A shiver trickled down her spine.
“The next part might get a little tumultuous,” Leeds said. “Hold on tightly, love.”
Harriet’s shoulders snapped back as thatlovereached her. Why did he insist on calling her by that wretched word? Everytime he did, she had to remind herself the meaning was as shallow as their proposed union.Hewas shallow. Merely a ruffian taking advantage of her and using words he didn’t mean in an offhand attempt to placate her.
Harriet looked beyond him to the waves rolling onto the shore. Sure enough, their journey was about to come to an end. She reached out to grip onto the edge of the boat.
“Where exactly are we?” Harriet asked to no one in particular as she studied the houses in the distance.
“Hell if I know,” Calstone muttered. “But anything is better than a ship bound for the Americas.”
Harriet snorted.
“It doesn’t matter,” Leeds remarked. “We’re almost home.”
Home.
How laughable was that?
Calstone glanced down at his shirt. “I can’t wait to get out of these clothes. Ruined a good jacket jumping into the Thames after you.”
Harriet scanned their clothing and paused. That’s right, they’d changed clothes, and she hadn’t seen them bring their ruined garments along.
Which might mean . . .
Was the newly-acquired special silence ruined?
A spark of hope lit her breast.
If the document was ruined or lost, that would give her more time. In any case, even if it was still back in London, at least he couldn’t try to compel her to marry as soon as they reached the nearest town—there would be more preparations to be made than that. But instinct told her that Leeds would not have let that special license leave his possession.
Chances were, he had placed it in his coat pocket. And he would probably not have jumped into the water with a coat that would weigh him down. If that coat had been left on the dock,unless a footman or driver smartly snapped it up, it would surely have been nicked by a passerby.
Interesting.
As if sensing her gaze, Leeds suddenly lifted his head, and their eyes met once more. Her pulse leaped. Could he tell what she was thinking? A lifetime of meaning seemed to be packed into the one second he held her gaze.
Harriet’s grip tightened on the edge of her bench as they rode the waves to shore.
Lord, please don’t let the boat overturn.
Water sprayed onto her face and soaked through her clothes. She didn’t care. As long as she remained safe inside, a bit of wetness would not hurt. Remarkably, Leeds kept her fear at bay. Not the man himself, of course, but the stark concentration as they navigated to shore. His complete focus brought a measure of comfort to her heart.
She reluctantly admitted that the men were quite impressive. They had taken rowing to safety extremely seriously. As if at any moment the sea might turn on them.
The moment they reached shallow waters, both men leaped from the boat to pull it onto the sand. Harriet could finally relax.
Leeds held out his hand.
Harriet paid him no mind and rose, moving to the opposite side of the boat and disembarking there. She might be impressed, but she wasn’t about to forgive him.
This was allhisfault.
The moment Harriet’s boots sank into the beach, the stiffening in her joints sank along with it. The worry she had been holding back melted away, and her knees hit the sand with a small plop.
How utterly mortifying.
*
