Page 11 of Fortune Favors the Frivolous
Caroline didn’t know if Barnaby followed, for it took all her strength just to keep from sliding off the galloping horse. Thenight air slashed at her face as they rode, but Henry’s warmth at her back was both comfort and torment.
Poor Venetia. She didn’t want this marriage, yet she was powerless against her aunt. This abduction had taken both girls completely by surprise.
“I see a light!” Henry pointed ahead.
Caroline’s heart leaped as she spotted the distant glow of carriage lamps. “That’ll be them, sir. Lord Windermere’s coach.”
Henry reined in behind a thick stand of oak trees. “There’s an inn just ahead—the Red Lion. They’ll need water for the horses before the next stretch.”
The sound of approaching hoofbeats made Caroline stiffen. Barnaby had followed after all, his face mottled with exertion and anger as he drew alongside them.
“Ashworth, this is madness,” he hissed. “You can’t interfere with a private matter between a gentleman and his intended bride.”
“Intended bride?” Henry’s voice was sharp. “Miss Playford has made no such agreement. From what young Flash here says, this is abduction, not elopement.”
Caroline felt Henry’s arm tighten around her waist. “The coach is moving again,” she whispered urgently.
“We’ll follow at a distance,” Henry decided. “Once they’re past the crossroads, the only place they can be headed is Windermere’s hunting lodge at Thornwood.”
“And if you’re wrong?” Barnaby challenged. “If this lying guttersnipe has sent us on a fool’s errand and we discover we’ve been had? With knives at our throats?”
“I’m willing to take the risk. At worst, I believe I’ll have lost nothing but a night’s sleep if the lad is lying,” Henry replied coolly. “But if I’m right, and I fail to act…” He left the implications hanging.
They set off again, maintaining distance while keeping the coach’s lights in view. Caroline could feel the tension in Henry’s body, so different from his usual easy manner.
“I know men of Windermere’s ilk,” Henry shouted to his friend over his shoulder as they slowed to round a bend. “Men who believe their position entitles them to whatever—and whomever—they desire. If there’s even a chance Flash is telling the truth, I won’t abandon Miss Playford.”
The coach ahead began to slow as they approached a fork in the road—one path leading north toward Scotland, the other east toward Thornwood.
“Now we’ll see,” Barnaby said triumphantly. “If they turn north, it’s to Gretna Green, a proper elopement. If east… well…” He shrugged.
Caroline held her breath as the coach’s lamps illuminated the signpost. For a heart-stopping moment, it seemed to hover at the intersection. Then, decisively, it turned east, towards Thornwood. She let out a slow sigh. At least they were not pressing on towards the border.
“Well?” Henry’s voice was grim. “Windermere’s hunting lodge is this way.”
Barnaby’s face contorted with frustration. “Perhaps the lady is accompanying him willingly.”
“Willingly? At this hour, without a proper chaperone, if what Flash says is true?” Henry shook his head. “You know what such an action would do to her reputation, willing or not.”
“It’s not our place to interfere,” Barnaby insisted weakly. “Think of your sister, man! What will Charlotte say when she learns you’ve forced me to abandon her to chase after another woman?”
Henry’s jaw tightened. “I’m forcing you to do nothing. And Charlotte would expect nothing less than that I act honorably. Honor demands I investigate this.”
Barnaby wheeled his horse around, sending up sprays of mud. “Do what you want, Ashworth. I wash my hands of this foolishness. But don’t expect me to explain to your sister why you’ve gone haring off after another woman when you were meant to be at Gimley’s.”
His voice dropped to a menacing hiss. “I will tell her exactly what her noble brother has been up to—racing about in the dark on the word of some filthy stable boy.”
“Are you threatening me, Barnaby?”
“Merely stating facts. You’ve made your choice.” Barnaby’s horse pranced sideways. “I’m returning to civilized society where I belong. Good luck with your… rescue.” The last word dripped with derision.
His hoofbeats faded into the darkness, leaving them alone in the night. Caroline barely noticed. Her attention was fixed on the coach ahead and on Henry’s reaction to Barnaby’s threats.
Heavy drops of rain began to fall, cold and insistent. The road would soon turn treacherous, but the coach was picking up speed again, and Venetia’s future hung in the balance.
“Hold tight, Flash,” Henry murmured, urging their horse forward into the rainy darkness. “We’ve got a rescue to accomplish.”
Caroline shivered, unable to respond over the wind and rain, but Henry’s solid warmth and determination to do what was right gave her hope. Whatever came next, she was no longer alone in this desperate quest to save her dearest friend.
