A Worthy Wife(24)

"No, but what about the Benton jewels?"

Nialla sobbed louder.

Aurora was feeling around behind the cushions and under the seat, looking for somewhere to stash the velvet pouch they had rescued from the moneylender. A determined high toby man would search, she knew, but she could not tamely hand over Nialla's fortune. Her searching fingers touched something hard, something deadly.

"A pistol? Excellent! Now we can give the muckworm a taste of his own medicine. Hand it over, Aurora."

"What, give you the gun? You could barely see the highwayman's horse!"

"But I wouldn't be sitting with the thing on my lap, waiting to be ravished and robbed!"

"Ravished?" cried Nialla, falling off the carriage seat in a dead faint.

Aurora grabbed for the cat basket before Puss landed on her head. Moving as quickly as possible, she raised the basket's lid and stuffed the velvet jewel pouch inside with the frantic cat, who clawed furrows in Aurora's new gloves. Aurora moved even faster, shutting the lid. Then she tucked the pistol in her pocket, hoping the skirts of her carriage dress would hide the bulge.

"Is it loaded?" Brianne asked.

Aurora hadn't thought to look. For that matter, she didn't know how to look, or where. She'd never handled a pistol before in life. She just nodded. There was no reason to frighten Brianne more than necessary.

As the carriage was coming to a halt, they could hear the highwayman shouting to Richard, the guard, to throw down his weapon, or be killed. They heard the thud and Maisy's cries. Then the would-be robber yelled, "You inside. Come out with your hands raised or I shoot your driver."

Aurora nodded to Brianne, who opened the door and slowly stepped down. Aurora followed, her hands elevated, and stood close beside Brianne, so the pistol's outline wouldn't show. "Our friend has fainted," she told the man who faced her, his gun now pointing straight at her chest. "But she has nothing for you anyway."

The man was tall, but not so tall as Windham, nor so broad in the shoulders. Between the mask over his eyes and the hat pulled low over his forehead, Aurora could not discern his coloring, but what showed of his complexion seemed fair and smooth-shaven. His clothes were dusty but well tailored, and his top boots were in the highest kick of fashion. Either he was truly one of the gentlemen of the road, or he was a very successful bandit, Aurora decided.

"My, my, my. This is my lucky day. Two beautiful young ladies out for a drive. I wish I could just steal kisses, my lovelies, but I do have to eat. It's your reticules I'll be having first, then."

"Here, you varlet." Brianne tossed hers at his feet. "Much good it will do you, being as empty as your brain box if you think you can get away with this. My brother is ooph ."

Aurora had shoved Brianne from behind, before the gudgeon could reveal their identities and have them held for ransom. Not seeing the tree branch in her way, Brianne stumbled and would have fallen, except the highwayman caught her and held her against his own chest to steady her. Brianne raised her fist and struck him in the jaw. No ladylike slap, the blow sent his head reeling. "How dare you, sirrah! It's bad enough that you accost innocent wayfarers during the daylight hours, but to prey on defenseless women is beneath contempt. I am sick unto death of men who take advantage of women and then leave them broken and bruised."

"I only wanted to put some food in my belly, miss. And I had no way of knowing you were three females."

Hearing laughter in his voice, Brianne was not mollified. First Podell, then Nialla's heartless father, now a masked man trying to steal their last shillings, was all too much. "Shoot him, Aurora! Shoot the dastard before he bothers another female."

The highwayman finally took his eyes off the magnificent auburn-haired beauty who was so bravely, so buffle-headedly raging at him. He looked up, into the muzzle of Aurora's pistol.

"I wouldn't do that, my lady. My own weapon is aimed right at this beauty's heart, you see." He held Brianne's arm in his free hand so she could not escape, though she did continue with her curses until he said, "What a tongue you have, my lady. You should put it to better use." He pulled her closer and kissed her quickly, ending her harangue with a gasp. Then he told Aurora, "Yes, it would be a great waste to shoot your friend."

"She is no friend of mine," Aurora told him, thinking of what a public service he'd be doing to rid the world of Lady Brianne. "She's my sister-in-law. And I think you are too much the gentleman to shoot a woman."

"But I think you are too much the gentlewoman to shoot a man. Have you ever fired a pistol before?"

"Many timeswith great accuracy."

"Ah, those would be the times you released the safety catch, I suppose," he said, laughing.

Now Brianne started raging againat Aurora. "First you drag me off on your errand of mercy and lose my diamonds, and now you turn craven about shooting a criminal! You might as well hand him Nialla's"

"That will be enough, Brianne, or I swear I will let him shoot you!"

The highwayman was laughing again, enjoying himself enormously, it seemed, at their expense. "Nialla's what, my ladies?"

"Her cat," Aurora promptly answered. "Our friend in the coach is fond of her cat. You wouldn't be. It scratches." She held up her gloved hand to show.

"Ah, but I think I might have to see this cat for myself."

Aurora glared at Brianne, who promptly brought her free hand to her forehead and declared, "I think I am going to swoon." Which she did, collapsing right into the highwayman's strong arms. Which gave Oliver, the driver, the opportunity to bash the man over the head with a rock, which then caused a great deal of blood, which caused Brianne to faint in truth.

Which left Aurora with two unconscious females, one concussed criminal, one caterwauling maid, one less than competent guard, and Oliver, who was all for leaving every last one of them behind for agitating his precious horses.

Aurora couldn't do it; the earl might notice his sister gone missing. Much as she might wish otherwise, she held a vinaigrette under Brianne's nose while Oliver bound the highwayman with a rope from the fellow's own horse, then went to help Richard soothe the nervous cattle. Aurora revived Nialla, too, and threatened to have Maisy bound and gagged unless she cease her shrieking. Aurora then turned to bandage the bandit, using his own neckcloth, which she noted was of fine fabric and freshly laundered.

Brianne watched from over her shoulder, now that most of the bleeding had stopped. "What shall I do with this?" she asked, holding out the highwayman's pistol.

"I suppose we should take it, and him, with us to the constable or sheriff in the next village." Aurora was not pleased with the idea of taking a criminal up in her carriage, but she could not leave him bleeding by the roadside, or free to hold up the next coach.

"He did not actually rob us, you know."

"Not for lack of intention, though. If not for Oliver's cleverness, I hate to think what might have happened."

"And Lady Brianne's quick thinking," Nialla added, which had Brianne puffing out her chest.

The highwayman groaned as Aurora untied his mask, so she gently laid his head back on the grass where they'd dragged him, in case another carriage came by.

"He's quite attractive, don't you think," Brianne said, studying him through her lorgnette, "in a common sort of way."

There was nothing common about the fellow that Aurora could see. He had pale gold hair, almost white, a square jaw, a slightly crooked nose, and laugh lines. He looked to be in his middle twenties. "No, he doesn't resemble any gallow's bait I ever imagined. I do not think he is a baseborn ruffian at all."

"Thank you, my lady," the highwayman said with another moan, opening his blue eyes. He had the audacity to wink up at Brianne, who blushed. He sat up, with Aurora's help, since his hands and feet were tied. "Wesley Royce, at your service, my ladies." He tried a bow, but only succeeded in rattling his aching head worse. "Well, more at your mercy, it would seem. Do you think I might have a sip from the flask in my saddlebag? Then I'd beseech you to listen to my tale."

"Here, hold this," Brianne told Aurora, thrusting the gun into her hands. "I'll get the flask."

His tones were cultured, and he seemed the gentleman, but Aurora still kept the gun trained on this Wesley Royce, ropes or not. He might be a lord out on a lark, but he'd frightened them half to death. Nialla was still trembling, so Aurora told her to sit in the coach and console her cat.

Brianne returned and took Aurora's place by the highwayman's side, holding the flask to his mouth. After he drank, he smiled at her and said, "I never would have shot anyone as pretty as you, you know."

Brianne smiled back, until Aurora hissed at her. "The dastard tried to rob our coach, you ninny, and he took liberties with your person."

"That's right, he did."

Brianne's dreamy voice scared Aurora more than the robbery. Lud, what if the addlepate decided to take to the high toby with this handsome rogue? Kenyon would have her liver and lights. "Let us hear your sad story, sirrah, and no more fustian."

The highwayman, if Aurora could believe him, was the Honourable Wesley Royce, younger son to a baron, whose stepbrother had cheated him of his inheritance. Their father's will was forged, he swore, or coerced from the old man on his deathbed. Baron Royce had been fond of his second wife's boy, Wesley told them, despite his devil-may-care ways. According to the new baron, however, their father .had disowned him as a profligate and a wastrel. Wesley had been cut off without a groat. Not wishing to take the king's shilling and die as cannon fodder, Wesley had taken to gambling. He'd managed to support himself in a degree of style for the past months, but luck was a fickle friend, and he wished for a more reliable income.