Of course, that led to more problems, and she’d barely taken a breath before they were being shot at by angry men from the village.
Now she was stranded who knew where—well, Mr. Dover probably had the location on his schedule, which was precisely why she wouldn’t ask him—and Blackthorne and his brother were gone, abandoning her and Ashley for another adventure. It would only be a matter of hours—actually twenty-seven minutes, if Mr. Dover was correct—before her father found them or the thugs from the village returned.
Then she was truly damned.
The sound of hoof beats made her jerk her head up, and she raced back toward the carriage.
“Someone’s coming!”
Ashley jumped out and grabbed her by the hands. “What should we do? Who do you think it is? Should we hide?”
In the carriage, Mr. Dover moaned, and Maddie had to speak loudly to make her voice carry above his noise. “I think we should hide until we know who it is.”
“I think you’re right.”
The girls stumbled toward the copse of trees where Maddie and Blackthorne had kissed earlier, but before they reached it, they heard a wild shout.
“We’re back!”
Chapter Seven
Maddie knew that voice. It caused equal and opposite reactions in her. On the one hand, she wanted to flee and hide. On the other, she wanted to run toward Lord Blackthorne.
Neither seemed preferable, so she chose to stop, turn, and face the Martingale brothers. They arrived, smug and smiling. Conquering heroes.
Ashley rolled her eyes at Maddie. “Every time I see that look, which with five brothers is fairly frequently, I want to retch.”
“Perhaps they’ve saved us, and we can finally be on our way.”
“Well, they certainly think they saved us,” Ashley retorted. She tapped her foot and crossed her arms. “We’ll see.”
“No need to worry, my ladies,” Lord Nicholas said when he was beside the carriage. He jumped off his horse and bowed dramatically. “We have triumphed over our tormentors. You won’t see them again.”
“Well, considering you’re the one who began the trouble in the first place, and we still see you,” Ashley spat, “that’s not at all comforting.”
Lord Nicholas huffed and moved away, but Maddie was watching Lord Blackthorne dismount. She swore the king of scowls smiled at the way Ashley took his brother down a peg.
But she might have been mistaken. It was rather dark.
“As relieved as we are to see you,” Maddie said, “I’ll be more relieved when the horses are harnessed again and we’re on our way. We’re—Mr. Dover, how far behind schedule are we?”
From the carriage interior, he called, “Precisely, one hour and—”
“We’ll no longer be traveling in the carriage,” Lord Blackthorne barked, all scowls again as he strode past Maddie. He headed for the other two bays, who were grazing on the side of the road, and she followed.
“What do you mean, sir?” she said, rushing to catch up to him. “Why can’t we continue in the carriage?”
He continued walking. “The axle is broken.”
Maddie felt her heart stop. Truly. It ceased beating for a good three seconds. She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think, and she almost doubled over from the weight of Blackthorne’s revelation.
Ashley rushed to her side. “Maddie, are you well?”
She tried to nod.
“She’s fine,” Blackthorne said, barely glancing at his fiancée as he led the horses by. “I’m sure you’re ecstatic, Miss Brittany. Didn’t you wish the axle would break so your father could catch us and shoot me?”
“Being stranded by the side of the road was hardly my wish. And I think we all know who is to blame for this.” Ashley gazed pointedly at Lord Nicholas, who stood, hands on hips, studying the broken conveyance.
