Chapter Three #2
Sophie would be cold through by the time he returned, as would Dumfries—if the man was still living. And, if he was dead, then Sophie was on the moor alone. “C-could w-we…” Noah cleared his throat. “Could we hurry? They were in dire shape when I left.”
“We’ll be off soon,” the scone-stuffer said. He was shaping up to be the leader of the group. “Just waiting on the doc. Don’t want to move the injured without him.”
Guilt left a twinge in its wake. Sophie was the only thing on Noah’s mind.
She liked to bluff and bluster her way through situations. She never let on that she was afraid of anything because fear and timidity were weaknesses in her world, but he had seen her fingers tremble when she lit the lantern. The darkness bothered her.
It was silly to worry after her. He’d left her the hatchet, and the coach would provide plenty of wood. She wasn’t helpless, and she wasn’t daft.
Her transition from disguised driver to secretive business owner was proof of her intelligence and determination. From the moment they had entered the Lending Circle, she had become a force to be reckoned with. He had gone from leading her through decisions to trying to keep up with her.
The door swung open, and the chill air guttered the candles. Noah stepped closer to the fire.
“Doc Grant,” their leader greeted the man. He pointed to Noah. “This one wandered in off the moor. There’s been an accident between here and Beck Hole—sounds like it’s on this side of the incline.”
The older man crossed the room and offered his hand. “What are we facing?”
“The axle broke and our driver didn’t release the reins. The team dragged him for a distance. His chest got the worst of it, I think. Damned foolish.”
“If he’d stayed with the rig, it would’ve crushed him in the tumble. Just him and you?”
“No, my business…my secretary is there. She’s looking after him. We escaped without injuries.” Noah kept his voice low and his eye on the room. He didn’t want to spread about that there was a lady on the moor alone.
The doctor poked his finger against the lump on Noah’s forehead and smiled grimly when Noah winced and drew back. “I think you’re injured, lad. Sit down.”
“Please don’t worry about me,” Noah said as Grant pushed him onto the nearest bench and tilted his head toward the light.
“The last thing we need is to start out only to turn around if you collapse,” the doctor said as he cleaned the gash.
Noah hissed at the sting, and closed his eyes as his fear returned. What if Sophie’s bluster hid a larger injury? What if she has collapsed in the darkness and has no one there to look after her?
“You’ll have a nasty bruise, and might come away with a scar, but it will fade over time.” Grant cast his eye over his handiwork. “You might get a black eye for your trouble.”
Noah’s mother would be horrified of the appearance he would make at dinner parties, and his father would be worried over the impression he would make in court.
Noah wondered whether it wouldn’t be a good thing.
He might command a little more respect if he looked like he had survived a brawl or two.
The other boxers at the club might stop teasing him over his looks.
“Eddie, hand over some of those scones warming your pockets,” Grant called out. “I can hear this lad’s stomach rumbling.”
The driver, whose eyes looked too young and his face too weathered, delivered three large scones that were light as air and smelled like heaven. “Ready to go, then?” He nodded when Noah did. “You’ll ride up front with me.”
Noah shoved the scones into his coat pockets.
“Are you sure there’s not room for one more?” A young man waited at the door, his coat in his hand. “I’m looking for…something to keep me busy until day breaks.”
Noah heard the hesitation and saw the shift in the man’s stare. He was hiding something.
“We’ve got enough,” Eddie said. “And these lads know the incline.”
“But—” The young man surged forward.
“You would be better off staying here,” Eddie said. “Your lady is late, that’s all. She likely saw the fog and decided to stay home rather than chance the walk.”
He shouldered past the lad, and Noah mimicked the gesture. The other members of their party followed close behind.
Noah climbed up into the box, next to Eddie. It seemed to take forever for the others to fill the back of the wagon. Dr. Grant climbed into the second wagon, empty of everything but a driver.
“Why two?” Noah asked.
“There’ll be a wounded man and your kit, not to mention the lass.” Eddie cocked an eyebrow. “You don’t expect the boys to walk back, do you?”
Noah shook his head. “Of course not.”
They lurched forward, pulled by lumbering draft horses. The trees hung low over the road, blocking the fog, but also hiding the moon. It was a dark night, and the damp cold cut through him once again, adding urgency to their mission.
“Can we go any faster?” he asked Eddie.
“If we do, we’ll end up in a pile on the other side of the road.” Eddie nodded at the hill looming over the sealike fog. “We’ll get there in better time than you think… What’s your name, anyway?”
“Noah.”
Eddie reached over and offered his hand. His grip was strong and sure. “Nice to meet you, Noah. Eat something. It’ll make the time go faster.”
As Noah chewed on a scone, they emerged from the trees. The fog swept in, muffling the rattle of the wagon and the thud of hooves.
“Come all ye bold fellows that have to this place come,” sang one of the men from the back. “And we’ll sing in the praise of good brandy and rum.”
By the time they made the turn back toward Sophie, all the men were singing, and Noah was able to join in the chorus. Things were looking up.
“Hand up a tankard,” Eddie shouted over his shoulder. “Noah’s chewing one of Siobhan’s scones with nothing to wash it down.”
A tankard appeared at Noah’s elbow just as they struck a rock in the road. Ale sloshed over his sleeve and onto the seat.
He stashed the other two scones in his pockets as they made the turn and began the climb. The fog thickened, and the choir changed their song. Their singing grew louder.
Noah looked behind them, at the road he didn’t take. “What if I’d turned right and not left?”
“You would’ve gone in the river,” Eddie said. “After a nasty fall. Your team is probably down there somewhere.”
Noah shuddered and returned the tankard to the back, hoping it would find its original owner. He’d need to find his guide in the morning and give him his thanks for the rescue.
He kept an eye on their surroundings, looking for the landmarks he’d carved into his memory. “We’re close, I think.”
Eddie craned his neck. “I think I see a fire up there, a pretty big one.”
Sophie.
The wood from the seat bit into Noah’s fingers as he fought to stay still. It seemed like hours before the team came to a stop where the ground was level, not far from where he and Sophie had found Dumfries after the accident.
“Sophie!” He stood in the box and shouted, hoping the height would help him reach her. “Sophie, it’s Noah. I’ve brought help.”
He leapt from the wagon, jarring his bones and his teeth, and let the fire guide him forward. It grew brighter with each step as the other men followed.
“Sophie?”
She streaked from the fog and barreled into him, wrapping her arms around his middle in a crushing embrace. “I am so glad you’re safe.”
At least, that was what he thought she said. Most of it was muffled by his coat.
He lifted her delicate chin to look into her face. Perhaps it was a trick of the light, but she looked ready to cry.
He had only been gone for a few hours, but he ached from the sight of her as though it had been days. Everything about her felt fragile and precious. The need to kiss her stole his breath until his knees shook.
She stilled in his arms for a moment before she stepped back and looked past him. “This way, gentlemen. Is one of you a doctor?”
Noah moved to the edge of the crowd, watching Sophie direct their rescue, her coat sleeves looking more like bat’s wings as they flapped about.
Eddie walked past him on the way to get the wagon, shaking his head. “She’s a force to be reckoned with, ain’t she?”
Noah could do nothing but nod and think of all the times she had stepped away from him, formed a boundary that he didn’t dare cross. They each had their role to play in this charade and, while it sometimes drove him mad, it apparently suited her just fine.
He could help Sophie, but he couldn’t have her. No matter how much he might want it.
Eddie drew the horses as near as he dared, and the men lifted a whimpering Dumfries into the wagon. Noah waded into the fray to find Sophie, who was too close to the edge of the fog.
“I think you arrived just in time for him,” Sophie whispered. “I’m glad you were able to find a doctor.”
“I found more than that.” Noah pulled one of the scones from his pocket. “Hungry?”