Page 64 of The Miracle of Love
The snow had slowed and clouds were breaking up to reveal patches of blue sky, but it was too soon for regular travelers to be braving the aftermath of the blizzard.
He noticed only two men, but there could be more. He scanned beyond the lane to the forest of trees on either side, all of which were devoid of their leaves and would provide no coverage for anyone trying to hide.
No one else in sight.
Grace stood close, her hand pressed to his back as though needing that touch for security. “What do you see?”
“Just the two riders. Obviously, the only ones foolish enough to be out there. I’m going downstairs for a better look at them. They’re too bundled up to clearly see their faces.”
“No, Deklan!”
“I won’t be gone more than a few minutes. I am not going to engage them in a brawl. They could be ordinary businessmen on their way to London for an important meeting.”
“What if they are the villains come after us?”
“Then I will get you safely away from here.” He handed her a full coin purse and a small blade withdrawn from the lip of his boot.
“What are these for?”
“You might need them. Bolt that door behind me and do not allow anyone in but me. I’ll be back in a trice.”
“What if you don’t return?”
He kissed her softly on the lips. “I will always return for you.”
“So you say, but what are the coins and knife for then? Is this one of your contingency plans? I know how you love your plans.”
He strode across the room toward the door, then paused and turned to face her. “On the slim chance I don’t return…and I do mean a slim to nonexistent possibility, I want you to sneak out of here and ride like hell to Bexhill. Rafe knows where we are headed and will have told Lorcan and Donal by now. In truth, it is likely my cousins are these two riders. However, I did not recognize their horses.”
“They may have needed to leave theirs behind just as we did. Those agents must be watching the mews behind Miranda’s house.”
“Yes, quite so. But if these men are foreign agents and not my cousins…mark you, the chances of this are almost nil. But on the unlikely chance I am wrong and they kill or injure me, you need to get out of here and dig up the crown on your own. As I said, Lorcan and Donal will find you in Bexhill and get you safely back to London.”
“Wait! Deklan, this is probably a terrible time to discuss your strategy. But my running off without you will not work. Please, do not confront those men.”
“Blessed saints, do not tell me how to do my job.”
“I’m not, but you are placing too much faith in me.”
“No, Grace. It is the other way around. You are placing too little faith in yourself.”
“Oh, dear heaven. You are going to hate me for this, but you must believe me when I say my running away will not work. How long do you think it will take these villains to find our room, break down the door, and grab me? Even if I did manage to elude them, what then? How can I ride off? A young woman alone with no idea which road to take other than a general southerly direction? I would be robbed or abducted within an hour of my riding out of here.”
He could have put an end to their conversation and been downstairs already if he really thought there was a threat. But Grace was working herself into a state and he blamed himself. They should have discussed alternative plans in the event he was injured or killed.
It was his fault they hadn’t.
Instead of readingThe Book of Love, he should have been training her on survival tactics. His stupid fault, but he had not thought it necessary. She hadn’t the heart of a killer and he could not see her plunging a knife into a man’s neck.
If speaking of love overset her, what would speaking of death have done to her?
“So, are we agreed? Deklan, I will never leave you behind if you are wounded. Did you not tell me we are in this together to the end?”
“Grace–”
“So this is what we must be. Together to the end. This is not negotiable. If the villains injure you, then I will do my best to save your life by trading information. Of course, I will never reveal the location of the stolen crown but merely offer to lead them to where it is buried…well, hopefully buried. This will buy us time to plan an escape. It will certainly provide more time for Lorcan and Donal to rescue us.”
“Are you done telling me what to do?”
