Page 29 of A Courtesan Countess Worth the Scandal
Liam kicked out like a startled mule and delivered a sharp right hook to the leader’s face, sending both reeling back. For a brief moment, it looked like he might have the upper hand. But then, the third attacker leaped up and gave Liam an almighty shove that had him toppling from the saddle before he knew what was going on.
He hit the ground with a splintering of his lantern and a jarring thud that ricocheted through his chest… and the hyenas descended. They surrounded him, their faces cast in shadow, so all he could see were the glints of their eyes. In that moment, he knew he was done for.
“That’s for my face!” hissed the one he had kicked, as the man delivered a brutal return kick to Liam’s abdomen.
“Aye, and that’s for mine.” The leader stooped and punched Liam hard in the jaw, making him see stars.
“And that’s for me shoulder!” boomed the third, who kicked Liam in the side with as much power as he could muster.
Just then, an ungodly scream, like a demon had found its way out of Hell, splintered the air. All three highwaymen turned, their eyes widening in shock. Curious as to what hellhound had come out of the darkness to finish them all off, Liam tilted his head back in time to see the lady who’d been lying on the ground charging at the highwaymen with a thick branch clutched in her hands.
“This is for what you were about to do to me, you slimy rats!” The lady wasted no time thwacking the leader in the back of the head with the branch, before moving on to the other two. Evidently, they had taken her for some wilting wallflower, but it seemed she was not one to take anything lying down.
Why is she so familiar to me?
Liam frowned as he tried to figure it out. Her face was caked in mud, making it impossible to distinguish any features, but there was something about her actions, and her voice, that nagged at the back of his mind.
“Get the horse!” The leader winced as he cradled his head. “And let’s get ourselves out of here!”
For a moment, Liam wondered why they were not using their pistols to fight back against this howling banshee. He did not want them to, but he could not ignore their avoidance of their main weapons. Then, it dawned on him that the pistols were probably not loaded, if they were even real at all, for gunpowder and balls could prove to be quite expensive. It also explained why they had not actually fired upon Liam, when they had had ample opportunity to do so.
Deceitful, thieving wastrels!
The branch-wielding warrioress unleashed a terrifying, blood-curdling war cry as she charged again, smacking her weapon into another highwayman’s back before spinning it around and bringing it down on the shoulder of the third. Liam had never seen anything like it in his life, and wondered if this woman was real, or if she was a changeling of some kind.
No longer willing to fight, the three highwaymen escaped, but not before the leader had made sure the job of stealing the horse was done. Still holding the back of his head, like something important was about to fall out of it, he hauled himself into the saddle and dug in his heels. The thoroughbred, already spooked, took off at full pelt, not caring who was holding the reins.
As for the other two… they vanished into the gloaming as if they had never been there. It was only when Liam heard the faint whinny of other horses that he realized they had a means of getting away and getting away fast. Which meant Liam and this lady were now alone, in the middle of nowhere, with no transportation of any kind. And he had a mean bruise in his abdomen, and a shooting pain up his spine, that was only going to get worse.
“Are you all right, Sir?” The mud-streaked woman dropped her branch and hobbled over to Liam. Evidently, she was hurt, too.
Liam nodded, and took her hand when she offered it. “I will be… though I do not know how we are going to find a way out of here with my lantern utterly destroyed.” He paused for breath, his chest on fire. “I suppose that was not quite the rescue you were hoping for. My apologies.”
“Lord Keswick?” The lady’s voice went up an octave. “Is that you?”
Liam squinted at the Valkyrie who had saved his life. “Do I know you? I apologize, I cannot see very well in this light, and you… appear to have something on your face. A touch of mud.”
“You don’t know me too well, but I’d say this makes us even.” Her mouth cracked into a wide smile, her white teeth all he could see, other than her shining eyes. “It’s me, Lord Keswick. Miss Nora Black.”
Liam gasped. “Miss Black? What in Heaven’s name are you doing out here? Was that your carriage they attacked?”
He had not supposed that courtesans could afford such luxuries, but there was a great deal about courtesans that he did not know. Unless she had been on her way to visit with a gentleman at his country abode? Perhaps, the carriage had belonged to some Lord who did not want to be seen with her in London, after what had been written in the scandal sheets.
“It was,” she replied. “And if I ever see that cowardly driver again, I’ll box his ears for riding off. I heard Donovan calling out for me, though, so I suppose I can’t blame him as much. I might just give him a light slap for not taking control of the reins and coming back for me.”
Liam arched an eyebrow. “Donovan? Is that a Lord I do not know?”
“Not at all.” Nora laughed. “He’s a friend of mine—an orphan I used to help, who was playing the part of footman on this journey. I do hope he’s all right. Those highwaymen were trying to punch him like they were at an underground boxing ring. They weren’t fighting clean, at any rate.”
Liam cleared his throat. “Did they… um… harm you?”
“They gave it their best try. They probably would’ve managed it, too, if you hadn’t come riding along when you did,” she said, her tone bitter. “So, maybe we aren’t even. You’ve saved me twice, I’ve saved you once.”
Liam scoured the gloomy terrain for any sign that they were not truly alone. “There may be further opportunity for us both to save one another, if we do not find sanctuary soon. It is not safe out here, and they have ridden away with the powder and balls that I had left.” He patted the canvas bag slung around his body. “But I do have this.”
“Do you have a spare horse in there?” Nora replied drily.
Liam sighed, for he was not in the mood for sarcasm. “No, but we will not starve.”
