Mistletoe and Mayhem - Cheryl Bolen Page 0,135

piano wire.

The tap on the door had Trockler hurrying to answer it.

“Miss Redfern!”

Rory was beside the man in seconds.

“Rory, come out here now.”

She stood with a rifle in her hands, and it was pointed at Trockler. His heart nearly stopped beating.

“What are you doing, Miss Redfern?” Lord Trockler demanded.

Rory didn’t hesitate, he pushed the man back into his study, then slammed the door. Grabbing her hand, he ran for the door.

“I told you to leave the house and go for help, Ivy!”

“Your horse wanted to save you.” She handed him the rifle. “He is waiting outside. I locked the men in the stables but am unsure how long the door will hold or how many others there are here. Madam Layla is also here, Rory, and I find that woman terrifying.”

“You do surprise me. I didn’t think anything terrified you.”

The chandelier above their heads shattered. Rory dived at Ivy and carried her with him to the ground.

“You will not move!”

He found Madam Layla on the stairs with a gun in her hands. Raising the rifle, he took aim and fired.

“Run, Ivy!” He didn’t wait to see how his aim was, just leapt to his feet, dragging Ivy with him.

They shot out the front door.

“Horse, that way!”

He grabbed her hand as they sprinted past the house. Rory prayed no one shot at them.

Reaching the horse, he grabbed her around the waist and threw her into the saddle. Untying the reins he then vaulted on behind.

“Go!” Ivy shrieked.

He galloped down the drive and onto the road. Heading right, he hoped they would reach someone who could help them.

“Keep looking!”

She did, checking behind them as he urged his horse on. Only when the inn came into sight did he breathe easier. His family and hers would be inside.

Dismounting in front, he took Ivy with him to the ground, then hurried inside.

“My name is Mr. Haddon. My family is here.”

“They are in the dining room, Mr. Haddon.”

“Thank you. Please see to my horse.” He kept walking, dragging Ivy with him.

“We are safe, Rory.”

He stopped suddenly, then backed her into the wall. Rory cupped Ivy’s face and kissed her. It was savage and urgent, and she met each of his demands with her own. Her hands wrapped around his neck, her fingers grabbing handfuls of his hair.

“I told you to run for help and yet you came back for me.”

“I could not leave you.”

“Ivy.” He pressed kisses to her cheeks. “I love you so much, it terrifies me.”

“Today I realized I felt the same, Rory. It’s not a comfortable feeling.”

“It’s not,” he agreed. “When I saw you leave the room that Trockler and I were in, I realized just how much you had come to mean to me.”

“I realized when I left the stables on your horse. I couldn’t decide what to do. I was so scared they would harm you.”

“I believe my horse decided.” Rory kissed her again. “I haven’t told you how brave you are.”

“I don’t want those people to get us again, Rory.”

“They won’t. Come, we need to see our families, then find a magistrate.” He took her hand again.

“Do you think she’s dead?”

“I think it likely, or injured, as my aim is quite good.”

They entered the room seconds later to find both their families assembled. Rory still held her hand in his and wasn’t about to let it go. They could make what they wished of that.

He loved this woman deeply, and didn’t care who knew that.

Rory walked along the halls of his ancestral home, knowing everyone was asleep. In the three days since they’d arrived at Greystone, news had reached them that Lord Trockler had been arrested and Madam Layla was indeed dead. Rory had heard that like Jackson, Trockler believed Madam Layla loved him. Men were fools for love, he thought, smiling. He certainly was.

He and Ivy had talked endlessly about anything and everything. They’d walked for hours over the land at Greystone, wrapped in scarves and coats.

She made him laugh, and he made her sigh when he pulled her into his arms and kissed her, each becoming more heated than the last.

Rory didn’t tap on the door, as he had no wish to wake anyone but the inhabitant of this room. Slipping inside, he allowed his eyes seconds to adjust before making his way to the bed.

She slept on her side, hands under her cheek, and he allowed himself time to just stand there watching her. When she made a small snuffling sound, he smiled. Moving to the