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Aria was conscious of the duke’s cousin hurrying after her, but she focused on reaching the stables. There would be horses there that weren’t beside waiting coach drivers.
“You shouldn’t do that,” her not-so-terrible kidnapper whispered when they were out of earshot of the driver.
“We need a horse,” Aria said. “And preferably a cart not next to a driver.”
“I meant—there will be a groom there.”
Aria paused, then turned to him. “Indeed?”
“There’s always a groom ready.”
“I see,” Aria said softly, and she felt rather less confident than before. She’d never ventured to the stables in Sweden on her own. There were all sorts of things she didn’t know. “Do you suppose the duke might have said something to the groom as well?”
“I think he would have said something to everyone. He is a very grumpy man.”
“And if I returned to the castle?”
The man’s face sobered. “You’d never leave.”
His words thundered in her ears, even though she doubted he’d even raised his voice. Her heart tightened. The implication was clear: she would be murdered.
Aria wished her bodyguard hadn’t left. She missed Demon.
“Perhaps we could see the magistrate,” Aria said, proud of herself for knowing that somebody managed crime in a local district.
“Well, the good thing is that he is close.”
Aria’s heart warmed, and her lips moved upward. “Fabulous.”
“Within walking distance.”
“Even better.” Her lips moved with greater force, and even though the duke was inside the cottage, and even though he desired to kill them, joy still soared through her.
“Unfortunately, he’s also the duke,” the man said.
Aria halted and stared.
He nodded solemnly.
“Dudley is the magistrate?” Aria’s voice trembled, and the corners of her lips quickly returned to their initial, low position.
“Yes. This is a small region.”
“So he goes around solving crimes?” Aria furrowed her brow. Her husband didn’t seem passionate about stopping crime.
“Of course not.” The man leaned nearer her, and she was conscious of a pleasing scent of cotton and cedar. “I think he likes to declare people guilty of poaching on his land.”
“I see,” Aria said miserably.
The man straightened. “What would you like to do?”
Aria opened her mouth, but she had no plan. She sighed. “First, you can tell me your name.”
“My cousin never did?”
“No.”
“I’m Mr. Rupert Andrews.”
She nodded. “Thank you, Mr. Andrews. Now, I think we need to return to the carriage.”
“Return?”
“It’s imperative the driver doesn’t venture inside the cottage. Besides, I’d much prefer to travel in a carriage than an old cart. It’s certain to be more comfortable.”
Mr. Andrews smiled. “You are probably correct in that.”
She turned to him. “Stay here. Don’t let him see you.”
Aria turned and marched toward the driver, still holding Galileo in her arms.
“Good evening,” Aria said gaily.
“Good evening,” the driver said with a dour gaze.
“His Grace told me that you would be able to drive us back to the castle.”
“Of course, Your Grace,” the driver said, and Aria realized she was now a duchess. She didn’t recognize the man, but he’d recognized her. Perhaps he’d even been one of the staff members watching who’d stood in the back of the chapel during her wedding ceremony today.
The driver opened the door. “Where is His Grace?”
“Oh, he’s speaking with his cousin. I think it will be a while.”
“And where were you, Your Grace?”
Aria petted Galileo. “I’m afraid my dog is new to the area and started running. I ran after him. I didn’t want him to get lost.”
“Ah, quite wise.” The driver’s gaze softened. Hope moved through her. Perhaps not everyone’s instinct on this estate was to be cruel. “I suppose you wouldn’t want your dog to be eaten by a fox or hawk.”
Aria clutched Galileo more tightly to her. “That would not be ideal.”
“I can imagine. Brutal things, foxes.”
Aria shuddered.
“I’ve seen the remains of the chickens they devoured. So many feathers.”
Aria felt faint. And queasy.
“My husband suggested I might return to the castle,” she said. “Now I’ve found Galileo.”
“Oh.” A worried expression came over the driver. “I see.”
“Because I wouldn’t want Galileo to run away again.”
Galileo started to snore. Loudly.
If only he weren’t quite so fond of being carried.
The driver gazed at Galileo, probably thinking that sleeping animals were unlikely candidates for running away.
“He can be quite startled if he were to wake up,” Aria said.
“I suppose we wouldn’t want that.”
“No, indeed.”
A meow sounded in the distance.
Aria’s stomach toppled down. Evidently, Lady Octavia had decided to be noisy. Galileo stirred and started to bark.
“Well, I suppose I could drive you back to the castle,” the driver said reluctantly, clearly unhappy at following an order that was not directly from the duke, but also reluctant to argue with the duke’s new bride.
“Thank you.” Aria got into the carriage. The driver was about to shut the door. “Actually, it’s so silly, I think I left my reticule inside. Would you care to look for it?”
The driver blinked, but then nodded. “Very well, Your Grace.”
He moved toward the cottage door. Once he reached it, Mr. Andrews sprinted toward the carriage, shoved Lady Octavia at Aria, then clambered up.
The driver swung around, and his eyes widened. “What are you doing?”
Mr. Andrews manipulated the reins, then the carriage began to move.
“Stop,” the driver shouted, but the carriage proceeded to quicken.
Hopefully, taking the carriage would delay them from being caught.
Aria settled against the pillows as the carriage left the estate. Finally, after an hour, the carriage stopped, and Mr. Andrews opened the door. “I thought I should check on you.”
Aria stared at Mr. Andrews. “You were truly trying to rescue me.”
“Of course I was,” Mr. Andrews grumbled. “I don’t make a habit of carrying women.”
She smiled. “Well, thank you.”
He shrugged his shoulders. “It was a pleasure.”
“And to think you’d never even met me before,” Aria added. “That makes you terribly heroic.”
Some emotion Aria could not easily identify flashed over Mr. Andrews’s face. Evidently, the man was humble as well as heroic. She smiled up at him.
Mr. Andrews averted his gaze, and she sighed. Energy thrummed through her body, and she tapped her fingers against the carriage wall. She didn’t mind shy men. They were quite intriguing. Most men she came across adored speaking. Either they had been born aristocrats and were accustomed to having people laugh at their attempts of humor and had no timidity about ordering servants about, or they’d made their way into royal circles through consistently sparkling conversation. She was tired of men who were so accustomed to adulation that they half-expected her to swoon in relief when someone introduced them to her.
She’d thought she’d found such a man in Dudley. His letters had been kind and tender. Her chest tightened. Obviously, he’d paid someone well who was well-versed in the art of writing love letters. Perhaps people were right to say that women could be easily manipulated. She’d certainly been, and her shoulders slumped.
“I’ll sit with you,” she said hastily.
He arched an eyebrow. “You still don’t trust me.”
Heat moved toward her cheeks. “I’d rather not answer that.”
“You don’t have to. Of course, you can join me. Make sure I don’t run down any cliffs.”
She gazed at him sharply. “You wouldn’t do that.”
“Of course I wouldn’t,” he said.
“Er—good.” She climbed up the steps and slid down to make room.
*
THE PRINCESS SETTLED in the seat opposite him, and a faint scent of roses wafted over Rupert. She tilted her head toward the stars. “This is exciting.”
“Yes,” Rupert agreed.
Perhaps he was confident he wouldn’t topple the carriage off a cliff, but his confidence was mostly placed in the fact that there weren’t that many cliffs to fall off.
He turned to her. “Where would you like to go?”
She hesitated. “Somewhere with ships.”
“You’re planning to return to Sweden?”
She swallowed hard and drew her gaze from the stars to her lap. She twisted her fingers. “There’s nothing else for me here.”
His heart tightened. He wanted to tell her this wasn’t true. She’d written about her love for England’s idyllic countryside, its picturesque buildings, and its cultural happenings. He wanted to tell her to stay.
But Dudley wanted to murder the princess, so instead, he nodded solemnly and strove to think of something for her to look forward to. “I suppose you’ll be glad to return to your family.”
“I-I suppose.”
He moved the reins, willing the horses to start again. Fortunately, they did. The drivers had evidently trained them well, and the carriage plodded forward. “There’s Portsmouth. Though London is closer. We can put you on a ship there.”
“Then we’ll go to London.”
“Excellent,” he said, in his most confident voice. Her lips wobbled, and he had the horrible sense she was beginning to realize that everything was not fine.
He was silent, conscious this was all his fault. If only he weren’t in so much debt with the duke.
He couldn’t tell her his role in this. He couldn’t bear for her to realize he’d caused all the horribleness in her life. He couldn’t tell her he’d trusted his cousin too much.
“It will be fine,” he said, even though he wasn’t certain it would be.
She gave a wry smile.
“Can you rejoin the people who traveled to Laventhorpe Castle with you?”
She scrunched her lips together. “They left four hours ago.”
“I’m sorry,” he said. “Perhaps we can catch them. It might be difficult.”
“I know,” she said.
The horses ambled at a mellow pace, one suitable for gazing at various wildflowers and remarking on their precise shape and beauty. The horses were perhaps rather less effective, at least at this pace, at catching up with the princess’s father.
“I’ll drive you to London. If we’re lucky, we’ll spot their carriage before then.”
“I haven’t been very lucky today,” the princess remarked.
“You avoided being killed.”
She smiled. “Yes. That was good.” She turned to him. “Thank you. You’ve been so helpful. I-I don’t know what I would have done otherwise.”
They were silent for a while.
“Do you know where we’re going?” the princess asked.
“Of course,” Rupert said, though he suspected she wanted a more reassuring answer than that he was simply following the road.
He would keep her safe, though. The princess was wonderful. He’d already caused her much harm, and he refused for anything else to happen to her.