Kitabı oku: «The Lady And The Outlaw»

Chapter One

Your Grace, there is a messenger here to see you.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Cuthwell.” Ann went to the narrow entrance and accepted the message. As soon as she returned to the warm parlor she opened the missive and perused the letter from her father. It stated

that, after a lengthy meeting between her father and

uncle, the duke of Wilmington, it had been decided that she should join their brother’s son, Beau Falkner, in America and await the birth of her child. If she delivered a son, he would be the next duke of Gravenworth, thereby thwarting Matthew’s attempts to gain the title. Should the child be a daughter, then other arrangements would have to be made. Passage had already been booked on the Dolphin, one of the fine sailing vessels owned by W. T. Honeycutt, a close friend of her uncle. Funds had also been provided.

Ann crumpled the paper in her hand and stood watching the heavy raindrops strike the cottage windowpane. The dark, low clouds blotted out the sunlight, making it appear more like dusk than morning. A perfect cover for the daring plan she had been contemplating. It would be a terribly risky move on her part, but she would have the advantage of surprise. And, try as she might, it was the only positive way she could think of to prevent Matthew from gaining control of Graven worth. Ann left the parlor and headed for Captain Cuthwell’s small study.

Twenty minutes later, after half-truths and evasions, Antoinette Huntington had managed to talk the retired sea captain into finding her a driver who was trustworthy and had a fast team of horses.

While impatiently awaiting the captain’s return, Ann thought about her escape from Gravenworth. At Edmund’s funeral, a few whispered words to Jonathan Falkner was all it had taken for him to put his only daughter in his coach and whisk her away from Matthew.

Ann smiled warmly. During the trip here, she had told her dear father what had really happened during the hunt. The tall, stately man had been completely understanding, mumbling something about Edmund’s just reward.

“Perhaps it’s because I can’t fathom murdering anyone,” she had said, “but in my heart, I do not believe I fired the shot.”

“I understand you were upset at the time, but it’s. too bad you couldn’t have retrieved your rifle. You could have found out if it had been fired. Fortunately, the tale about the poacher was believed by all,” her father had pointed out. “There is a great deal at stake here if, as you suspect, Matthew did indeed see to Edmund’s demise,” he had added thoughtfully. “Matthew might not hesitate to harm you now that you are no longer under his control.” “I’ll be safe at Seaborne Manor.”

“Having you at the manor would indeed lighten my heart. I have been far too lonely since your blessed mother’s passing so many years ago and since your brother sailed for India. But it’s still not safe. I’m taking you to an old friend’s cottage instead.”

Her father had placed her chilled hands in his and rubbed them gently. “My dear, you must stay in Bath until it is decided what should be done. Matthew will never find you at Captain and Mrs. Cuthwell’s cottage.”

Though the following two weeks of confinement had moved at a snail’s pace, it had allowed her time to come to grips with her feeling about Edmund’s death. She knew she should feel guilty for not caring, but she still hadn’t shed a tear and there was no sorrow within her. Edmund had long since destroyed any emotion she might have harbored. For the first time in years, she was free to do whatever pleased her. And if there were tears to be shed, let them be for her and the sin against God she had committed…if she had committed the sin.

Despite her fears, later that morning Ann left Bath, time being her enemy. The Dolphin was due to sail in two days, but if she was fortunate, the pounding waves caused by the storm would delay the ship’s departure long enough for her to board.

Matthew flung his goblet in the blazing fireplace and curled his lip. Where was Antoinette Huntington? He knew for certain she had never arrived at Seaborne. So where had her father hidden her? He turned to warm his backside. The cold and miserable weather only served to fuel his temper.

What was it going to take to flush the duchess from her hiding place? He had put out word of money offered for her return, but nothing had come of it. Even the men he’d posted at each ship boarding in Bristol had turned up empty-handed. Somewhere, sometime she would have to emerge.

He had thought he had everything under control. He had been convinced that Ann’s fear and self-condemnation would prevent her from trying to leave. When she mingled with the guests who had arrived for the funeral, he had remained constantly by her side. But as his cousin was being placed in the ground, she had moved to her father’s side and there was nothing he could do to prevent it. He had seen her whisper something to the stately man and knew immediately that he had been tricked. Her apparent meekness as of late had been but a ruse to keep him from suspecting her intentions.

Matthew banged his fist against the thick rock wall. As the closest relative, he would now be the next duke of Gravenworth. if Ann wasn’t carrying Edmund’s seed. It was without question that she had informed her father of her condition, which meant that her uncle, the duke of Wilmington, was also aware of it. The duke had the queen’s ear. Matthew knew that should he make a move to claim the title, Ann’s uncle would be quick to inform Her Majesty of his niece’s condition. He had no desire to be sent to the guillotine.

Matthew scowled. He had to find Ann and proclaim himself father of the babe she carried. But even that seemed doomed. The duchess was still nowhere to be found!

The door to Matthew’s room flew open, startling him. “How dare you barge in here?” he thundered.

“Milord,” Thomas, the manservant, said hurriedly, “the kitchen has informed me that the duchess was just here and. she’s already left.”

“And no one stopped her?” Matthew hurried forward. “I’ll see that some heads roll! Get my coat.and my horse!” His heels clicked on the stone hallway as he hurried forth.

Thomas rushed after the taller man. “She took her dog and Hester with her,” he sputtered, already out of breath.

Inside the carriage, Antoinette clutched the leather coach strap, trying to maintain her seat. She was so tense her bones were aching. The black overcast skies, the flight for safety, the bumpy ride and the uncertainty of escape had taken its toll.

She released her hold and stretched her cramped fingers. She could barely see the pregnant maid who sat in the shadows on the far side of the seat Ann worried about the rough road causing Hester to lose her baby, but to slow the carriage would be disastrous.

Antoinette released a suppressed grunt. Had she remained at Gravenworth, it wouldn’t have taken long for Matthew to discover her claim of being with child had been nothing more than a means of keeping her husband from her bedchamber.

The whip cracked in the cold night air, reminding Ann of a gunshot. For a brief instant, she relived the sight of blood soaking Edmund’s coat as he slid from the-

“If I don’t die from this bloomin’ ride, I’m as likely to die from the cold!” Hester wailed. She pulled the blanket tighter about her shivering body.

Ann shoved the derringer into her reticule then returned her hold on the strap. Threatening Hester with the weapon had been the only quick way she could think of to make the loose woman do her bidding. She still found it hard to believe that at four months into her confinement, the maid’s stomach gave no evidence of her condition. Could Hester have also lied about being with child? Enough. She couldn’t dwell on it now.

The duchess’s thoughts turned to Sir Drake. She wanted to weep. On top of everything else she had lost, she could now include her dog. Even after making it outside the castle safely, she’d had to keep the gun pointed at Hester. Busy hands and haste had allowed Sir Drake’s leash to slip from her fingers. The whippet had immediately darted off to relieve himself. To her despair, it would have taken too long to search for him or wait for his return.

“Where the bloody ‘ell are ye takin’ me?”

Ann’s wool cloak failed to keep out the night’s dampness. “Someone should have washed your acid mouth with lye soap a long time ago.”

“Edmund dain’t complain.” Hester toyed with a long flaxen curl hanging over her shoulder. “At least I ain’t barren.”

“You seem to have overlooked something very important,” Ann said calmly. “Edmund is dead, and it is because you are pregnant with his bastard that Matthew will see to your demise next.”

Hester gasped. “‘E wouldn’t do that. Why’re you sayin’ such? Edmund told me a bastard can’t inherit a title, but he said he’d see that his son was well taken care of.”

“And you believed him?” Ann scoffed. “Matthew is Edmund’s closest relative. He has slain to secure the title. Why would he allow Edmund’s bastard to live? But Matthew isn’t going to succeed. I shall see that Richard will become the next duke of Gravenworth.”

“Richard?” Hester asked.

“That is to be Edmund’s son’s name.”

Ann pulled back the curtain and tried to see out the window. Every instinct told her that Matthew was close behind. The momentary break in the clouds seemed a godsend. She rapped on the trap to get the driver’s attention. It took several tries before she was successful. “Holbert,” she called, when the man on the box finally slid the trap open, “take the coach to the trees! We’re being followed at close chase!”

As soon as the team and coach were well hidden, the driver quickly placed scarfs over the team’s muzzles to keep them from nickering. Then, everyone waited.

Less than five minutes passed before all heard the cadence of hooves pounding against the earth. Ann could make out only the shadows of riders as they passed, and Matthew was surely one of them.

She let out her held breath. What was she going to do now? After the riders had gone so far without catching the conveyance, they would circle back. Suddenly she remembered an old road that hadn’t been traveled in years. When she and Edmund were first married, she’d used it for her morning rides, knowing he wouldn’t find her. Ann glanced at the sky. It was clearing. Once past the trees, there would be enough moonlight to see by.

Ann quickly informed Holbert of the road and how to reach it. The driver had already proven well worth his fee. Knowing there was nothing more she could do, she settled against the back of the cushy seat. The clouds were clearing too quickly. Was the storm passing? If so, they would never make it back to Bath in time to catch the Dolphin that would have taken them around the cape to San Francisco. She had waited too long to fetch Hester.

But if the ship had sailed by the time they reached the docks, she would be forced to procure another passage to America. The corners of Ann’s lips curved upward. She had thwarted Matthew and for the moment she was justly proud of her victory.

“How do ye know it was Matthew who murdered ‘Is Grace?” Hester asked, but with considerably less haughtiness.

“I saw him do it,” Ann lied. Hester would never know the truth.

“But you told everyone-”

“I said what had to be said at the time.”

“Milady, why are you protectin’ me?”

“Because of the child you carry. I intend to raise Edmund’s bastard as my own.” Letting Edmund and everyone else think she was pregnant had proven to be more of a blessing than she had realized. She did, however, feel guilty about keeping the secret from her father. But only by claiming Richard as her own could she secure the title. “You’ll have until we reach Bath to decide if you are agreeable. If so, we will sail to the colonies, where I will see that you are financially secure.”

Hester had always wanted to go to the colonies. “What if it’s a girl?”

“Huntington men sire sons. But should it be a girl, you will still be taken care of.” Ann had already concluded that if she had to, she would secretly obtain a boy from an orphanage in the colonies.

They had finally reached the old road. The bumpy road would make traveling even more uncomfortable, but there had been no alternative. Inside the dark conveyance, Ann could feel the abigail staring at her.

Hester sat quietly, absorbing what the duchess had said. It wasn’t uncommon for a barren family to raise a bastard child. The duke’s death had put an end to all her planning and scheming. Now she’d never be the lady of the castle. Who would have thought His Grace would die at such an early age?

Hester took a deep breath. Since Edmund’s departure, she hadn’t cared what happened to the brat she carried. But with the duchess now wanting to raise the child as her own, all sorts of possibilities could open up for her. From now on she’d bide her time and do whatever Her Grace wanted. “I ain’t gotta think on it, Your Grace. I’m willing to go with you. Richard will be your son.”

Ann rested her head on the back of the seat. For now, the Huntington line would remain intact. Only good could come from her decision to become Richard’s protector. Besides, the commitment had been made and she no longer had the option of changing her mind. From here on, she must do whatever it took to see that Edmund’s son became the next duke of Gravenworth.