To Tame a Highland Earl (11 page)

“
You tempt me beyond
reason,” he said in a hoarse voice. “I cannot resist you much
longer.”

“
I-I did not mean to, my
lord.”

She shifted and he realized she was snuggling
her nose against his neck. A strange prickle slid along his
shoulders. He stilled, curious as to what she intended—and wanting
more of whatever it was. Her breast expanded against his, then she
exhaled and the feather light breeze of her breath tickled his
skin. He shuddered. She stilled. Erroll slid a hand down her back
and over her buttocks. She squeaked and jerked against his cock. He
groaned and pressed her closer.

She fisted the material of his coat. “I-I am
wrinkling your coat.”

He gave a strangled laugh and kissed her
neck. She gasped again. If he didn’t stop, he’d have her down on
the ground, skirts over her head in another moment, which would
make him almost as much of a beast as Halifax--almost. But he
didn’t stop, and instead kissed lower on her neck, then lower until
his mouth was pressed against the curve of soft flesh above her
bodice. Then he was sucking a nipple into his mouth through the
fabric of her dress.

“
Oh my.” She seized his
shoulders.

He suckled harder.

“
My lord…”

He heard the breathless surprise in her voice
and was astonished to realize he felt the same way. If he could get
her into his carriage…

“
Lord Rushton.” She
quivered.

“
I am right here, love,” he
whispered against her creamy flesh.

Erroll’s mind vaguely registered the rustle
of a hedge behind him. Miss Crenshaw gave a startled cry and he
jerked his mouth from her breast.

Her eyes were on something—someone—behind
him.

“
Not again.” He
cursed.

Pain knifed through the back of his head.
Light flashed across his vision, then all went black.

Chapter Six

The dizzying current that spun Eve’s mind
evaporated. “You hurt him!” She fell to her knees beside the earl
and placed a finger over the pulse in his neck. A strong beat
thumped against her fingertips.

Oscar towered over them. “I only knocked him
cold. He deserved worse.”

Eve heard the censure in his voice and
embarrassment washed over her. She’d forgotten he was hiding
nearby. He’d seen—she swallowed—he’d seen Lord Rushton’s hands on
her derrière and his mouth on her… Holy God, she was feeling
lightheaded again.

“
I had to distract him,”
she retorted.

“
If that maid had strolled
any slower past my hiding place, I would have arrived to find he
had your dress over your head.”

Eve looked up sharply. “
He would
not
.”

“
Are you sure you shouldn’t
be the one marrying him at Gretna Green?”

She shoved upward, but was dragged back down
when she stepped on her skirt. Oscar grabbed her arm and pulled her
up.

She yanked free. “A kiss does not mean we
must marry.”

“
That was more than a
kiss.”

“
Oh, never mind.” Eve
released an exasperated breath. “I didn’t intend for you to knock
him senseless. He will be furious when he awakens.”

“
No more so than when you
shot him,” Oscar replied.

“
How do you propose to get
him out of here in this condition?” she asked. “Oh, you have truly
harmed him.”

“
He isn’t hurt,” Oscar said
with annoyance. “Should I have politely asked him to get into my
carriage for a ride to Scotland to marry your sister? You tried
that.”

She groaned. “There is not even a modicum of
privacy in our household, is there?” That came as a result of the
servants growing up with the children of the house. Of course, the
fact that Eve had known Oscar since she was five and he had pulled
her out of more scrapes than she would ever admit was the reason
she could talk him into helping her. This might be one scrape too
many.

“
Perhaps we should forget
my plan,” she said. “He need not know who hit him. I can say the
culprit ran away.”

“
You going to marry
him?”

She recalled the marriage contract. “I am
not.”

“
Well, you or your sister
have to marry him.”

“
Why does everyone keep
saying that?”

“
I better get him into the
carriage,” Oscar said. “If he wakes up, I’ll have to beat him in
earnest.” The words carried the tone of a brother who wanted a
reason to beat his sister’s lover. “I can tie him up nice and
tight.”

One way or another, Oscar would have his
revenge. He always did, which, truth be told, had saved her much
grief. This time, however… “You cannot keep him tied up the whole
journey,” she said. “That would be cruel.”

“
He’ll survive. I’ll feed
him and give him water. He can even have a piss.”

“
Good Lord,” Eve burst
out.

Oscar bent and hauled Lord Rushton over his
shoulder.

Eve glanced around. “I have a bad feeling
about this.”

He grunted agreement but, thankfully,
refrained from comment, and started deeper into the garden.

Eve hurried to keep up with his long stride.
“Where are you taking him?”

“
There’s a side entrance
for servants. I have the carriage waiting nearby.”

“
Someone is sure to see
you. I did not think this through well enough. I see now you could
end up in prison.”

Oscar turned right and dim light filtered
through the foliage up ahead. He brushed past large hedges and
stepped onto another path.

“
Is someone there?” a woman
called.

Eve and Oscar halted and his head jerked in
her direction.

Eve’s heart jumped into her throat. “One of
the maids,” she whispered. “Quickly, get the earl into the
carriage. If I am not there in five minutes go—”

“
Who is it?” the maid
called.

Eve shoved Oscar toward the hedge and called
to the woman, “It is I, Miss Crenshaw.”

“
Miss Crenshaw?”

Eve hurried toward the voice beyond the
foliage in the direction of the mansion. She stepped into the
opening and saw a young woman carrying a burlap sack that Eve
wagered was full of apples from the orchard. Lady Grendall’s cook
was known for baking the best apple tarts in London and she served
them fresh from the oven at Lady Grendall’s soirees.

“
Pardon me, Miss,” the maid
said. “Are you all right? It is not safe for a lady alone in the
gardens at night.”

“
I needed a bit of fresh
air,” Eve joined the girl. “I got lost.”

“
It is best if you return
with me. I can show you to the hallway leading to the ballroom from
the kitchen.”

Eve hesitated. If she returned to the party
she risked taking too long to get to the carriage. “Is there
another exit?” she asked.

“
Exit?”

“
Yes. I am not feeling well
and I would like to go home.”

“
You can leave by the main
entrance,” she said.

“
I prefer a more discreet
exit. My future husband is insisting I stay and I have no wish to
argue with him.”

The girl laughed. “Men can be demanding when
they want their way.”

“
Indeed they can,” Eve
agreed.

“
The servants' entrance is
on the west side of the mansion. I’ll show you.”

Eve laid a hand on her arm. “No need. I can
find my way.”

“
Oh no, Miss, you mustn’t
be walking alone in the gardens.”

“
Just as you shouldn’t be
walking back to the house alone,” Eve replied. “Not to mention,
there is no reason to anger the housekeeper by you being gone
longer than necessary.”

“
Mrs. Childs is a
reasonable woman,” the girl replied.

“
How fortunate for you,”
Eve said. “Now, the east side you said? So I follow this path
straight on around the house and I will find the gate?”

“
Yes, but you won’t come
out where the carriages are waiting.”

Eve leaned forward and whispered in a
conspiratorial tone, “I sent word for my carriage to await me on
the side street. Truth be told, the servant’s gate is exactly where
I was headed.” The girl’s brow furrowed and Eve shrugged. “My
betrothed really is a bore. Can you keep a secret?”

The maid’s face brightened. “I can, Miss.
Especially if it means pulling one over on the gentleman.”

Eve nodded. “Fine then. I will find my way to
the gate and the gentleman can find someone else to order about
this evening.”

The girl nodded quick agreement, and Eve
left. Two minutes later, she spotted the servants’ entrance up
ahead. Wind rustled the foliage as she neared, then a sound behind
her caught her attention and she started to turn. A hand clamped
over her mouth and yanked her against a hard body. She clawed at
the fingers in an effort to free her mouth, but hot breath on her
ear froze her.

“
Quiet,” a rough male voice
rasped.

Her heart thumped. This wasn’t possible. The
criminal type shouldn’t be inside the garden. Had one of the
servants forgotten to lock the gate?”

“
Keep quiet, or I get
rough.” He pulled her tighter to his body and his hot breath filled
her ear.

*****

Erroll roused to a consciousness that
thundered like a gunshot inside his head. Pain bounced off his
skull in a hard rhythm that caused him to wince. He had been in the
garden with Miss Crenshaw when a sudden pain lanced down his
back—

“
Who the devil cocked me?”
His gravelly voice in the silent darkness impacted his head like a
wave crashing against a cliff.

The floor beneath him rocked and he realized
he was in a fast moving carriage, trussed up like a prize pig. And
he wasn’t alone. He squinted into the darkness in an effort to
distinguish shapes, but the effort made his head pound all the
harder.

He forced himself to relax against the
cushion, and said, “I hope you didn’t harm the lady.”

“
Lady’s fine,” a deep
barreled voice replied.

“
You will forgive me if I’m
not reassured. What have you done with her?”

“
Nothing. Last I saw her,
she was at the party.”

“
I feel certain Miss
Crenshaw would not stand idly by while a man was abducted.” He got
no reply, so tried another tack. “Where are we going?” Still no
reply. “How long have I been unconscious?”

“
Not nearly long enough,”
the man growled.

“
I am known for having an
usually hard head,” Erroll said. “Have you contacted my father for
a ransom? He isn’t one to throw away money. You may have
miscalculated in kidnapping me.”

“
We don’t want
money.”

“
Indeed? What do you want,
then?”

“
I want you to be
quiet.”

“
We do not always get what
we want—but never mind. If we have more than a ten minute ride
before us, I will kindly ask you to pull over.”

The man grunted. “Why would I do that?”

“
Because I drank far too
much champagne this evening.”

“
I have a schedule to
keep,” the man said.

“
Be that as it may, I can
promise you that ten minutes hence, you will be in need of a new
coach.”

“
Too convenient,” he
replied.

Erroll laughed. “Not for me, my good
man.”

“
Too much of a
chance.”

“
A man of few words, I
see.”

No reply. His vision had acclimated to the
darkness and the throbbing in his head had dulled to a low roar. In
the far corner, he discerned a large form that fit the barrel
voice. He wasn’t going to enjoy the jolt to his head when he
brought the brute down.

“
While I have no wish to
travel in soiled clothing, I will not last long,” Erroll
said.

“
You didn’t seem in much
need in the garden.”

Erroll gave another laugh. “It is surprising
what the right distraction can do for a man.”

More silence followed, before the man said,
“I don’t want any trouble.”

“
I am in complete
agreement,” Erroll said in all honesty. But he didn’t always get
what he wanted, either.

*****

Eve’s kidnapper dragged her to the same gate
through which Oscar had taken Lord Rushton, and when they exited
she caught sight of her father’s carriage sitting across the street
between two other coaches. Her heart jumped as the kidnapper eased
through the doorway and hugged the shadows along the garden wall.
Oscar was waiting for her in the coach. If she could draw his
attention, she would be saved. She bit down on her kidnapper’s
hand. A slew of whispered curses filled her ear, but his hold
didn’t loosen.

She bit harder and kicked—then froze. A gun
barrel dug into her back. Eve carefully released his hand. He
muttered something unintelligible. Fear threatened to cloud her
brain in a muddle of tears, but she forced back the compulsion and
scanned the street. How did he think to get away with kidnapping
her in public?

Waiting carriages lined the street. A coach
at the end of the street lurched into motion, headed toward them,
and Eve recognized the silver shield with three red inescutcheons
coat of arms.
Lord Halifax
. Hope surged. He would help
her—but he probably wasn’t in the carriage, she realized with
horror. The coach neared and Eve shifted her eyes to the driver.
Surely he would help her. But his gaze remained straight ahead. Her
heart pounded. It was likely he hadn't spotted them in the shadows
of the wall. The carriage neared, then halted in front of them. The
door swung open and Eve couldn’t believe her luck when she caught
sight of Lord Halifax into the doorway.