Chapter 21

Marcus had not slept. Russell had produced the papers on his return and Marcus had seen that it was indeed his wretched brother who had consigned their mother to the fate of a lunatic in an asylum. He had also seen the letters written by his mother. Those letters were addressed to Arthur and expressed a deep remorse that the state of her mind had kept them apart. She regretted that she had not been stronger to resist the wickedness of Jeffrey Roy, that faced with his cruelty, her mind had broken as well as her spirit. She hoped that she could be forgiven for not protecting Arthur from his own demons, which were themselves created by Jeffrey. She urged Arthur to send for his brother, to find him wherever he may be and ensure that he was cared for.

He had not been able to read more and had dismissed Russell, the problem of Baxter's blackmail undiscussed. Russell had protested and Marcus had been forced to practically throw him bodily from the house. Then he had taken his horse from the single-stall stable behind the house and headed for Valebridge. The asylum, his mother's letters to Arthur, and the loathsome Bill Baxter could all wait. In that moment, he wanted nothing more than to be beside Selina. He wanted to look into her sky-blue eyes. Wanted to tell her the truth about himself. The road was long and he'd had to resist the urge to put his horse to the gallop the entire way. He forced himself to take rest stops at roadside inns along the way, giving his horse a chance to eat and drink, while he ate nothing but merely watched the clock.

The countryside began to look familiar as the sun rose towards its zenith, he had left London late the previous evening. Folkington was to his left as he walked his horse up a hill to his right. That road would soon intersect a track that would carry the pair of them up and over the hills. Valebridge was on the far side. He was forced to pull his mount to the side of the road as a coach came roaring along behind him. The driver lashed his whip, narrowly missing Marcus. It was shortly after the coach passed that he neared the summit of the hill and heard a woman screaming. It sounded very like Selina and while he knew this to be impossible, it was enough to see him spring into the saddle and spur his horse the remaining distance to the brow of the hill.

He saw two men carrying a struggling woman between them towards the very same coach that had just driven past him. The woman seemed to be wearing breeches and had golden hair. For a moment he was stunned, realizing that the prisoner was, in fact, Selina. She was hurled into the coach which then began to move away, its driver whipping the team of horses to a gallop. Marcus spurred his own mount in pursuit. Despite the distance covered, the horse had responded well to the rest stops and sprang into a dead gallop, stretching his neck towards the coach. He saw one of the men on the rear of the coach point at him and then shout something. Then he saw Selina's head appear and heard her scream his name.

But the four horses were more rested than his own and had a greater combined speed than his steed could match. The gap between him and the coach was widening and he knew he could not win a straight race. He lost sight of the coach around a bend and pulled his horse to a halt. Somewhere in the chase, his hat had escaped him but he did not care. Thinking of the geography around them, he turned the horse and galloped back towards a gate near where Selina had been kidnapped. Unlatching it, he kicked it open and steered his mount through. Then he urged it to attack the hillside. Marcus knew that the high road that passed Folkington to the north had to bend around a shoulder of the Downs. But he could cross that shoulder and cut out the long detour that the road was forced to take. Provided his horse had enough strength left, he could descend the far side of the hill and place himself on the road ahead of the coach.

Silently, he willed the horse to keep going, to find the strength in its tired limbs. It reached the top of the hill and he saw the road below. With a wild cry, he urged the animal on, but held it back from a full gallop to prevent it tumbling head over heels down the hillside. Reaching the level of the road, he suddenly became aware of the sound of the coach coming nearer. There was a hedge in front of him, thick and high, offering no access to the road. With a snarl of frustration, he galloped his horse along it, parallel to the road, searching for a way through. Looking back over his shoulder he saw the coach appear around a bend. It would soon pass him and then would be lost. He didn't know who the coach belonged to but could guess.

It is either Christleton or Voss. She must have written to her father to tell him of the wedding. And he's come to abduct her, the blackguard!

Marcus was incensed. He would not, could not give up Selina now that she had come into his life. Perhaps Voss or Christleton could create a scandal out of this. Or offer to forget the whole incident, to swear that Selina was mad, in order to repair the damage done to Marcus' reputation. That would amount to bribery to make him forget her. But he could not do it. With a cry of rage, he steered the horse away from the hedge and someway back up the hill before turning. The gap with the coach was narrowing.

For you Selina. If I survive this foolishness, I swear I will tell you everything.

He spurred the horse to one last effort. It was a good runner with staying power and speed. But what it was especially good at was the steeplechase. It could fly through the air like Pegasus. The hedge rushed towards him and then the horse lifted its front legs. Marcus ducked low against its neck, feeling the branches of the hedge clutch at his feet and shins. Then the road was rushing up to meet them both. Marcus was almost tipped from the saddle by the sudden impact. The horse sat back on its hind legs, front hooves digging furrows in the earth of the road. Then it was standing, tail swishing and ears twitching. The driver of the coach let out a startled yell and sawed at his own reins, dragging his team to a halt that saw the coach stop just yards from Marcus.

"Hold there. Your passenger is being carried against her will."

"My passenger is his lordship the Earl of Sawthorne…" the driver began.

"I saw the lady you stuffed into that coach. I am the Duke of Valebridge. My word on these lands is law. Step down or I will see you transported to Australia for kidnapping," Marcus grated.

"What is going on?" came a man's voice with a German accent.

The door to the coach opened as the driver stepped down. Two men came around the rear of the coach as Marcus made his way forward.

"Selina!" Marcus called.

"Arthur!" she replied, her voice suddenly muffled.

"Now then mate. Let's not have any trouble," said one of the footmen.

He had dark hair and a sallow face. The one behind him was younger but with equally broad shoulders.

"Barrow, deal with this ruffian. This highwayman!" the man that Marcus assumed was the Earl of Sawthorne ordered.

"With pleasure, Your Lordship," Barrow replied, beginning to roll up his sleeves.

Marcus smiled tightly and spurred his mount forward. The animal rushed into the tight space between the coach and the hedge at the side of the road. Barrow's face looked surprised for a moment and he tried to duck under it to reach for Marcus. With skill, Marcus turned the horse, catching Barrow a hefty clout from the animal's shoulder and sending him reeling back into his companion. Level with the coach, he saw Selina being pushed aside by a man with a red face and a cane. She tried to free herself from his grasp, squirming past him, hands reaching towards Marcus. Voss seized her by the hair and yanked backward, hurling her to the floor of the coach and putting himself between her and Marcus.

He opened his mouth to speak, raising the cane. Marcus stepped from the saddle to the coach, took hold of the cane, and used it to haul Voss forward, twisting aside and hurling him from the coach and into the hedge. Then he snapped the cane across his knee and tossed the pieces after their owner. The footmen were regaining their feet, but Marcus' steed glared at them, baring its teeth and snapping if one of them got too close. Voss was spluttering and shouting, twigs and branches caught in his hair, his coat, and his shirt. The more he thrashed, the more stuck he seemed to become. Marcus reached for Selina, kneeling on the floor of the coach. She came to him, tears in her eyes.

"Are you hurt? Thank god I decided to come back when I did. I just couldn't bear to be away from you any longer," Marcus said in a rush.

"I am well. They did not hurt me," Selina said.

Marcus tentatively touched her face, stroking his fingers against her cheek. The coach and the three men he had just battled with faded from his awareness. There were only those brilliant sapphire eyes and sun-bright golden hair. He wondered how he had ever faced the world without her. His heart raced and not from the chase. This close to her, his body thrummed with the tension of desire, of contained repressed passion. Suddenly, he wanted to marry her there and then. If his authority allowed it he would have ridden straight to Folkington church and ordered a priest to perform the ceremony. In such a short time, this woman had bewitched him utterly.