Page 7 of Her Runaway Duke
All of them paused for one shocked moment before two of the men began to panic, circling their horses as they searched for the source of the shot.
The third man fell off his horse, his surprised expression frozen forever on his face.
Siena opened her mouth and screamed.
CHAPTER 3
Fitz was right. Levi couldn’t sit still and stare at the walls of this cold, empty estate all day, waiting for his life to pass him by.
Which was why Levi went out riding three times a day. Surging through the fields around the estate was the only time he felt like his old self. It was a heavily wooded area, and he enjoyed meandering through narrow paths while also giving his horse free reign to gallop over stretches of open areas.
Sometimes, he allowed his horse to choose their direction. It was not as though Levi had anywhere to go, anywhere to be, or anyone waiting for him, so what did it matter? Tonight, the ironically named Lucky had decided on the road more travelled, the one that led away from the estate. Perhaps Lucky had been listening to Fitz and was trying to return him to London.
“Sorry, Lucky,” he muttered. “I said no to Fitz, and I will say no to you too.”
Suddenly Lucky increased his pace as though he had sensed temptation before him, and Levi peered out into the darkening sky.
“We should be heading back,” he said, trying to turn the horse’s head, but Lucky continued to pull forward – which was when Levi heard it too. A shout ahead of him.
Instead of allowing the horse to run ahead, he slowed him down, leading him off of the road, close to the line of trees so that they would be hidden from anyone who lay in wait.
Levi knew that he should turn around, to leave this trouble to itself and return home, but old habits were sometimes difficult to break.
He had spent enough time with a rifle in his hand that the pistol was already out and trained ahead of him.
Using his legs to push Lucky slowly forward, the four figures on horseback soon came into his view.
The three men with their distinctive tricorn hats were fairly easy to identify. Likely highwaymen who had stopped on a side road on their way to London to trade in their goods.
Levi couldn’t quite make out the person in the midst of them, however. When he heard a female voice, his stomach sank as he knew they had likely come upon a woman, one who would be far too tempting for such men to dismiss.
The fact that she was alone was troubling – had they done away with whoever had been accompanying her?
“We asked nicely but you actually don’t have a choice,” he heard one of the men say. “We could use some company tonight.”
Levi had no wish to become involved in this woman’s problems. None at all. Nor did he have any desire to take on highwaymen, especially ones who were willing to use violence to get their way. But he had not become so much of a beast that he would allow who was most likely an innocent woman to be taken by these men.
He sighed as he brought the pistol up, pulled the cock fully back, trained the first man in his sights, and then pulled the trigger.
“What in thebloody hell was that? Linus?” One of the remaining men shouted as the other began to back his horse away, looking from side to side. They had both pulled their pistols, but neither seemed to know where the shot had come from. Siena took some perverse satisfaction that they were the ones now panicking.
Siena knew that she should run, but at the moment she was frozen in indecision. Was she safer to stay where she was or to turn around and try to escape? It was becoming difficult to know just which decisions were causing her more danger.
When the second gunshot sounded and the second thief clutched his knee as bright red blood spurted from it, she had to breathe deeply to keep from becoming further affected and trust the shooter could aim around her. The third man turned his horse around and bolted away, trying to outrun her surprising savior.
Siena herself looked around in shock, but no one was coming forward to try to claim her in turn.
“Who is there?” she called out, trying to instill bravery into her voice. “Are you still here?”
She waited, holding her breath as her heart hammered against her ribs, and it was another minute before she finally caught sight of the figure on horseback slowly walking toward her from the trees ahead.
“Th-thank you,” she said as he neared. “You saved me.”
He reached up, touching the brim of his hat, keeping his head tilted so that the wide brim concealed his face beneath.
“Had yourself in quite the predicament.”
“I did,” she said, a hiccupy sob escaping along with her words and she slapped a hand over her mouth to keep it in. “I thought—I thought?—”
