Jutting her chin forward, she turned her back to him and heard the crunching of footsteps in the straw behind her. Scents of horses and leather mingled in the air as she pulled herself astride the saddled mare with the help of a nearby mounting block.
It was a bold move, and her insides shook like jelly.
Lord Drakefield stood there, hands planted on narrow hips, his face anything but amused. "What the devil do you think you are doing?"
She glanced down at him. "Is it not obvious, my lord?"
He took another step toward her, his lips thinning in displeasure. Her gaze slid to the open doors. She felt a single drop of sweat trickle down one of her temples.
"The mare you are mounted on is tame, but it is not likely to stand still for long with a body on it." His tone sounded calm, but she knew better.
She was barely able to hold back a gasp of surprise when he whipped his hands around her waist, yanked her off the horse, and let her fall against his chest.
"Now, if you would like to go riding"—with a slight quirk of his lips, he lifted her back on the horse and led the animal out of the stables—"you may. But do remember that I am the one who gave you permission to have your morning ride. You have exactly a half hour without a groom, and if you are not back by then, I will send the hounds out after you."
Victoria dropped her jaw in shock as he patted the horse on its way.
Drake slapped his riding gloves against his breeches as he watched Victoria ride over the hill. She was a pauper, and though the similarities to his wife stopped there, he would do best to remember the lady's faults. She was stubborn and impulsive and had placed him in a compromising position. He would not be forced to marry her or any other woman.
It might be best to reconsider his position and marry rich like he had planned in the first place. But plans were much easier to deal with when Lady Victoria was not around.
He gritted his teeth and started back for the house, but not before he instructed one of the grooms that if Lady Victoria did not return within an hour, Drake was to be informed immediately.
By the time Victoria saw the rider approaching, it was too late to start back to the stables. The lush field had looked so inviting, she had decided to walk. She had already dismounted and was pulling the reins of her horse behind her.
"Good morning, Lady Victoria. Riding alone, I see. No groom at your side?" Wendover's irritating voice made Victoria ill as the man set his horse alongside hers and slid off his saddle.
It was all she could do to be civil and not mount her mare, dig her heels into its side, and make a grand exit. She tightened her hold on the reins, wanting to leave his presence with the utmost haste. The look on the earl's face had always disturbed her, but now, it was his nearness that caused her stomach to clench.
"Good morning, Lord Wendover. I had no idea you would be riding today."
"My dear. No need to be formal. I'm staying as a guest of the duke. The ball was such a festive occasion. I was overwhelmed that your aunt thought to include me in the celebration." He closed the distance between them, and before she knew what was happening, his arm shot out and grabbed her.
Her head whipped back at the sudden jerk. "Let me go!"
"Not yet, my dear. Not until we have a little talk about that shabby little inn that you went to with Nightham."
She gasped in shock. He knew!
Beady blue eyes regarded her with contempt. "No reason to be upset. I know everything. Speechless, are you? Indeed, I know about your little journey with Lord Nightham, our dear, departed friend."
Victoria recoiled. "How do you know?" Her horse snorted, as if sensing her discomfort.
He laughed like a madman. "Oh, come now. Let us come to an understanding."
His grip on her tightened, and she suddenly felt extremely cold. "W-what do you want?"
"Want? There is only one thing I want, and I believe you know the answer to that?"
She stared at him, clearly baffled. "No, I am afraid I don't."
"I want you."
"Me?" He was insane!
"Precisely, my dear. In spite of your horrendous escapade, there will be a marriage between you and me."
She tried to jerk from his embrace, but it was impossible. His fingers dug into her arm like a vise. "Marriage? You must be mad. I would never marry you."
"You will, because if you do not, I will let everyone know about Nightham. That will cause a scandal and cause your poor Aunt Phoebe to be shunned from the
ton."
His eyes glazed over in a sinister smile. "I daresay, she will not marry her beloved duke then. Or, shall we say old dukie would never marry her. She would be finished. And, my dear, you would not want to spoil her entire life, would you?" He leaned toward her, his sour breath scraping against her face.
Anger swelled inside her. "You would not dare!"
"Dare to kiss you or dare to spoil your aunt's upcoming nuptials? Ha. I dare anything. But if that does not move you, perhaps this pretty piece of information will."
He cupped her chin with a crushing hand. She winced at his hold. Then his hand slid toward her throat. He squeezed her neck until she struggled for breath. "Remember Nightham?"
She nodded mutely, her heart pounding with fear.
"I killed him," he whispered with a slight chuckle.
His horse whinnied beside him as his hand squeezed harder on her throat. "And believe me, I will kill that little cousin of yours as well if you do not do exactly what I say. Do you understand me, Victoria?"
She fought for breath as his hand released her.
"And have a care to keep your mouth shut about this entire encounter. If you say one word to that marquess of yours, I shall slit his throat, too. I will come for you in the middle of the night. Be ready. When the clock strikes two, I will be waiting in the stables. It should be easy to tell the time with all those idiotic clocks of Drakefield's ticking about the place. There will be no excuse for you to be late."
He laughed again. "Remember, William goes the same way Nightham did if you say one word of this encounter to anyone."
Tears burned the back of Victoria's eyes as the sound of hoof-beats roared in her ears. She shook uncontrollably as she watched the black cloak ride off in the direction of the duke's home.
A second later, she turned toward the grass and retched until there was nothing left in her stomach.
Chapter
Eleven
"I
take it you found Victoria?"
Drake gave a curt glance in the direction of his grandmother, dropped his gaze, and threw his riding gloves onto the hall table. "Let us say, she ran into me."
"Come and have tea with me," the lady commanded. "I wish to speak to you."
"And what would you like to speak to me about?"
"Jonathan, do not use that tone with me."
Drake wanted to roll his eyes. "It is my life, Grandmama. Please, do not interfere. Pray, you will excuse me." He gave her a quick bow and climbed the stairs, surprised that she didn't call him back.
A minute later, the dowager duchess stalked into the drawing room, her hands waving in the air. "I daresay, I do believe that boy is more stubborn than me. What did I tell you?"
Her son, the duke, rose from the sofa. "What did you tell me, Mother?"
"Jonathan is in love, George. Any nitwit could see that."
The duke's eyes narrowed. "Are we speaking about my eldest?"
"Of course! Who else?"
"James, Sarah, William, Margueretta ..."
"This is not funny, George. I said Jonathan, and he is simply beside himself. Is it not obvious that he is enamored with Lady Victoria? Yet that rapscallion cannot see through that thick head of his. All he thinks about is how Honoria deceived him."
"Come now, Lady Victoria is not at all like Honoria. You are beside yourself, Mother. Please sit down and have your tea."
"I know she is not like Honoria. But if I told you what I knew, you would be beside yourself as well."
The duke lifted a questioning brow as his mother took a seat beside him and took her drink. "Oh, never mind," she said.
"Mother, if you are hiding something, come out with it. I have a right to know."
"Well," she said, frowning, "since it seems you are demanding to know the facts, I cannot very well lie to you now, can I?"
She immediately recounted Drake's story about Nightham and Victoria at the inn, as he had told it to James and Fox. She, of course, told the duke that she could not help but hear every word that was uttered that night.
The duke was surprised, but not overly worried. Money could hush many things these days.
However, when she continued to offer details of his son's infatuation with Victoria, especially and most importantly the part about Drake being in the lady's bedchambers, half-dressed in the middle of the night, the duke's face began to redden considerably.
"The devil you say?" Stunned, George inadvertently tipped his hot tea onto his waistcoat and sprung from his seat. "In her bedchambers? In her nightdress and my son clad only in a pair of blasted breeches?"
He wiped his forehead with his hand, then lowered his voice. "Barechested and all?"
The dowager duchess feigned a small frown. "Victoria?"
"Not at all! I mean Drake! Pray, do not jest with me."
The dowager smiled to herself. George was getting upset. A very good sign, indeed. All in all, she thought her son was even more proper and stuffy than her dear departed husband, bless his soul. "Jonathan had his shirt on, but just barely."
George cleared his throat. "And William saw all this?"
The duchess nodded, delighted that her plan was working.
"Confound it, Mother! What will I do? The escapade with Nightham can be hushed. Of course, I will tell Phoebe all about it after we are married. I imagine Victoria discovered the dire straits her aunt was in and was only trying to help. But I don't know why Nightham would want a secret wedding."
"Well, George, I never liked him. The man was a sneaky little twit. And I am sure he had something up his sleeve with Victoria, too."
The duke halted. "You are speaking of a dead man, Mother. Have you no shame?"
"Fudge!" She shrugged, not at all about to apologize.
He began to pace the room, his hand whipping through his hair in agitation. "But then again, Phoebe is a delicate woman. Her constitution might not be able to handle a scandal with her niece. Yes, yes, I will tell her after we are married, of course. But this incident with little William as eyewitness ..."
He shook his head. "I will have to insist on a marriage immediately. Though I believe it was innocent enough, Drake will have to see the right of it."
He turned to her and wiped a hand across his forehead again. "I hate to say it. Mother, but your servants spread gossip like wildfire. This little incident will hit everyone's ears within a week. It cannot possibly be kept quiet like the incident at the inn."
Her gray eyes sparkled with triumph. "I thought you would see it my way, George, and now, it is up to you to see that this marriage is carried out."