Regency Romance Collection From Christina Courtenay (3 page)

CHAPTER
FOUR

Amelia had confided her plans to Bootle and although he was a bit doubtful at first, she had soon convinced him that she was doing the right thing.

‘
I suppose marrying a viscount, whoever he is, is better than becoming Sir Bernard’s doxy,’ he’d acknowledged. ‘Though how you know you can trust the man, I’m not sure,’ he had muttered under his breath.

Amelia
was still worried about this herself, but she suppressed any doubts ruthlessly and the morning after the attack she conferred with Bootle again.

‘I
really can’t stay in this house a moment longer and Lord Demarr seemed sincere. I honestly don’t think I have a choice, do you?’

‘No, I suppose not,’ Bootle agreed. ‘That was a close call last night.’

‘Exactly. Besides, even if his lordship reneged on our deal and tried the same tricks as Bernard, I’d still be no worse off.’

Bootle
nodded. ‘That’s true, Miss Amelia.’ He fetched her a small valise, which was enough for her meagre possessions, and she spent the morning packing. Fortunately for her nerves, which were nearing breaking point, a messenger arrived surreptitiously shortly after lunchtime.

‘
You’re to meet Lord Demarr at the entrance to the mews behind this house at one o’clock in the morning,’ Bootle whispered. Amelia nodded and prayed that all would be well.

The hours crept by unbelievably slowly, and Amelia thought the ap
pointed time would never come. She dressed in a warm travelling dress of dark grey wool with a great many petticoats underneath, and put out a somewhat worn cloak to await her departure. When there was nothing left to do, she lay down on her bed fully clothed and waited.

Bootle tapped on her door at the appointed hour and took her valise as
they tip-toed down the stairs. In order to reach the door to the back of the house, she had to traverse the landing on the first floor and go down to the front hall. One of the floorboards on the landing gave a loud creek and soon after a voice hissed at her from the shadows.

‘
And just where do you think you’re going?’ It was Maria, smiling maliciously in the moonlight. Amelia and Bootle stopped dead in their tracks.

‘
I am leaving this house,’ she said with as much dignity as she could muster. ‘I do not think I will be missed, do you?’

‘
Oh, but my dear brother would be most aggrieved to find you gone,’ Maria purred. ‘And let us not forget dear Mama. I feel sure she would have a thing or two to say to you that I wouldn’t miss for the world.’

Amelia frowned, frustrated beyond belief.
‘So what are you going to do, carry me upstairs?’

‘
I don’t think there’s any need for that. I shall just scream if you don’t return to your room this instant.’

Amelia had never felt so much like hitting someone in her entire life and wondered if there was something about this household that brough
t out a violent streak in her. She knew if Maria screamed, however, she would wake both Lady Marsh and Sir Bernard, which would make matters worse. She glanced at Bootle and remembered that he had the duplicate key to her room.
Hopefully Maria doesn’t know about that,
she thought.
If I allow her to lock me in, Bootle can free me in a little while and I can make another attempt at leaving the house
. Trying her best to look aggrieved so as not to raise Maria’s suspicions, she turned back towards the stairs and Maria glided behind her like a malicious ghost in her white nightdress. As soon as Amelia had entered her room again, Maria turned the key in the lock from the outside with a low laugh, as Amelia had guessed she would.

‘
Sleep well, dear cousin, I look forward to seeing you in the morning.’

Amelia began to pace the floor and won
dered how long it would be before Bootle could sneak back upstairs once Maria had gone to sleep. She worried that it might be hours from now and then Lord Demarr would be gone. She looked wistfully out into the garden, which seemed very far down. Even if she tied all her sheets together, she would never be able to reach it.

Time passed excruciatingly slowly and Amelia became more and more frantic. Where was Bootle? Was Maria preventing him from coming? Frustration grew inside her until she felt as if she might explode with pent-up emotion, but she was powerless to do anything about it.
She had just about given up all hope when she spied movement in the garden. A small thud was heard against the outside wall, and when she opened her window to see what was going on she saw a figure climbing up towards her on a ladder. She recognised Lord Demarr and her heart lodged somewhere near her throat. He was taking an awful risk. What if Bernard, whose room was towards the back, should wake up and see him?

Lord Demarr
was now at the top of the ladder, but it didn’t quite reach Amelia’s window. ‘You must tie up your sheets,’ he whispered, ‘and slide down to me. Hurry if you wish to escape from here.’

Amelia nodded.
This was no time to be missish and she rushed to do his bidding. First she lowered her valise down to him and waited while he took it to the ground, then she did as she had been told. He guided her feet towards the rungs of the ladder and helped to steady her from behind. As she felt one of his hands around her waist, she breathed a sigh of relief and a feeling of security spread through her. She was filled with exhilaration, as if she was setting out on an adventure, which indeed she was.

Safely on the ground, the
viscount steadied her and whispered, ‘Excellent, I knew you could do it. Now let’s be on our way.’

Bootle
had emerged from the shadows, apologising in a whisper for not being able to free her earlier.

‘Miss Maria
was sitting on the stairs, would you believe!’

‘Never mind, I’m here now,’ Amelia told him. It was
not his fault after all so she did not blame him for not coming to her rescue. He had obviously gone outside to find Lord Demarr instead, which had served the same purpose. Bootle took away the ladder as quietly as possible, while the others crept into the mews behind the house and along it to the waiting carriage. Bootle came hurrying behind them with the valise, which Lord Demarr gave to one of the postilions. The butler was looking a trifle anxious, but his lordship reassured him.

‘
Don’t worry, my good man, Miss Ravenscroft will not come to any harm with me.’

‘
Good luck and god speed, Miss Amelia,’ Bootle whispered, and on impulse Amelia flung her arms around him for a quick embrace.

‘
Thank you, Bootle, you have been a great help. If there is ever anything I can do for you, you have only to say.’

‘
Yes, indeed,’ Lord Demarr added. ‘Do come to us if there is any trouble for you here. But now we must away.’

Amelia leaned back onto the softly cushioned seat and looked around her with interest. Despite the darkness, she could see that it was a beautifully appointed carriage, the interior done up in velvet. It was also well-sprung and comfortable; she was hardly bounced around at all.

‘
I must thank you for coming to my rescue, my lord,’ she said, feeling rather nervous now that they were alone together in the dark carriage.

‘It was nothing.
Bootle came and told me what had occurred and explained to me why you were locked in. I thought it best to get you out as soon as possible. I have to say it made me very angry indeed that they should blame you for defending yourself from that lecher yesterday. And I cannot believe Sir Bernard’s sister conniving at it as well by trying to keep you in the house. She ought to have been helping you to escape.’ He looked almost savage as he said this, and Amelia thought to herself that she wouldn’t like to be on the receiving end of his wrath.

‘Yes, well, that’s the sort of family they are, I’m afraid.’
She decided a change of subject might be in order as she would rather not think about what she had escaped from. ‘Is this your carriage, my lord?’

‘
No, I decided to hire one as we didn’t want to advertise our intentions. My own carriage has my arms blazoned on the side, so I sent it home with some of my luggage. Hopefully people will think I returned with it.’

‘Good idea.
I left a note saying I was going to York to seek employment. My father and I used to live near there so they won’t think it strange for me to go back to familiar surroundings. And no one even knows we are acquainted, so I hope they will not connect our departures.’

The
viscount gave her an enigmatic look, then smiled slightly. ‘No, we’re not really acquainted, are we. Perhaps we should pass the time by rectifying that matter?’

‘
Wha-what do you mean?’ Amelia stammered, wondering again what she had let herself in for. Was he suggesting they jump their marriage vows?

He
smiled again. ‘I only meant that perhaps we should talk to each other and find out about our likes and dislikes and so on. See if we have any mutual interests?’

‘
Oh, yes of course.’ Amelia felt very foolish. ‘I’m sorry, I seem to be a little jumpy today and after what happened last night …’

‘
Well, I can assure you I am not an ogre. You are safe with me.’

James felt anger swirl inside him as he saw the anxiousness in Amelia’s eyes. He would have liked to go back and wring Sir Bernard’s neck, but he contented himself with the thought that the man’s plan had been foiled and he had come by his just desserts. He hoped he had a very sore head indeed.

‘
It was very resourceful of you, my dear, to hit Sir Bernard with the ewer,’ he said. ‘I hope you don’t intend to treat me like that?’ he added jokingly.

‘
Oh, no.’ Amelia smiled, relaxing a little at last. ‘Besides, now you are forewarned of my little tricks, you will be able to guard against them. Poor Bernard was a totally unsuspecting victim.’ She began to laugh. ‘You should have seen his face.’

‘His face?’

‘How surprised he looked. He was so convinced I would eventually welcome him with open arms, it never occurred to him that he wouldn’t prevail.’

James joined in the laughter.
‘Indeed. Men such as he believe they have a right to behave as they wish. Thank goodness you disabused him of that notion.’

They spent the next few hours talking, sharing anecdotes about their families
and learning about each other. Surprisingly, they found that they liked the same kind of music, art and literature, and they had a lengthy discussion on each of these subjects. James was astonished at her extensive knowledge.

‘
How come you are so well versed in all these matters?’ he asked.

‘
I was my father’s only child and I think that because he had wished for a boy, he more or less treated me as one.’

James thought this strange, but had to acknowledge that it was good to be ab
le to talk to her as an equal. She didn’t seem bored by any topic, not even farming, which was something he had taken an interest in recently. And she was even able to add to his knowledge occasionally.

Finally, the long hours of worry took their toll on Amelia, and her eyelids began to droop.

‘I’m sorry, you  must be tired,’ James said. ‘I’ve kept you talking for far too long. Why don’t you come over here and then you may lean against my shoulder,’ he invited. They were sitting on opposite seats as James hadn’t wanted to frighten her by insisting they should be next to each other.

He saw alarm flare in her gaze and tried to keep his expression neutral. It was understandable that she should be nervous in his presence at first, but she
would have to get used to it. He held out a hand to help her across.

‘Very well,’ she acquiesced, obviously too sleepy to argue the point. She took his hand and half stood up to move over to him, but just as she did so, the carriage hit a pot hole and she was flung towards him
, landing on his lap in an untidy heap. ‘Oh! I’m so sorry, I ...’ Clearly flustered, she attempted to extricate herself by pushing with one hand on his chest, but this seemed to cause her further embarrassment as he had unbuttoned his coat and waistcoat, and her fingers encountered nothing but his shirt with warm skin underneath. He heard her give a little gasp, then she looked up and stilled as their eyes met.

There was enough light from the moon for them to see each other’s features clearly and James
felt a strange pull between them in that moment. He had an urge to keep her where she was, hold her close and not let go. A feeling of protectiveness, tenderness even, came over him and he had to shake himself mentally in order to break eye contact. He cleared his throat.

‘No harm done.’ James helped her to right herself
and watched as she straightened her skirts without looking at him again. ‘Go to sleep and I will wake you when it is time for breakfast,’ he added, his voice somewhat gruff.

She was inclined to argue at first, but she was too tired to keep it up and ev
entually succumbed to slumber. James put his arm around her and simply held her, the strange feeling of protectiveness filling him once more. He wondered at it anew, but it felt good, so he simply closed his own eyes and went to sleep.