Benedict's Challenge - Carole Mortimer Page 0,36

house was certainly not something she would ever do willingly.

And never to see Benedict again…

The very thought of it made Chloe’s heart ache. If she could turn the clock back and rethink her actions, she would not have—

“What on earth!” Jimmy sat forward to look out into the darkness at the sound of raised voices outside before the coach came to an abrupt and rickety stop. “I should have bloody well known this would happen,” he muttered as he fell back against the bench seat.

“What is it?” Chloe prompted sharply. “Are there highwaymen?”

The practice of public and private carriages being stopped by armed men on horseback had mostly stopped since the policing of the highways had so often resulted in those robbers being apprehended, usually resulting with them swinging from the gallows.

Jimmy grimaced. “Of a kind, yes.”

The door beside Chloe was flung open before she could ask any more questions, and she literally felt the color draining from her cheeks when she found herself looking into the furious face of Benedict Winter.

“Stay exactly where you are,” he warned Jimmy grimly as the younger man would have risen. Instead, Benedict took off his hat before he climbed inside the carriage to sit on the bench seat beside Chloe. He was dressed for riding in a heavy overcoat and thick leather gloves, his boots splattered with mud. “God, it is disgusting in here!” His aristocratic nose wrinkled with distaste as he looked at the stained seats and filthy floor.

“I am so sorry it is not up to your usual impeccable standards, Your Lordship,” Jimmy scorned. “The quicker you state your case, the sooner you can be on your way.”

Glittering dark eyes leveled on the younger man. “You may travel when and where you wish—”

“Kind as it is to give me your permission, I really do not need—”

“—but to take an innocent young lady with you is unforgiveable,” Benedict accused harshly.

“I was the one who begged him to take me with him,” Chloe defended when the younger man’s cheeks became flushed. “At the time, I was so angry with you, I could see no reason to remain in Surrey.”

Benedict’s brows rose. “And now?”

Now, Chloe just wanted to throw herself into Benedict’s arms, beg his forgiveness, and ask if he would take her back to his home with him. Perhaps have him introduce her to his sister, and the two women might even become friends. Chloe had not had a close friend since before her parents died.

“I am so sorry, Benedict.” Tears stung her eyes. “I have nowhere else to go and so should not have left at all, but certainly not without talking to you first.”

“No, you should not.” His voice gentled, and he moved close enough that he could place an arm about her shoulders and pull her gently against his side. “I am not angry with you, Chloe—”

Jimmy’s snort interrupted him. “He’s reserving that emotion for me!”

“I am not angry with either of you,” Benedict insisted softly. “If I am angry with anyone, it is myself. For my arrogance and high-handedness.” He winced at the sound of Jimmy’s humorless chuckle. “I know I owe you both an apology. Which I now give, most wholeheartedly and sincerely.”

Chloe could see that Jimmy—James—was as surprised by this as she was. After all, they were the ones who had behaved with ingratitude and worried Benedict to the point that he had chased after them into the night on horseback.

“Might I suggest,” Julius Soames appeared in the open doorway, “that we continue this conversation once we reach Winter House? It’s damned cold out here, and I can see the coachmen are anxious to finish their journey so that they can return to their homes for the night.”

“Damn, what the… Very well,” Benedict agreed tersely after receiving a reproving glance from Julius. “The two of us will follow the coach back to London, at which time I will give the coachmen a full purse if they return you to Winter House rather than the coach station. Once there, I shall see that the two of you are supplied with hot food to warm and sustain you. Does that plan suit both of you?”

“Now you decide to consult with us?” Jimmy mocked. “Careful, my lord, or I might make the mistake of thinking you have learned some manners during these hours since last we spoke.”

“I believe there was more shouting involved than speech during that meeting. And be careful yourself, James,” Benedict added pointedly. “Or I might make