They were on flat land now, and the earl’s men pushed their horses faster. Jack could see their faces, see their determined expressions. He decided his best hope was to wound the lead horse. That would force Castleigh to cut the animal free and harness the other horses before continuing on.
By then, Jack thought, he would be married.
His stomach gave a heave that had nothing whatsoever to do with the bumpy road, but he swallowed the anxiety and returned to the task at hand.
He raised the pistol over the top of the carriage, squinted, tensed his finger on the trigger—
And the hatch popped open.
Jack jerked and his one shot went wild. “What the hell!”
“How close are we?” Maddie called from below.
He peered down and saw her hand still outstretched from opening the hatch. Damn fool chit had ruined his one shot.
Without a word, Jack slammed the hatch closed again. He turned back to Nick. “Got another plan?” he asked.
Nick gave him a disgusted look and tensed his jaw in concentration. Jack glanced back at the earl’s coach, which was now neither gaining nor falling behind. No need to worry that the earl would try to run them off the road or shoot at them. With Maddie inside, he was certain that the earl would not allow his men to take any chances.
Once they arrived at Gretna, however, Jack had a feeling that all bets were off.
“My advice?” Nick said over the roar of the horses’ hooves. “Pray.”
They covered the last few miles to Gretna Green with the earl’s coach close on their heels. But with the city in sight, Nick pushed his horses faster, taking risks by running off the road and going over uneven ground.
Jack considered it a miracle that the axle didn’t snap or one of the horses falter and break a leg, but the end result was that they arrived in Gretna Green without the earl in sight.
Jack, keenly conscious that Castleigh was right behind them, didn’t even wait for the coach to come to a stop in front of the blacksmith’s shop before jumping down and flinging the door open.
“We’re here,” he barked. “Let’s go.”
Ashley scrambled out and rushed to the blacksmith’s door, with Jack right behind her. It wasn’t until he was inside and the rotund priest was rising unsteadily before them that Jack realized Maddie hadn’t followed.
Nick stood in the door, and Jack swung around to face him. “Where’s Lady Madeleine?”
Nick shrugged.
“She’s still in the carriage,” Ashley told him in a rush. “Without Mr. Dover here, she has no reason to come inside.”
“Damn.”
The priest cleared his throat. “Ye’ll be wanting tae marry, then.” The man’s Scottish accent was thick, his words marred further as he lifted a jug of brandy and took a swig. A good portion of it dribbled back down his chin.
Jack let out a long sigh. Leave it to him to find the drunk priest. Not that the man was actually a priest. Scottish law didn’t require one to officiate at a marriage. From the look of the man and the plethora of brandy jugs in the shop, this anvil priest was probably a smuggler.
“We’re in a hurry,” Jack said.
“Och, a hurry.” The man’s tongue rolled over the r’s and got stuck. “Nae heard that before.” And then he burst into laughter.
Jack scowled. He needed to get this over and done. Now, before he reminded himself that Dover might be dead, and Maddie was free. Damn it.
He looked at Ashley and took a deep breath. He would marry Ashley Brittany. She was safe. She posed no risk to his heart.
And yet, he couldn’t leave Maddie in the carriage alone. He couldn’t even leave her unmarried. He didn’t want to imagine what would happen to her when she returned to London, still unwed after a failed elopement and several nights spent in the company of men who were not her relatives.
Hell. He looked to the priest, who was asking if they had two witnesses, and then at Ashley.
“Lord Blackthorne,” she said, “should I ask Maddie if she will serve as our second witness?”
