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Authors: Isobel Carr
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trusted without question. His sister’s frightened
face peered back over Sandison’s shoulder as he shoved her into a somewhat battered coach. Leo swallowed hard. Nothing scared
Beau. Whatever Sandison had done to make her look like that, Leo was going to make sure that he regretted it.
Leo caught the arm of an ostler and shoved the reins of his hack into the man’s hands. “Saddle me a fresh horse. There’s a
crown in it for you if you’re done by the time I get back.”
With the man’s “Yes, sir” ringing in his ears, Leo waded through the crowd and into the taproom. He found his brother, cup
of ale in hand, surveying the room.
“No sign of her,” Glennalmond said.
Leo let his breath out in a sigh and tried desperately to keep his temper in check. “That’s because she just left.”
Glennalmond swallowed wrong and spat ale onto the floor as he coughed. Leo thumped him on the back, plucked the glass from
his hand, and finished the ale in one gulp.
“With Gareth Sandison,” Leo added. Just saying the name brought a rush of renewed anger that flooded through him until even
his fingertips throbbed with it.
“Sandison?” Glennalmond sounded as though he couldn’t quite grasp what Leo had said. “But she and he—”
“Don’t get on at all. I know. You should have seen her face. Stricken. Frightened. I’ve never seen Beau look like that. Not
even when she stole grandfather’s hunter and went on a cattle raid with Sean McDermid when she was ten.”
Glennalmond’s face turned beet red. “I’ll kill him. Earl’s son or not, I’ll strangle him with my bare hands.”
“Not if I beat you to it,” Leo said.
CHAPTER 10
B eau hugged herself, trying to rub away the prickle of gooseflesh that wouldn’t abate. That had been close. Too close. On every
front. If Nowlin had held on, she’d be Lord only knew where by now, and if Glennalmond had caught up to them already, Leo
and her father couldn’t be far behind.
“Can we go to ground somewhere?” she said, horrified by how pathetic and frightened she sounded. “Just disappear until they
all give up looking?”
“I’ve been thinking the same thing,” Sandison replied, his tone as grim as his expression. “You’re not to leave my sight.
Your Irish suitor will have to go through me if he’s to lay so much as a finger on you ever again. As for your family, we
could attempt to lose ourselves in Leeds. Put up in one of the smaller inns for a week or so. They couldn’t possibly search
them all.”
“Or we could leave the main road,” Beau said, twisting her petticoat in both hands. “We could turn off at Wakefield and go
west. Or head east to Scarborough and follow the coastal road north.” Anything. They could doanything and that would have to be better than following the prescribed path.
A look of disgust seemed to have settled permanently onto Sandison’s brow. Beau’s eyes burned, and she furiously blinked away
the onset of tears. Was he starting to reconsider their plan? To regret it?
Beau bit her lip. “If you’ve changed your mind, you could leave me at the next posting inn. Glennalmond will find me, and
no one need ever know…” She let the statement trail off.
His head snapped up, blue eyes piercing her. “Have you?”
Beau shook her head. No. She hadn’t, but guilt rather than blood seemed to be pumping through her veins. She was selfishly
ruining his friendship with her brother. Perhaps forever.
One side of Sandison’s mouth curled into a smile. Beau’s pulse steadied. She relaxed her hands, startled to find how tightly
they’d been clenched. She knew that smile. It was the one he wore when teasing her, or torturing one of his friends with some
prank.
Thank God.
“Then we’ll turn at Wakefield and head west,” he said, still smiling. “We can pick the road to Gretna back up at Manchester.
Hopefully everyone else will continue north toward Newcastle Upon Tyne before
face peered back over Sandison’s shoulder as he shoved her into a somewhat battered coach. Leo swallowed hard. Nothing scared
Beau. Whatever Sandison had done to make her look like that, Leo was going to make sure that he regretted it.
Leo caught the arm of an ostler and shoved the reins of his hack into the man’s hands. “Saddle me a fresh horse. There’s a
crown in it for you if you’re done by the time I get back.”
With the man’s “Yes, sir” ringing in his ears, Leo waded through the crowd and into the taproom. He found his brother, cup
of ale in hand, surveying the room.
“No sign of her,” Glennalmond said.
Leo let his breath out in a sigh and tried desperately to keep his temper in check. “That’s because she just left.”
Glennalmond swallowed wrong and spat ale onto the floor as he coughed. Leo thumped him on the back, plucked the glass from
his hand, and finished the ale in one gulp.
“With Gareth Sandison,” Leo added. Just saying the name brought a rush of renewed anger that flooded through him until even
his fingertips throbbed with it.
“Sandison?” Glennalmond sounded as though he couldn’t quite grasp what Leo had said. “But she and he—”
“Don’t get on at all. I know. You should have seen her face. Stricken. Frightened. I’ve never seen Beau look like that. Not
even when she stole grandfather’s hunter and went on a cattle raid with Sean McDermid when she was ten.”
Glennalmond’s face turned beet red. “I’ll kill him. Earl’s son or not, I’ll strangle him with my bare hands.”
“Not if I beat you to it,” Leo said.
CHAPTER 10
B eau hugged herself, trying to rub away the prickle of gooseflesh that wouldn’t abate. That had been close. Too close. On every
front. If Nowlin had held on, she’d be Lord only knew where by now, and if Glennalmond had caught up to them already, Leo
and her father couldn’t be far behind.
“Can we go to ground somewhere?” she said, horrified by how pathetic and frightened she sounded. “Just disappear until they
all give up looking?”
“I’ve been thinking the same thing,” Sandison replied, his tone as grim as his expression. “You’re not to leave my sight.
Your Irish suitor will have to go through me if he’s to lay so much as a finger on you ever again. As for your family, we
could attempt to lose ourselves in Leeds. Put up in one of the smaller inns for a week or so. They couldn’t possibly search
them all.”
“Or we could leave the main road,” Beau said, twisting her petticoat in both hands. “We could turn off at Wakefield and go
west. Or head east to Scarborough and follow the coastal road north.” Anything. They could doanything and that would have to be better than following the prescribed path.
A look of disgust seemed to have settled permanently onto Sandison’s brow. Beau’s eyes burned, and she furiously blinked away
the onset of tears. Was he starting to reconsider their plan? To regret it?
Beau bit her lip. “If you’ve changed your mind, you could leave me at the next posting inn. Glennalmond will find me, and
no one need ever know…” She let the statement trail off.
His head snapped up, blue eyes piercing her. “Have you?”
Beau shook her head. No. She hadn’t, but guilt rather than blood seemed to be pumping through her veins. She was selfishly
ruining his friendship with her brother. Perhaps forever.
One side of Sandison’s mouth curled into a smile. Beau’s pulse steadied. She relaxed her hands, startled to find how tightly
they’d been clenched. She knew that smile. It was the one he wore when teasing her, or torturing one of his friends with some
prank.
Thank God.
“Then we’ll turn at Wakefield and head west,” he said, still smiling. “We can pick the road to Gretna back up at Manchester.
Hopefully everyone else will continue north toward Newcastle Upon Tyne before
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