Page 34 of Black and Silver

“Will that work?” Minnie asked, her throat feeling as though it were on fire.

“It will work better than no effort at all,” Lawrence said without looking at her.

When he headed around to the back of the carriage—which was very deeply sunk in the muddy road—Minnie followed him.

“Tell me when to push and I will assist you,” she said, bracing herself against the baggage strapped to the carriage’s back.

“Minerva, no,” Lawrence said firmly. “You do not need to tax yourself like this.”

“I am as much a part of this journey as you are,” Minnie insisted, even as slippery, wet mud seeped its way through the seams of her boots to dampen her stockings. She glanced down and noted that her feet were already an inch deep in the mud.

“While I admire your courage and determination,” Lawrence said, speaking far more formally than usual, “I insist that you return to the carriage. An effort like this will take a great deal of effort and strength, and—”

“Are you saying that I am weak?” Minerva asked, narrowing her eyes at him.

Lawrence sighed and wiped the increasing rain from his face. “I am merely saying—”

“Ready, my lord?” Silas called from the front of the carriage.

Minnie shifted to push her shoulder against the trunk at the back of the carriage, then called out, “We’re ready!”

Lawrence growled, frowned, and braced his hands against the trunk with her. “You do not have to do this,” he said. “I’m convinced that you are not as well as you have told me you are, and—”

“Shut your gob and push, man!” Minnie shouted at him.

It was a bad idea in several regards. Her throat was in such a state that it felt as though she’d scraped the blade of a serrated knife down its length. In addition to that, the hurt in Lawrence’s eyes was evident immediately.

His hurt only exacerbated all the feelings of hopelessness in Minnie’s heart, which had her near the verge of tears once more. She could not bear the thought of leaving him, but she could not see any way that she could stay.

“Heave!” Silas shouted from where he stood at the front, holding one of the horses’ bridles.

Minnie threw all her weight against the carriage, doubting it did any good. Her feet sank deeper into the mud, and if anything, she moved backwards. Beside her, Lawrence pushedwith all his might as well, but the most they were able to accomplish was to slide the carriage half an inch deeper into the mud.

“Heave!” Silas shouted again.

Minne growled as she put more of herself into her efforts. If only she could budge the impossible situation she found herself in. Her life was a carriage stuck in the mud. Her parents and their marital schemes were the rain that poured down with increasing strength, making everything so much worse. She burst out with a sob as she shoved the carriage harder, hoping Lawerence interpreted the sound as one of effort and not hopelessness.

“Once more!” Silas called from what felt like miles away. “Heave!”

Minne growled and strained with effort as mud filled her boots and hopelessness filled her heart. It was woefully unfair to be born a woman! Even with the advantages that an Oxford education afforded her, she had escaped marital incarceration as long as she could. She would either have to submit to Owen and her parents’ wishes or die, for real or not. The one thing she could not have was the wonderful, passionate, entertaining, and, as it happened, strong man beside her.

The carriage jerked forward as it lifted up over whatever hidden obstacle had been holding it in place. Minnie was certain it was Lawrence’s might that had done the job. But as it raced suddenly forward, both she and Lawrence lost their grip on the carriage and their footing and fell face-first into the mud with a sickening splat.

At first, Minnie was too stunned by the turn of events to do more than lie there, arms extended, face suddenly coated in the foul mud. There was no telling what sort of refuse from horses and carriages that had come before them was mingled with thenatural earth. It certainly smelled as though anything might be seeping through the wool of her coat and the muslin of her gown.

A moment later, she heard Lawrence’s groan beside her and turned her head to find him pushing himself up onto his hands and knees, and then standing. Mud coated him from head to toe. He attempted to wipe his eyes to clear them, but his hands were so filthy that all he did was smear the mess across his cheeks.

“My God, my lord!” Silas called out, racing toward them as swiftly as he could across the sodden ground. “My lady! Are you well?”

“No,” Lawrence said. The single word held more gravity than Minnie had ever heard from him.

Silas wheeled to a halt halfway to them as the horses took it upon themselves to start forward without his direction. Silas was forced to turn around and jog up to the front so that he could prevent them from running off with the carriage and all their belongings.

That meant that Lawrence was the only one there to reach down and scoop Minnie out of the putrid mud. He did more than simply offering her a hand as well. He slipped his arms around her and lifted her as if she were a sack of particularly large potatoes.

Minnie was already sobbing from the bitterness of her thoughts, so she had no qualms at all about continuing her tears. It was the most wretched day she had ever known, and she felt so awful that she did not care who saw her misery.

“Sweetheart, you’re a mess,” Lawrence said, softly and with heart, as he tried to brush mud from her cloak.

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