Page 79 of The Duke and the Hellion Bride

She would not pretend to love him. Heck, she would not pretend to even like him. She would stomach him, and even that would take every ounce of strength she possessed. Her life might be forfeit from here on out, but she would not do this man the curtesy of thinking that she felt anything for him whatsoever. She would rather die.

“You!” Lord Herrod barked suddenly at the coachman. “Do not go anywhere! I shall be requiring your services for the remainder of the day.”

“My lord?” the coachman said. “Lady Langham asked that I return as soon as --”

“I do not give a shit what she said,” he snapped. “We will be needing you to deliver us north. I own a cottage in Lanchester, and I plan on being there before sundown.”

The coachman looked like he wished to argue but clearly knew better of it. “Of course, my lord.”

“In fact...” He clicked his fingers at the coachman. “Help the staff with my trunks – and be quick about it! In the foyer, man! Go!” He clicked his fingers again and the coachman hurried to abide.

“Lanchester?” Diana asked. “Wh -- why are we going there?”

“Peace and quiet,” he purred as he reached out and stroked her face. Diana forced herself not to pull back. “My lawyers are busy drawing up the annulment papers – the legalities of the darn thing are taking longer than I would like. So, I figured we might scurry ourselves away for a few days until all is ready to be finalized.” He widened his eyes with that same hungry look. “Get a head start on this marriage.”

Diana’s stomach squirmed and she tried, oh how she did, not to curl her lip in disgust. There could be no misunderstanding what he meant. Worse that there was nothing she could do.

So, this is it. Done. No chance at redemption. Once we climb in that carriage and leave here, the end will have finally come. And what a wretched ending it is.

It was times like this when Diana couldn’t help but wonder if maybe she had done the wrong thing. That if she had told Magnus what Lord Herrod had planned, might things have turned out differently?

All fancies, she knew. Yes, she had hoped that Magnus would come and rescue her too. She had prayed that he might still care for her, enough that he would move mountains to see her stay with him. But she also knew that to be folly. He had already been pulling away from her when she had sprung the annulment on him so suddenly, so why would he bother fighting for her? Why would he waste his time?

No, no, this was it. There would be no savior. No escape. Magnus was who he had always been, Diana did not dare think otherwise, and thus her one chance at happiness was as likely as... well, as that courier she now saw coming for them being a letter from Magnus, demanding that she be returned.

She almost smiled at that.

“Ugh, who could this be,” Lord Herrod groaned when he saw the same courier racing down the drive. “And the timing!” He shook his head and turned to Diana. “My little angel, why don’t you get yourself comfortable...” He indicated to the carriage. “I’ll deal with this, and by then the trunks will be packed, and we can be off.”

“As you wish...” She bowed her head and started toward the carriage, not bothering to see who the courier might be, not daring to hope.

“Yes, yes!” Lord Herrod waved the courier over. “Over here, man! What is it!” Diana reached the carriage and was about to climb in when she heard Lord Herrod cry out in shock. “You!”

“Diana!” a deep voice like thunder rumbling over a vast ocean swept through Diana, lifted her from her reverie, and had her nearly tripping over herself.

She turned around, the smile already on her lips, because she knew who it was, she simply wasn’t ready to believe it until she saw it with her own two eyes. But there could be no mistake.

Sitting atop his horse, bearing down on Lord Herrod like one of the Horseman of the Apocalypse, his face set to fury, his lips curled back over his sharp teeth, anger in his eyes like coals burning in the hottest of fires, was the one man she thought she’d never see again but now felt like weeping because to see him, to know that he still cared and that he had come for her, was more than her heart could bear.

It was Magnus, and he had come to rescue her.

ChapterTwenty-Eight

Magnus was caught between two worlds.

On the one hand, he wished for nothing more than to go to his wife, throw her atop his horse, and whisk her away from here while promising he would never leave her side again. And she looked so beautiful too. Mere days had passed but it felt like years, such was the way her beauty struck him. Her dark features. Her round face. Those big, brown eyes that he could see were filled with love and hope and happiness, telling him immediately that he had made the right decision in coming for her. His heart beat and it seemed to connect with hers, and for a brief moment he looked at her and she looked at him and whatever it was that they had fought about, the reasons that had brought her here, seemed completely insignificant. He was simply glad to have her in his world once more.

On the other hand, he very much wanted to climb down from his horse and punch Lord Herrod square in the face.

As luck had it, Lord Herrod made that decision for him.

“Your Grace!” he snarled. “I would ask what you are doing here, but I do not care! Be gone! You are trespassing!”

“Magnus!” Diana cried out. She stood by the carriage, having been about to climb inside, but she stepped back, the smile on her face brighter than the sun.

“Quiet!” Lord Herrod snapped at her. “And what did I tell you! Inside the carriage, now!”

“Do not dare speak to my wife like that,” Magnus warned him.

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