Chapter 8
“Miss,” the newly familiar voice at her back sent an unexpected chill down her spine, “you shouldn’t be here.” Hardened into stone, her stomach sunk at the same velocity that the hairs on the back of her neck rose up on stilts. This was not good.
Violet set down the necklace she had been perusing in Mr. Duke’s while Mirabelle and Iris had ventured into the back room with the jeweler to discuss repair options.
Whirling around, she couldn’t stop the small gasp.
It was the man from the tent. “You? What are you doing here?” Desperate to cover up her lapse in judgment but with little to nothing to stand on, Violet plastered her best fake smile on her face.
But she already knew it was useless. The man was wielding a pistol and had a scarf tied around his face.
There was no hiding what he was doing here.
“I’m being smart. Like you said. Why bother with the tiniest specks of gold when I can come here and take all that I want?”
“I can see your point,” she stalled, glancing around at the freshly built store.
The fire had nearly devastated the owner, Mr. Linton.
Nearly bankrupt, he wouldn’t make it through a robbery.
There had to be something she could do. Earlier, the man in front of her had shown interest. Perhaps she could use that to her advantage.
The idea, sans plan, illuminated in her mind.
“You wouldn’t steal from me though, would you? ”
He waved his pistol up in the air in question, “What do you mean?”
“I’m the owner of this establishment.”
His eyes shifted across the room, as if the empty space would speak to him. “Nah…I don’t think so,” he muttered, shaking his head.
“Yes, I am. Because of the recent fire, I’m buying out Mr. Linton.
” There. That was the perfect plan. Surely this good soul would not steal from her after she had helped put him at ease earlier.
Alex hadn’t thanked her for her reconciliatory efforts, but once this thievery business was put to rest, she was sure Mr. Linton would show his appreciation.
He was such a kind old man. Hence the reason the whole town banded together to rebuild his shop.
And wouldn’t it be a great story to tell once this man turned around and went back to work for Alex?
It took a few seconds for the man’s decisions to catch up with his processing power, and it took Violet less than half a second to realize her grand mistake.
“I guess I’m taking you with me then. More money.” And faster than his thinking capabilities, he snatched up the available jewelry, threw it in a bag, and locked his arm around her neck. “Let’s go, Miss.”
“I-I don’t even know your name,” she choked out in her most placating voice, because…well…what choice did she have?
“Timothy.” Obviously he admitted this without thinking through the consequences.
“All right, Timothy. Where are we going?”
“I’ll let you know when you need to know. Now let’s go—”
“Help!” she shouted. Iris and Mirabelle were in the back of the shop with Mr. Linton, surely they would hear.
But she would never find out since he clonked her right out.
***
“We’ll find her,” Tristan shouted over their thundering hoof beats.
They had to find her. There was no other option.
Violet was taken? Disbelief crowded his mind. She was taken? By some madman? Deciphering the whole story had been a hassle amidst all of the sobbing coming from Iris and Mirabelle, but eventually he’d heard enough.
The chase was on and he could only hope that Timothy (the name the women had overheard) was on the main road out of Kisswick.
He’d be a fool to be on it, but the man had marched into his tent complaining like a toddler. For the third time that week.
Riding hell for leather, Alex urged his horse into even longer strides. He wasn’t far behind, thank God, he had needed to come into town not soon after the ladies left to fix one of the locks of their deposit boxes.
There was a small speck in the distance. It had to be them. He pressed into his horse as he watched Violet’s limp body sway from side to side in front of Timothy. There was no clean shot at the rider, without risking her life.
Her life.
Her light.
Her essence.
Everything he needed, despite his doubts.
Alex made eye contact with Tristan, conveying a plan. The two of them were riding up on either side when a loud bang from town caused Tristan’s horse to falter, putting him back several strides.
At the same instant, Violet seemed to come to.
In a daze, she took quick inventory of her surroundings.
Then, in a bewildering fashion, she leaned forward and then with great speed reared back, lodging her skull against Timothy’s nose.
The hand that had been binding her to him flew to his face and she flung herself from the horse.
Damn, her. Alex’s thoughts jumped with her. All rational thought fled his body. Grinding his horse to a halt, he dismounted in an easy motion and flew to her side. He picked up her body in his own, cradling her.
“You foolish girl. You could have died. Are you trying to kill me?” The nonsense was flowing, and there was no stopping it. “Shave years off my life? What were you thinking to jump from a speeding horse?”
Her eyes fluttered open, blinded by the sun overhead. “I was thinking to save myself from a madman was worth a bruised shoulder or turned ankle.”
“Not if he turned around and shot you—”
“Alex!”
The warning in her voice clear, he dropped her, was on his feet, and plunged his fist into Timothy’s face. THWACK! The man went down.
Just then, Tristan reared up beside them and took over wrangling a limp-bodied Timothy. “I’ll take care of this. You two just get back to town safely.” With a nod, he slung Timothy over his horse and took the reins of two horses to head back to Kisswick.
“I could have lost you, Violet.” Alex had sunk to his haunches, eyes locked on her grimacing face.
“It’s not like you were too happy to see me this afternoon, anyway.”
He scoffed.
Then snorted.
Choked back a cough.
Scoffed a second time for good measure. “You’re comparing my mild irritation to you showing up at a grossly inconvenient time to…you dying?”
“Well…” she sputtered, “you could have been happy to see me.”
“I was. But I was also evaluating a million items in my mind at that particular moment.”
“I should be able to interrupt your work without your disdain.” She folded one achy arm over the other. Without the adrenaline, he could see that she was starting to feel some of the impending pain.
“You’re hurt.”
“I’m fine. I was more hurt this afternoon when you dismissed me.”
“Don’t say that, Vi—”
“Don’t do that, Alex. You either want me or you don’t. And I get it. I’m impulsive. I look before I leap. Just look at what I did to myself.”
“The bruises will heal.”
“I’m not talking about those. I’m talking about this abduction. It never would have happened if I hadn’t shown up and told that addlepated nimrod how clever I thought he was.”
An ill-timed laughter belted out of him.
“Yes. Well, I have to say I’m relieved to hear your revised assessment of his intelligence.
But I will tell you something. It wouldn’t have mattered what you told Timothy, he would have twisted it to mean whatever he wanted it to mean.
You could have called him an addlepated nimrod to his face, and hours later he would have claimed that an addlepated nimrod ought to act like an addlepated nimrod and attempt robbery in the middle of the day. ”
“I should have kept my mouth shut.”
“You should never keep your mouth shut.”
He chuckled as she clamped it shut and jutted her chin out toward him. “You need to let the light out, Vi.”
She tilted her head, but said nothing.
“Go ahead. Ask me what I mean.”
For a brief second he thought she was going to keep up the charade, but then she acquiesced. “What do you mean?”
He shook his head sheepishly. “I thought I could stay away, but I can’t.”
“I always thought you stayed away because you were annoyed with me. Or even a bit disgusted with me.”
“I stayed away because you burn too brightly. My soul doesn’t deserve that much light. But I’m like a moth to the flame, Violet. Your light is so bright, and I can’t stay away any longer.”
“I don’t want you to stay away. I never did.”
“My secrets felt too dark.”
“Don’t you know that light shines brightest in the darkness?” He let her cup his jaw, and more importantly, he let himself lean into it.
“I’m ready to get burned, Violet.”
“I would never hurt you, Alex. You mean everything to me.”
“Even if you do, it’s worth it. I can’t imagine my life without you.
” Gently, he pulled her body closer to his, needing to feel more of her.
“I need you. I need your light. And I need the steely resolve and impetus it takes to jump from a speeding horse. You’re everything to me, Violet. I love you.”
“I love you, too, Alex.”
They sat gazing into each other’s eyes for who knows how long until Violet perked up. “Now, could you please take me home?”
He swept her up into his arms. “Greene House never sounded so appealing.”
“Oh, no. I don’t mean Greene House. I mean Rosemere Manor. I’d rather not delay getting acquainted with my new home.”
“Of course. How foolish of me, my love.” He kissed her temple and whispered, “Let’s go home.”