Page 2 of Hooked By a Hero
There wasn’t time to think about it. The driver pulled open the carriage door, and Elias alighted and immediately turned to gauge how close his pursuers were. Unfortunately for him, they were far closer than he was comfortable with. Several other carriages and the buzz of the docklands stood between them, but there was still a chance the odious women could catch up and drag him back into a life he did not want.
“Hurry,” Elias pleaded with the driver. “The sooner my trunk has been loaded onto theFortune, the sooner I can make my escape completely.”
“Yes, sir,” the driver said, touching the brim of his cap.
The man was as invested in Elias’s escape as Elias was and gestured for one of the ship’s crewmen to come over and assist him. Once Elias was certain his trunk was in good hands, he turned back to Broxbourne and Hawthorne.
“This may be it,” he said, attempting to smile for his friends. “You know I will be forever grateful to you, Hawthorne, for this passage.”
“Who knows?” Hawthorne said, smiling and thumping Elias’s arms. “Someday we might make the journey ourselves to visit you.” He grinned up at Broxbourne.
“I would not be averse to that,” Broxbourne said. He reached for Elias’s hand. “Be safe, my friend. I will write to you.”
“Dr. Pettigrew!” Lady Sandridge’s shrill voice sailed over the bustle of the wharf. “Whatever are you doing here?”
“I must go,” Elias said, dread pooling in his stomach. “I pray it is not already too late.”
“We will distract them,” Hawthorne said. “You go.”
“Thank you once again,” Elias said, shaking his friends’ hands one last time before he had to dive behind a pallet of crates waiting to be loaded onto theFortunein order to avoid Lady Sandridge’s searching gaze.
There were still enough people, vehicles, and cargo between Elias, Lady Sandridge, and Lady Eudora that the ladies lost sight of him. They grew ever closer to the ship, however, so Elias had to hurry, ducking and dodging the dock workers and ship’s crew alike to make it to the gangplank where passengers for the voyage were boarding.
His flight was stopped when he found himself standing in a queue of passengers having their names checked on a list of those who had paid for the passage. The delay was the very last thing he needed.
“Hurry, hurry,” he hissed once more, feeling as though the word had become his mantra.
“Dr. Pettigrew! There you are!” Lady Eudora shouted as she spotted him. “Where are you going, my darling?”
“Do you know that woman?” the distinguished, older gentleman standing in front of him in the queue asked.
“I, er?—”
“Dr. Pettigrew! Whatever are you doing in that queue?” Lady Eudora called out again.
Elias glanced back over his shoulder at her and, unfortunately, met her gaze. Lady Eudora immediately burstinto a wide smile and waved vigorously at him, as if he were just coming off the ship instead of attempting to board it.
“Good heavens,” the young woman standing beside the distinguished gentleman said. “She is certainly enthusiastic.”
“A bit too enthusiastic,” Elias said, then cleared his throat.
“Ah. Running away from marital bliss?” the older gentleman asked with a chuckle.
The conversation ended there as one of the ship’s officers approached them to confirm their passage.
Elias twisted this way and that, eager for the officer to give him leave to board the ship while also watching in horror as Lady Sandridge and Lady Eudora attempted to make their way around cargo and people to catch him. Broxbourne and Hawthorne were doing their best to stop them, but they were gaining ground with every moment.
“Are you in danger?” a warm, melodious tenor voice asked close to Elias’s side.
Elias turned to find the most stunningly gorgeous man standing right near him. His coloring was so pale it was nearly ethereal. His hair was a whitish blond and his eyes were a bright, sea green that had Elias instantly wondering if the man suffered from albinism. Although “suffer” was not the correct word when it made the man look as luminous as he did.
“I, um, that is….” Elias had never been stunned speechless by a man’s beauty before, but there was a first time for everything.
“Dr. Pettigrew! You must come back!” Lady Sandridge’s angry shout shook Elias out of his reverie.
Elias swallowed hard and turned back to the man. “Help me,” he whispered.
The stunning man laughed. The sound was like waves lapping on a pink, sandy shore. “Come along,” he said, reaching for Elias’s hand.
