Page 39 of How to Tempt An Earl
Celeste flattened the crinkled paper with her palm and put it on her dressing table. The little vial of perfume beside it tempted her. He’d ordered it just for her, a token of how much he’d noticed about her—right down to her scent. But she resisted. She’d already justified taking the sea-glass necklace and the dagger since they’d been gifts.She would not leave with more than she’d come with. He could not say she’d played him false.
That wouldn’t stop Kieran from being furious, though. She was counting on Caine and Luce to calm him down, to see reason and see that this was for the best; to help him remember that he wasn’t really a marrying man. It was what she’d tell herself too, as many times as it took for her to believe it. She wasn’t a marrying woman. She wanted her freedom. She didn’t want any man to tell her what to do. Celeste took a final look at the room and slipped down the back stairs, into the night with its bright traveller’s moon. If there was one thing she knew, it was how to run.
* * *
The moon was both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, it offered a natural guide for her. But, in the unlikely event someone was out at this hour, they’d see her. Celeste stumbled over a root sticking up from the ground. Bright as the moon was, it was still hard to see, and hard to make significantly good time.
She stopped to rub her ankle. Especially when one had just spent the evening dancing. Her feet had already put in a good night’s work. Wrexham was two miles away, and there was a small hamlet two miles beyond that. It was the hamlet she was making for. She would not be recognised there. Four miles by dawn…
The undergrowth and grass became too thick for her to navigate and she was forced closer to the road. She looked up into the sky, gauging the time by the position of the moon, but she was no expert. The stars were out tonight in a clear autumn sky. She ought not to have looked. She spotted Scorpio and recalled lying next to Kieran, his long arm pointing out the constellations. She did not need the memory at the moment. It was difficult enough to keep going.
In the dark, second guesses were coming hard and fast. Perhaps she should have waited for morning and discussed this privately with Kieran before leaving. Perhaps they would have found a way through together. Perhaps she should have trusted him to keep her safe. Perhaps she should have given up a little of her independence in exchange for something greater. She told herself that was just her fear talking and that she was doing the right thing. But it didn’t feel right now that she’d set out. She stumbled again and cursed. Four miles felt like an eternity. She was tired, discouraged and footsore.
Close to dawn, the jangle of a horse harness caught her ear, followed by the rumble of coach wheels. Coaching lamps shed a welcome ray of light on the road. Celeste shielded her eyes and turned towards it, her heart leaping with her thoughts. Had Kieran already discovered her gone? Had he come after her? No, it wouldn’t be Kieran. It was coming from the town. Perhaps this was a merchant and his wife on their way home from the assembly. People had stopped dancing at midnight, but many had lingered downstairs, eating a midnight supper and drinking autumn ale.
The coach rolled to a stop beside her and for a moment she felt the universe had given her a sign, some help in her escape. She’d caught rides when she’d run before. Then a man stepped out of the coach—tall, lean, with straight, dark hair. ‘Ah, Celeste, itisyou. How fortuitous,’ he said in silken tones.
Roan.Fear spiked and paralysed her. He had found her, completely by chance. Doubt over her decision rocketed through her. She’d thought she had more time. She cast about, but there was nowhere to run to, not in the dark. An outrider had come to stand behind her. She was trapped.
‘I was just on my way to Wrexham Hall. I fancied breakfast with the Horsemen.’ Roan gave a cold laugh. ‘But this will be so much better.’ He held the coach door open. ‘Come in and rest your feet, my dear. Ivan can help you up if you need it.’ The man behind her stepped closer and she had little choice but to get in.
‘Back to the village.’ He called instructions to the driver. ‘We’ll delay our visit to the Hall for a bit. We have work to do.’ Celeste fought back panic. The village wasn’t so very far. Someone might recognise her. She had options but Roan was ruthless.
Roan resumed his one-sided conversation as if they were friends. ‘I did not think to find you so quickly. But I am not surprised you’re out here. You’re good at running, you’re just not very good at not getting caught.’
He gave her a slow perusal. ‘How long do you think it will be before your Horseman notices you’re gone? I suppose it depends,’ he added off-handedly, ‘if he’s sleeping in your bed or not. What are you worth to him, Celeste? As much as you’re worth to me? We’ll find out soon enough.’
She let him talk as recriminations flooded. She was in the hands of the one man she’d sought to avoid, back where she’d started as if she’d never left Brussels. She’d misjudged the situation and now she was going to pay—and Kieran too. This would never have happened if she’d stayed at Wrexham Hall.
Chapter Twenty
Celeste was gone. Not just gone—she’d lefthim. Kieran stood, rooted in place in the centre of her room, his mind unable to accept the evidence of his eyes. She must have left soon after their quarrel. He’d not dissuaded her. Her bed had not been slept in. Her russet gown lay spread atop it, her dressing table devoid of her personal effects. The miniature and the pearls were gone, as was the sea-glass necklace and the dagger. At least she had protection. There was some comfort in that. He wished she’d taken more. The Wrexham Imperial Topazes lay neatly in their velvet box. She could have lived a while on them.
Most telling of all was the scrap of paper atop her dressing table—the damn list. He knew what that list was to her—currency, her ability to pay her way.I always pay my debts.But now it was also symbolic of all she thought stood between them, the changes neither of them could make. She didn’t mean to come back.
He’d thought they were beyond such score-keeping and scale-balancing. There was no note, nothing. How had she left? Had she taken a horse? She was heading for the coast; he could follow her. His brain started functioning; he’d check at the stables. Or had she simply packed a bag and walked down the lime alley into the night? How far did she think she’d get in the dead of night? If she was on foot, he’d easily overtake her. There was hope in that.
He hoped she wasn’t lying on the side of the road with a twisted ankle or worse because she’d been foolish enough to set off in the dark. There were other questions too: why? Why had the woman he loved left him? But he knew why. She wanted her freedom and she thought the odds between them were insurmountable. There was no pleasant answer to that. Was his love not enough? His protection not enough? Was what he offered not enough?
Worse, he had to go downstairs and tell his brothers and then he had to go after her, assure himself that she was safe, get those answers and change her mind. She belonged here. She belonged with him.
Kieran found his brothers in the breakfast room, helping themselves to huge plates of eggs, fresh baked rolls and bracing mugs of steaming coffee after having been up all night. Caine looked at him as he entered, instantly concerned. ‘What is it? What’s happened?’
‘Celeste is gone. She’s taken her things,’ Kieran managed in a steady voice. ‘She must have left before we set the sentries. I’m going out to look for her.’ He expected his brothers to say they’d come, too.
‘No.’ Caine shook his head fervently. ‘You cannot go out. Roan is likely out there somewhere. It is a miracle that we arrived before he did. I think it is only because he’s travelling by coach and we had the luxury of riding cross-country while he had to stick to roads. You cannot be out there, riding willy-nilly. You’d be easy pickings, especially distracted and distraught.’
Kieran balled his fists. That was not acceptable. ‘Am I to sit here and do nothing while Celeste is out there? If Roan is a danger to me, he is most certainly a danger to her. What if he finds her?’
Roan, who’d set her up and betrayed her; Roan, who’d meted out a punishment to her so humiliating she’d not told him what it was. Roan, who’d used her in despicable ways without a second thought. Ammon Vincent was also out there, waiting to claim his prize. Her dagger wouldn’t be enough if they found her.
Caine remained cool. ‘If Roan has her, we’ll know soon enough. He’ll want to use her to bargain with.’
‘And if she’s out there alone?’ Running into anonymity… The longer she had a head start, the harder it would be to find her. If she made the coast and found a ship, it would impossible.
‘Then you have to let her go. If she doesn’t want to be found, we have to honour that.’ Caine gestured to a seat at the table. ‘Sit down and eat. We’ve all had a long night full of unpleasantness. Hot food will help.’
* * *
