Page 44 of King of Rogues
“Papa asked our driver to sleep in the coach and keep an eye out for anyone who tries to leave, so we couldn’t take the Marshall one. My parents won’t rest until I am the Duchess of Monsale,” said Euphemia.
Of course, they won’t. The countess is determined to make her daughter a duchess whether she likes it or not.
He nodded at the horse. “That beast is not going to get you very far. He has a frightful temper and will do everything he can to throw a shoe. You will be walking the best part of the night with him. Walsall, take my travel coach. I’ll give you the use of some of my stable staff and a driver to take you to your coach. Make for Lower Eythorne tonight, I own a small cottage in the village, so you can stay there. It’s eleven miles from here, far enough to give you a good head start in the morning for Scotland.”
Walsall and Euphemia exchanged hopefully glances. “What about you?” asked Walsall.
Monsale held out his hand, and the two men shook. “When Euphemia’s absence is discovered in the morning, I will play the role of surprised, and disappointed bridegroom. I shall of course garner sympathy and admiration by being the picture of stoic English male. By the time everyone understands the truth of what has happened, the two of you will be well on your way to the border.”
A tearful Euphemia rushed forward and placed a kiss on his cheek. “Thank you. We are so deeply grateful. One day, you shall make a wonderful husband to some lucky woman.”
I sincerely hope that is the case. And that it’s tomorrow.
“May you both be blessed with a long and happy life together. Euphemia, I shall head back inside and organize to have the rest of your things collected and put in my coach. Stay here out of sight, we can’t risk your mother deciding to come and have a pre-wedding night chat,” said Monsale.
He left the stables, satisfied that for once in his life he had done a noble, selfless thing. But he knew that ridding himself of his fiancée was the easy part, now he had to find a way to get Naomi to stop being angry with him. To finally put an end to their stubborn battle of wills.
Making his way up the stairs a short while later, he steered clear of the guest bedrooms. The less noise there was in the castle living quarters the better. The last thing he needed was to accidentally meet up with either of Naomi or Euphemia’s parents.
Stuffing his hands into the deep pockets of his coat, Monsale headed out through a nearby doorway. It led to the long set of steps which ran all the way down the side of the castle to the grassy lawn far below. It was a short walk across the outer bailey, over the low sand dunes, after which he finally made it to the beach.
Between now and the scheduled time for the wedding he had to find Naomi and get her to agree to marry him.
Easier said than done.
She had avoided the guided tour of the castle which Adan had hosted. And her absence at supper would have been noted by now.
There wasn’t much he could do about the situation. He would just have to trust Harry to come up with a plausible story which explained Naomi’s absence.
I’m sure they all know how things are between Naomi and myself, so her not being at the supper won’t need much explanation.
And as long as the Marshalls and Steeles all remained tucked up enjoying a splendid supper, along with the castle’s best French brandy and wine, all that was left for him to do was to continue with the pretense of intending to make Lady Euphemia his wife tomorrow morning. That task should be nothing more than a trifling deception for Monsale, he was used to lies.
I just wish this tight knot in my stomach would go away.
The spicy scent of a burning cigar reached his nose, he looked back over his shoulder to see Harry standing a few yards away. There was a pensive look on his friend’s face.
“You didn’t come back in for supper. Standing on the beach seems a strange way to celebrate your last night of freedom,” said Harry.
“I wasn’t hungry.”
Harry moved closer and offered Monsale the cigar. He took it and inhaled a long drag before blowing the pale gray smoke out into the night, where the sea breeze caught it and whipped it away.
“I saw something peculiar a short time ago. Your travel coach was headed out the main driveway. And I could have sworn that Lady Euphemia Marshall was on board,” said Harry.
Monsale focused his gaze on the whitecaps of the waves as they slowly rolled their way to the shore.
“Really? Perhaps she left something behind in London and had to nip back home to retrieve it.”
Harry snorted. “It’s nigh on seventy miles to town. It would want to be the crown jewels if she is going to attempt such a journey in the dark. What’s going on?”
Monsale handed the cigar back to his friend. “Things are not what they seem. Suffice to say, Lady Euphemia and I shall not be getting married in the morning. She and Viscount Walsall are headed for Scotland.”
Do I risk telling him the truth? Swear him to secrecy until the morning.
“Does that explain your pressing need for Naomi to be at the castle in the morning? If it does, what else can I do to help?”
Until now, his plans had been kept a closely guarded secret between himself and Adan. Harry was Naomi’s brother, he really ought to be trusted when it came to aiding her future happiness.
