Page 45 of Forbidden Dark Vows

I breathe deeply, trying to calm the insects crawling around inside my chest.

Walking back to the bar, I can hear Donna’s laughter, loud and dirty, the kind of laugh that hints at sexual innuendos every time and makes people smile.

I’ve only walked a few steps when the front door to the pub opens, and two policemen walk in, their eyes scanning the patrons. I freeze. I’m guessing they’ve been given photographs of us, which means there’s no point trying to pretend we’re the Earnshaws if they spot us.

I need to warn Harry. They’re closer to him than they are to me, but if I go back to the table and tell him that we should leave, Donna and Bill will require an explanation, and it will only draw attention to us. Running away has confirmed our guilt enough already.

Harry’s face lights up when he sees me, a wide smile stretching his lips. He hasn’t noticed the cops. Yet.

I know what I must do. He didn’t force me to come here with him against my will. It was my idea to pack a bag and leave home with him, and it was my idea to run from the hotel in Edinburgh when the cops first caught up with us. He said that he would do whatever I wanted, and I—with my head filled with books—wanted an adventure.

I can’t look at him.

Navigating my way around the tables filled with people enjoying a drink with their friends, I approach the policemen, my pulse racing.

One, a tall lanky guy with a protruding Adam’s apple glances at me, looks away, and then immediately returns his gaze to me.

“Hi.” My voice is filled with confidence I don’t feel inside. “I’m Ruby Jackson. I believe you’re looking for me.”

For one awful moment that seems to last an hour, he blinks, frown lines appearing between his eyebrows. His colleague stares at me slack-jawed, and I wonder if I’ve misread the situation completely. Maybe they’re not looking for me after all. Maybe my mom didn’t file a missing person report.

“Ruby Jackson?” the first officer says.

My heart is thumping. This is a mistake, a huge silly mistake prompted by my own insecurities.

But before I can smile and back away, pretend that I’ve drunk too much champagne and have no clue what I’m talking about, Harry is standing next to me, his fingers entwined with mine. I feel something hard and cold sliding onto my ring finger, and Harry’s eyes meet mine. We exchange the briefest glance, but it’s enough for me to know that he has everything under control.

I raise my hand. It feels heavier, somehow, weighted down, and my eyes bulge when I see the huge, heart-shaped diamond set into a neat white-gold band.

It’s … beautiful. Breathtakingly beautiful. I instinctively twist my hand back and forth and follow the shimmering patterns dancing across the room and causing the officers’ buttons to glint like the sea when the sun is shining.

“Hello, officers.” Harry shakes their hands warmly. “My name is Harry Weiss. I’m afraid you’ve been sent on a wild goose chase. You see, my beautiful fiancée and I have eloped. We’ve come to Gretna Green to get married.”

His smile is easy, his tone is self-assured. This is a side of Harry that I haven’t seen before, the side that he no doubt adopts when he’s discussing business with potential clients.

The policemen both stare at the ring and then at me. I want to smile. I want to be as confident as Harry, but my facial muscles are refusing to cooperate.

“Getting married?” The first officer nods. “I assume all the necessary paperwork is in place.”

“Yes, sir.” Harry inclines his head, his voice still strong.

The policeman turns his attention to me. “We will have to report back to confirm that we’ve spoken to you.”

“Yes,” I say. “Thank you.”

“Well, good luck then.” The officer smiles for the first time, and I realize that he’s a lot younger than I first thought.

All eyes follow them out the door, and then Donna is hugging me tightly, and Bill is shaking Harry’s hand vigorously, and the ring on my finger is lighting up the room with dancing patterns.

16

HARRY

My head,my chest, the blood gushing around my veins … everything is scrambled. It wasn’t the proposal I’d planned, but I’m starting to worry that nothing will ever go to plan with me and Ruby.

Is that a bad thing?

I haven’t got as far as working that out yet.

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