Page 14 of By No Means a Gentleman
“Wait!” the marchioness called just as they reached the door.
Will and Calstone both turned at her call.
“Harriet . . . she . . . might have mentioned a place earlier when she argued with George.”
“What place?” Will demanded.
The woman’s tears started anew.
“Madam, I will ask again,” Will paused, feeling a disruption of his words coming on. His temple twitched.Damn it.Not now.
Calstone patted him on the shoulder and sent him a reassuring look. “Where did Lady Harriet go?” his friend asked in his stead. Some of the tension left his jaw. “Do speak up, madam.”
“The Americas!” she cried in a loud wail, throwing herself onto the priest’s shoulder.
The Americas? What bloody madness was this? Surely, Harriet wouldn’t go that far.
Will suddenly recalled the book she had clutched in her hands when he had run into her earlier. He hadn’t thought much of it then, but now Will’s blood froze in his veins at the memory. It had been Charles Griffin’s accounts of his travels around the colonies. Hadn’t the newspapers gushed about how the author found his true love in a foreign land?
Will clenched his jaw.
Calstone gave an uncomfortable laugh. “A lady wouldn’t travel to that godforsaken place alone.”
Not an ordinary lady, no. But his friend had never met Harriet Hillstow.
Will strode through the door and descended the steps in a hurry.
“Leeds?” Calstone called, keeping pace. “Where are we going?”
“To the docks.”
Chapter Three
“Ineed toboard this ship!” Harriet waved a hand at the captain ofThe Royal Oak, the only ship bound for the Americas on the dock. In the last three hours she had prepared several money pouches, packed a valise, written a note, snuck out of the house, hailed a hack, and been driven to the West India Docks.
Ninety minutes of which were spent peeking through the hackney’s window to assure herself she hadn’t been caught.
By now, her father would not only have learned of her absence but be scouring London for her whereabouts. Hell, even Leeds might already have returned with another special license. The only advantage she had was that they had no clue as to where she was heading. They would be searching in all the wrong places.
Served them right.
Harriet didn’t give herself any time to think because then she would start to dwell on all the reasons boarding a ship as a woman alone was an extremely bad idea. The only thought she allowed herself was that she must get as far away from this arranged marriage as possible.
Plus, she would only be alone for the duration of her journey on the ship. Once she arrived at her destination, she would join her friend, Rohan Graves.
“We’re about to pull the gangway, miss. We cannot board you.”
What nonsense! The only way she couldn’t board was if they had already pulled it!
“Why not? The gangway is still there. Let me quickly cross it!”
“Those are my orders. No more passengers board once we decide to lift the gangway, miss.”
“Please,” she waved a fat purse in her hand. “I will pay triple the fees.”
The captain’s gaze flicked to the bulging black leather pouch in her hand. Harriet wanted to jump for joy. If a woman could not appeal to a man’s instinct to save a damsel, she could always count on her purse.
“Please,” Harriet implored. “This is a matter of life and death.” It was no exaggeration as far as she was concerned. Marrying Leeds now meant a certain death to the promise she had made to her mother. Desperate circumstances called for desperate measures.
