Two Lady Scoundrels and a Duke - Tessa Candle Page 0,3

She shivered. It was him. Of all the blasted ill-fortune! She had held up the one man whom she wished never to see again, the one person in the world who could identify her with absolute certainty. But surely he had not seen her face. If she could get him back to the cottage before he awakened, she could remove her disguise and merely tell him that she had found him on the roadside.

“Lord, Katherine! He could be dying. Stop being so selfish!” She could not even contemplate such an unbearable outcome. It was one thing to wish never to see him again, and quite another to think of him expiring right before her eyes. Her heart lurched, but she put it back in its place. “No more foolishness!” She forced herself to focus on getting Foxleigh to shelter.

Tucking the fur blanket tightly around his shoulders and looking askance at the long legs which would have to drag behind, she considered how hard it would be to haul him back by herself, then turned to the horse. The steed gave her a dubious look, but permitted her to tie his long reins to the sled with only a small huff.

“Thank you. You are a loyal friend.”

Perhaps to gainsay her compliment, the steed lifted his tail and dropped four balls of filth that narrowly missed the duke’s head.

Katherine laughed. “A little to the left.” Foxleigh totally deserved it, but then she reminded herself that he was injured. She wished she was a better person, but it was humorous, after all. Yet, however diverting the situation, it would be Katherine who would have to clean him up, so it was just as well that he was spared the indignity.

She led the horse back up the path to her cottage as quickly as they could go. Would he survive? Her heart cried out against any doubt. But if he did survive, would he sort out that she was the highwayman? Would she end up on the gallows for her troubles, or would he believe her story that she had been out for a ramble on this frozen night and happened upon him? It sounded absurd. But on the other hand, might it not all be dismissed as a fluke of chance? His happening to be there was even more preposterous than her being out for a stroll. In fact, was it not terribly odd that he was out in these parts at all? Her heart fluttered. Was it for her? Was he searching for Katherine, and had he somehow found her?

Foolish romantic fancy. It was not possible. She had wrapped up her business in London and left without telling anyone where she was going, for she had few enough people to tell. That was years ago, and she’d been living under an assumed name ever since. Mrs. Sheldon was a poor young widow, with no one to hunt for her, no grand past of wealth and luxury to give rise to the sneers of those among the ton who amused themselves with the catastrophes of others. How could Fox have tracked her down?

Chapter 4 The Wrong Woman

Foxleigh was aware of warm air on his skin. Someone was pulling him—a woman. His head swam, but he forced himself to stay awake and tried to stand up. Where was he? He managed to raise himself to his feet and walk a few steps with her assistance, but he could feel his grasp on consciousness slipping. Who was she? Her dark hair was highlighted in the glow of a small fire that threw her face into the shadow.

“Marie?” He could hardly form the word. How had she found him? And yet, she smelled of cold air and something else, something familiar, but not like Marie. Everything went grey.

Chapter 5 The Nobler of Two Curs

After Katherine had removed her great coat and gathered a soft pile of the dried grass she had earmarked for floor insulation, her foundling duke awoke long enough to stand up from the sled. This seemed like a very bad idea, but he managed to walk the few remaining steps to the edge of the straw bed she had cobbled together. It was clear he was unsteady, but his eyes, though glazed, still had that dark, brooding glow that had always warmed her insides. She could smell him and it drove her mad.

He looked at her, squinting as he tried to resist fainting again. Would he recognize her?

“Marie?” He collapsed onto the pile