Taffeta & Hotspur (18 page)

“
Oh, I can do that…” she
said and gave him a long, exquisite, and low bow.

He roared, “Of all the ways I imagined
you might accept my proposal, sweet life, I did not expect a bow!”
He pulled her up and hugged her fiercely to the shocked glances of
many.

Then grabbing her hand, he led her to
the musicians, whispered in the lead musician’s ear, and slipped
him a few coins.

A moment later, the man announced, “A
waltz to celebrate the engagement of Lord Thurston Tarrant to the
Lady Taffeta of Grantham.”

A gasp, and then a round of applause
and as friends and acquaintances alike began to surround them. The
music began, and Tarrant led his future bride onto the
floor.

~*~

Bruton’s jaw dropped as he listened to
the engagement announcement. He couldn’t believe his ears. He knew
Tarrant was interested in Lady Taffeta, but it had never occurred
to him his rival would propose to her.

Damn the man’s soul! Did he think he
would get away with this? Well, he wouldn’t. He would still snatch
the prize out from under him. He frowned over his new problem. Why
had Tarrant done this? Tarrant didn’t need her money—he had a
fortune of his own.

Bloody Hell! Damn the little vixen for
her betrayal. No doubt she had used him to get the Hotspur jealous
and bring him to this point. Well, he would teach her a lesson. No
one would use him and get away with it.

There was only one way to handle the
situation to make it right for himself. There would be scandal, but
what did he care for scandal, and it was no more than what she
deserved for her perfidy. If Tarrant thought he could steal his
gilded calf, the only way out of his debts, well, he was
wrong.

One way or another, he would have Lady
Taffeta for his wife and her money to stave off debtor’s
prison.

He knew he was down to his last sou.
He was a desperate man, and he knew it, knew what he had to do, and
he had no intention of hesitating. What he had in his favor was no
one knew just how very desperate he was.

He wouldn’t be bested in this way. He
had to work on his alternate plan, a plan he had in place because
he had been afraid from the start he would have to elope with her
because of her family. He had always known her young duke of a
brother would never agree to his suit.

He smiled wickedly to himself as he
stood and watched the couple in question go around the dance floor
as though they were in heaven. Heaven? They would both soon know
hell … for he meant to take them there. Tarrant for daring to
blatantly best him, and the little beauty for daring to lead him
on.

One way or another, Taffeta and her
wealth were going to be his. He would have to execute his plan a
bit sooner than he had thought, and he would have to be careful. It
would all depend on the fluidity of his movements over the next few
days. It would have to appear to Tarrant and Lady Taffeta he was
quietly withdrawing his interest in her. And now, he would begin to
show her and the world at large he had transferred his interest to…
He looked around and moved to take Melody Conners onto the dance
floor. Yes, Melody would do very well…

Chapter Twelve

Three nights
later

“Oh, but that was dull work,”
exclaimed Taffeta as she led Catherine to the front steps of Lady
Higgens’ townhouse. She looked around for her brother and Nigel who
were still in conversation with a friend some distance at their
back.

Their coach had pulled up to the
curbing, and the Higgens’ footman held out his gloved white hand to
help the ladies up the steps and into their carriage. Taffy looked
to her brother and waved for him to hurry as she followed Catherine
into the coach, and they spread their skirts around
them.

“
Well, at least it was an
early evening. I must admit to being a bit tired from all our
gadding about.”

“
Yes, but I would have
rather spent the evening at home than listening to those dandies
try and ape poetry. Ugh, ‘tis no wonder Aunt Sissy stayed home. We
should have as well.” Taffy sighed.

“
Hmmm, especially when there
was no chance of having your dear Tarrant in attendance on
you.”

Taffeta sighed more heavily, “Yes, I
admit nothing seems as much fun when he isn’t about.” Taffy eyed
her knowingly. “You were bored as well, and I noticed Fenmore
wasn’t present either,” she said meaningfully.

“
I knew he wouldn’t be. He
is off with your Tarrant,” answered Catherine with a soft
smile.

“
Is he? I didn’t know,” said
Taffeta with a frown. “I wonder what they can be up to? Something
deliciously exciting I am sure, and what must we endure but…” She
turned to look for her brother and uncle and noticed a young and
dirty urchin of a boy had gained their attention. “How odd… I
wonder what is toward?”

Even while she was still looking their
way out the curbside window, the coach suddenly lurched forward.
Her heart skipped a beat, and she froze for the fraction of a
moment as her reasoning took the situation and put it into cohesive
order. This was wrong … all too wrong.

Taffy took immediate action and
knocked on the inside box to the driver’s back wall. “Thomas, what
are you doing? Stop this instant and wait for my brother and
uncle.”

No answer. She went forward and pulled
open the box to the driver’s seat and saw some of the man’s back.
He was not dressed in his usual uniform but wore a dirty set of
clothes, and his long straggly hair, under a peaked cap, told her
at once—this was not their coachman. Not Thomas. What had happened
to the man? Oh, she immediately hoped he had not been badly hurt.
She knew they were in trouble. This was her vision already
live.

She sat back and said to Catherine,
“Right then—here we are alone with a villain at the horse’s head.
Cathy, when the carriage slows, as it will in the traffic up ahead,
will you take my hand and jump out?”

“
Yes, of course, but … what
is this…?”

“
There is no time to
explain, but we have to get away before the driver turns down an
alley or quiet street, where no doubt another coach is
waiting…”

“
Will he stop in traffic?
Can we get out then and run?” Cathy asked, looking
determined.

“
He won’t stop the coach
unless he must, I am certain, and we have the advantage because he
doesn’t know we know what is afoot. He is already slowing … just a
bit more, so we don’t lose our balance when we jump out.” She
squeezed her friend’s hand, “You can do this, Cath. I know you can.
Remember a few years back when those Eton boys took us for a wagon
ride and things got a bit out of hand? Remember?”

“
Yes, we were glorious,
weren’t we? You knocked one boy off the wagon, and the other two
were so busy holding up their team while we jumped off and vanished
into the woods. Yes, that was glorious, and we laughed all the way
back to school—stupid boys.”

“
This is different. They
were only playing a prank. This time, we are being abducted. We
have no choice but to take it seriously and do what we must. Do you
trust me?”

“
Of course I do.”

“
Then hold my hand and get
ready,” said Taffeta, looking out the window and discovering a maze
of traffic ahead. “He is already slowing … but I don’t think he
will stop … are you ready?”

“
Ready?”

“
I shall open the door, and
we must hike up our skirts and take to ground.”

“
Go ahead, I am with
you.”

Taffy hiked up her skirts and jumped.
She nearly lost her balance, steadied herself and turned to find
Catherine stumbling from her jump and nearly colliding with
her.

“
There … now … off we go.”
Taffy said.

“
Not so fast, tart, not so
fast.” said a hard, familiar voice.

Taffy realized Bruton must have been
riding behind the coach. He was already off his horse and grabbed
at Taffeta. He had her by the arm.

His mistake, for she brought up her
foot and gave him a resounding kick to his privates. He howled and
bent over in pain, and she took Cathy’s hand and screamed, “Come
on, Cath.”

However, Bruton seemed to recover as
he took chase. Taffy heard him but kept up her pace, weaving
through traffic. He was on her suddenly, this time taking hold of
her hair and yanking hard, so hard she cried out, “Oww!” She then
realized they needed help. She screamed out to her friend. “Run
Cathy and get help. Tell them…”

Bruton hissed into her ear. “It won’t
do you any good. By the time they find us, you will be my wife, and
will have spent the night with me.”

Taffeta brought her heel down on his
toes, and he screeched with anger and pain as she broke free and
ran.

Once again, she tried dodging him by
using the traffic of carriages and hacks to hide her as she darted
in and out of traffic. She took a moment and pounded the door of
one of the carriages, but then couldn’t wait for
admittance.

Even as she cried out for help, Bruton
was on her. She ran as fast as her heart and legs could take her,
and as she thought she was getting away, the heel of her satin shoe
broke, and she tripped on the curbing going down to her
knees.

Her gown torn in several places, her
slipper broken, and still she picked herself up and started off,
only to be cornered by him at the opening of a dark long
alley.

Bruton closed in on her and took her
arm to drag her off screaming and kicking into the darkest part of
the alley where he hauled off and slapped her.

“
Now bitch, now…” he said,
and she saw he was about to knock her unconscious.

~*~

Seth and Nigel tried to understand
what the small lad was trying to tell them, but found it difficult
to follow his message.

“
Look here, lad. Who told
you to give us this message? How did they know we would be here
this evening?” Nigel asked.

“
Oi don’t know ‘is name, oi
don’t…” said the lad, shaking his small dirty hands nervously. “’ee
gave me a coin and told me jest to tell the Duke of Grantham and
Lord Nigel to meet ‘im at the Home Office … that’s all oi
knows.”

Seth took out a few coins and handed
them to the grubby street urchin. “There … go get something to
eat.” He watched the boy rush off and turned to frown at Nigel.
“What the devil is all … hold on…” He moved toward their coach just
as it pulled away from the curbing.

“
What the devil? I say, hold
up Thomas!” called out Nigel.

“
Wait a moment. That isn’t
Thomas… Who the devil?”

“
Taffy!” they both said in
unison. Seth slapped his uncle’s shoulder. “Come on.” And led the
chase of the coach at a run.

However, as the coach made its way
down the avenue, and had not yet hit traffic, it gained quite a
distance on them, and Seth stopped to catch his breath. They both
bent over their knees as Seth sucked in air and grinned to see
Nigel doing the same.

“
What the deuce is going on
here?” Nigel asked.

“
We were diverted. Don’t you
see? ’Tis Taffy’s vision. She is alone in the carriage with
Catherine. They are being abducted!”

“
But why?”

“
Doesn’t matter why … come
on,” said Seth, starting off again. However, a hackney came to a
stop near them, and the driver nodded at them to ask, “Need a ride,
do ye gents?”

Nigel looked at Seth who then climbed
up and took the reins from the driver, and Nigel gave him a gold
coin. “Don’t worry there, my good man, the duke is an excellent
whip, and you’ll be well paid when we are done.”

The driver was pleased enough with the
guinea he already found in his palm and nodded, “Right then, off we
go.”

~*~

Tarrant and Fenmore had alighted their
coach just in time to see Nigel and Seth’s behavior with the
hack.

“
What the deuce are those
two doing now?” said James Fenmore with a shake of his
head.

Tarrant felt something cold clutch his
heart, and he whispered, “Taffy.”

“
You have no reason to think
it has something to do with—”

“
Oh but I do, come on,” said
Tarrant, motioning for Fenmore’s driver to move over as he climbed
up onto the driver’s bench and extended a hand to
Fenmore.

“
Do you know, I don’t think
I have ever been up here,” said Fenmore as he sat beside Tarrant.
“It is damn good fun.”

“
Hold on James, my man … I
mean to make these horses of yours move!”

“
There!” He pointed. “I see
them … there…”

“
Don’t see them…” replied
Tarrant, frowning.

“
Just ahead.” Fenmore shook
his head. “Whatever made them take the hack? It doesn’t make any
sense.”

“
It does to me,” said
Tarrant.

“
Turning—there!” Fenmore’s
voice was full of excitement.