“And you will step away.” To Felix’s astonishment, it was none other than Lord Stanfield, a pistol held around the carriage door. “You will leave the supposed highwayman alone.”
Quickly, Felix lifted his own pistol only to see the confidence fade from Stafford’s face. Evidently, the man had no intention of dying, and the threat of a pistol shot to the heart was difficult to accept. Griggs had no pistol any longer which meant the threat was all the greater.
“You are dismissed.” Regaining himself a little, Felix sucked in air, his heart still pounding as he stood to his fullest height. “I do not need your services any longer. Take yourself from me. Oh, and Stafford? Leave your pistol behind.”
The man’s teeth gritted hard, his face red but, after some moments of silence, he accepted his loss. His head dropped and, eventually, he dropped the pistol and turned toward his horse. Griggs and Connelly followed.
Felix did not relax for a moment, keeping his own pistol trained on Stafford. The man was the instigator, the one who had pushed the other two forward, he was sure of it. He would not lower his pistol until they had ridden some distance away.
Eventually, the threat was over.
Felix sagged a little with relief.
“You did not have to do such a thing.” Turning, he lifted one eyebrow when Lord Stanfield’s pistol remained trained on him. “And nor do you have to do this.”
Eyebrows lifted, Felix took a small step back, a prickling running up and down his spine as he looked into the man’s eyes. Was Lord Stanfield about to shoot him? In taking on the guise of a highwayman, he had taken on the risk associated with it, for any man might seek to end his life or, at the very least, injure him for what he was doing. But accepting that was part of the thrill of what he did. This was to be expected, he knew that but, as he looked back into the barrel of the pistol, Felix’s stomach dropped to the ground. Yes, it was a risk he had always accepted, but mayhap he had never taken it as seriously as he ought.
“Mayhap I sent those fellows away so I might shoot you myself.” Lord Stanfield’s eyes narrowed a fraction, only for him to take a breath. “All the same, I admit that you have done something of a service to me and my family, in being so honest about my daughter’s betrothed.”
The pistol wobbled for a moment and Felix held his breath, looking back into Lord Stanfield’s eyes and, as he did so, gaining real clarity over what it was that he was doing, and everything associated with it. Was it all truly worth it?
“You did not seek to steal from us.” One of the daughters spoke up as her father held the pistol steady again. “You were going to walk away.”
“Yes.” Felix shrugged his shoulders. “I confess that I have no intention of stealing from those that I stop. It makes me something of an unconventional highwayman, I know, but it is not what I do.”
“I believe that I have heard of you,” the gentleman muttered quietly. His pistol slowly dropped away, as if the decision in his own mind was already made. “There have been rumors of a highwayman who stops carriages but takes nothing from them. I assume that these stories are true? And that we now sit in the presence of that particular highwayman.”
“It may well be so.” Felix spread out both hands wide. “What Ishallsay is that I do not take for myself any longer and what I have taken, I am in the process of returning.” A slight guilty nudge pushed into his heart as he recalled that he had not given Lady Elizabeth back her brooch. He would have to do so quickly, for it was one of the last things which he had to return and, at present, was pushed behind a particular book in his library. “In sincerity, I believe that the men who rode with me were becoming more and more frustrated with my actions.”
Clearly a little surprised, the gentleman chuckled.
“Yes, I suppose they would be. Thus, because I realize who you are, I shall not shoot you. I do not refrain because of these stories, however. I refrain because you have done some good to my family, and because I believe that you were not to take anything from us. You defended us from the men who came, instead of joining them and thus I believe you speak with truthfulness upon your lips.”
Felix inclined his head.
“Then I am grateful,” he replied. “If I might, I shall take my leave. I wish you safe passage to London.”
The gentleman smiled.
“Thank you. Good day.”
With a heaviness in his steps which took him a little by surprise, Felix made his way back to his horse, watching as the carriage pulled away. His heart was heavy, not flooded with relief as he had expected it to be, but instead heavy with the realization of what he had been doing. He had been selfish, indulging a ridiculous whim to relieve his ennui.
It had been Lady Elizabeth, he realized, who had brought about a change in him. When he had met her, spoken with her, and smiled at her, then her tenacity and fire had caught him in a way that nothing else ever had. He had been unable to pull himself away from her since then, finding that his life was much more exciting simply because she was in it. Considering his heart, Felix let out a long sigh. No longer did he wish to steal and then return the items, nor even continue with his current good deeds. It was not worth the risk that came with it. Not now. What would he do if Lady Elizabeth were to hear the truth? If she realized thathehad been the highwayman who had taken her brooch… and her lips, thereafter? Their acquaintance, such as it was, would come to an end.
Snatching in a breath, Felix’s eyes closed, his stomach roiling at the thought. He could not bear to be separated from Lady Elizabeth. His only desire was for her company and her nearness – so why was he continuing with a foolish game, presenting a façade to the world, when that might pull them apart? It was unconscionable.
“Then it is done.”
Taking a deep breath, Felix lifted his chin and set his shoulders. His time as a highwayman was at an end, a secret he would now keep buried in his past. He had no need for such activities to find a thrill any longer, no need to pursue any sort of excitement. His connection with Lady Elizabeth was exciting enough and, as he smiled quietly to himself at the mere thought of her, Felix silently swore to himself that, very soon, he would ask to court her, for that was his heart’s desire.
Chapter Nine
“It is very strange.”
“It is, I quite agree.” Lady Yardley laughed softly and shook her head. “I cannot account for it! Every letter we have received, every account we have been offered, has been about a highwayman who does not steal but rather seeks to aid those he stops, in some way. I cannot imagine such a person, I confess.”
“Neither can I.” It was something of a shock and, with a frown, Elizabeth looked down at the letter again. It was one Lady Yardley had only just received, and the description within it was extraordinary. “Perhaps this highwayman is not the same as the one who acquainted himself with me.”
