Page 52 of His Scandalous Lessons
She had to get away. With a short prayer, she threw herself out of the carriage. The impact left her gasping. She rolled along the hard dirt road, biting her lip to keep from crying out in pain. Her wrist hurt so badly. Dear god, was it broken?
“Goddamn it! Anne!”
Get up. Get up!
The horses reared as the coachman tried desperately to gain control over the coach. But they were going too fast. The coach listed to the side and crashed into the ditch along the side of the road. Anne struggled to find her feet, only just noticing the pounding of more horse hooves.
“Anne!”
Richard. Arms scooped her up and held her close. “Christ, Anne. I saw you jump out of the carriage, and—”
“Hand her over, Grey,” came her father’s cold voice. He struggled out of the wreck of the carriage without any regard for the horses or the coachman. He cradled his hurt hand against his chest. “Or I’ll have you arrested for kidnapping.”
Richard only gripped her closer. “Do it. I’d love to tell them about how you’ve been covering up child murder for the last ten years to further your political ambitions.”
“Prove it.”
“Oh, I intend to.” With Anne in his arms, Richard hefted them both onto the horse.
“Grey!” her father called as he started riding away. “Wherever you go, I’ll find her! I’ll tell everyone about your sister and that criminal husband of hers. Damn it! Grey!”
“He will,” Anne said quietly as Richard rode on. “We can’t stay on this road.”
“We won’t be. Caroline’s estate is nearby. We’ll stop there for the night and take the train to Scotland in the morning.”
But Anne was too distressed to hear him. “Don’t you get it? This time he’ll have criminal charges brought against you. He’ll have you arrested. He’ll—”
“For what? Kidnapping?” Richard grinned down at her. “Did you miss the part about Scotland?”
Anne paused. “Scotland?” she echoed.Scotland.
Richard grinned when he saw the dawning realization on her face. “I can’t kidnap my own wife, can I?”
Chapter 30
“Hastings agreed to meet us in Edinburgh,” Caroline said, once they had settled into her private rail car. The train was already gliding across the countryside and Richard felt each mile take a weight off his chest. Anne was safe. “His telegram was quite terse.”
“Telegrams are always terse,” Richard reassured her. “By their nature.”
“Yes, well. This one simply said,fine.One word. If he doesn’t have someone to perform the ceremony, I’ll wring his neck.” Caroline looked at Anne, who was curled against Richard, her breathing even. She barely slept last night for fear her father would break down the duchess’s door with the authorities. Richard had held her all night. “Poor dear,” Caroline said. “To have no one in the world...”
“She has me,” Richard reminded her.
Caroline’s gaze met his. “Yes. Yes, she does. You’ll treasure her, won’t you?”
“All my life.”
“Good.” Caroline sat back and gazed out the window. “Husbands ought to treasure their wives,” she added quietly.
* * *
It was rainingwhen the butler received them at the Duke of Hastings’s Edinburgh residence. As Caroline gave him her coat, she asked, “And where is my husband? Is he at home?”
“Yes, Your Grace. He’s right—”
“Here,” a voice interrupted.
They all looked up at the stairs as the duke descended. Richard had met with Hastings plenty of times for political matters. He was a serious man, formidable. Part of that was due to his intimidating height and build — he had quite the reputation at Richard’s boxing club — and the rest was a product of his cold, penetrating blue eyes. Many men in the Lords had difficulty meeting them directly.
