Epilogue
Nancy stared at the scene before her with a blend of irritation and entirely inappropriate appreciation.
She fixed the driver with a glare sharp enough to suggest he might consider vanishing in a polite puff of smoke, or, failing that, discovering an urgent errand several miles away.
That would leave her alone with Jeremy who had discarded his jacket, rolled his sleeves, and bent over the wheel in a manner that made his trousers cling with treacherous devotion to every admirable line.
She fanned her face.
The man had no right to look so capable, so infuriatingly handsome, or, so hers, while doing something as inconvenient as repairing a carriage.
Ugh.
Since Jeremy had kidnapped her away, his lips had been all over her body. And yet . . . he refused to take the final step!
It was, frankly, a form of cruelty.
He kissed her like a man possessed, touched her like a husband with every right to her, and then had the audacity to stop. To wait. As though her body had not already been thoroughly convinced they were married in every way that mattered!
Rogue.
Nancy crossed her arms and scowled at the man. If patience were a virtue, she was in grave moral danger. She might even have blamed his usual denseness, but that particular trait had vanished where she was concerned, the moment he carried her off from a scandalized tea party two days ago.
How could the man be so brazen one moment and then insist on waiting for their wedding night the next?
“I can feel your eyes on me, love.”
Heh. That’s the only thing he’d be feeling of her until they reached their destination.
“Oh?” she said sweetly, “how perceptive of you.”
Jeremy glanced over his shoulder, his mouth curved in an infuriating way which suggested he was enjoying himself entirely too much. “You’re staring at me like a woman plotting my undoing.”
“I am staring at you like a woman who’s just met a strange creature and does not know what to make of him.”
He grinned. “But still loves the creature madly.”
“So the creature thinks,” she muttered. Her heart gave a small, startled lurch at the thought of having nearly missed this side of him—if she’d gone through with her idea of turning a page without him. Fortunately, neither of them had missed each other.
The sound of an approaching carriage pulled her gaze beyond Jeremy, to the dark shape which appeared on the road and steadily grew larger.
“Should we flag them down?” Nancy asked.
Jeremy rose, dusting his hands off his trousers. He held out an arm, beckoning her to him. These roads were dangerous, as were the intentions of strangers, so Nancy hurried over, allowing her fiancé to draw her against his body.
“You should go wait in the carriage,” he suggested in a low voice.
Nancy snorted. “That’s not happening, my love.”
The driver rose to his feet as well, waiting.
Nancy narrowed her eyes as the carriage drew nearer and nearer. This was no modest hack rattling along the road. Even from a distance one could tell the horses were top-notch and the carriage itself grand.
“Another couple eloping, perhaps?” Nancy murmured.
“One could only hope,” Jeremy mused. “Though it hardly matters at this point.”
He was right. They’d already caused a scandal. Hope, however, was such an optimistic word, proved fruitless when her eyes fell on the driver as the carriage drew to a halt before them.
Oh, no.
She barely finished the thought of those two words before her furious brother stepped out, followed by a bright-faced Pippa.
Her friend grinned at her. “What a lovely surprise catching you two on the road on the way to Scotland.”
Lord.
“Believe me,” Nancy said. “I am more surprised than you.”
Pippa chuckled. “Did you truly think I was going to miss your elopement?”
“Pippa,” her brother growled.
“What?” Pippa asked unbothered by his sour face. “This is quite the adventure to seize!”
Jeremy sighed. “Chatteris. You had the chance to stop us.”
“I thought you were going home,” the man snapped. “Not eloping.”
Jeremy simply shrugged. He must be the only man who didn’t flinch under this particular glare of his friend.
Pippa glanced to their carriage. “Well, since we are here, perhaps we can all travel and celebrate together.”
Her brother gave a curt nod in agreement.
Nancy groaned.
Her dream had come true and she loved the man and all . . .
Was she ever going to get her wedding night?
The end
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