Chapter 30
The horse’s hooves beat furiously against the road as bits of mud flung up past his head. Julian, however, did not care as he urged his horse forward. He was halfway to London with Benedict, Arabella, and Juliette in tow, as they had all insisted upon coming with him.
The small posse were all riding hard as the need to find Lily before she left grew even stronger with every passing beat.
Wait for me.
His heart called out to her just as the rain stopped pelting his face.
He had thought of Lily all the way from Redding Hall, recalling her face and the moments he had stolen to be alone with her.
It hurt a little that she had not felt safe enough to approach him with the truth, but he reasoned with himself that he did not know what he would have done in her shoes.
Lily had been placed in a precarious situation with little to no means of escaping. None of that was her fault.
His thoughts raced along with his heart as they drew nearer and nearer to London. If Lily had gone anywhere, it was to her aunt’s house where she would feel safe.
Shots suddenly rang out, making Julian duck as he looked back.
The rest of the party seemed just as shocked as he was, but what shocked him the most was the sight of Eleanor riding behind a man who was brandishing a gun.
The man from the ball.
Julian realized with a shock that the man must have been Mr. King. “Pull to the side up ahead!” he yelled back before nodding to a thicker patch of trees beside the road.
Spurring his horse on, he dug his heels into the mare’s flanks and headed in the direction of safety. There was no use in attempting to outride a man with a gun when the four of them were out in the open.
His horse reached the thicket of trees just as another shot rang out.
He pulled on the reins once they were safe and dismounted when the rest of the party was safely behind the trees.
“Stay hidden and keep the horses out of firing range!” he yelled to Benedict as he drew his own pistol from his belt.
The roads leading up to London were well-known for targeting wealthy men and women, and Julian always carried a pistol for protection when traveling.
Benedict sprang into action and did as he was told, taking the women along with the horses to safety behind the trees.
Several more shots rang out as Julian waited behind the trunk of a giant oak. There was no telling what the man would do to him if he stepped out into the open.
The sound of the horse’s hooves drew closer, and Julian could hear Eleanor pleading with the man.
“Please, do not hurt any of them!” she sobbed.
Julian waited for the horses to come to a complete stop before daring to peer around the tree.
Another host rang out as the bullet missed Julian’s face by an inch. He jumped back, feeling his heart pounding in his chest. The man was utterly unhinged and meant business. It was no wonder that Lily had been scared of him.
“Come out, come out, Mr. Viscount! Or is the high and mighty Lord of Redding Hall scared of a gun? Huh! And here I thought you were a military man!” Oliver's voice rang out through the trees despite the ringing in Julian’s ears.
“Mr. King, please, this was not part of the agreement!” Eleanor wailed, her voice becoming more and more frantic with every word.
“Agreement? Do not speak to me of agreements when you were the one who summoned me here. Now get out of my way, girl!”
Julian heard Eleanor cry out as he looked around the tree again and saw that Mr. King had gripped her by the wrist and was now dragging her behind him.
“Come out, Mr. Viscount!” Oliver mocked. “Or do you wish to see your oldest and dearest friend dead? She went through so much trouble to bring me here and ruin all of your lives!” He laughed almost sardonically as Eleanor began to sob.
Shock coursed through his veins as Julian realized just how mad the man was. He cared for nothing and nobody other than himself. Julian did not doubt that he would, in fact, harm Eleanor if he did not come out.
Taking a deep breath, Julian stepped out from behind the tree as he heard his sister and Arabella gasping from somewhere behind.
The look of triumph in Oliver’s eyes sent a chill down Julian’s spine as the man let go of Eleanor and tossed her aside.
She hit the ground with a loud thud, wincing as her knees and wrists sank into the mud.
“Now that is more like it…” Oliver said in a softer tone, raising his gun as he pointed the barrel directly at Julian’s chest.
Thinking quickly, Julian responded in kind and lifted his own pistol, aiming the shot at Oliver’s head. “Are you willing to see who can shoot first?” Julian asked, staring down his opponent.
“Huh! You are brave with your words. I will give you that, but only a coward would steal another man’s betrothed! Lily belongs to me and so does her money!” Oliver raised his voice again, tightening the grip on his gun.
Keeping an eye on Eleanor, Julian watched as she slowly got to her feet behind Oliver’s back. She seemed unharmed despite the sorrow and fear in her eyes.
Standing his ground, Julian held the gun steady. “Lily and her money belong to no man unless she says so. Have you not learned that by now? She was free to choose, and she chose me. Why carry on like this when you already know that the matter has been settled?”
Soft rain began to fall again, obscuring his vision as he blinked back the tears.
Oliver scoffed again as he began to laugh.
“You speak as if women have a choice in the matter. We men are the ones who tell them where they must go and who they shall marry. Or am I mistaken in saying that she left you this morning at my behest?” He laughed more manically this time as the barrel of his gun shook.
Now!
Julian was about to lower his aim and shoot at the man’s leg, but stopped when he suddenly saw Eleanor running toward Oliver at full speed.
“What the devil?!” Oliver cried out before falling forward and losing his grip on his gun.
A single shot rang out as Julian ducked to the side, diving into the thicket of trees as he tucked his limbs in and rolled. He came to a stop on his stomach, looking up as silence filled the air.
Please tell me nobody was shot.
Panic began to build in his chest as not so much as a stirring could be heard. He looked behind him to find three faces staring back at him in confusion. Three unharmed faces provided Julian with temporary relief as he wondered why the silence continued.
Digging his hands into the damp earth, Julian pushed himself up and slowly began to make his way back out of the trees. He was cautious at first, but his movements quickly picked up when he spotted Eleanor and Oliver lying face down in the mud.
“Benedict, I need your help!” Julian yelled over his shoulder as he kicked the gun away from Oliver’s grasp and sent it flying into the surrounding shrubs.
Help came quickly as Benedict was by his side in a flash. “Are they…” he began to ask, but stopped when Julian bent down to feel Oliver’s pulse first.
“He is just unconscious. He must have hit his head on a rock.” Julian looked around at the uneven ground that was strewn with pebbles and rocks of all shapes and sizes.
A small trickle of blood began to pour from Oliver’s head, and Julian quickly spotted the ragged-edged rock beside the man’s head. Hunkering down, Julian began to check Eleanor’s pulse just as she began to stir.
“What happened?” she muttered under her breath and winced when Julian helped her to her feet.
“You saved us,” Julian said as Arabella and Juliette came out from hiding.
“Or almost got us killed,” Benedict muttered, but stopped when Julian discreetly shook his head.
Making sure that she had not been shot, Julian let go and allowed her to stand on her own two feet. Her balance was a little off, but that was to be expected from someone who had just gone through a great ordeal.
“I… I… Julian,” she began tearfully, but it was Juliette who stepped forward and gripped her hand.
“Why did you help us? After all that you did to Lily, you helped us. I saw the way you were pleading with Mr. King not to harm us,” Juliette said gently.
Tears of shame welled in Eleanor’s eyes as she averted her gaze.
“I never meant for anyone to physically get hurt, least of all you, Julian.” She lifted her gaze to meet his.
“But I can see now that I have been very foolish indeed. Mr. King was never going to just take Lily away, and you were never going to love me as you love her.”
Julian shook his head out of sympathy more than anything else. “But I told you as much. I have never felt more for you than the friendship I offered.”
The tears spilled down her cheeks as Eleanor sucked in a breath and spoke in a quiet voice. “I know.”
Juliette shook her head. “I do not understand. I heard you telling Lily last night that you did not care if Julian loved you or not. The only thing you cared about was that Lily left and never came back.”
Anger built for a moment in his chest again, but Julian quickly pushed it aside when he reminded himself that Eleanor had already paid for her crimes.
Shaking her head, Eleanor looked at nobody other than Julian.
“I was lying. One of many lies that I have been telling to get my way from the start. I never realized just how serious my actions were until Mr. King pulled out his gun. I regretted everything the moment that he said he would stop at nothing to make sure that Lily paid for refusing him.”
Julian watched her for a moment, feeling sorry for the pit she had dug for herself. “You need to make better decisions in the future, Miss Everet. I truly believe that there is someone out there for you, who will love you the way you deserve, but that man is not me, and it was never going to be.”
Eleanor shut her eyes as the pain became more evident on her face. “I know, and I must say goodbye now and apologize to all of you. I doubt that we will see each other again, but please tell Lily that I am truly sorry for everything that I have done.”
Julian watched as she turned from them and headed toward her horse that had wandered back down the road.
“What…” Oliver began to stir at Julian’s feet.
“He’s coming around!” Arabella suddenly gasped.
Thinking quickly, Julian jumped on the man’s back and pulled his arms behind his back. “Quickly, get me something to tie his hands up with!”
Looking around, Juliette suddenly loosened her hair and handed her brother the thick blue ribbon. “Here, take this. Mama swears they are the strongest ribbons in London.”
Doing as Juliette suggested, Julian took the ribbon and fastened Oliver’s hands behind his back, making sure that the knots were secure.
“We will have to take him with us to London. Although, I am not certain what we shall do with him beyond that point,” Benedict said.