Page 51 of The Duke of Daring (The Untouchables)
The ground neared, and he could make out the identity of the group. It was Charles and Beaumont and the others. He saw a smaller figure, and his stomach dropped. She wouldn’t have come here.
Just as they were about to touch the ground, the wind picked them up again. A moment later, they dropped, hitting the earth with a thud and bouncing back up. Andrew’s ears throbbed, and a headache formed just over his brows.
“Hold on!” Sadler called over the wind as the balloon came back down hard.
They bounced again, Andrew’s body jostling with the force of the movement. Thrown off balance, he let go of the side of the gondola. They dropped once more, and again jolted back up. This time, however, Andrew catapulted from the gondola and hit the ground. The last thing he saw was the bright blue and yellow of the balloon rising above him.
Everything had happened exactly as planned. Lucy had traveled to Darent Hall in a barouche belonging to Nora. She’d arrived and placed her bet after careful consideration. There was a wide lawn where the balloon was expected to land, but Lucy had chosen a spot closer to the edge. It was a wager of utter chance, so all she could do was pray that she would win.
She’d actually considered not coming at all since she’d lost the other night. However, she found she didn’t want to miss this, even if she didn’t make a wager.
There were about a dozen gentlemen besides Lucy, including Charles, Beaumont, and Greene. They milled about the lawn drinking from flasks, and Greene said they should’ve set up a shooting exhibition to pass the time. He was still eager to see Lucy shoot, but she didn’t have Dartford’s Manton pistol yet. Tuesday would be here soon enough. She would shoot, and she would win back all the money she’d lost and more.
At last the blue-and-yellow balloon came into view just as a fine mist began to fall. Everyone cheered. Lucy grinned briefly before reining in her expression. She shouted in her deep, masculine voice, joining the others.
They watched it descend, and already a few of the men moaned about the placement of their wagers. They weren’t allowed to move their markers after the balloon came into view.
As it neared the ground, they rushed toward the balloon. It hit the ground hard, and Lucy’s breath caught as it bounced back up. She stopped short, and the others did too. She watched in horrified fascination as the balloon came down and went back up again—once, twice, and then the unthinkable happened: Dartford fell out of the gondola and dropped to the ground. The fall wasn’t great, but it looked hard.
Everyone rushed toward him, but Lucy arrived first. He lay facedown. She knelt down next to him, her knees pressing into the damp earth. She placed her hand on his back and leaned down. “Dartford,” she whispered huskily.
He didn’t open his eyes, and Lucy’s chest tightened. He couldn’t be… No.
Beaumont knelt beside her. “Let’s roll him over.”
She nodded, and they worked together to move him to his back. There was grass and dirt stuck to his face, and a cut above his eye bled. She wished she had a handkerchief to dab at the blood. The hell with it, she just used her fingers, uncaring about ruining her gloves.
Beaumont moved to his other side. “Dart? Come on, man, wake up.”
Charles dropped down next to Beaumont. He picked up Dartford’s hand and squeezed it. “Open your eyes, Dart.”
Lucy could feel the concern in the air. It matched hers as fear gripped her from the inside out. She didn’t want to lose him.
His lids finally fluttered open. His dark eyes were unfocused for a moment, and then they found Lucy. He blinked.
“You’re all right,” she murmured, careful to keep her tone deep and masculine in spite of the distress roiling inside her.
Charles shook his head and smiled. “You gave us quite a scare.”
Dartford turned his head. His gaze darted here and there, taking stock. “What the hell are you all doing here?”
“Waiting for you,” Beaumont said, as if Dartford had gone daft in the fall. “We held a contest as to where you’d land. Anyone know who came closest?” He looked around.
“Looks like it might’ve been Oxley,” someone said.
Lucy felt a moment’s disappointment, but next to the near disaster that had almost befallen Dartford, she didn’t care about losing the wager.
He struggled to sit up, and Beaumont helped him. Lucy also helped, but she wasn’t as strong as Beaumont. “You all need to leave,” he said darkly. His eyes found Lucy’s, and they speared her with their intensity. “Except you.”
Lucy didn’t understand why he was ordering everyone away, but she was glad he didn’t include her. She wanted to make sure he was all right.
“We thought we’d stay and celebrate,” Charles said. When Beaumont elbowed him in the side, he added, “But maybe not now.”
“Not now, not ever. I didn’t invite you.” He looked at Lucy. “Help me up.”
A few members of his staff arrived then—a younger man and a man and woman of middle age. “Let me help you, my lord,” the younger man said.
Lucy was glad for his assistance. She didn’t want the other men to see that she wasn’t as strong as they’d expect her to be. Still, she lent her help in pulling Dartford to his feet.
