Blackthorne's Bride (19 page)

Once they arrived at Gretna, however, Jack had a feeling that all bets were off.

"My advice?" Nick said over the roar of the horses' hooves. "Pray."

They covered the last few miles to Gretna Green with the earl's coach close on their heels. But with the city in sight, Nick pushed his horses faster, taking risks by running off the road and going over uneven ground.

Jack considered it a miracle that the axle didn't snap or one of the horses falter and break a leg, but the end result was that they arrived in Gretna Green without the earl in sight.

Jack, keenly conscious that Castleigh was right behind them, didn't even wait for the coach to come to a stop in front of the blacksmith's shop before jumping down and flinging the door open.

"We're here," he barked. "Let's go."

Ashley scrambled out and rushed to the blacksmith's door, with Jack right behind her. It wasn't until he was inside and the rotund priest was rising unsteadily before them that Jack realized Maddie hadn't followed.

Nick was standing in the door, and Jack swung around to face him. "Where's Lady Madeleine?"

Nick shrugged.

"She's still in the carriage," Ashley told him in a rush. "Without Mr. Dover here, she has no reason to come inside."

"Damn."

The priest cleared his throat. "Ye'll be wanting ta marry, then." The man's Scottish accent was thick, his words marred further as he lifted a jug of brandy and took a swig. A good portion of it dribbled back down his chin.

Jack let out a long sigh. Leave it to him to find the drunk priest. Not that the man was actually a priest. Scottish law didn't require one to officiate at a marriage. From the look of the man and the plethora of brandy jugs in the shop, this anvil priest was probably a smuggler.

"We're in a hurry," Jack said.

"Och, a hurry." The man's tongue rolled over the r's and got stuck. "No' heard that before." And then he burst into laughter.

Jack scowled. He needed to get this over and done. Now, before he reminded himself that Dover might be dead, and Maddie was free. Damn it.

He looked at Ashley and took a deep breath. He was going to marry Ashley Brittany. She was safe. She posed no risk to his heart.

And yet, he couldn't leave Maddie in the carriage alone. He couldn't even leave her unmarried. He didn't want to imagine what would happen to her when she returned to London, still unwed after a failed elopement and several nights spent in the company of men who were not her relatives.

Hell. He looked to the priest, who was asking if they had two witnesses, and then at Ashley.

"Lord Blackthorne," she said, "should I ask Maddie if she will serve as our second witness?"

Jack shook his head. "She'll have to be more than that."

He knew what had to be done. He clenched his fists and told himself he was doing what was best for all of them, especially himself. But then, he'd always been a selfish bastard, hadn't he?

Jack turned on his brother.

Nick looked behind him, searching for Jack's intended victim, then realized Jack was looking at him. He raised his hands in surrender. "Whatever it is, I didn't do it."

"I need you, Nick," Jack said quickly. "We need you."

Nick narrowed his eyes. "I don't mind being a witness."

"No." Jack took a step forward. "You must marry Lady Madeleine."

"Oh, no." Nick backed up, shaking his head. "This is your wedding, not mine."

"He's right, Nicholas," Ashley said, coming between them. "If she returns to London unwed, her reputation will be ruined. Her life will be ruined. She has to be married."

"But that's not my fault," Nick argued. "I didn't touch her. I barely know the chit."

"What does it matter whose fault it is?" Ashley demanded. "Thank God I'm not marrying you. You're the most selfish man in England. Scotland, too," she added after looking about her.

"Don't start." Nick pointed a finger at her, then looked at Jack. "Where's the bloody professor?"

"Back in Carlisle. Probably dead."

"No thanks to you." Ashley began to rail again, and Jack pushed her aside.

"Let me handle this."

Jack advanced on his brother until Nick had nowhere to go but out the door. As soon as they were away from Ashley and the priest, he hauled Nick up by the shirt collar and pushed him against the building's wall.

"Listen, Nick. I've done a lot for you over the years. I've stuck my neck out for you more times than I care to admit, and you can do one small bloody thing for me."

"Small? This isn't like not telling Father when I drank a bottle of his best wine," Nick argued. "This is marriage. Forever."

Jack tightened his grip. "You're always talking about good causes. Here's a good cause."

Nick shook his head. "But—"

"Yes or no, Nick. We both know how much you owe me."

"Oh, goddamn it." Nick sighed and scowled. "Fine. Bloody
fine."

* * * * *

Maddie hunched in the carriage, her arms wrapped around her knees, tears streaming down her cheeks. Inside the blacksmith's shop, Ashley and Lord Blackthorne were being married. Meanwhile, she was out here alone. She was a widow before she'd even said her vows.

Poor Mr. Dover. He'd only wanted a mother for his children.

He'd only wanted to arrive in Gretna Green on time.

In the end, they'd been too late. And now he lay dead in Carlisle—well, perhaps not dead, but wounded. And she'd just left him there, left him for strangers to—

The carriage door was wrenched open and Blackthorne reached in, grasped her arms, and pulled her out. "What are you doing?" Something in the stony expression of his face made her struggle to get away. "I prefer to wait in here."

"Well, you can't get married in the coach." He pushed her forward, and before she could ask what he meant, she heard the clatter of hooves nearing.

"Bloody hell! It's your father."

Her feet seemed to move of their own accord then, and she all but ran inside the blacksmith's shop. She skidded to a stop and stared at the drunk anvil priest.

Ashley reached out and gripped her hand, Lord Nicholas came up beside her, and Maddie, in her horror, realized what Blackthorne had been saying. She was to marry Lord Nicholas.

"And do ye come here of your own free accord?" the priest asked.

"No!" Maddie shouted. She was not going to marry Lord Nicholas. She was not going to marry anyone.

"Maddie, don't be a fool," Ashley hissed at her. "Your father is almost here. Do you want him to find you unwed?"

That was a rather terrifying thought. Her father was not a violent man, but he'd already shot one fiance. Could she allow the same fate to befall Lord Nicholas? "No, but—"

"She's here of her own free will," Ashley said. "Aren't you, Maddie?" Ashley poked her in the back, and Maddie nodded.

The priest frowned at a piece of paper Maddie assumed was the marriage certificate. "So it's ta be a dooble ceremony?"

"Right," Jack said from beside Ashley. "Now, get on with it."

The priest began asking for their names, but Maddie didn't listen. She couldn't stop staring at Jack. She was about to become wife to his brother, but she couldn't spare a glance for her intended. All she could think was that she was going to lose Jack forever.

"No, it's Ashley, not Ainsley," Ashley was telling the priest, "and I'm marrying him, not him." She pointed to Jack and then Nick, and the priest nodded and wrote something down.

Oh, Lord. Maddie swallowed her fear and horror. The priest was so drunk he could barely stand. The man began trying to sort the couples out again, and Jack growled, "Hurry up, man. Hurry up."

Maddie turned toward the door as the priest began the ceremony, a simple one. "Do ye take this woman ta be yer lawful wedded wife?"

"I will," Lord Nicholas said.

Maddie heard the clatter of hooves outside cease and knew her father had arrived. There was an ominous silence. She clenched Ashley's hand.

Ashley squeezed her hand back. "He's too late," she whispered, then turned as her name was called. "I will," her friend answered, and Maddie felt Ashley's pale hand shake.

The silence outside was broken as her father's voice rose, issuing orders to his footmen. Maddie could hear stomping and yelling.

"Do ye take this woman ta be yer lawful wedded wife?"

The shouting came closer, and Maddie could hear her father's voice raised in anger.

"Madeleine, do ye take this man ta be yer lawful wedded husband?"

Wait a moment ...

Maddie spun round, her mind now focused on the ceremony. Could it be her turn? But hadn't Jack just—

"Lady Madeleine, answer," Jack demanded.

"But—"

"Hurry up," Lord Nicholas barked. Everyone was staring alternately at her and then the door. Maddie noted that someone had had the foresight to bar it, but now there was an ominous pounding on the thick wood.

"Hurry up!" Ashley said, and Maddie threw her hands in the air.

"I will." Her head ached and she felt dizzy.

The priest swayed—either that or she was worse off than she thought—and then said, "Weel, then, Ainsley and—"

"Ashley," they all corrected.

The priest blinked. "Verra weel, lass. Ashley and Nicholas, Madeleine and John, in the name o' the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, I declare ye man and wife." He lifted a blacksmith's hammer—one of two items in the shop that had anything to do with metal forging—and banged it on the anvil. He looked at Maddie and Jack. "Oh and ... er, man and wife." The hammer struck again.

Maddie took in one breath then another, and still the light-headedness persisted. The pounding on the door grew louder, and she closed her eyes to drown it out. But nothing could stifle the pounding of her heart. She did not dare to believe it, and yet—

"Wait." Nicholas held up a hand. "I'm married to her?" He pointed to Ashley. "Or her?" He pointed to Maddie.

The priest frowned and consulted the certificate. "Er ... ye are married ta the fair one, lad. Yes. And the dark-haired lass is married ta him." The priest pointed to Jack.

Maddie glanced at Jack, who was staring at her, his face unreadable. He didn't look away and his expression didn't soften.

Her heart felt like it might burst from hammering so hard.

"But that's not right," Ashley said over the banging on the door and the pounding of Maddie's heart. "You've married the wrong brides and grooms!"

The priest frowned. "Wha' now?" He took another swig from his brandy jug and shrugged. "Ooh, weel, it's a trifling mistake."

"Trifling?" Nick hollered. "You've married the wrong couples. I'm stuck with
her."

Maddie glanced at Jack, who had still said nothing. Did he realize
he
was stuck with her now? Or perhaps the truth was that she was stuck with him.

Lord Blackthorne was her husband.

The room seemed to swim again, and she had to clutch Ashley to stay on her feet.

The priest waved all concern away. "Ah weel, juist sort yerselves oot."

And then he lifted his jug high, tilted his head back, and toppled over.

Maddie looked like she might follow the priest's example, and Jack reached out and grasped her shoulder to steady her. She jumped at his touch, and he quickly withdrew his hand.

My wife, he thought, staring at her.
My wife.
What the hell had he gone and done now?

"Open up this door before I kick it in!" Lord Castleigh's voice was punctuated by three short thumps that sounded very much like kicks already.

His father-in-law.

"Let's go," Jack said, herding everyone toward the adjacent room. "Out the back."

Nick grabbed Jack. "Wait. I'm not leaving until this is fixed." He pointed to the crumpled marriage certificate in his hand. "I didn't agree to marry
her."
He pointed to Ashley.

"And I agreed to marry you?" Ashley said, stepping between the brothers. She poked Nick in the chest with one finger. "If I had the choice between marrying you and eating a three-course meal of horse feces, I'd grab a napkin and fork."

"Is that so?" Nick looked down at her. "Well, if I had the choice between—"

"Do something!" Maddie hissed at Jack. "My father will be inside at any moment."

Jack turned to look at his wife. She was staring up at him, expecting him to save her—save all of them. What a disappointment he was going to be.

"... I'd drop my breeches," Nick was saying, "and ask for the hot coals."

"Enough," Jack said firmly, stepping between the lovebirds. "Castleigh is coming in, and I for one don't want to be on the other side of his pistol."

"But we can't leave," Ashley protested. "We need the priest to do the ceremony again and marry us to the right people."

"You go try and rouse him," Jack said, pushing past her and fumbling in the darkness for the back door. "I'm getting out of here."