“Heavens, I don’t want him.” The woman leaned back into the coach and spoke to her companion, who appeared to be having a quiet fit of hysterics. “Martha, do stop that infernal noise and call John Coachman. I believe he ran off into the woods. One simply cannot rely upon staff these days.”
“I be right here, ma’am,” the coachman called, emerging hastily from the brush. “I was just waitin’ me chance to get the bleeder.” He glanced suspiciously at Victoria, who tossed him the reins. “You sure you ain’t about to rob us?”
“No, I am not about to rob you.”
“For pity’s sake, does she look like a highwayman?” The elderly woman leaned her head back out the window and glowered at her coachman as he took control of the team. “She’s a female dressed in men’s breeches and she ought to be thoroughly ashamed of herself. Imagine a woman of decent breeding running around like that on horseback in the middle of the night. If her husband had any sense, he’d beat her.”
Lucas rode up with his captive in tow in time to hear that last remark. “I promise you, madam, I will take your advice under consideration.”
The woman switched her attention immediately to him. “You being her husband, I take it? What in heaven’s name do you think you’re doing letting her run about like this?”
Lucas smiled. “Trying to keep up with her, and I assure you, it is not easy. Are you and your companion all right?”
“Quite all right, thank you very much. We are late coming back from the home of friends. A mistake I shall not make again. What are you going to do with him?” She nodded toward the drooping highwayman, who was still wearing his scarf as a mask.
“Well, as to that,” Lucas began thoughtfully, “I suppose I ought to turn him over to the proper authorities.”
There was a whimper of protest from the highwayman, but that was all.
“Yes, yes, the proper authorities,” the woman said briskly. “Do that. And when you’ve finished with that business, I suggest you do something about your wife. A woman who’s allowed to run around in the middle of the night wearing breeches will come to a bad end, I can tell you that. Now, enough of this foolishness. Home, John.”
“Yes, yer ladyship.” The coachman heaved himself back up onto his box and flicked the reins. The coach lumbered forward and was soon out of sight around the next bend in the lane.
Victoria examined the highwayman. It did not take sophisticated powers of deduction to determine that the horse, at least, was probably from a nearby farm. “Surely a professional highwayman should invest in a faster animal. Who are you, lad? Are you from these parts?”
There was another whimper from the highwayman, who cast a frantic eye toward Lucas, as if he sought help from that quarter.
“Answer the lady,” Lucas ordered softly.
The young man reluctantly reached up and pulled down his scarf. Victoria realized with a pang that he could not have been more than fifteen at the most. He stared first at Lucas and then at Victoria with a frightened expression. “Name’s Billy.”
“Billy what?” Lucas prodded patiently.
“Billy Simms.”
“Well, Billy, I am afraid you are in a great deal of trouble,” Lucas remarked, dropping his pistol back into his pocket. “The Earl of Stonevale does not approve of highwaymen operating in this district.”
“Ye think I give a bloody damn what his ‘igh-and-mighty lordship approves of?” Billy burst out. “I wouldn’t be operatin’ as a bleedin’ ‘ighwayman at all if the last earl ‘adn’t thrown Ma and me and my sis out of our ‘ome. What was I supposed to do after Pa got taken off with the fever? We’re livin’ wi’ me aunt and her family and there ain’t enough room nor food to go ‘round. Am I s’posed to watch all my womenfolk starve? Not bloody likely. I did what I ‘ad to do usin’ the pistol my pa left me. That’s all.”
Lucas regarded him in measured silence for a long moment. “You have a point, Billy. In your shoes I’d probably have done the same.”
Billy eyed him in some confusion. “Ye look like gentry to me. Ye certain ye would have taken to the roads like this?”
“As you say, Billy, a man does what he has to do. But be that as it may, from what I hear, things have changed in these parts. There is a new earl in charge of Stonevale now.”
“He won’t be no better ‘n the last one, ye mark my words. The bleedin’ Quality’s all the same. Out to suck the last drop ‘O blood from people like me and mine. Ma says the new folks up at the great house are different and I heard what they’re sayin’ in the village about the ghosts reappearin’, but I don’t believe none of it.”
“Is that right?” Lucas’s horse tossed its head and he absently patted George’s neck. “You thought I was a ghost at first, didn’t you?”
Billy shot him a sullen look. “Ye took me by surprise, that’s all. Ain’t no such thing as ghosts.” But he was staring at the amber scarf draped around Victoria’s throat. The color had been clearly discernible earlier in the light from the coach.
“I’m sure you’re right, Billy. But all that is beside the point. We have something of a problem here.”
Billy wiped his nose with the back of his hand. “What problem?”
“Why, the problem of what to do with you, of course.”
“Why don’t ye just shoot me with yer bloody damn pistol and be done with it?”
“That’s a possibility, naturally. And not an uncommon ending for a highwayman. What do you think, madam?” Lucas glanced at Victoria.
“I think,” Victoria said softly, “that Billy should present himself at the stables of the Earl of Stonevale tomorrow morning and inform the head groom that he is to be hired. In the meantime I think he should go home and put his mother’s mind at ease. She is undoubtedly extremely worried about him.”
Billy looked up sharply. “What makes ye think I could get a job at the big ‘ouse?”
“Rest assured, Billy,” Lucas said calmly, “there will be a job waiting for you. One with more of a future than this one. It won’t provide quite as much excitement as being a highwayman, but we have agreed a man does what he must. You’ve got womenfolk to see to and you cannot afford to be in a profession that’s likely to get you killed this week or next.”
The boy eyed Lucas suspiciously. “Is this a game yer playin’ with me?”
Victoria smiled in the shadows of her hood. “’Tis no game, Billy. Go home to your mother and in the morning report to the head groom. The wages may not be as high as what you can make out here on the road, but at least they’ll be steady. And that’s what your family needs. What have you got to lose? If things don’t work out, you can always go back into this line of work.”
Billy stared at her for a long moment, trying to peer beneath the hood of her cloak. Finally he shook his head in awe. “Yer them, ain’t ye? The two o’ ye be the ghosts. The Amber Knight and his lady. Look at that scarf yer wearin’. It’s true what they been sayin’ in the village. Ye come back after all this time t’ ride the lands o’ Stonevale at midnight.”
“Go home, Billy. I think we have all had enough excitement for tonight,” Lucas said.
“Aye, sir. Ye don’t have to tell me twice. I ain’t accustomed to makin’ conversation with a couple o’ ghosts.” Billy tugged at the reins of his sturdy mount and kicked the beast into what must have been a bone-shaking trot.
Victoria watched as the boy vanished around the bend in the road. Then she threw back the hood of her cloak and laughed softly. “I must admit, my lord, that I always have an interesting time of it when you and I go adventuring at midnight.”
Lucas muttered an oath. “Never a dull moment, is there?”
“Never; What shall we do next?”
“We could follow the suggestion made by that lady in the coach. I could take you home and beat you for being so brazen as to run around in the middle of the night in a pair of men’s breeches. But it probably wouldn’t do much good.”
“Not a bit of good,” Victoria agreed cheerfully.
“In any event, tonight’s adventure was all your idea in the first place, so it would hardly be fair of you to beat me.”
“Ah, but you don’t think me a fair man, do you, Vicky? You think I am high-handed and domineering and quite utterly ruthless, not to mention priggish.”
She lowered her lashes. “Lucas, I …”
“Never mind, Vicky. It is past time we headed home. You’ve had your adventure for tonight.”
He turned George’s head back in the direction from which they had ridden earlier and Victoria had no choice but to follow.
Half an hour later she was safely back in her own bed and she was very much alone in it. But she was far from asleep.
She turned on her side and plumped a pillow, trying to get Lucas’s words out of her head. You think I am high-handed and domineering and quite utterly ruthless.
And so he was, she assured herself for the hundredth time. Surely she did not need any more proof of that after their confrontation earlier in the day. She had known that sooner or later he would show his true colors and behave like any other so-called gentleman behaved after he married and took control of his wife’s money.
But she also knew perfectly well that any other so-called gentleman of her acquaintance would have turned poor Billy over to the authorities and seen the youngster hung without a qualm. Either that or the gentleman would have shot the boy down on the road and thought himself a hero in doing so.
Yet from the moment she had realized they were dealing with a young local lad, she’d never had any doubts about how Lucas would handle the situation. She had known he would neither shoot the boy nor send him to the gallows.
The truth was, her husband was not at all like most of the gentlemen of her acquaintance and she had known that from the start. That was how she had gotten into this situation.
That did not mean, however, that Lucas was not excessively arrogant, high-handed, and domineering at times.
She turned over on her other side and gazed at the closed door that connected their rooms. The dressing table was still in front of it. Lucas had gone straight back to his own bedchamber after seeing her to her door.
Victoria had been anticipating that he would come to her bed after their night of adventure. The fact that he had not disturbed her.
She wondered if she’d gone too far by barricading her door against him. Perhaps she had dealt his pride an overly severe blow with that bit of defiance. He was her husband, after all. He did have rights.
Nor could she deny that as his wife, she had her obligations.
They were supposed to be partners in this marriage, just as they had been partners in sharing the night’s adventure.
And right now she wanted to be with him.
Victoria gave up the useless attempt to get to sleep and slid out from under the covers. Her nightgown floated around her ankles as she went over to the dressing table that blocked the door. She listened intently for sounds from the next room that might indicate Lucas was having trouble sleeping, too, but she heard nothing.
The urge to open the connecting door very quietly and peek into his room to see if he was sound asleep was overpowering. But the barricade was something of a nuisance. She could move it back into its proper position, but in doing so she would surely wake Lucas.
She glanced at the window and smiled. If the Earl of Stonevale could get from one room to another using the window ledge, then so could she.
Victoria went over to the window, opened it, and looked down. From here the ground seemed very far away and the ledge that led to Lucas’s window did not look nearly as wide as she had thought it would. Still, he had managed to walk it even with his bad leg.
Victoria took a deep breath and stepped out onto the ledge. The chilled air caught at her thin muslin gown and she shivered.
Clutching at the cold stone of the wall, she edged slowly toward the other window. It was not going to be quite as easy as she had thought. She was discovering the hard way that she did not have a head for heights. Every time she looked down she got dizzy.
Halfway between the two windows Victoria came to a complete halt. She knew she could not go on. Lucas had made this ledge-walking business sound like a stroll in the park. She did not know how he had managed it, but she was forced to admit defeat.
It was when she tried to retreat back along the ledge that she realized she had a major problem on her hands. Going back was not going to be any simpler than going forward.
This was ridiculous. She was appalled at her inability to move. Shivering with cold, pressed rigidly back against the stone wall, Victoria closed her eyes and tried to think. She certainly could not stand out here all night. She opened her eyes and realized that Lucas’s window was open.
“Lucas? Lucas, can you hear me?”
There was no immediate response and her heart sank. The thought of having to scream ignominiously for help until one of the servants heard her was too mortifying to even contemplate.
“Lucas” she called, a bit more loudly this time. “Lucas, are you in there? Damn you, Stonevale, this is all your fault. Wake up and do something.”
“Hell and damnation,” Lucas said, appearing abruptly at the window. “I should have guessed you’d try something like this. What the devil do you think you’re doing?”
Relief poured through her. “I just came out for a stroll,” she muttered. “It would seem I have a slight problem with heights.”
“Don’t move. I’ll come and fetch you.”
“I’m not going anywhere.” She watched as he put one bare leg over the windowsill and stepped out onto the ledge. “Good heavens, my lord, you’re naked.”
“Sorry to offend your delicate sensibilities. Would you prefer I went back inside and dressed first?”
“No. No, don’t you dare. Get me off this horrible ledge before you do anything else.”
“Yes, my lady. At your service, my lady. So glad to be of some assistance, my lady. Keep your voice down, my lady, or the servants will really have something to talk about in the morning.”
She relaxed a little as his strong fingers closed around her wrist. “How on earth did you manage this earlier when you came to my bedchamber?”
“Be assured I didn’t use this route because I enjoy running about on ledges. I used it because you’d shoved that damned dressing table in front of the door, remember? I take it the barricade is still in place and that’s why you’re out here?”
“I fear that is precisely the case.” She followed him gratefully back to his open window. A moment later she was standing safely inside his bedchamber. She gave a sigh of relief and brushed off her hands. “Thank you very much, Lucas. I do not mind telling you, I was a trifle uneasy out there.”
“And I don’t mind telling you that I was a trifle horrified to see you out there.” His hands closed around her shoulders in a fierce grip. “I am, naturally, extremely gratified by your enthusiasm for my bed, but the next time you want to join me in it, try knocking.”
She scowled at him. “You are assuming a great deal, my lord.”
“Am I? Are you telling me you were out on that ledge because you were bored and couldn’t think of anything else to do for the rest of the night except stroll from window to window?”
It was no good. She could not possibly deny that she had been attempting to get to his bedchamber. “Do not tease me, Lucas. This is humiliating enough as it is.”
His smile was slow and deeply sensual. “What is so humiliating about admitting you enjoy what we find together in the marriage bed, sweetheart?”
“’Tis not that. It is just that I have been furious with you all day and now you are no doubt jumping to the conclusion that I am here because I wanted you to make love to me.”
“Isn’t that precisely why you’re here?”
“Yes, it is. But it doesn’t mean that I have changed my mind about anything else, and of course you are bound to think that I have. Or worse, you will conclude that you can always bring me to heel by taking
me for a midnight adventure. It is not that way at all.”
He laughed softly. “There is nothing in any of this to shame you, Vicky. But if it will make you feel any less humiliated, I promise not to conclude that your presence here means I am permanently forgiven. Will that do? Tomorrow we can go right back to the battle lines you drew today, if that is what you truly wish.”
“Lucas, you are incorrigible. You know very well that things will be different between us in the morning. How can I possibly continue to give you the cold shoulder tomorrow after you have made love to me tonight?”
“I don’t know,” he said, scooping her up and settling her into his bed. “How can you?”
She looked up at him through her lashes as he came down beside her. “Maybe I should be the one applying for a job in your stables instead of Billy Simms. That way, I could supplement the allowance you intend to grant me.”
He kissed her throat. “Did you risk life and limb on that damned ledge just so you could continue our argument or did you come here so that I could make love to you?”
Victoria relaxed and put her arms around his neck. “I came here so that you could fulfill your husbandly duties and make love to me.”
“I rather thought so.” His hand closed over her breast and his mouth closed over her lips.
Sometime later Victoria stirred sleepily in the huge bed. She opened her eyes to see Lucas at the window. He had one foot out on the ledge. “Where in heaven’s name are you going?”
“To shove that dressing table away from your door. Do you want your maid to know you felt obliged to barricade yourself in your room tonight?”
“No, of course, not. But be careful, Lucas.”
“I’ll be right back.”
He vanished into the night and a couple of minutes later Victoria heard the heavy dressing table being shifted back into its proper position. The connecting door opened and Lucas sauntered back into his own room, dusting off his hands. Victoria glowered at him.
“Now what have I done?” he demanded as he slid back into bed beside her.