Duchess by Chance (26 page)

“Stone, I think you mean.”

“Thank you, Beatrice – yes, I did mean stone. However, now I think on it, I have yet to see a peach with a stone on its head.”

“May I suggest melon as a substitute?” Simon offered over Claire’s shoulder before turning his attention back to a discussion he was having with the Daniel.

Eva heard the word Bonaparte and Wellington then little else.

“No, but thank you, Simon, melon suggests round and smooth,” Eva said.

The women turned their eyes to the stage. Round and smooth were definitely not words to describe the actor.

“Orange?” Simon proffered.

“No,” the four women said simultaneously.

“Pear?”
 

“Now you’re just being ridiculous, Simon,” Claire scoffed.

“Accept my apologies, Miss Belton. I had not understood the gravity of the conversation,” Simon replied in a deep drawl.

Eva was pleased to see Simon and Claire had formed a truce and were being scrupulously polite to each other, although perhaps a little too polite, she thought, studying the glint in her friend’s eyes.
         

“Are you enjoying your first theatre experience, Duchess?”

Eva shivered as the deep words tickled her ear. Turning, she looked at her husband. He had known she was lying earlier today when he questioned her about her pendant and guilt had nearly made her confess but fear had kept her quiet. Fear that he would turn away from her, that what they had found would be gone forever, had made her remain silent and walk away from him.

The feel of his fingers on her cheek made tears sting behind her eyes. He deserved the truth from her, yet she was too much of a coward to tell him.

Eva looked at the stage while she listened to her friends discussing and dismissing various varieties of fruit. What had she done to deserve so much happiness? And how would she cope if Daniel was taken from her? Never had she cared for another person like she did her husband and it terrified her to realize that without him she would be lost.

“Don’t frown, Eva. Wrinkles will come in their own time - there is no need to aid them.”

“Sorry, Claire,” Eva ignored the snort of humor from her husband. However, she could not ignore his hand as his fingers lightly brushed the back of her neck. Giving herself a mental shake, she once again refocused on the stage.

“What have you called the puppy?” Claire asked.

“Furban.”

Simon laughed and everyone demanded to know the reason, and thoroughly enjoyed the tale of Mrs. Potter and her ferret turban.

“I have it. He could be a selection of fruit!” Claire cried, then clapped a hand over her mouth as all eyes looked at the Stratton box.
 

Simon groaned but everyone else laughed.

“His head and neck could be the pear,” Claire said.

“The body of a peach,” Eva added.

“Good Lord! Is that Lady Bethelhume who just threw her drink over the ghastly Mr Priestly?” Lady Dunbar demanded, cutting through their silly conversation.

 
In seconds, the entire Stratton party was pressed against the edge of the theatre box and peering down at the melee below.
 

 
“Nice shot, Lady Bethelhume!” Daniel called as the lady in question swung her fist into the face of a young man.

 
“Why is she hitting Mr Preistly, Daniel?” Eva queried.

“Priestly took her son gambling and he lost a considerable amount of money. It appears Lady Bethelhume took exception.”

On the stage, the actors had stopped and were now also watching the antics below, some even calling encouragement as the argument escalated.

“Look left - I believe another player is about to enter.” Simon pointed to an elegantly dressed man walking through the crowd below.

“Good Lord! It’s Lord Bethelhume. Now that is interesting.
 
He rarely comes to the theatre. Told me last year he’d sooner have a tooth pulled.” Daniel placed his arms on either side of his wife to stop her falling over the edge. “Do you know he’s one man I would not be keen to come up against. He’s always struck me as someone who means business, even if he is in his fifty-ninth year.”

All eyes watched the gentleman in question gently remove his wife’s hands from the neck of Mr Priestley and push her behind him.
 

“I wish I could hear what he was saying.” Eva leaned further over the edge.
 

“Nicely done.” Simon applauded as Lord Bethelhume drew back his fist and planted it in the face of Mr Priestley. He then bent down and dragged the man to his feet, shook him like a rag doll, said a few more words and released him. Turning, he placed an arm around his wife before leading her from the room.

“Ohhhhh,” sighed the ladies.

“You will go to your club tomorrow, Daniel, and find out exactly what was said down there.”

“Nosey little thing, aren’t you?” Daniel laughed, placing a kiss on Eva’s cheek.

The actors filled off the stage, signaling the end of the first act, and Claire and Lady Dunbar stood.
 

“Come, Eva, Lady Dunbar wishes to stretch her legs and we shall accompany her.”

“How about you, Grandmother?” 
      “I shall stay here, child, and annoy the men.”

Giving her grandmother’s cheek a kiss for no other reason than she could, Eva then left with Claire and Lady Dunbar.
 

They walked and talked with the other guests and Eva strolled to the edge to look down below as Lady Dunbar and Claire stopped to chat with a friend.
 

“It was foolish of you to stop ceding to your father’s demands, Berengaria. Now your husband and brother must pay the ultimate price.”

Eva spun around to face Gilbert Huxley, but he had continued walking without looking back. On his arm, a lady was chatting gaily whilst he bent his head to listen attentively. She hadn’t imagined those words or their meaning. Panic gripped her. She had merely hoped to put her father off for awhile until she decided what to do yet it seemed Lord Huxley believed differently. How had he known her intentions were to stop any further payments?
 
Was Reggie even now in danger?
 

“Eva?” Daniel appeared beside her. “What has happened?”

“Nothing. I just felt a little overwhelmed with so many people around me.”
 

“Don’t lie to me. Your knuckles are white they are gripping the balustrade so hard.” Anger flared in his eyes as once again he saw through her deceit. He turned from her to scan the guests around them and Eva had to stop him before he saw Lord Huxley and confronted him.

“Why did you follow me?”

With a final look, he returned his gaze to hers.
 

“Tell me who has put the fear back in your eyes.”

The words may have been softly spoken yet there was steel behind them.

“I…I have no idea what you mean.”

He was silent for several seconds, just looking at her, and Eva could not find the strength to pull away.

“We shall not have this conversation here but remember, Duchess, lying is a heavy burden not many can bear for long.”

She took the arm he held out to her and they silently made their way back to their seats.

Eva remembered nothing of the second act, as thoughts tumbled around inside her head. She forced a smile onto her face and chatted with the other guests and if anyone noticed her anything amiss, they did not comment. Behind her, Daniel was stiff and silent, and she missed the brush of his hands on her shoulders and his deep rumble of laughter in her ear. Eva was relieved when the play finally closed.
 

Goodnights were exchanged and Daniel saw his grandmother and Lady Dunbar into their carriage before helping Eva into theirs. She rested her head on the back of the seat, suddenly exhausted from the evening’s events.
 

“Care to enlighten me as to what took place in the interval?”

“I told you what happened. I was overwhelmed.”

“You don’t lie very well, Duchess. Now tell me the truth.”

There was a ping of broken glass as Daniel leaned forward to close the curtains and he fell backwards, reaching for Eva as he did so. He threw her to the floor, then followed her down.

    
“What’s happening, Daniel?”

“Stay down.
 
Someone is shooting at us!” Daniel felt the carriage pick up speed and knew instantly that the driver had either been shot or lost control of the horses. He climbed onto the seat, then lifted the hatch. “Elijah!”  
      
“I’ve been hit in the shoulder, your Grace!”

Relieved that his driver was at least still breathing, Daniel moved to the windows and wrenched open the curtain. They were not being followed. Whoever had fired that shot was long gone. The carriage was rapidly picking up speed and he caught glimpses through the darkness of familiar landmarks as they flew by. Soon the horses would not be able to take a corner and the carriage could overturn. He could not allow that to happen. Eva was too precious to him.
 

“Eva, Elijah has been shot in the shoulder. I will have to climb up through the hatch and help him stop the horses.”

“Please be careful, Daniel.” Eva gripped his hands.
 

Daniel crushed her briefly to his chest and then told her to hang on tight to whatever she could. Climbing through the opening, he then struggled against the wind as he fought his way into the driver’s seat beside Elijah. He could see nothing ahead and hoped no carriages suddenly appeared through the darkness. Taking the reins from his driver’s uninjured hand, he tried to slow the four horses.
 

“Tis no use, your Grace, they won’t be stopped!”

“Knife?”

His driver removed a long blade from his boot and handed it to him. Clamping it between his teeth, Daniel then climbed down and started cutting the traces that held the carriage. It was a risk, yet it had to be done. He hoped the carriage would stop of its own accord, once freed from the horses. Just as he reached the last strip of leather, the horses veered. He scrambled to find something to hold onto but his fingers found nothing and he was thrown from the carriage. Hitting the ground, he grunted at the impact and then rolled several times, narrowly missing a fence railing. Climbing to his feet, he watched, horrified, as Elijah jumped clear when the carriage teetered on two wheels, then turned over completely onto its side. The last trace snapped and the horses charged off into the night. Daniel ran, trying to reach the carriage as it rolled over once more and then finally came to a rest against the side of a building with a sickening thump. He heard the splinter of wood but no cry from inside.

“Eva!” Icy fear filled his veins as he reached the now stationary carriage. Climbing onto the top, he tried to open the door, which refused to move. Stomping his foot through the window, he pushed the glass aside and lowered himself down into the carriage

She lay on her back, one arm thrown across her head, the other flung wide; her legs were twisted beneath her.

“Speak to me, Eva.” He desperately searched her neck for a pulse, it was faint but there was definitely a beat.

“Daniel!”

“Simon, help me!” Daniel heard his friend’s voice drawing near. “It’s Eva. I don’t know how badly she’s hurt.” He couldn’t think. His heart was pounding so loudly, he feared it would burst right from his chest.

“Is she bleeding?” Simon’s face appeared in the hole above Daniel.

“Yes. No.
 
I-I don’t kn-know.”

“Take a deep breath and focus now, Daniel. You need to check her injuries to see how badly she is hurt.”

Daniel latched onto his friend’s voice like a lifeline. Drawing in a deep breath, he began to feel Eva’s body.
 
Straightening her legs, he noted no broken bones. Moving upwards, he could feel no obvious injuries through her clothes. He ran his fingers slowly over her hair, pulling pins free as he went. “Her shoulder appears to be dislocated and there’s a bump above the ear but in this light I can see nothing further.” Gently, Daniel lifted her into his arms.

“It’s better if she sleeps while we lift her out.” Simon’s voice was steady and reassuring and Daniel battled the panic that threatened to consume him.

He lifted her upwards and into Simon’s hands, then climbed out and in seconds he had her back in his arms.

“My carriage is here.” Simon opened the door for Daniel to enter.
 

“My driver?”

“Here, your Grace,” Elijah said from inside the carriage.

They journeyed in silence. Simon pressed his handkerchief into Elijah’s bloodied shoulder to staunch the flow of blood while Daniel held Eva against his chest and continued praying for her to open her eyes.

Simon ran inside as the carriage stopped outside Daniel’s townhouse. “Fetch a doctor at once, Wernham! The duchess and the duke’s driver are injured.”

Daniel carried Eva inside and up to his room where he laid her on the bed.