Brenda Hiatt (24 page)

Nessa had to stifle a giggle, and saw that Simmons’ lips were uncharacteristically twitching as well. “Pigs! Oh, my. But”—she thought hard for a moment—“mightn’t we do something similar now, tonight? Wait a few hours, till everyone is likely to be asleep, then get Jack out? If anyone is about, we could create a diversion, just as he did on that occasion.”

But Parker shook his head. “His Lordship would never forgive me if I put you in such danger, my lady. Once I have you safely to the coast and bound for England, I shall return and endeavor to rescue him myself.” Simmons nodded vigorously in agreement.

“But that may be too late!” Nessa exclaimed. “It would be days—perhaps more than a week—before you could return. Napoleon is due in Paris at any moment, and once they turn Jack over to his forces,
you’ll never get him out. He might even be”—she swallowed—“executed.”

Parker made no reply and Nessa could see, by the dim moonlight that filtered through the now-sparse trees, that the man was torn between concern for his master and obedience to his orders. She pressed her point.

“If he dies, what good is my safety? I’d sooner die myself than live without him, I assure you.” Abruptly, she stopped and sat down on a large stone. “In fact, I’m not going a step further. I rather doubt you can carry me all the way to the coast. I’ll escape you at some point, and go back for Jack. I’m certain I’d have a much better chance of freeing him with your help, but if I must, I shall attempt it alone.”

Simmons began to sputter something about unseemliness, but Parker sighed. “Very well, my lady, you win.” Nessa thought he looked almost relieved. “If we plan carefully and are exceedingly cautious, we may have a reasonable chance of success. ’Tis certain they’ll not expect us to return, especially not tonight.”

He turned to Simmons. “We passed an abandoned shelter of sorts a short way back. Do you wait there for us, and get some sleep if you can. It would be as well if at least one of us is well rested. If we fail to return, you must make your way north as best you can. Do you see that star?” He pointed and waited until Simmons nodded. “That is due north. Between that, and recalling that the moon rises in the east, like the sun, you should be able to manage.”

Simmons looked more than a little frightened, but raised her chin bravely. “I trust you
will
return, and with His Lordship—but I’ll be quite all right. Pray do not worry about me.”

Nessa regarded her abigail with new respect. Just now, however, she had other things to think about. “Here’s that shed now,” she commented. “Ah, good—there is dry straw and bracken inside. This heavy cloak will only hinder me, so I’ll leave it here for you to lie on, Simmons. Try to sleep, and we will be back before you know it.” She fervently hoped her words would prove true.

Jack awoke to darkness. The first thing he noticed was a pounding headache. The next was that his hands and feet were bound by thick rope, and that he was lying on something prickly and smelly—dirty straw was his guess. Straining his eyes in the blackness, he saw a few chinks of dim light, outlining just enough of his enclosure to reveal it as a stall in a barn. Listening intently, he heard the shufflings and snortings of nearby animals, but no obviously human sounds.

Struggling into a half-sitting position against the rough boards of the wall, he wondered how long he’d been unconscious. Not terribly long, perhaps, as it was still obviously night. Would Nessa and Parker have made it to relative safety by now? He devoutly hoped so.

He’d been mad to entrust Nessa’s safety to someone like Collette, he realized now. The woman had been more bitter than most when he’d broken off their brief
relationship upon discovering she was married. He should have known she’d jump at the chance to revenge herself upon him. Had his experience and knowledge of women deserted him, or had it always been but a figment of his imagination? He rather suspected it had.

Which meant he might not understand Nessa as well as he believed, either. Certainly, he’d done little to make her life better. First he’d denied her the very thing she wanted: the freedom to live her life her own way. Wasn’t that the same thing he’d always demanded for himself? Why shouldn’t she have the same chance? And now he’d put her in terrible, perhaps deadly, danger.

A cold finger of horror touched him. Not only was Nessa in danger, but their unborn child as well. Her desperate flight to the coast, now without his protection, might well cause her to miscarry—in which case he would never forgive himself. For a moment he struggled uselessly against his bonds, out of sheer frustration, then lay back, exhausted. No, he must conserve his strength against the chance of escape. In the morning someone would come to feed him, surely. Then, perhaps, he could contrive—

A soft rustling, resolving into distinctly human footsteps interrupted his thoughts. The steps were light. Collette? Might he still have a chance of persuading her to free him? He lay perfectly still and waited.

“Jack?” came a soft whisper.
No! It couldn’t be!
Then, distinctly in English, “Jack, are you in here?” It was Nessa.

Hope and terror simultaneously reared up within
him. How could she risk herself like this? How could Parker allow it? He’d explicitly told the man—

“Jack?” came Nessa’s voice again, closer this time.

“Here,” he called softly. “Nessa, I’m in here.”

She gave a gasp that sounded suspiciously like a sob, and hurried toward the sound of his voice. He heard her fumbling with the door of the stall, then opening it, only to trip over his outstretched legs and fall right on top of him with a soft “oomph.”

She felt wonderful.

“Oh, Jack! I was afraid I’d never find you!” She gave him a quick hug, then scrambled off of him. “I’ve been—but there’s no time for that now. I must get you untied, then let Parker know, so he can—”

“Parker?” Jack whispered sharply. “He actually brought you back here? He’s dismissed.” Nessa laid her fingers across his lips. Even amid the danger and his fury at Parker, he had to fight the temptation to kiss them.

“I gave him no choice,” she said. “But no more talk now, please! If all goes well, we’ll have plenty of time later. Goodness, but these knots are tight!” She’d been tugging at the rope about his wrists as she spoke. “There, I think I…yes! It’s undone. Can you manage the one at your ankles? We haven’t much time.”

His hands now free, he clasped her quickly to him for a brief, hard kiss. “You’ll both have a lot of explaining to do, my dear. But yes, I’ll untie the rest. Be careful!”

Returning his kiss just as fiercely, she left as quietly
as she’d come. Jack made quick work of the double knot securing his ankles, then staggered to his feet, stamping to get the blood flowing again and biting his lip against the pins and needles. After a minute or two, he could walk normally. He left the stall, then paused. The big barn door was to the left, but he was certain Nessa had gone to the right. Which way was he to go? Suddenly pandemonium broke loose outside the barn door—wild squeals, and shouting. Pigs! Parker had released the pigs! Chuckling, Jack headed in the opposite direction and found a small opening at the back of the barn. Parker and Nessa reached it just as he did.

“That should keep them busy for a few minutes, my lord, and with luck we’ll be long gone before they think to check on the prisoner. Can you walk?”

“I can run, if need be. Let’s go!” He grabbed Nessa by the hand and they raced through the yard behind the barn, trusting to the commotion on the other side to drown their footsteps. Reaching the fence at the edge of the yard, Jack easily lifted Nessa over it, before vaulting it himself.

A moment later, they were safe under the cover of the trees. “Do you need to rest before we go on?” he asked Nessa then.

“Not yet, though I’m not sure I can run much further. Once we return to where we left Simmons, we can all rest for a bit.”

They continued on at a brisk walk, Jack supporting Nessa over the rougher patches of ground. As they went, she and Parker explained what they’d done.

“Her Ladyship thought to release the pigs, my lord, after I told her the story of the time you used that ruse.”

“And you mustn’t be angry at Parker,” Nessa chimed in. “I flatly refused to go on without you, so short of knocking me on the head and carrying me over his shoulder or leaving me behind, he had no choice. I can be most stubborn.”

Jack gave her a squeeze. “Don’t I know it! I suppose it was unfair to expect Parker to have more success in changing your mind than I ever have. And I must say I’m most grateful to you both! But it’ll be a challenge still to get to the coast on foot. It must be all of a hundred miles.”

He noticed then that Nessa was leading him off to the left. “These will help then, I imagine.” There, tied to trees, were four saddled horses. “Parker and I agreed that it doesn’t count as theft, as we did leave them the carriage and four in exchange.”

“Whatever ill-advised risks you’ve taken, this has been a most efficient rescue,” Jack exclaimed with a laugh. “Now we can put some distance behind us before we find a place to hole up for the day.”

Leading the horses, they soon reached the abandoned barn where Simmons waited. She’d clearly not slept, but seemed quite eager to continue the journey nonetheless—though she exclaimed at the impropriety of having to ride astride.

“Oh, buck up, Simmons,” said Nessa cheerfully. “No one will ever know. Think of it as a chance to do something wild and adventurous.”

“I’ve had enough of adventure for one lifetime,” she muttered, but allowed Parker to lift her onto the smaller mare.

Now they were able to make better time, especially as the trees thinned. Soon they reached a narrow road leading roughly northwest. Spurring the horses to greater speed, they cantered under the light of the setting moon and had put more than fifteen additional miles behind them before dawn.

As the sun crept above the horizon, they dismounted and tied the horses in a small copse about half a mile from a tiny village. They must have food if they were to continue, so Jack decided to risk a brief foray. To his relief, news of Napoleon’s march appeared not to have reached this out-of-the-way place yet, and he was able to buy ample provisions to keep them going for the next day or two, as well as a few blankets.

After a frugal breakfast, they all settled down to sleep in the copse, exhausted after more than twenty-four hours of wakefulness, exertion, and danger. Nessa snuggled against Jack, laid her head on his shoulder, and was asleep in moments. He stayed awake for a few more minutes, smiling down at his wife’s sweetly slumbering face. Despite the miles and dangers they still faced, Jack felt sure that he must be the luckiest man alive.

Nessa watched the French coast recede with profound thankfulness. The past week had been the most harrowing she’d ever experienced, with several near misses
and severe frights along their journey. Upon reaching the coast, they’d had to wait two more agonizing days before they could bribe their way onto a packet bound for England. The weather was still uncertain, but the real danger was behind them now.

Jack came up to stand beside her, draping an arm over her shoulders just as he had on their voyage from England a mere month ago. It seemed more like years to her, so much had happened.

“Have you, like Simmons, had enough adventure to last you a lifetime?” he asked her.

She chuckled, for Simmons had repeated that phrase so often that it had become a joke between them. “Enough to last me a year or two, at any rate, I believe. I find the wilder side of life is not so appealing as I once thought it would be, somehow.”

“And I’m finding all the excitement I need in my wife.” He squeezed her shoulders. “When that year or two is up, promise to discuss it with me before you go seeking any more adventures.”

Nessa tilted her head up for his kiss, enjoying the fine salt spray that blew over them both. “I promise.”

E
ARLY
M
ARCH
, 1816

Jack stood in the doorway of the nursery at Fox Manor, enjoying the scene before him for a few moments before announcing his presence. Nessa and Prudence both sat on the floor, while their sons clambered over them. Though little Robert was a month older than his cousin, young Geoffrey was the bolder one, crawling away from his mother to investigate the crackling of the fire a few yards away.

Nessa scooped him up with a laugh. “Oh, no you don’t, you little rascal! You’ll find out soon enough that lovely yellow thing burns, but I’d as soon it wasn’t today.”

Prudence shook her head. “You’re going to have your hands full with that one, Nessa. And I thought my Robert was becoming more than I can keep up with! When we return home, I’ve finally promised to give more of his care over to his nurse.”

“But you’ll stay yet awhile, will you not, Prudence? We so enjoy having you all here, and see how good
Geoffrey and Robert are together. I’d love to see them raised almost as brothers.”

“We are in no hurry,” Prudence assured her, smiling. “In fact, Philip is out today looking at a property here in Kent, with an eye to purchasing it. If all goes as we hope, we may relocate here permanently.”

Nessa hugged her sister in delight, and Jack waited until her raptures had subsided before clearing his throat. At once she whirled to greet him with a sunny smile that belied the gray day outside.

“Jack! How long have you been standing there? Did you hear what Prudence just said?”

“I did indeed,” he said, coming forward. “And I am as delighted as you are. If the property Creamcroft is inspecting today will not do, I will endeavor to help him find another.” He leaned down to kiss first Nessa, then his wriggling son, keeping one hand behind his back.

Nessa noticed at once. “What are you hiding there? Another toy for Geoffrey? He must have more than any infant alive already.”

“No, my dear, this toy is for you.” He extended the rolled up parchment and she took it, clearly puzzled.

Unrolling it, she read its contents through before looking up at him incredulously. “You’ve bought it? Our little French cottage? Oh, Jack!”

“Consider it an anniversary gift. It was one year ago today that—”

Handing their son to Prudence for a moment, she stood and put her hands into his. “I remember,” she said
softly. “I, too, will ever consider that day the anniversary of our true marriage. The day we dropped all pretense and pride, and admitted our love.”

He bent to kiss her, not caring that Prudence and both babies were watching. A long while later he lifted his head. “That was the day my real life began,” he said, “my scandalous, virtuous love.”