She frowned. That didn’t sound right . . .
Blackthorne’s arms tightened around her. “How am I supposed to keep you safe when you won’t listen to me?”
Maddie knew she was dreaming then. Why would the Earl of Blackthorne care about keeping her safe? Why did the Earl of Blackthorne care about her at all?
“Jack?” she murmured. She shouldn’t call him by his given name, but she was too tired to think about propriety. “May I ask you a question?” She felt him tense.
“What is it?”
“What did you do to the Duke of Bleven?” She tried to suppress another yawn—yawning belied the seriousness of her question—but the yawn escaped anyway.
“Go to sleep, Maddie,” Jack said. “I’ll tell you about Bleven tomorrow.”
“But I want to know now. I—” She yawned again.
“Shh,” Jack said. The last thing she remembered was the feel of his hand stroking her hair.
JACK FELT HER BODY go limp as she drifted into sleep. If she was even half as exhausted as he, she needed to rest. He only wished she could have stayed awake long enough for them to find a comfortable place to lie. They were close to a village, and there had to be farms nearby. He might have tucked her into a bed of straw.
Even better would have been taking a room at the village inn. But that would be the first place Bleven would search for them.
Bleven.
Jack closed his eyes and clenched his jaw. What the hell was he to do about the Black Duke? Now, not only were he and Nick on Bleven’s blacklist, but thanks to him, Maddie was there as well.
He might get her safely to Gretna Green, might see her married to Mr. Dover—if they could find the man again in the morning—but there was no way the professor could protect her from a man like Bleven.
Jack looked down at his sleeping charge and frowned. She couldn’t return to London. Bleven would find some way to hurt her there. He could handle Bleven. He would handle him, but in the meantime, what to do about Maddie?
Jack shook his head. When the hell had he started calling her Maddie? When the hell had he started thinking so much about protecting her? It had to stop now. He’d get her to Gretna Green, save his own skin by marrying Ashley Brittany, then return to London and take on Bleven. If the Brittany clan didn’t kill him first, they’d rally behind him and against Bleven.
Maddie—Lady Madeleine—had a different future. One without him.
Best if he kept that in mind. He had to ignore all insidious thoughts to the contrary, especially those that involved forgetting Ashley Brittany, stealing Lady Madeleine away from Dover, and marrying her himself.
That wasn’t going to happen. It couldn’t. A marriage to Miss Brittany was like a handshake. Nothing but a business arrangement. A marriage to Lady Madeleine would be an entirely different matter. He was growing far too fond of her, and that was dangerous.
If he married her, he didn’t think he could stop himself from . . . well, if not falling in love with her, coming damn close. He didn’t care how much he wanted her, he wasn’t risking his heart. He liked it cold and hard, and he liked that Ashley Brittany wasn’t any threat to it remaining that way.
The sooner he got Lady Madeleine to Gretna, got rid of her, and went his own way, the better.
But it wouldn’t be tonight. He’d had enough of traveling on dark roads and traipsing through black woods. They’d start fresh in the morning. He’d find Nick and Miss Brittany and even poor Mr. Dover, prod Nick to help him steal—er, borrow—a carriage, and then ride hell for leather toward Gretna.
Jack figured if they drove the horses fast, changed them every five miles or so, and limited meal stops and sleep stops, they could reach Gretna in three days or less.
Assuming they didn’t run into more trouble from Bleven or new trouble from Sir Gareth. And assuming Nick wasn’t accosted by any more innkeeper’s daughters.
Jack looked down at Maddie. Three more days. He shifted her sleeping form and wondered if he’d survive three more days. Everything ached, and he knew it would be worse in the morning.
His first priority was ensuring that Bleven wouldn’t stumble upon them during the night. He figured it would take Bleven several hours to round up his men and organize an effective search. That was, if the Black Duke even felt a search was worthwhile. For all the duke knew, he and Maddie were long gone.
Jack crept back toward the road, surprised to find that he and Maddie had made it deeper into the woods than he’d thought. Sliding through the brush on his belly, he surveyed the scene. The carriage was gone but several of the duke’s thugs were milling about. He watched as eventually all the men returned. But without Bleven, the hirelings seemed lost. Eventually, they dispersed, riding toward the nearest town. As the last man disappeared, Jack sighed in relief and crept back to Maddie.
She was still sleeping where he’d left her, and he looked around for a softer piece of ground. He didn’t see one, but spotted a tree that would provide good cover, should one of Bleven’s men come this way. As gently as possible, he lifted the sleeping Maddie and moved her to the tree. Then he saw to the care of the horses.
Sometime later he lay down beside Maddie. He had intended to remain close to her, should anything happen during the night, but far enough away to maintain decency.
Unfortunately, he didn’t anticipate how warm she’d be. She radiated heat, and his weak, cold body couldn’t resist moving closer. And, actually, that was a good thing. They needed to share body heat to survive.
