Chapter Eleven

Lucas kept a tight grip on Charlotte's arm as they left the carriage. She clutched her small carpet bag under her free arm, grateful that she'd managed to convince Lucas to let her bring it inside. Persuading him had been easier than she'd thought. After telling him that it contained items necessary for her womanly needs, he'd pulled a disgusted face but did not object as she hauled the bag from the carriage. The sun had not yet risen, and she had no idea where they were. He steered her toward a white building with a thatched roof and a wooden door, above which hung a sign that read, The Black Dog Coach Inn. "Don't say a word to anyone. Just leave everything to me, and I'll see to it that you get a good breakfast and a glass of ale to go with it." He shoved her inside ahead of him.

"Morning, sir, will you be wanting a room?" A short, round woman with puffy pink cheeks and frizzy strands of brown hair peeking out from under her white bonnet glanced at Charlotte's carpet bag as she greeted Lucas.

"That remains to be seen," Lucas said, glancing at Charlotte. "We need a change of horses. My groom and carriage are outside. How soon can that be done?"

The woman turned and whistled. A young man with disheveled hair came out of the back rooms toward them. "There's a carriage awaiting fresh horses outside, Charlie."

Charlie nodded and loped outside.

"Now come and sit down. My Jacob will bring you some ale."

Lucas kept hold of Charlotte's arm as they made their way to a low wooden table. Charlotte glanced around the dimly lit room, searching for an escape. A few of the men, who sat drinking ale and eating large chunks of bread and meat, eyed her. A cold shiver ran down her back. This was no place for a young woman.

The innkeeper, who was as short and round as his wife, put two mugs of ale on the table. Charlotte sipped it gingerly; the bitter warmth of the drink repulsed her. Lucas gulped half his down and ordered another. "And bring us two plates of your finest meat," he added.

The publican returned a few moments later to refill Lucas's cup, and his wife delivered two plates of meat, bread, and beans to the table. Charlotte forced herself to eat a few mouthfuls. She'd need her strength if she wanted to escape.

"I like a girl with an appetite." Lucas grabbed her thigh and squeezed.

Charlotte jumped, but Lucas only laughed and squeezed tighter. "Get your hand off me, or I'll scream," she hissed.

"Scream?" Lucas raised his eyebrows. "And who do you think will save you? These men have been ogling you since we arrived. If it weren't for me, you would be in serious trouble. But instead of thanking me, you choose to spurn me." He stood up. "I should show you what it's like to be left on your own."

Panic lodged itself in Charlotte's chest as Lucas strode out of the inn. Where is he going? To check on the horses? Or perhaps to use the privy? She scanned the room. The men leered at her. And the only women in the inn were one drunk harlot and the publican's wife, who was now walking past her holding two jugs of ale.

Charlotte made up her mind. She reached into her carpetbag and retrieved the banknotes her mother had given her. Then, when the woman passed her table again after delivering the ale, Charlotte grabbed her arm.

"What you be doing, Missy? I don't want any trouble, hear me?"

"Help me, I can pay." She flashed the bank notes. "And there will be a big reward from my father, too."

"What's going on here?" Lucas had returned and now stood glaring at the two women. Charlotte slid the bag under the table, praying he hadn't seen the bank notes.

"Oh, your little woman here wants to know if we serve tea," the publican's wife chortled. "Seems the ale is too bitter for her delicate throat."

Those within earshot laughed out loud, and Lucas joined in as he sat down beside her. "There are no fresh horses to be had," he said casually, "so I'll have to rest mine for the night. It looks like we'll need that room, after all."

Charlotte's throat constricted.

"I'll see to it straightaway, sir," the publican's wife said, glancing at Charlotte.

"One room?" Charlotte turned to Lucas. "Surely, you don't expect me to stay in the same room as you?"

"You needn't worry about your reputation. I'll still marry you. And once that happens, nothing else will matter."

He slipped his hand under the table and squeezed her thigh again. Charlotte looked ahead and saw the innkeeper's wife watching her. The woman nodded at Charlotte and smiled. Does that mean she is willing to help me? Dear Lord, I hope so. But I can't rely on her. I'm all alone here, and I need to fight for myself.

"Take your hand off me, Lucas," she said in a low voice.

His lips curved into a sneering smile, and he lifted his hand from her leg. "I see your point. We are in public, but soon we will be ensconced in our room without prying eyes. And then, I may do with you as I wish."

Rage engulfed Charlotte, rising in her chest like a furious storm. She stared at Lucas's offending hand as he placed it onto the table, and without thinking, picked up her knife and plunged it into his flesh, slicing through his black leather glove, and pinning his hand to the table. "I'll die before I allow you to touch me again!" she said.

Lucas let out a piercing shriek. Charlotte scrambled to her feet, grabbing her carpet bag as everyone in the room turned to see what the commotion was all about.

"She's stabbed him," someone shouted, and then an uproar erupted. People rushed over to their table, pushing and pulling. They closed around Charlotte. She could not move.

"Make way, make way!" The innkeeper pushed people aside as he made his way toward the table, carving out a small pathway.

Someone tugged at her arm. She tried to pull away before turning and seeing the innkeeper's wife. "Come with me, luv. Quick!"

Charlotte followed her through the chaos.

"In here." The woman pushed Charlotte into a small, windowless room that housed a single bed, a small dresser with a lantern perched on top, and a wash basin. "There's a chamber pot under the bed. You can stay in here for that fee you showed me earlier, and we'll keep you safe until your papa comes and gives us that reward you promised."

"Thank you. I shall never forget your kindness." Charlotte extracted the banknotes from her carpetbag and placed them into the woman's waiting hands. "My papa will be most grateful." She looked around the room. The chaos outside was still too close and audible for comfort. "Are you sure I'll be safe here?"

"Aye, I'll lock you inside." She jangled a set of keys in front of Charlotte. "We're not taking any chances on letting you go until your papa comes with our reward money."

Charlotte swallowed. Had she just exchanged one captor for another?

"Now don't ye worry, my Jacob will get rid of that fiend who abducted ye. We'll tell him you ran away an' send him searching in the wrong direction."

"Thank you," Charlotte said. And then a thought came to her that filled her with warmth. If Mama heard my call for help, Hugh or a search party might be out looking for me already.

"A search party may already be on my trail. If anyone comes—a man by the name of Warsham, perhaps—"

"Will this Warsham fella give me the reward?"

Charlotte nodded, even though she had no idea how much money Hugh would have on his person. "Most definitely."

"Then it's Mr. Warsham or Papa, I'll wait for." She nodded and left the room.

With little else to do and overcome with a confusing slew of emotions Charlotte curled onto the bed, drawing her carpetbag to her chest for comfort, as she heard the key turn in the lock, shutting her inside. It wasn't long before she drifted off to sleep.

Hugh knew thatLucas would have to stop at an inn and change his horses after fifteen or twenty miles. He guessed that the cretin would have been in an enormous hurry to get to Gretna Greene and force Charlotte to marry him, so he would likely have taken the fastest path there and would have pushed his horses to the limit. Nonetheless, Hugh stopped at two inns—one at the ten-mile mark and one at the fifteen-mile mark—before arriving at the Black Dog Coach Inn in Hunton Bridge, twenty miles outside of London.

A stodgy woman eyed him as he entered. "Well," she said as she approached him, "you look like a fine young gentleman. Up from London, are ye?"

"Yes, that's right. I'll be needing fresh horses."

She smiled. "Seems we got a lot of you asking for fresh horses in these early hours this morning."

"What do you mean?" Hugh asked. "Is there someone else here from London? A beautiful young woman, perhaps, and a copper-haired fellow?"

The woman folded her arms. "Is your name Warsham by chance?"

"Yes, how did you know that?" Hugh asked. "I'm looking for my betrothed. She's been abducted. Have you seen her here tonight?"

"I might have. But it will cost you. You ain't the only one looking for her." She gave him a calculating look.

"What do you mean?" Hugh asked, hope rising in his heart.

The woman shrugged and held out her open palm.

Hugh reached into his pocket and when he pulled out the thick wad of banknotes he carried, the woman's eyes grew wide. "A hundred pounds, and I'll take you to her," she said, her voice tremulous and eager.

"Fine. But where's the man she came with? I want him as well. He needs to be taken to prison for the crime of abduction."

"Oh, me and my Jacob ran him and his bleeding hand out of here. He was howling like a babe after she stabbed him."

Stabbed him? Charlotte stabbed Lucas?His body turned cold. What had Lucas done to her? Had he tried to ravish her? "Stabbed him, did you say?"

"Only through the hand." The woman snickered. "She pinned him to the table. An' he screamed like a little girl."

Lucas almost laughed out loud, envisioning the scene. He was surprised by the admiration he felt for his wife-to-be. Beautiful, clever, and resourceful.

But Charlotte must have been terrified to have resorted to violence. There was no doubt in his mind that Lucas would return to the inn to find her and exact his revenge. He would need to buy the loyalty of the innkeepers to keep Charlotte safe. "I'll give you a hundred and fifty if you take me to her now and hide us until the horses have been changed."

The woman's tiny eyes widened, and her entire face lit up at the mention of such an enormous sum. "Very good, sir," she said loudly. "I have just the room you are looking for. Follow me."

"In here." Theinnkeeper's wife took out a large set of keys and unlocked the door.

Hugh's shoulders tensed as he watched her. Why is the door locked from the outside? This woman is a sly one—she's not to be trusted.

She pushed open the door and stepped inside ahead of Hugh. His heart raced as he stepped into the room and saw Charlotte curled up asleep on the bed.

"Now the money," the innkeeper's wife said.

"First, give me that key. I won't be locked in here like a caged animal."

She removed the key from the large ring on which it dangled and handed it to him. Hugh inserted the weighty iron key into the lock and pushed the door open. He glanced inside and after seeing Charlotte asleep on the bed, he took the bank notes out of his pocket and gave them to the waiting woman. "There will be another fifty if you give us safe passage when my horses are ready. No one must see us leave."

"Yes, you can go out the back way. Perhaps, you should wait until nightfall." She exited the room, and Hugh turned his attention back to Charlotte. She lay curled on her side, cocooned in her dark woolen coat and hugging her carpet bag. Her alabaster skin, red lips, and strawberry-gold hair almost took his breath away. Hugh sat beside her and gently stroked a few stray locks from her cheek. As though sensing his presence, she opened her beautiful green eyes and blinked.

"Hugh!" She sat up and threw her arms around him. "How did you find me?"

"It's a long story." He pressed his face to her hair, breathing in her scent and thanking God he'd found her. "Did he hurt you?"

"No, I didn't give him the chance. But he planned to force me to marry him, and he put his hand on me, saying vile things about forcing me to share his room."

An inferno blazed in Hugh's chest. He'd never been one for violence, but he felt he could easily kill Lucas if given the chance. "That swine! No wonder you stabbed him."

"I was desperate. He touched my thigh, taking liberties…"

Hugh stood up, unable to tolerate it anymore. He breathed heavily, seething from within. "I won't let him get away with this."

"He hasn't," Charlotte stood. "I gave him what he deserved, and I escaped his clutches. He's been humiliated by a woman. The men laughed and jeered at him when he screamed like a babe. All that matters now is that we continue our journey to Gretna Greene and get married."

"But you've been through such an ordeal, and your mama will be worried. I should take you home."

"We'll send a messenger to Mama, letting her know you have found me, and we are continuing to Gretna Greene as planned. I cannot go home. I've been alone with a man—two men. You know society does not care if a woman is taken by force or goes willingly with a man, she is ruined either way."

Hugh nodded.

"But that's not the only reason. I want to go to Gretna Green with you because I want to be your wife." She put her arms around Hugh's neck. "When Lucas put his hand on me and spoke about sharing an intimate space with me, it filled me with revulsion. But when you touch me, and when I think of sharing a room—a bed—with you—" she brushed her lips against his—"I'm filled with happiness. It's what I want."

Her words, her touch, her scent, her taste, and her lips filled him with desire. He covered her mouth with his and kissed her. She responded eagerly to his kiss, but he only allowed himself a few delicious moments before pulling away. He wouldn't do anything to dishonor her before they were married.