The Wedding Runaway (49 page)

"
Lydia!
"

"
Who is that?
"
asked Victor, bewildered.

She winced.
"
Sounds like Trevor.
"

Just then her brother bounded through the door, followed by Millars and Lady Helena.

"
My lord—
"
started Millars.

"
I have better things to do then chase you all over England
,"
Trevor said.
"
For the love of Peter, how did you run away from James?
"
He took one look at her apparel and rolled his eyes.
"
Oh, tarnation!
"

"
I did not run away. I...
"
She squeezed Victor
'
s hand.
"
I ran toward my future.
"

Trevor glared at Victor
,
his animosity making him look hulking and rabid like a brute.

Victor scooped the piece of paper from the floor
,
the paper he had tugged from his pocket
,
and handed it to Trevor.

Trevor unfolded it
,
looked it over and then clasped Victor in a bear hug. He handed the paper to Lady Helena.
"
Think this might help with your parents?
"

She blinked
,
read the writing and passed the paper to Lydia, who had stepped forward, concerned that her brother might try to harm Victor.

"
Perhaps. My lord
,
we have traveled quite a way
,
would you be so kind as to put us up for the night?
"

Victor looked bemused.
"
We would be happy to
,
Lady Helena
,
but we do not have any beds.
"

"
Mrs. Hamilton
,
if you please. I am sure that we will make do.
"

Lydia read the marriage license and realized that Victor must have gone for it the morning after the confrontation with her brothers. Her doubts dissipated like morning fog burning off in the sun.

"
Tomorrow morning too soon
,
pet?
"
Victor asked
,
reaching for her hand.
"
If you still want to after I tell you everything.
"

Lydia rolled her eyes.
"
My child would like a name. Even a black one.
"

Victor spent a good share of the night on a mattress on the unfinished floor of their future master suite, explaining every reason she should not marry him. After each new revelation she would say
,
"
I don
'
t care
,
now kiss me.
"

He started reaching far into his past for more examples of the blackness of his soul
,
until he told her about the rock he threw through a window at the age of eight. To which she replied
,
"
If you are done with all your confessions, we might move on to more interesting things.
"

He stopped trying to talk her out of marriage
,
and she told him in the morning he could try to destroy her as much as he wanted. She was tougher than your average wife. After all, she had been robbed
,
shot
,
and depended on her own wits to survive for quite long enough to prove she could.

He agreed. He also decided that he
'
d severely misjudged Lady Helena when she and Trevor had stayed outside in the pouring rain damn near making love under a tree in his park. No milk and water miss was she.

So it was that two upstart Americans stole the best catches of the season before the festivities had gotten into full swing
,
and it was Helena that whispered to Victor after the ceremony that she had a message to him from Sheridan. She and Trevor had gone to him to locate Lydia once again.
"
By wedding your opponent
,
you have broken the curse of the dueling pistols.
"

The End

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