Surrounded by the crowd, which was held back by ropes, she saw a large stake. Chained to the stake by his neck was a beautiful black bear with the saddest eyes she’d ever seen. Two large bulldogs growled and lunged at the bear, who swiped at them with his enormous claws.
The bear was bleeding from a wound to its shoulder and left flank, and Maddie could see by the way he moved, that the poor animal was in pain. The dogs lunged again, and one clamped onto the bear’s tender snout. The bear howled in anguish before knocking the dog off, leaving angry red scratches on the dog’s side.
“Stop it!” Maddie screamed. She hadn’t meant to call out, but she couldn’t seem to stop herself. “Stop this at once.”
But no one appeared to hear her. In fact, the man beside her pushed her aside so he could get a better view.
“Did you hear me?” Maddie yelled. “Stop this—”
“Oh, shut yer potato hole,” another man told her. “I cannae enjoy the sport with all yer screaming.”
“But this is cruel,” she countered. “We cannot allow this to continue.”
“Look, lass,” another man said, turning to face her with an angry jerk. “I doona want to hear yer chatter again. Go home, Sassenach.”
“But—”
A hard hand clamped on her shoulder and jerked her back. “We were just leaving,” Jack said.
Maddie spun round to face him as he took her hand and dragged her away from the savage scene. “But Jack,” she protested, “did you look—”
There was a howl of pain, and she turned in time to see one of the dogs thrown to the ground. It was hurt badly, and she would have rushed to its aid if Jack hadn’t continued to pull her away.
“Jack,” she said, digging her heels in once they reached the main street. “We have to go back. We have to help that bear.”
She wasn’t prepared for the anger in his eyes when he rounded on her, and she took a step back. “Forget about the goddamn bear,” he growled. “I told you not to move. I told you to wait right outside the shop.”
He was yelling at her, sounding just like her father, and Maddie straightened her back and attempted to speak civilly. “I did wait, but I didn’t see the harm in walking to that dress shop and peeking inside.”
“But you didn’t go to the dress shop, did you?” He grabbed her wrist and tugged her toward a carriage that was now waiting outside the livery. She realized this must be the carriage he’d secured for them. “You could have been hurt,” he said.
“I know.”
At her apparent easy acquiescence, he turned and looked back at her.
“But that bear is hurt, Jack. Those poor dogs, too. How could I let that happen without trying to stop it? How can you let it go on?”
“Maddie . . . ” He leaned down so she could see his eyes. “I’m having a hard enough time trying to keep you safe. What the hell am I supposed to do about a bear?”
She put her hands on her hips. “Well, if you won’t do something, I will. I’m not leaving that bear, Jack. If I have to stay in Gretna Green permanently—”
“We’re returning to London. Now.” He grabbed her arm and tried to push her toward the carriage. Maddie slapped him away, and a woman passing on the street gave them a curious look. “Stop it,” he ground out between clenched teeth. “You’re causing a scene.”
“You’re causing a scene,” she retorted.
“Get in the carriage.”
“No.” She shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest. “And if you try and make me, I’ll scream my head off.”
“Goddamn, bloody—”
“Profanity won’t help you,” she said calmly. “Now, you can either help me or abandon me, but I’m not leaving without that bear.”
She saw the muscle in Jack’s jaw tense, saw his fists curl into hard balls. Then he grabbed her shoulders roughly. “Stand right here.” He backed her up until her spine was pressed against the livery. “Do not move. Not your feet, your arms, not even your eyes. I swear by all that’s holy, if you move one inch, I’ll kill you, and that goddamn bear, too.”
He stalked away from her and climbed in the carriage. As she watched the carriage pull away, Maddie bit her lip.
One day of marriage, and he’d already left her.
