The Highwayman's Bride Read Free

uncle.
    …
    Despite his affliction, the stranger lifted himself easily onto the horse and came up hard behind her. He linked his arms around her waist.
    His warm breath wisped across her neck and a shiver inched its way up and down her spine. Uncertainty tangled with desperation, but she did not move nor utter a word, fearful he would find what she so desperately tried to conceal. She was no lad hiding beneath the rags of a groomsman.
    “Do you think you may fall off?” she finally asked, glancing at him over her shoulder.
    “A precaution.” He smiled, dimples creasing either side of his full mouth and something inside Tess spun around and around.
    Her gut tightened at this strange reaction. “Then I suggest, sir, if you think you are about to fall that you let go of me. I do not want to go with you.”
    His brows cocked over unseeing eyes. “A brave lad taking to the highways and yet scared of a fall from a horse?”
    Tess harrumphed. “I did not say I was scared.” The truth was she had been terrified, though now with the stranger beside her that terror had diminished somewhat. She had no idea why. Just that it had.
    “Nay, you did not admit to fear, though perhaps foolishness could be a more apt description,” he said.
    “A tag that could fit both of us, it seems.” Tess twisted away from him. “Where to?”
    “Find the nearest village. That’s our best chance.”
    With a click of her tongue, Tess urged the horse forward, oak and yew quickly crowding around them as they entered the track through the forest. Hellebore lined the sides of the path, but after some time it widened and the trees thinned to allow the warmth of the sun to visit the earth. Tiny clumps of asters grew, their flower head faces raised to the sun. At any other time the setting would have delighted Tess. Now, all that mattered was freedom.
    Slumped against her back, her passenger remained silent as they made slow progress. At least it gave her time to ruminate on the current turn of events.
    Twenty-four hours ago she had been a niece about to be affianced. Now she had transgressed to the pathway of highway robbery.
    Better that, she thought with conviction, than being a chattel to a brute like Percy.
    With her determination set, she concentrated on riding and keeping her distance from the man at her back. Thankfully, after what seemed an eternity, with the sun now high in the sky, they came to the outskirts of a village.
    “We’re here.” Tess urged the horse from their hidden path only to have her passenger grab at the reins.
    “What the hell are you doing?”
    “Exactly as you said.”
    “Did I tell you to ride straight into the village without a by-your-leave? A surefire way of getting the Redbreasts’ rope around your neck, and mine.”
    “So what do you suggest? We cannot stay in hiding all day. You’ve a wound that needs tending.”
    His gaze narrowed on her. It was a strange sensation being scrutinized by one who was blind, albeit, she prayed, only temporarily.
    “How old are you?”
    “Fifteen,” she lied quickly.
    “Well, lad, if you wish to make your next year, ’tis necessary we move carefully. Wait a bit. See who enters the village, and who leaves.”
    “Of course. I am no fool.” She had gotten this far without his help.
    His mouth curved into a slight smile that tugged suddenly at her conscience and her heart.
    You are a fool, Tess. He is a highwayman, not a character from a frivolous romantic novel.
    “No, perhaps not, but if you are to continue on this road then you must learn the ropes. Caution at every turn, young man.”
    And so they waited, hour upon hour.
    “All clear?” he asked at last, his voice close to her ear. In fact, too close. He leaned hard against her back and though she tried to create some space between them, he didn’t move.
    She stole a look at him over her shoulder. All color had drained from his face, his eyes resting closed, the ebony slash of his lashes a stark contrast to the