My Fair Lily (31 page)

As she did so, a flash of lightning caught her by surprise and left stars blindly twinkling in her eyes long after its glow had faded. She didn’t care. She’d made it this far without any light.

The rain started again, a heavy, pelting rain that worked in her favor to muffle any noise she was making. More luck, there were no
bars on the window. She tried to push it open, but it wouldn’t
budge. She tried several times, pushing up, down, in and out. The blasted thing was sealed.

She’d have to break it.

She scooted off the table, found the chair, and quickly set up a simple fulcrum and lever system. Using her weight as leverage, she cracked the back of the chair and removed one of the sturdy
spindles. Another burst
of lightning. One, two, three, four. Then came the roll of thunder.
She’d use the spindle to smash the glass pane. All she had to do was wait for the lightning’s flare and strike at the thunder’s roar.

Luck was on her side. The storm gained in intensity as it rolled over them, a fast-moving torrent that she feared could end within
minutes. She didn’t have any time to spare.

She timed the first strike perfectly.

And the next.

The glass cracked on the third strike. She cleared away as much of the jagged edges as she could, especially clearing the fragments
stuck to the lower sash. The drenching rain and howling wind
quickly washed most of the glass away from the opening. She heaved herself through the window, not caring that her gown was ripped, or that splinters dug into her hands, or that glass cut into her knees. She was cold and soaking wet. Her knees were scraped and bleeding. She was lost, had no idea in which direction to run.

She was free!

She breathed in the fresh outdoors, and then she ran for her life.

THE VIOLENT WIND
and rain slowed Ewan and his companions. The dirt roads were now flowing rivers of mud. Their horses were spooked by the distant rolls of thunder and sharp bolts of lightning, and Ewan wanted to shout his frustration each time they had to stop
to calm the temperamental beasts. All were cold and soaking wet, and progress was achingly slow. It was as though the forces of
nature were
conspiring against them, but Ewan refused to give up hope. Each
step, no matter how slow, drew them closer to Lily.

She was with Ashton in Maidstone, and held at Sparrow Hall.

Lord, help Lily if we’re wrong.

The rain stopped as they reached the crest of a hill. Sprawled out
before them was the town of Maidstone. Though a vibrant market town, it appeared eerily quiet just now. A gray mist covered the roads leading in, and the menacing, red dawn cast a disquieting hue
over the houses, as though their roofs and walls were tinged with blood. Ewan wasn’t superstitious by nature and refused to take it as a bad omen.

Any sailor knew that a red dawn breaking over the horizon meant more storms were on the way. While dangerous at sea, on land it was a
nuisance. Nothing more. A cock crowed in the distance, signaling
another problem. Damn. He’d hoped to reach Sparrow Hall under
cover of darkness. “How are you holding up, Jasper?”

The loyal lump of a dog gave a weak
woof
in reply.

“Not far now,” he assured, looking down into his trusting chocolate eyes. Jasper was used to romping and chasing sheep over the Highlands cliffs and dales for hours at a time, but this trek was a
bit too much even for his boundless stamina.

Homer drew ahead to take the lead. “I know the area well, m’lord. My wife’s family lives in these parts. Sparrow Hall is just beyond the next hill. A bleak place it is. I doubt any of its residents
were ever
happy there. Not surprised young Lord Mortimer,” he said, referring to Ashton, “turned out as he did. There was always a darkness to
this house. M’wife always thought so.”

They rode over the hill and across a soggy meadow that ended
at the edge of the woods. “We’d better leave our horses here, m’lord. Sparrow Hall is just on the other side of those trees. Unfortunately, they’ve cleared much of the grounds around the house, so any guards posted by the windows will see us once we reach the
clearing.”

Ewan nodded. “We’ll have to create a diversion. Mr. Barrow, you and your runners must somehow distract them while George
and I break into the house.”

“Aye, m’lord. Leave it to us.”

But as they approached, Ashton and his men suddenly ran out
the front door as though the devil were on their tails. Ashton
appeared furious, cursing at his men as he pointed in various directions. He shoved one of them toward the house. “What are they doing?” George whispered.

For the first time in what felt like a century, Ewan cracked a
smile. “Searching for Lily. She’s outsmarted them all. She’s escaped.” And he meant to find her before Ashton got his hands on her again. He
turned to Homer. “Start your diversion. Jasper and I are going to
track her down.”

“With pleasure, m’lord. Don’t ye worry, we’ll round up these louts. Stay back, Dr. Farthingale. Wouldn’t want you hurt. Those men are armed and dangerous, so it’s best ye leave the dirty work to
us.”

As Homer created his diversion, Ewan took off at a run through
the woods, Jasper lumbering at his heels. He heard shouts and gunshots behind him, but stopped as soon as he was moderately
clear of the action to withdraw a pair of Lily’s gloves from his breast pocket and hold them out to Jasper to sniff. “Find Lily.” He hoped the torrential rain hadn’t wiped away all trace of her.

Jasper let out a howl and began to lope straight toward the house. “Bollix,” Ewan muttered, realizing his dog had picked up an old scent. Fortunately, Ashton’s men were too busy fending off the
Bow Street runners to pay the beast any heed. But where was Ashton? He’d slipped away.

Damn.

Now done sniffing the house, Jasper tore once again into the woods. Ewan raced after him, doing his best to keep up, following
the
sound of that large, lumbering body crashing through the
underbrush
whenever he lost sight of him. Jasper howled again. Ewan spotted him at the intersection of three small trails, spinning around as though chasing his own tail.
Damn it.
Jasper had lost her scent or
might have caught it in too many directions.

Ewan reached for Lily’s gloves again, and was about to kneel
beside him when he heard the cock of a pistol. In the next moment, he heard Lily cry out from behind him. A simple “No!” from her lips at the same moment a shot rang out. He felt a fiery sting at his
shoulder.
Ignoring the sudden explosion of pain throughout his body, he
whirled toward Lily. She was alive!

Ashton had her in his grasp, and now that his pistol was useless, he’d thrown it aside and was about to draw a knife to her throat.
Ewan lunged at him, knocking Ashton and Lily to the ground. It couldn’t be helped. The blackguard still held her. He managed to get between them, digging an elbow into Ashton’s wrist so that he yelped in pain and released Lily. She quickly rolled away. At the
same time, Ewan grabbed Ashton’s other wrist and twisted it. “Drop the knife.”

Ashton had a wild gleam in his eyes. “Bastard! She’s mine! You can’t have her. No one ever will.” He fought with the madness of a wounded boar, but Ewan was stronger and barely able to contain his
own mad rage. Ewan subdued him with relative ease, and then
hauled him to his feet.

“I’ll kill you,” Ashton hissed at Lily, the venom in his voice startling Ewan. “You meant to ruin me, whispering your lies about
me in the Duke of Lotheil’s ear.”

Lily struggled to her feet, hurt and confusion clearly reflected in her eyes. “I’d never do such a thing!”

Ewan supposed this was why he was so fond of her. She was generous and loving by nature, too innocent ever to feel malice,
envy, or hatred toward anyone, even those who wished her ill.

“Ignore him, Lily. He’s out of his mind.” Ewan wanted to twist Ashton’s arm until it broke, anything to shut up the bastard.

“That’s right. Ignore me.” Ashton let out a crazed laugh. “I’ll still come after you. You’re mine. You’ll never make it out of Sparrow Hall alive.”

Ewan silenced him with a punch to the jaw that knocked him out cold. “Guard him, Jasper.”

Jasper crouched low and let out a soft, feral growl, ready to
lunge
at Ashton if he so much as batted an eyelid. The hairy lump had
never obeyed so readily before, but he adored Lily and probably meant to show off to her.

With Ashton no longer a threat, Ewan turned to Lily. Was she hurt? How badly? He gazed into the beautiful blue depths of her
eyes and
saw fear and relief all muddled together. She was exhausted, had been crying. She was shivering. He shoved out of his jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders. “Och, lass. I’ve never been so glad
to see anyone in all my life. It’s over. Let’s go home.”

He swept her into his arms, and as a tidal wave of relief washed over him, he lowered his lips to hers in a long, desperate kiss. She
was safe. She was alive! It was a hard, possessive kiss. A Highlander’s kiss. Not at all gentle, but filled with ache and
yearning. Not at all refined, just hot and roughly tender. His lips crushed against hers, teeth scraping and tongue delving into her soft, inviting mouth. Lord! He’d almost lost her.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back just as fiercely. “I knew you’d find me. I never gave up hope.” Then she completely fell apart, sobbing against his shoulder, her sweet, perfect body heaving and shuddering with a heart-wrenching ache that tore him to pieces. Tears cascaded down her cheeks, and though she tried to say more, she couldn’t. Instead, she took in great gulps of air.

He held her close, kissed her again, gentle and messy, for Lily was crying and finally laughing, and he could taste her salty tears against his mouth. As much as he wished to hold on to this moment, he felt the
whoosh
of air around them, heard the light rain pattering against the leaves above them, and knew they had to get out of here. The trees would offer them some protection from the rain, but not for long. His boots sank into the moist underbrush that was already soaked from the earlier torrent. “Lily,” he said gently, though there was nothing gentle about his feelings for this slip of a girl.

She smiled at him, waiting for him to say something more. Her
lips were blue, and her nose and ears were red from cold. Despite the warmth of his body against hers, she was still shivering. Her
dark hair
was damp and curling wildly over her shoulders, the effect enhanced by the leaves and a few twigs caught amid the long strands. She looked spectacular. “Lass, you’re a beautiful mess. And you’ve
somehow turned my life upside down. I haven’t had a quiet moment since you walked into my life.”

She snuggled against his chest. “Oh, Ewan! I’m so sorry.”

He kissed her on the forehead. “Don’t be. Meeting you was the best thing that ever happened to me.”

Jasper let out a howl, a long
wrooolf, wrooolf,
as though to
proclaim that meeting Lily was the best thing to ever happen to him as well.

“Quiet, ye looby,” Ewan said. “I know you love her. I—”

He stopped himself, realizing what he’d been about to say. Bollix.
He couldn’t tell her, not here with that insane bastard lying
unconscious at his feet and Bow Street runners chasing down the other culprits who’d abducted her.

No, whatever he planned to say to Lily would have to wait. And hell, he wasn’t sure what he would say to her. He’d figure it out once she was safely out of Ashton’s reach.

“I had Ashton’s report at home,” Lily said, her voice heartbreakingly soft. “I would have given it to him, let him put his
name on it. I was willing to give him all the credit. Why did he take me captive? What could he gain by it?”

The thought of Lily bound in chains for the rest of her life and forced to do Ashton’s bidding made him ill. Writing science articles for that madman was the least of it. Lily was a beautiful girl. He refused to think of what else the bastard had planned for her. “I don’t know, lass.”

Though she was now huddled in his jacket, he doubted it was enough to keep her warm. He had to get her back to London as soon as possible, but she needed food and a change of clothes first. The air
was an unappealing mix of cold and damp. He’d noticed a cozy inn about an hour’s ride north of here, a good place to stop and allow Lily some time to rest. “The Bow Street men will question him when he
awakens.”

She nodded, and then her gaze fell upon the sleeve of his shirt. “Oh, Ewan! You’re hurt.”

He’d forgotten about the blood seeping down his arm,
purposely
ignored the burning pain. “It’s just a flesh wound. I’m fine, lass. More important, you’re safe, and I mean to keep you that way. I’ll
get you out of this bloody place as soon as I can.”

“I’m not scared any more. Not with you beside me.”

He let out a soft laugh. “I’m the one who should be thanking
you. You came out of your hiding spot to save me, didn’t you?”