His to Keep (Regency Scoundrels Book 2) (24 page)

“Hopefully, it’s Archie.”

“And Mallory,” she added. 

“Mayhap,” Louis-Daniel frowned at her. “Be a good little actress and act as if you’re a halfwit when he comes up into the carriage. He’ll expect you to be out of it, he’s not going to expect you to be as alert as you are now.” She nodded her head.

They could hear Duxford letting loose with a colorful line of expletives, as he came toward the carriage.

“Get us down to the docks on the double,” he ordered. “I think we have company coming, and we have to be on the jolly boats before they get here. Good thing I had the foresight to have the ship waiting out at sea, we’ll be able to get started on our voyage that much quicker.”

Duxford stopped talking and pulled open the carriage door. Her heart started racing in her chest again. She darted a quick glance at Louis-Daniel, and then, slumped against the satin squabs.

“Ah, Gemma, I see you are awake. Capital,” Duxford murmured. “I’m sorry I had to induce your slumber like that, I wanted you to remain asleep until we set sail. Alas, it is unfortunate you shall have to see me do what I have to do.” Her heart leapt up into her throat when he pulled out a pistol. “Of course, you have been slowed down a bit. You won’t be able to stop me, and that little frog is tied up. Ah, well. My father used to say the only good frog was a dead one.”

He was going to kill Louis-Daniel. The realization made time stop for her. She couldn’t allow him to murder Archie’s brother. Not while she still drew a breath.

“Once we get onto the ship, I’ll be sampling what you have to offer, Gemma, since your husband has no doubt already deflowered you. I don’t really like virgins, but since you’re not one anymore, I’ll have to see what Archie has taught you.”

Louis-Daniel let out an animalistic growl.

“He sounds like a demon spawned from hell, doesn’t he?” Duxford laughed, and aimed the pistol at Louis-Daniel. In the next few moments, everything went by in a blur. She lunged at Duxford, Louis-Daniel moved into action, and shouts and screams were heard from outside.

The carriage door was wrenched roughly open. She was still struggling with Duxford, and Louis-Daniel was pounding the hell out of his face. “Let go, Gemma,” he instructed, grunting as his fist made contact with Duxford’s face again.

She couldn’t.

Louis-Daniel probably thought that Duxford had dropped the pistol and he had, but he was reaching for it, and Louis-Daniel couldn’t see how close he was to it.

Duxford’s fingers found the pistol. She looked up in time to stare into Archie’s glorious dark eyes.

And then, Duxford fired. 

Chapter Thirty-Two

Pain exploded through her body. She went limp.

Louis-Daniel caught her, and pulled her out of the way. Archie looked so enraged. He hauled Duxford out of the carriage, and then, she heard another shot.

“That son of a bitch is dead,” Archie growled.

She felt cold. She’d been shot in the side.

“Gemma?” Archie sounded like he was losing it. He’d climbed up into the carriage and was reaching his arms out for her. 

Mallory came into view. “Good God. Get the carriage turned around, I have a doctor on my ship.”

“We need to get her to our doctor and he better be sober,” Louis-Daniel said, quickly handing her to Archie. “Get someone to turn this bloody carriage around!”

“Let me see! She’s my sister!” Ann’s voice rattled her even more.

Ann
.

She would know what to do. Ann had spent a good deal of time with the village doctor aiding him when he needed it.

“Get Ann,” she rasped.

“I was so bloody stupid,” Archie muttered.

She shook her head.

Ann climbed up into the carriage, pushing her way past Louis-Daniel.

Her eyes lit on Gemma and fear coalesced into their deep blue depths.

“Let me see the wound. I might be able to do something for her while we drive back to your family home. Mallory, you get the carriage moving. You, sit down!” She motioned to Louis-Daniel, reaching back to shut the door.

“Your entire family is just like you, Gemma,” Archie whispered against her ear.

She smiled. She was so sleepy. “I love you, Archie,” she whispered, closing her eyes. 

*****

When Gemma woke up, she was looking into Archie’s eyes. People were gathered around her bed. She recognized Mallory and Ann, was she on her deathbed?

“She is awake.”

“And she’s come through the fever, she’ll survive,” Isla whispered, moving away from the bed.

“What happened?” She remembered Duxford taking her, and then, she remembered getting shot.

Damnation.

“You are safe, sweetheart. And you’re on your way to a full recovery,” Archie whispered, brushing a lock of hair off her face. She smiled at him. “Now that’s the sight I’ve been waiting to see, those dimples of yours could brighten my day no matter how sad it was.”

“Where is Louis-Daniel?”

“He is resting in his chambers,” Archie answered gruffly, his eyes watering. Such a strong man, and filled with such passion. All of it was for her. She clasped his hand tighter. She loved Archie with all of her heart and soul. She would have been so mad if she’d died without living.

“Why did Duxford take me?” She still felt weak, but she had to know the answer.

“I can answer that one.” Ann stepped forward. “He took you because he is as poor as a church mouse. He wanted your dowry, and when Archie took you instead, he was incensed beyond reasoning. I knew he’d left England but I never dreamt he’d come for you in order to seek out retribution against our family. He also had the authorities after him for a more gruesome crime. You don’t need to know about that, dearest Gemma.”

“Let’s just say, we were all right when we warned you against marrying that piece of filth,” Mallory said.

She knew he would be the one to say ‘
I told you so
,’ and in a way, it didn’t rankle her as much as it might have once. She couldn’t argue the fact that Mallory and Archie had been right all along. She’d been foolish to think that a cold fish like Duxford could ever give her the kind of love she craved from her husband.

He never could have loved her the way that Archie did.

She smiled at Ann. “You look tired. I think you should go and get some sleep, you too, Mallory.”

“Aye, that sounds agreeable. I would like to spend some time just adoring my wife for a while.”

“Adore her from a distance man, she’s still too weak to…”

“Mallory!” Ann snapped. “We should take our leave now.”

They all turned their heads at the sound of a knock on the open bedroom door.

“How is she?” Louis-Daniel stood framed in the doorway with Charles on one side of him, and his mother on the other side.

“Unfortunately, I shall live.” She smiled up at him.

“Glad to hear of it.” He grinned back at her, wincing. “My arm still hurts.”

“Well, you shouldn’t have gotten out of bed,” Ann said, giving him a once over. His smile grew broader, and she couldn’t believe it, but his dark eyes actually twinkled.

“Where’s Isla?” she asked, her heart dancing at the look that Louis-Daniel gave Ann. She didn’t really want Louis-Daniel anywhere near Ann.  He looked like a hungry wolf in the dead of winter.

“She’s resting. Didn’t you see her slip out of the room?” Archie asked. “She just wanted to see you wake up, and then, she said she was finished. I don’t know who did more, Isla or the Doc.”

“Well, I can understand why.”

“Indeed, Isla is a very wonder. We couldn’t make do without her help.” Margaret nodded her head. 

“Come on, everyone, let’s leave Archie and Gemma alone. Upon my soul, I do believe they’ve earned their few minutes of privacy,” Margaret said, nodding her head curtly at everyone in the room. She pivoted on her heel, and walked out into the hall.

Mallory hesitated. “You are coming with me,” Ann muttered, tugging on Mallory’s arm. “I’ll need you to keep me from killing Louis-Daniel.”

“Do I have to?” he asked, as she dragged him from the room.

“Charles looked unusually happy,” Gemma mused. Archie climbed onto the bed to sit beside her.

“That’s because my mother has asked Mallory if Charles can stay with us for another month or so, and Mallory has agreed. Your mother and sisters are on their way here as we speak. I think my mother is going to enjoy having the castle filled with family again.”

“And what about you?” she asked. “I see you resisted the urge to knock Mallory senseless.”

“Mallory and I found common ground. Try as he might to show that he doesn’t care one iota for you, he does love you, and he doesn’t want to see you hurt. We both sort of buried old grudges when we had to save you and Louis-Daniel. Mallory was instrumental. Without him, I don’t know if we would have gotten past all of Duxford’s men.”

“Yes, you would have. You alone, would have breached through all of his awful blackguards. You were after me. And I know one thing, Archie Campbell,” she murmured.

“And what do you know?”

“That as my keeper, you shall always find me and keep me from harm.”

“You got shot in part because of me,” he pointed out, pulling her to him.

“But I am alive.”

“And as for being your keeper—I am only the keeper of your heart, I learned almost as soon as we met, that keeping you from doing anything you didn’t want to do was going to be the most difficult battle I have ever faced,” he stated ruefully. 

She chuckled. “Well, then, keeper of my heart, why don’t you kiss your wife?”

“I would be glad to,” he murmured, tenderly pressing his lips against hers.

Gemma put her arms around his neck.

Archie owned her heart…and she owned his. She had found her knight.

She was right where she’d always wanted to be.

Louis-Daniel sat and re-read the missive before him. It looked as if he was about to be reunited with his uncle. He scrubbed his hand over his face, as he read the last line.

I cannot wait to see you, Louis-Daniel. We have much to discuss, and I have chosen a special young lady to be your bride. I think you shall fall in love with her as she shall make you a fine countess.

Damnation. Dryness prickled in his throat, and he chased it away with a large swig of rum. Why did everyone think they had to pick out his wife for him? There was only one thing for him to do…he would have to find himself a suitable wife before he went to see his uncle—or he would have to face his uncle like a man and pray he hadn’t picked out a sour-faced hag for him. Either way, the matrimonial noose was headed for his neck.

He pulled at his cravat—and he prayed.

The End