Fate Is A Stranger: Regency Romance

by Gay, Gloria

  Violet immediately tried to untie his hands but the knots were tight. And just as she had managed to loosen the tight knot they heard the sound of carriage wheels on the lane in the distance.

  "Run, Violet!" Jared whispered fiercely. "Don't worry about me. Just save yourself! I'll untie myself."

  "I couldn't leave you here…"

  "Run!" Jared ordered hoarsely.

  Violet left him and ran through the woods threading as fast as she could through the dense trees. Finally, Jared lost sight of her, all the time working at the cord that bound his hands.

  * * *

  After about ten minutes of running, the tears and perspiration mingling in her face, Violet was stopped suddenly with an arm lock that took her breath away.

  "You're a very enterprising young woman, my love," said Souten with an amused chuckle, "Not many young girls would have done what you did to escape, and that is precisely why I love you. You are as different as night and day from those lisping, simpering debutantes. Come, back we go!"

  "Get away from me!"

  Souten dragged Violet to the waiting carriage and as soon as he pushed her inside he got in and the carriage sped away as fast as it could go over the muddy lane.

  "A change of plans," he said to Violet as he took a handkerchief from his pocket and a bottle of water that was in the carriage and cleaned Violet's muddy wet face. "We shall not stay at the Crow's Nest, as the place is too crowded but will leave immediately toward Gretna Green, my love.

  “Once we are out of this slush and on the toll road we shall make excellent progress."

  "This time, my dear," said Souten with an indulgent chuckle, "I shall make certain you do not escape."

  * * *

  Jared finally untied his hands. And when he heard a carriage taking off at a fast pace, in his heart he knew that Souten had found Violet. He could tell that the carriage was headed out of the forest and toward the road.

  He was now without a horse and unable to rescue Violet from that madman! But at least he was not lying helpless in an underground room without hope of being rescued.

  But Violet was again in danger. Never had he felt as helpless as he felt now. Never in his life had he wanted to yell out in rage more than he did at this moment. Why had he shot out of the castle by himself? It had been irresponsible to do so. How could he help Violet by himself? He had not stopped to think before recklessly darting off on his horse.

  He should have enlisted the duke's help. How did he imagine he could prevail against several armed men? It had been the height of folly and recklessness and now Violet might pay the price for his vanity.

  For a while, Souten and Violet traveled in silence. The carriage had gained speed, as it was now on the toll road. It was late afternoon and there was a crispness in the air. The clouds were low and dark and swelled with rain.

  It was amazing to Violet that only this morning she had been tricked by Souten into his schemes. So much had happened since then that the orderly passage of time seemed to have been up ended. She felt as if she floated in a nightmare. But at least, by Souten being here on the road, he wasn't in the forest. Perhaps Jared would use this respite to escape. She closed her eyes and said a silent prayer for Jared. Nothing should happen to Jared. She was so grateful to him for coming to her rescue. He was a courageous young man and seemed now more mature than he had ever seemed to her.

  As for herself, all was not yet lost. She must not feel that she was now at Souten's mercy with no help from anyone. Hadn't she managed to escape from the cottage and also free Jared from captivity? She would think of something. Souten would have to drug her so that she couldn't use her mind, because if she was able to use her mind she would device a plan to escape from him. She had done it once and she could do it again. Of that she hadn't the least doubt.

  She must keep her spirits up even though she was racked with worries over Jared and fears for her own safety. She dared not think how her life would be if Souten…no, she must keep this a blank in her mind, for anything of the sort only served to weaken her strength and resolve.

  Violet was exhausted from physical activity she was not used to and her whole body ached from it. She had taken a few sips of water from a flask that Souten had handed to her and had eaten a slice of cheese and some bread from a hamper. Yet even though her stomach rumbled in protest from lack of food she felt that if she ate anything else she would throw it out immediately. She had a headache and her hair felt natty with dirt and grime from the effort of pushing the rocks away from the opening in the forest. Her frock was torn and stained with mud and green from brushing branches and soil. There was a gash on her skin with dried blood and her right hand was numb with pain.

  She rested her head on the side cushion and the rhythmic sound of the wheels began to make her sleepy. Her thoughts were in a jumble and she wondered how she would fare from this dark adventure. She had no illusions that she could convince Souten to halt his schemes. His obsession had gone beyond sanity and only one thought was lodged in his deranged brain that was nevertheless very capable still of planning and plotting.

  Violet chided herself for not being more alert to his schemes and not suspecting both him and that awful Lady de Compte. How easily they seemed to have managed to get her and her mother away from the castle! And her father, unsuspecting of what was happening to her, in the north, could not come to her aid.

  And the duke, where was he? Probably still fast asleep at the castle, she thought. A sad thought that he neither knew her plight nor cared about her gave her a sudden pain at the pit of her stomach. No use in loving someone so deeply when one was not loved in return, at least not in the same way or with the same intentions.

  Violet was also very worried about her mother. When she had been separated from her, her mother had not been doing at all well. She wanted to believe that all this was the result of Souten's obsession with her and that her mother's illness would not be neglected and that she had been taken to a physician as they had promised.

  Perhaps the herbs they had given her—for now Violet believed that she had been given a potion to make her sick—were harmless and only appeared bad. Souten could not endear himself with her even if he forced her into marriage by putting her mother in real jeopardy. She hoped her mother was just a minor player in his schemes and that he meant her no harm.

  Then she heard very faintly the sound of horses' hooves. Souten had not heard them as they were very faint and he, too, had begun to doze off. Then the sound of horses hooves became a little louder, making Souten instantly sit up, alert.

  Souten leaned out the window and asked one of his outriders if he could distinguish who was following them.

  "Two riders, my lord, that's all I can make out from here."

  "Tell the driver to go faster!"

  "Yes, my lord," yelled the outrider and sped up ahead to contact the driver.

  But the horses were soon upon them and Violet leaned out the window and with a joy in her heart realized that it was Hawk and Jared!

  Jared sped up ahead and ordered the driver to halt.

  When the carriage came to a stop, Souten, who by now had tied his sword to his belt, jumped down, went around the other side of the carriage and dragged Violet down from the carriage.

  Meanwhile, Jared, near one of the outriders, ordered him to get down from his horse.

  Souten motioned to the other outrider to grab Violet and the man ran over to Violet and pinned her arms behind her. Violet struggled with the man but he was a lot larger and heavier and he soon subdued her.

  Souten drew his sword and took a step toward the duke.

  "I guarantee you, Hawkinston, I will see to it that Miss Durbin and I consummate our union before the day is over."

  "It will be hard for you to consummate any union with a sword sticking out from your chest," said the duke as he, too, drew his sword.

  Hawk motioned to Jared to get out of the way for Jared was holding the other man with a sword to his neck. The man now took
advantage of this to pull away from Jared and draw his own sword. He and Jared fought alongside the duke and Souten.

  There was a mist in the trees around them and the ground was muddy. Soon everyone's boots were up to their ankles in slush.

  For what seemed to Violet an eternity the duke and Souten fought in front of her while behind were Jared and one of the outriders in a fierce battle. The violent clanging of the swords made Violet wince each time. A fear that in the evenly matched duel, Souten might gain the upper hand sent a cold fear through her so that her forehead was soon wet with perspiration. She was less afraid for Jared who seemed to be quickly gaining the upper hand against the less experienced outrider.

  With each fall of a sword she prayed that God might aid good against evil. It seemed incredible to her that they were in a mortal combat in a verdant arbor that was filled with the chirping of birds, the rustle of the wind through the branches and the scent of pine, laurel, oak and maple dripping with recent rain.

  Jared had shot one of the four outriders as he lunged at him and that man now lay on the ground, his blood spreading over the wet ground. There was a nether world unreality to the scene for Violet. The driver of the coach stood rooted to his seat while the two men she cared for fought for their lives.

  Violet looked from Hawk and Souten to Jared and the other man as tears rolled down her cheek and her throat constricted in pain.

  She saw with immense relief that Jared had gained the upper hand. Violet did not fear as much for him as she feared for the duke, for Souten seemed fiercely able.

  Jared finally overwhelmed the man he fought, one of Souten's outriders, first by a cut to his arm and then, when the other man's strength waned, by thrusting his sword into the man's right leg, so that the keeled over, unable to continue.

  Jared came over to where Violet was and pulled her away from the man who held her. He then ordered the man to lie face down on the ground.

  The duel between the duke and Souten went one way and then the other so that Violet felt she could not live through the awful suspense. At one time Souten's sword sliced down so close to Hawk's left arm as to make a slight gash that stained scarlet the sleeve of his white shirt. Violet gasped, closed her eyes and prayed, while Souten laughed triumphantly. But he should not have counted on victory too soon for Hawk took advantage of his momentary distraction to slice too close to Souten's chest so that Souten yelled out in alarm.

  It seemed now that this had given Hawk a slight advantage in momentum and he began slowly to gain the upper hand. Long minutes went by in the silent wood as all those around held their breaths in suspense as the two men fought for their lives.

  Then with a quick maneuver Hawk banged the sword off Souten's grip and soon had his own sword at Souten's throat as Souten lay on the ground.

  "I always knew you were a cad," said Hawk, the point of his sword at Souten's gullet, "I should run you through for the viper you are."

  Then Souten, with a maneuver that startled them all, pushed Hawk's sword away from his throat, cutting his hand rather badly and creating a surface gash on his neck as he did so. Dripping in blood from his neck, which had quickly turned the front of his white shirt scarlet and from his hand the sleeve of his shirt, he then jumped up and out of from under the sword.

  "I can't see how you would face your sister if you killed me," he said with a bitter laugh.

  He turned to Violet, who had now been released by her captor.

  "I will never relinquish my love for you, Violet, no matter who you marry," he said and then ran to the horse his outrider had recently vacated, mounted, and took off down the wet road at great speed.

  "Where is he going?" asked Violet as Hawk embraced her.

  "To exile, I presume," answered Hawk. "There is no other place for him, for now."

  "He will stay away for good?" Souten's words to her still reverberated in her mind. He still had the power to instill fear in her even if he went into exile.

  "For several years, I imagine," Hawk said grimly. "Long enough for this to fade from people's minds. It’s difficult to prosecute a peer, especially if he is nowhere to be found, and he knows it.

  "But he was wrong in what he said about Arabella. It would not have mattered to me how much she dotes on him. I still would have run him through with my sword if he had not wriggled out of it."

  "Maybe it’s better this way," said Violet. "I think your sister would resent it and it would cause a rift between you for the rest of your lives. But she must surely now see what a cad Souten is."

  "Arabella realize that? Never," said the duke with a laugh. "She will find enough reasons to excuse his behavior to make a buzzing in your ears. I tell you this because she is shortly to become your sister-in-law. And as you know very well, one hardly ever gets to choose in-laws."

  "My sister-in-law?"

  "That's right, my love. You don't think I intend ever to let you out of my sight, do you? What better way to keep an eye on you than on you becoming the Duchess of Hawkinston?"

  He leaned over and kissed her, holding her wet cheeks with hands that were bloodied and soiled. Yet Violet had never in her life felt anything as wonderful as his kiss.

  "Ahem," said Jared.

  "Ah, Jared," said Hawk, "I want you to be the first to congratulate us."

  "I suppose I shall have to," said Jared, shaking his head, "But grudgingly so, for as you seem to forget, I saw Violet first. But I can see that Violet returns your affection, Uncle Perry. I will take your advice, though, congratulations are in order and my best wishes for the future duchess," and in so saying Jared went over to Violet and releasing Hawk's arm from around her carefully, kissed her smack in the mouth.

  "Best wishes, Violet," said Jared, crestfallen, "And thank you for rescuing me. I will now have to go on a Grand Tour to forget you."

  "Thank you for rescuing me, Jared," said Violet.

  Violet rode back to town with Hawk in Souten's rented carriage, while Jared rode his horse alongside.

  Hawk pulled Violet closer to him.

  He looked into her eyes. "I love you more than my life, Violet, and I have been a fool. Will you forgive me for my missteps and marry me?"

  In response Violet nestled in his arms, where she expected to be for the rest of her life.

  The marriage bans were announced on the next day of their return to London and a special license procured by the duke for the marriage, which took place a scant two weeks after. London buzzed at how Violet, walking down the aisle in St. George's Chapel, was the loveliest bride who had ever taken her marriage bows there. After the wedding breakfast the Duke and Duchess of Hawkinston left for a leisurely journey of Venice, Florence and Rome and on their return headed straight to the castle.

  * * *

  With her gloved hand lying lightly over Hawk's hand, Violet walked slowly, with a little trepidation.

  "You're doing fine, my love," said Hawk, sensing Violet's nervousness, "And you’re easily the most adorable woman in the ballroom."

  "The Duke and Duchess of Hawkinston," said the announcer in a booming voice, as he announced Hawk and Violet's entrance at the last Almack’s ball of the Season.

  A sudden silence fell on the ballroom as everyone turned to look at the Duke and Duchess of Hawkinston on their first social appearance. For days London had buzzed with details of their adventure and of the dangers they had been put through.

  Violet glanced at her parents, who stood looking at her proudly from the side. She smiled at them with tears in her eyes, happier than she had ever been in her life.

  From the sidelines, many in society who had shunned Violet now hid their envy and resentment and smiled and nodded as she passed them by.

  Lady de Compte had begged Violet and Sadie's forgiveness on her knees and implored them to believe that she had wanted to get out when Souten disclosed his intentions and that Souten had forced her to comply. Violet and Sadie forgave her, which made Lady de Compte a better and more honest person thereafter. She had gone to t
he north to live with her sister in quiet seclusion and she was not heard from again.

  As for Lady Galena, she was now married to the Earl of Hempway, who had lived at least eight decades on this earth and looked it. When her father, the Earl of Maddington, found out Galena's role in the plot, he had stopped her freewheeling ways by marrying her off to his friend in a marriage of convenience much to his satisfaction.

  Lady Selena, ever Galena's sounding board, listened to her daughter's daily complaints and consoled her by telling her that Lord Hempway had not many days left on this earth.

  Lady Galena now looked resentfully at the Duchess of Hawkinston.

  * * *

  Violet had loved the first view of Castle Cynweir as Hawk's wife and she treasured every minute she spent with him at the castle. In particular she loved going to the petite bijou, the little wood where Hawk had kissed her and her life had not been the same since.

  "I know there are countless reasons why I love being married to you, my love," said Hawk as they lay on the grass in a fine spring day and looked up at the clouds, "But what is the thing you like most about being married to me?"

  Violet turned and gazed into Hawk's eyes. There was so much in this man that fulfilled her from head to toe. He filled her soul and her heart and all the spaces in her mind and life that had been sad and lonely before she met him.

  "You mean, apart from your castle?" she asked.

  Hawk laughed. "Serves me right for trying to probe your mind, Violet. I should have learned my lesson long ago, shouldn't I?"

  Violet turned over on her back in the fragrant grass and gazed up again into his eyes.

  "There is nothing in my mind or heart except my love for you, my dearest love. Now and always."

  "And in my mind and heart, my lady—my lady always," said Hawk lowering his face to kiss her.