then she has saved me future heartache."
"Oh but--" Lisa began, but was shushed by his mother.
"After he eats," she said gently, and explained, "Daniel can be terribly bullheaded when he wishes. It is better he eats before he rushes off to rescue her."
"Rescue who?" Daniel asked with a frown. "She went willingly, did she not?"
"I wonder why you cannot now even speak her name?" his mother said pensively, and then glanced around as Richard and the innkeeper and his wife approached, each carrying a platter. "Oh, here is the food. Wonderful."
Daniel scowled but kept his tongue. He wasn't saying her name because he didn't wish to, and he had no intention of rushing off to rescue her, he thought, as he grimly worked his way through the broth that had been set before him. She was getting married, not murdered. If he could be replaced that easily . . . He swallowed a spoonful of broth, and managed not to choke on either it or his anger. She had disappointed him, first by accepting without question that some letter he hadn't written could be from him, and second by accepting this other man's proposal. It was not at all like Suzette. He would have expected her to come hunt him down and demand answers. Especially after what they had shared in the stables.
At least she would have had she cared for him, Daniel thought as he pushed the empty bowl aside and pulled the plate with beef and rumbledethumps on it in front of himself. Rumbledethumps was a combination of potatoes, onion and cabbage that was common along the Scottish border. Daniel generally enjoyed them. He hardly tasted it this time though; his mind was on Suzette and her betrayal. Did she really think he could be so callous as to take her innocence and then break off their engagement?
"So, from what you boys told me at the house, there have been a couple of accidents this last week," his mother said suddenly into the silence as they ate.
Richard nodded. "It looked as if someone had cut three quarters of the way through three of the spokes of one wheel on the carriage we men were traveling in, and then Daniel and I were nearly trampled in town."
"You thought those accidents were not accidents at all, but murder attempts on you, Richard?" Lady Woodrow queried.
"Yes, but we decided they might be accidents after all when it turned out that wasn't the case," he said evasively.
She didn't press him to find out how he knew
that, but merely said, "However, Daniel was also nearly a victim of both accidents?"
"Well, yes," Richard said slowly, obviously not following her.
"Considering his being shot today, I would guess he was really the intended victim of the other two incidents, wouldn't you?" she asked gently.
Richard's eyes widened and he glanced toward Daniel with surprise, but got no reaction.
"And these attacks only started once Daniel agreed, or seemed to agree, to marry Suzette?" his mother asked next.
"It did occur to me that the friend of Dicky's who was supposed to marry her may be behind the accidents," Daniel admitted quietly.
"Why didn't you say something?" Richard asked with amazement.
Daniel shrugged. "It was just a suspicion. We didn't know the name of Dicky's friend who was supposed to marry Suzette, just that his nickname was Twiddly, and we were heading for Gretna Green right away. I assumed that once we were married the fellow would give up, so why worry about it? I felt sure that so long as we checked the carriages over thoroughly before leaving each morning, all should be well. And it was."
"Until you were shot," Robert pointed out dryly.
"That was unexpected," he admitted grimly. "I didn't expect such an open assault. Being shot would hardly be thought an accident."
"Did Suzette take the letter she received with her?" Lady Woodrow asked suddenly as he took another bite of food.
"No." Christiana leaned forward to peer past Lisa toward the woman. "I have it."
"May I see it?" she asked.
"Of course." Christiana pulled a crumpled piece of paper from her pocket and held it out.
Daniel's chewing slowed as he watched his mother uncrumple the paper and try to flatten it out on the table. When she bent her head to read it, he leaned close to her side to read it as well, and sucked in a horrified breath as he read the cold words.
"How the devil did whoever wrote this know about the stables?" he asked with alarm.
"What about the stables?" Richard asked with confusion.
Daniel's mother ignored the question and murmured, "Hmm. Obviously whoever wrote this was watching you. If the two of you thought you were alone it's no wonder Suzette believed this letter could only be from you."
"Yes," he realized with dismay.
"And not only was this letter meant to break her heart, but her spirit too," his mother pointed out grimly. "The poor girl must have writhed with shame."
"Yes," Christiana said solemnly. "She thought we would all hate her now, even Lisa and I."
"What the devil does that letter say?" Robert asked, standing to come around the table.
Daniel snatched the letter and shoved it in his pocket. No one else would ever see it if he had anything to say about it. It was a cruel, nasty piece of work that made the beautiful interlude he and Suzette had shared seem like something lewd and sordid. A literary snake in the Eden he'd found in her arms.
Robert hesitated, but after a moment returned with resignation to his seat.
"And certainly she would believe no man would want her to wife after reading those cruel insults," Lady Woodrow said now. "This fellow who suddenly appeared to claim her must have seemed like a knight in shining armor in the dire straits she is in, what with the need to marry to pay off the markers and avoid scandal."
"His name is Jeremy Danvers," Lisa reminded them. "He was on her dance card at the Landons' ball, but Richard's arrival at the ball made her refuse the dance. She came and got me and dragged me to Christiana instead of dancing with him."
"Danvers?" Robert echoed. "Well he would certainly fill out Suzette's requirements. He has a barony and land but no money to run it."
"It wasn't just that," Christiana said unhappily. "And it wasn't just the shame or the fear that no one else would marry her either. Father said Suzette is worried that there may be other . . . consequences of the event in the stable and she wished to ensure all would be well on that end."
"What consequences?" Richard asked, and it was a question Daniel was wondering himself.
When Lisa merely shook her head and flushed, Daniel frowned. He almost repeated the question himself to make her answer it, but then it suddenly hit him, as unexpectedly and sharply as the bullet had struck him in the back. It took his breath away just as effectively too. Suzette could be with child.
Daniel was on his feet at once and heading for the inn door. Whether it was the restorative power of the food, or the bracing effect of the blood suddenly thundering in his veins, he didn't know, but his earlier weakness was gone now and his mind was as sharp as a knife blade and focused only on one thing. He had to get to Suzette. Daniel was so focused on this he barely heard the commotion behind him and was only aware that he was being followed when Robert spoke.
"Danvers," the man said with disgust as they stepped out of the inn. "I knew he needed coin but didn't think him the sort to sink this low."
"We will stop him," Richard said firmly, drawing Daniel's attention to his presence as well.
"We will," Lady Woodrow agreed, making them all stop and turn to see her leading Lisa and Christiana out of the inn. "According to the girls, Danvers's carriage only has two horses. We will travel in two carriages with four horses each and catch up to them in no time. The maids can follow more slowly."
Daniel scowled. "It would be faster if we men followed on horseback."
"Riding horseback might aggravate your wound. Besides, then you'd just have to wait for us anyway or return to collect us," Lady Woodrow pointed out sensibly, before adding, "And do you really think Suzette will listen to you after that letter supposedly from you?"
"Richard and Robert can explain--"
"She will listen more readily to a woman at this point," his mother said gently as she led the girls to where the men stood. "Besides, you are injured and the men may be busy with Danvers and his driver. The man has already proven himself willing to kill to gain her dower. He will not give her up easily." She shook her head. "It is better if we all go, then together we can tackle any situation that arises."
When Daniel hesitated, she reached up to caress his cheek. "We will catch them up, son. I promise. I would not risk your happiness and a possible grandbaby. You must know that?"
Daniel clucked with irritation at the delay, but knew it might be the smartest tack to take. With two carriages and four horses each they should catch up well before Gretna Green. And the women may become necessary if things got complicated. Certainly, Suzette would listen more readily to her sisters. On top of that, his mother was handy with wounds. She would come in most useful if anyone was injured or his gunshot wound reopened, which was a good possibility. Daniel had no intention of standing back and letting Richard and Robert fight his battle for him. He wanted to ring Danvers's neck himself.
"Very well," he said, finally, and then glanced to Richard and Robert. "If you two will see that the carriages are prepared, I'll pay our bill and have the chests brought down. Let's be quick. I should like to catch up to them before they marry and I am forced to make Suzette a widow."
Chapter Fourteen
I'm surprised, Danvers, that you didn't stop to speak to Richard before he and Langley left."
Suzette heard her father make the comment, but paid it little attention, her gaze staying trained blindly out the window as she tortured herself with memories of her time with Daniel. If only she'd done things differently, it would be him in the carriage with her instead of Jeremy, she thought and then grimaced at her own traitorous mind.
Her thoughts had been terribly uncooperative for the entirety of this journey so far. The fact that--despite her father's dallying--the men hadn't managed to return before they departed, told her that while Richard and Robert had obviously taken their time at trying to talk Daniel into going through with marrying her, he hadn't been convinced. And frankly, if he needed convincing, she didn't want him. He wasn't the man she'd thought he was if he would turn her away as he had.
At least that was wha
t Suzette had told herself as they'd ridden away from the inn in Danvers's carriage. Of course she'd changed her mind back and forth several times since then. She loved him and would take him any way she could have him. She hated him for rejecting her and never wanted to suffer the humiliation of seeing him again. She hated herself for not behaving more decorously and for driving him away with her passion. And then she would return to loving him and taking him any way she could. It was exhausting and simply left her feeling lost and tired, because the reality was he didn't want her and she was going to marry Jeremy.
The very thought brought tears to her eyes and Suzette blinked rapidly to try to drive them off. Perhaps if she closed her eyes, she could pretend Jeremy was Daniel to help her get through the ceremony tomorrow, Suzette thought, and then frowned. At least she assumed it would have to wait until the next day. Surely, it would be too late when they arrived in Gretna Green, and they would have to take rooms at an inn and wait until the morrow to be married?
"Why would I speak to Richard?" Danvers said finally. While he'd tried to sound indifferent and unconcerned, something in his voice caught her ear and Suzette turned to glance his way, noting that the constant thumb twiddling that he'd been doing since they'd got into the carriage had stopped. His fingers were now clenched tightly together as he returned her father's stare.
"The two of you are friends, are you not?" Cedrick Madison asked as she turned her gaze out the window again. "I seem to recall you being there at the club and then the gaming hell this last time I lost so much."
"You remember that night?" There was definitely wariness in Danvers's voice now and Suzette wondered idly why that was, but didn't really care.
"Bits and pieces. Enough to recall that you and Dicky appeared quite chummy," Lord Madison said grimly, his hand massaging his cane handle. It was a sure sign that he was agitated, but then he'd been agitated since finding out she was going to marry Jeremy.
"We are friendly acquaintances only," Danvers muttered.
Suzette turned her gaze his way again, noting that his face was turned to the window and his thumbs twiddling around each other once more.
"How did you find out about my markers?" her father asked next.
"I told you, Cerberus gave it to me in lieu of payment," Jeremy answered shortly, his charming visage slipping.