Vying for the Viscount

by Kristi Ann Hunter

  The gag, on the other hand, was all too noticeable.

  She looked around again. There had to be something in here that would help her get the gag off. No matter the stable, there were certain necessities each one contained. A hoof-pick, a leather awl, or even a comb might be enough for her to hook the gag and pull it free.

  Her eyes lit on the bridle hooks at the end of the stalls. That should work. At least she wouldn’t risk stabbing herself with something sharp.

  It took three tries to hook the gag but only a few moments of tugging to get the loop of cloth to hang loose around her neck. She sagged against the wall, working her jaw back and forth and sliding her dry tongue across cracked lips. One problem down, and she wasn’t even going to consider how many left to go.

  It was dark, and the innyard was, for the most part, quiet. A sign reading The Green Bear in faded red letters hung from the entry post. Beyond it, a somewhat familiar town street.

  Giddiness swelled in her. She knew where she was. If she was on a horse, she could be back at Lady Rebecca’s home in a matter of hours. If she was on foot, especially in evening slippers and unescorted, and with a madman potentially looking for her, it might take a little longer.

  Much better to find Lord Rigsby first.

  Of course, there was no guarantee her captor wasn’t also in the inn.

  A young boy was sitting in the doorway of the stable, presumably on watch for customers or other people approaching the stable. She propped her shoulder against the wall, trying to keep her face at least somewhat shadowed.

  “You there. Boy.”

  The boy jerked around and fell off his stool. “Well, I’ll be. Where’d you come from?”

  “Hmmm.” She wasn’t answering that question. Instead, she stuck her foot out from beneath her gown. “See these shoe clips?”

  The boy slid across the floor and looked at the shoe. “Are those real diamonds?”

  “Yes. And they’re all yours if you deliver a message to someone in that inn for me.”

  The boy looked from her to the shoe clip. “I’m not supposed to leave . . .”

  She wiggled her foot.

  The boy swallowed. “What’s the message?”

  “Find Lord Rigsby and tell him there’s a problem with his horse.”

  The boy scrambled up, grabbed a lantern, and ran past her. “Is there really? There can’t be. He let me sit atop the horse and see what it was like. He’s a nice fellow.”

  “Sunset’s Pride is fine. But I need Lord Rigsby to come out here without anyone else knowing I’m here.”

  The boy licked his lips. “And I get both shoe clips?”

  Why not? It wasn’t as if she ever understood their purpose. Mrs. Snowley simply insisted on them. “One shoe clip alone won’t do me much good, so yes.”

  He looked back and forth at the stable one more time before giving a sharp nod and running to the inn.

  Bianca sagged against the wall inside Sunset’s Pride’s stall and dropped her forehead to the horse’s side. Everything was going to be all right. She would get home and then . . . and then . . . well, she’d be home. Everything else could be figured out later.

  Footsteps hustling across the floor alerted her to an approaching presence. The boy had certainly been fast.

  “What’s wrong with—Miss Snowley?”

  “She promised me shoe clips,” the boy piped up.

  “Oh yes.” She stuck her foot out. With her hands bound behind her back she couldn’t exactly remove them herself. “Go ahead.”

  The boy started to kneel, but Lord Rigsby grabbed his shoulder. “Wait.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a bank note. “Cash is always better.”

  The boy stared wide-eyed at the money and then stuffed it into his pocket.

  “Make sure no one comes back here,” Lord Rigsby added.

  The boy nodded and ran back to the front of the stable.

  Bianca tried to give him a carefree grin. “I don’t suppose you’ve a knife on you?”

  “Of course, but—”

  “I’d be ever so grateful.” She turned and presented her bound wrists to him.

  He muttered something harsh but reached down to his boot.

  The rustle of fabric. Cold metal against her arm. A few quick tugs. Finally, blessed, aching, painful freedom. Every inch of her arms protested as she tried to move them to a more natural position.

  “What happened?”

  How could she explain? She wasn’t entirely sure what had happened, and she’d been there. “I somehow managed to get between Hudson and his uncle.”

  Lord Rigsby’s eyebrows rose. “Hudson, is it?” He gave a nod. “I suspected as much.”

  Heat flooded Bianca. Welcome in the cool night air, but not by her pride. “It’s not like that.”

  “Then you’re both idiots.”

  She wasn’t an idiot. She had been quite aware of her feelings and ready to admit them. Whether or not he was, she didn’t know, because she’d been avoiding him.

  Perhaps they were both idiots.

  “Be that as it may, I was hoping you could assist me in getting home.”

  “Is your abductor in the inn?”

  “Does it matter?”

  “Yes. If someone is going to shoot when they see you with me, I’d rather smuggle you out in a burlap bag.”

  “I think he’s gone. At least he said he intended only to keep me until he got far enough away.”

  He nodded. “I’m not taking you home. If someone sees us alone this late at night, it won’t matter if you and Stildon are idiots or if you’re friends with Mr. Whitworth.”

  “Lord Brimsbane saw the abduction. You can return me there.” Surely Lady Gliddon and Lady Rebecca would keep the whole thing quiet. “Fresh horses will have us there in four hours.”

  He laid a hand on the back of his horse. “Sunset’s Pride could be there in less, but there’s not a horse we could rent in this stable that will keep up with him.”

  “I don’t suppose you would let me borrow Sunset’s Pride, would you?”

  “I’d rather buy you a nag.”

  Thirty-Six

  Hudson left his assigned groom behind almost from the start. He abided by Aaron’s ten-mile rule, but he searched a few side roads on his way. Hezekiah was walking slowly now, head drooping low. He’d never been trained for this sort of endurance.

  Hudson slid from the horse’s back and led him to a creek so small it barely needed an arch for the small bridge to cross it. It was enough for the horse to drink though.

  He rested his head against the horse’s sweaty haunches.

  It was all he could do to hold on to his newly formed belief that God was in control of everything. It had seemed his father had believed it. The evidence was there that his father’s faith continued even when his mother had fallen ill and died.

  Hudson would hold on to his as well.

  Once Hezekiah finished drinking, Hudson led the horse down the road by its reins. There was no sense in making the exhausted animal carry Hudson anymore. A mile south of Cheveley, he turned back onto the main road to Newmarket. Aaron was waiting there, arms resting gently on the saddle pommel.

  “She’s back at Gliddon’s.”

  Everything in him dropped. His heart, his vision, even his knees gave way, and he crumpled to the ground, prayers of gratefulness on his lips. Bits and buckles jangled, and then Aaron was kneeling beside him.

  “Take my horse. I’ll walk Hezekiah back. Lady Rebecca has informed everyone that no one is seeing Bianca until she’s rested, but everyone is welcome to fill her mother’s private parlor.”

  Hudson looked up to see a smirk on Aaron’s face. “Lady Rebecca said that?”

  Aaron nodded. “I think there might be more to her than most people ever knew.”

  “But you did?”

  He shook his head. “Not personally. Oliver might have mentioned it.” He hauled Hudson to his feet. “Go on, get back. You’ll hate it if you’re not there when she
emerges.”

  It took him three tries to mount the horse with his numb knees, but soon he was back trotting toward Newmarket.

  She was safe. She was alive.

  For now, that was enough.

  BIANCA HAD NEVER wanted for anything in her life, aside from a glorious stable, but she could learn to be very jealous of Lady Rebecca’s tub.

  It had been a rough ride back to Meadowland Park. Lord Rigsby had pulled her up onto Sunset’s Pride with him. Even carrying two people, the horse had been faster than anything she’d ridden before.

  She didn’t know where he’d gone after bringing her here, but she would have to find him later and thank him.

  Her would-be rescuers had still been out searching when she arrived, but the ball had thankfully ended. To her surprise, it was Lady Rebecca who had pulled her in. She’d napped in Lady Rebecca’s bed, eaten a light meal, and was now soaking in a marvelous tub. She felt so relaxed that it was as if the entire ordeal had been nothing but a nightmare.

  Lady Rebecca hustled in, followed by two maids, one carrying a dress, and one armed with a comb and a cup of hairpins. “You can present yourself now. He’s returned.”

  “Who?”

  She shook her head and gave a quiet laugh. “Lord Stildon. I knew you would want to see him first, so I delayed everyone else.”

  “I . . . you . . . but . . .”

  Lady Rebecca shook her head. “Lord Stildon is a nice man, and I’m sure we’d have rubbed along well enough. I picked him because he was the only one who asked about me, you know. Never once did he ask to go see the horse.” She sighed. “Still, he wasn’t . . . there’d been a man in London, but he let me leave, so I didn’t think he loved me.”

  “But now he’s here?”

  Lady Rebecca smiled wider and brighter than the sun. “He is. Even if his friend had to drag him here, he was still the one who had to do the asking.”

  “So congratulations are in order?” Bianca was happy for her. Very much so. But she now had to wonder if Hudson had chosen Bianca, was settling for her, or had decided against her entirely.

  After dressing and having her hair pinned up, Bianca went to join everyone in the family parlor. Hudson was braced against the window frame, head dropped and shoulders hunched.

  “Darling, I’m so glad you’re feeling better. We were all worried.” Bianca hadn’t even noticed her stepmother in the room, but now the woman was trying to wrap her arms about Bianca like she was some sort of puppy.

  Bianca straightened her arms and pushed her way free. “I don’t think that’s necessary.” She glanced around the room, noting who was in it. Though there were a few surprises, there was no one she didn’t know. “No one here believes your sincerity, I assure you.”

  Muffled laughter came from her right, where Lord Trent and Lady Adelaide were seated on a settee. Miss Hancock sat on Lady Adelaide’s other side.

  Lord Farnsworth sat in a corner, head lolling against the wall as he slept. Her father was rising awkwardly to his feet, holding his knees as if he wasn’t sure they’d take his weight.

  Once he was fully upright, he moved toward her. The smile he gave her held only a glimmer of his normal gaiety, a sheen of sadness disguising his spirit. “These old bones don’t run around quite like they once did.” He hugged her, and she reciprocated. “I’ve tried to protect you from so much, but I couldn’t this time.”

  “You did?”

  Father scoffed. “You don’t think a gentleman lets his daughter tromp around in the woods and in a strange stable without ensuring her safety, do you?”

  “He pays Owen’s wages,” Aaron said, not moving from his spot by the wall. “The man’s job is to make your life safer and easier. Anything he does around the stable is simply to keep busy and avoid suspicion.”

  Bianca’s eyes widened. She had always wondered why Aaron had never sent the man packing.

  Father was frowning. “I didn’t know you knew about that.”

  Aaron coughed. “I tried to have the man fired after two days of observing him in the stable, only to learn he didn’t work for Lord Stildon.”

  “Why didn’t I know about this?” Hudson stepped forward to join the gathering, entering Bianca’s peripheral vision and reminding her that not quite everything had been set to rights.

  “Because learning the particulars of your finances has not exactly been your goal these past three weeks.” Aaron smirked.

  Her father’s expression hardened as he turned to Hudson. “If she tells you to go away, you will. But I expect you to continue to give her access to your stable.”

  Bianca closed her eyes and considered covering her ears like a child. She didn’t want to hear this, didn’t want to know, didn’t want that final moment when Hudson told her he would never love her enough to make her his future. As much as she loved his horses, she wanted more. She wanted him to want more.

  Several murmurs broke out around her, and then people were moving, feet were shuffling, and clothes and furniture were rustling. “Five minutes.” Her father’s voice finally broke through the chaos. “Not a minute more, and I’ll be one room away.”

  “Thank you, sir,” Hudson said.

  If she got ill, could she still blame it on her ordeal?

  “Give me one reason why I should leave.” Bianca looked over to see Lord Brimsbane standing by the door. Was he challenging Hudson? For her?

  “Lord Brimsbane, I told you—” Bianca began.

  “Yes. I know what you told me, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have to treat you well. I’m happy my sister is getting to marry the man she loves, but I’m not sure I trust how quickly Lord Stildon’s affections shift. We could make a good life, you and I.”

  “You don’t love me.”

  His silence was confirmation, and she released the small breath she’d been holding while she waited.

  “Her father gave me five minutes,” Hudson said.

  “I’m giving you four.” Lord Brimsbane left the room.

  Strong hands cupped her shoulders and slid down to grip her hands. “Bianca.”

  She couldn’t resist his unspoken request. Her lashes fluttered upward, and his face filled her vision. Tears pooled along his lower lashes but didn’t fall. His eyes searched her own. Whatever he was looking for, she hoped she was able to give it to him.

  “Bianca,” he whispered. “I miss you. I miss my best friend.”

  Bianca grimaced and dropped her gaze, but his hand was under her chin, nudging it back up before it had a chance to fall to her chest.

  “I miss my best friend,” he said again. “I want her back. I want her in my life, telling me what I don’t know and sharing in my victories. I want her by my side when I watch my first races.” He swallowed hard and shifted his weight. “I want her with me when I run my first horses, the ones I select and I breed.”

  “That takes years,” she choked out.

  He nodded. “I want you there.”

  Her heart thudded against her chest, even as part of her cautioned that he still hadn’t said in what capacity she would be standing at his side.

  He cupped her cheek. “I won’t ask you to marry me yet. I want to do this right. Brimsbane is right when he says this has all been too fast. I want to make sure you know, without a doubt, how important you are to me. You come first. Before the horses, the stable, even my own reputation. Bianca Snowley, will you allow me to court you?”

  Did life get any better than this moment? Could a woman expire from happiness? While Bianca hoped for many more wonderful moments, she was afraid the pounding of her heart would have her testing the limits of joy that her body could handle. “Yes.” She nodded her head with enough energy that her vision blurred. “Yes.”

  His smile was wide, and he leaned in to press it against hers. The sensation was strange, but Bianca didn’t care. She’d stay forever with her smile pressed against his if it meant they would always be this happy.

  Eventually they both relaxed enough to deepen the kiss
into something that made it a good thing her father was a mere wall away.

  Moments later—seconds, minutes, hours, it didn’t matter—their embrace shifted to one of comfort. Hudson’s arms wrapped around her so tightly that those last vestiges of fear and insecurity didn’t have room to remain. She tucked her head against his shoulder and breathed in the smells of horse and leather that still clung to him. With his heart beating steadily beneath her ear, she felt more at home than she could remember feeling in a very long time.

  A delicate cough had her lifting her head as Hudson’s grip loosened. With great reluctance, she pulled away from Hudson. Even though he’d all but promised his future to her, they needed to take time to do this right, with both of them focused on the same outcome. No distractions, no miscommunications, no ulterior motives.

  “I hurried ahead, but they’re right behind me,” Lady Rebecca called from the door.

  “I love you,” Bianca whispered.

  “I love you too,” Hudson whispered back, “enough to make sure you know it.”

  Bianca stepped farther away. Hudson’s hand trailed down her arm before snagging in her fingers and tightening around them, refusing to relinquish that final connection. Was she giving him a secret smile of happiness like he was giving her? They certainly weren’t going to leave any question in anyone’s mind as to whether they cared for each other.

  Father and Lord Brimsbane reached the door at the same time, making no pretense of looking anywhere other than Bianca and Hudson and their joined hands.

  Brimsbane shook his head and went to join his sister.

  Father kept staring pointedly at their hands. “Have we an announcement to make?”

  “Not yet,” Hudson said, smiling down at Bianca and bringing his free hand up to brush a stray lock of hair from her cheek. “Soon. But not yet.”

  “Then I think a bit more distance would be appropriate, don’t you?”

  Bianca sighed. “Father.”

  “Daughter.” He nodded at their hands. “You’ll have plenty of time to enjoy those moments. I imagine you’ll scandalize Newmarket with the number of waltzes you’ll share. Take this time to know that you will also enjoy each other’s company in the breakfast room.” His gaze dropped to the floor and looked sad. “Trust me. It’s too late to discover it’s a problem after you’re married.”