Twice Tempted by a Rogue (Stud Club #2)(100)

“Both. What do you care?”

Rhys shrugged. “I suppose I don’t. Where are we headed, then?”

“I’m for Town. I’ll have to go to ground, skulk around a bit and see what I can find.”

“What about the girl?” Rhys asked. “I can’t offer her protection anymore.” He’d go to London, too. See his solicitor there, discuss arrangements for the estate and George Lane’s pension. Then he’d think about what to do next. Perhaps the army again. He could buy back his commission. Or there was mercenary work, if he wanted a change of pace. England wasn’t currently at war, but surely there was something that needed destroying somewhere. Preferably somewhere far away. Maybe if he put an ocean between himself and Meredith, this fierce ache in his chest would ease.

“Kindly don’t discuss me as if I’m not here,” Cora said, hugging her arms across her chest. “I should think I’d be free to do as I please, now that you’ve found Mr. Faraday. And I want to go back to the Three Hounds.”

“Why would you want to return there?” asked Bellamy.

“I like working at the inn. I like the villagers, and they like me. I was happy there.”

The coach took a sharp curve in the road, and they all leaned into the turn.

Bellamy said, “This is about that Gideon Myles, isn’t it?”

“Not completely,” the girl replied, blushing. “But yes, in part.”

“Nothing good will come of it, you know. The man’s a petty smuggler.”

“Smuggler or no, he cares for me.” She glanced at Rhys. “There’s someone in Buckleigh-in-the-Moor who cares for you too, my lord. Don’t you want to go back?”

Rhys sighed and turned his head to the window. The carriage had turned off the coastal lane, and he caught one last glimpse of the dramatic Cornish cliffs as they began the gentle climb back to the main road. Gravity tugged on him as they made their way up the grade, and he slipped toward the edge of the rear-facing seat. He propped one boot on the opposite bench, bracing himself. “It’s not a matter of whether I want to go back. It’s a matter of what’s best for everyone.”

“Exactly,” Bellamy said. “Listen, Cora. It’s nice that you want to settle down. But pick a better man to settle down with. A scoundrel like that will bring you nothing but trouble. Believe me, I speak from experience. I’ve lived a devil’s life, and now someone’s out to kill me. I wouldn’t wish myself on any lady, much less the one I actually—” He broke off.

Rhys finished the thought for him. “I think what Bellamy here is trying to say is, if Gideon Myles truly cared for you, he’d leave you alone.”

Cora sat up on her seat. “What nonsense,” she said hotly. “What absolute cowardly rot.”

“Cowardly?” Bellamy and Rhys spoke as one.

“Perhaps he has done some bad things in his life,” she said. “But why can’t a man change? I changed. I’m not a whore any longer. I want an honest life now, and maybe Gideon wants the same.” She shook her head. “‘If he cared for you, he’d leave you alone,’” she muttered, mimicking Rhys’s deep voice. Her bold gaze met his. “If he truly cares for me, he’ll stay. And do better.”

Rhys stared at her, surprised. Was this the same girl who’d trembled in his presence not a few weeks ago? He wasn’t sure about Myles’s prospects for an honest life, but he felt certain Cora wouldn’t be any man’s whore again. The girl knew her own value now. Good for her. Meredith’s influence was to thank, most likely. She had a way of letting people know their worth.

Maybe Cora was right. Maybe he was being cowardly. Back in Devonshire, there was a woman who loved him. Loved him enough to risk her own life to save his in a split-second decision, then devote the next fourteen years to coping with the consequences. Caring for herself, her father, the village. And she would do it all again.

Of course it terrified him. How could it not? The whole tragedy still traced back to him—but it wasn’t the result of Rhys being unwanted or worthless. It was the result of his being loved. Meredith thought saving his life was worth every sacrifice, and if he wanted to be with her, he would have to somehow find the courage within himself to agree. Christ. And he’d thought accepting her gift of a shaving kit was difficult?

He’d never run from a battle in his life, but Rhys was running like hell from this.

The ache in his chest intensified. He couldn’t understand why being loved hurt so damn much. And it didn’t help matters any when the carriage gave a violent lurch.

“What’s that?” Cora asked, flinching at the loud crack of a whip.

Rhys tensed. “I don’t know.”

He heard the coachman shouting at the horses from the driver’s box, urging them forward. The entire carriage gave a violent shudder. There was another jolt, this one more jarring than the first. Rhys nearly lost his perch on the seat as the carriage came to a dead stop.

Bellamy looked to Rhys. “Would it help if we offered to walk?”

“Perhaps.”

They never had a chance to act on the idea. With a low, foreboding creak, the carriage began to roll.

Backward.

For the second time in a week, Meredith slept through noon. The inn had no guests, thankfully. She didn’t suppose any locals would be expecting full breakfast today, and if they did—well, they would learn to live with the disappointment.