Chapter 20 #3
She squeezed his hand. “Let’s go home.”
Her fingers felt so small in his. Fragile. He held on as though she might vanish again if he loosened his grip for a single heartbeat.
After he retrieved the pistols from the ground, Jude tucked them securely into the waistband of his trousers.
He grabbed the rope and bound Broderick’s wrists before walking back through the trees, keeping one step ahead of her, shielding her from branches and roots as though the woods were a threat.
He kept glancing at her—at her torn gown, the dried leaves tangled in her hair, the bruise forming along her cheekbone.
Relief surged through him with every step she took behind him, alive and breathing.
He wanted to tell her everything—that he loved her, that losing her would have destroyed him, that he could not, would not, imagine a future without her. But the words lodged in his throat, too heavy, too raw.
Once they stepped out from the shadows of the trees, a cry rose from the courtyard. Josie’s maid broke into a run.
“My lady—you are bleeding!”
“Am I?” Josie asked faintly, lifting her fingers to her cheek as though noticing it for the first time.
Jude didn’t release her hand. He doubted he ever would. “Let’s get you cleaned up,” he said softly. “And then we’ll depart for Town.”
A tall, barrel-chested man with a narrow mustache approached them, tugging off his cap. “My lord. I’m the constable of this village. I understand the young lady was abducted.”
“That is correct,” Jude said, his voice tight. “The man responsible is unconscious in the woods.”
The constable’s brows lifted. “Unconscious? I see.” He cleared his throat. “Could you show me the exact location, my lord?”
“I will—”
“Josephine!”
The shout cut across the courtyard.
Lord Leroy emerged from the crowd, breaking free from Rupert’s grip.
Josephine immediately stiffened, her hand tightening painfully in Jude’s.
Her uncle rushed closer. “My dear girl—thank heavens—”
Jude stepped squarely in front of Josephine, blocking his path. “Do not touch her. You have lost that right.”
Lord Leroy’s steps faltered. “But—I am her uncle,” he stammered.
Josephine moved to stand at Jude’s side, her chin lifted. “You let him take me,” she said, her voice shaking with outrage and disbelief.
Her uncle swallowed, shifting his gaze from her to Jude and back again. “He—he had a pistol… I didn’t know what to—”
“Mr. Broderick said you promised me to him,” Josephine said.
“Clearly, he is lying,” Lord Leroy attempted, shifting uncomfortably in his stance. “I would never do that to you, Poppet.”
Before Jude could fully think it through, his fist connected with Lord Leroy’s jaw. The man stumbled back, crashing onto the gravel, his eyes wide with shock and fear.
“Stay away from Josie,” Jude warned, each word infused with every ounce of fury he had been carrying since the moment he had arrived at the coaching inn.
Lord Leroy clutched his chin, his breath coming in wheezing gulps. “Josephine… please…”
Josephine looked at him for one long, unreadable moment. “You are not the man I thought you were, Uncle.”
“It was a mistake, a misunderstanding… you have to trust me,” her uncle attempted. “He threatened me if I didn’t help him.”
With a resigned sigh, Josephine said, “But I don’t trust you. Not anymore.” Then she lifted her chin higher and walked right past him.
Jude moved to follow her because every instinct he possessed screamed to stay at her side, to shield her, to make sure she didn’t disappear again.
But the constable cleared his throat. “My lord—the man who did this—”
Jude’s entire body tensed. He didn’t want to stop. He didn’t want to waste even a second that could be spent walking beside Josephine, reassuring himself that she was safe.
But the very thought of Broderick lying unconscious in those woods—breathing, still alive after what he’d dared to do—sent fury clawing up his throat.
He turned back, his jaw clenched. Duty and love tore at him, pulling in opposite directions.
The constable shifted, waiting.
Jude exhaled slowly. “Before we go deal with Broderick, I want Lord Leroy arrested for helping in Lady Josephine’s abduction.”
“Yes, my lord,” the constable said, flicking his wrist towards a man standing back. “Arrest Lord Leroy at once.”
Lord Leroy’s eyes grew wide. “You can’t arrest me. I am the son of a marquess,” he declared pompously.
“We don’t care much for people abducting our ladies here,” the constable said.
Once Lord Leroy was being led away, Jude knew it was time to deal with Broderick properly. “Follow me, then,” he instructed.
The constable bobbed his head and fell into step behind him as Jude strode back towards the trees, each step heavy with reluctance.
He glanced once over his shoulder and Rupert tipped his head—an unspoken assurance passing between them.
Jude let out a sigh of relief, his shoulders easing by a fraction. If there was anyone besides himself he trusted with Josephine’s safety, it was Rupert.
Good, he thought. She will be safe until I return to her.