too long."
"No, you were right! Madness to ride off alone."
"And I am definitely not mad, yes?"
Damn him and his mood, and the fact that even with moonlight she couldn't really read his features.
"You said you were supposed to arrive later?" she asked. Too late, she thought, shuddering at the malicious planning that lay behind this. Who hated her enough for this?
D'Eon? She would never have imagined it.
"One of the men who captured you was in my pay," he said. "He had no notice, or he would have warned me. It was what he was there for. As it was, he had to go through with it."
"The Englishman. The one who didn't want me hurt."
His head turned. "You were hurt?"
She wished she'd held her tongue, but she said, "De Couriac. He hit me."
He made no comment, but continued, "It was sheer luck that Stringle was given the job of telling me where to find you." Sheer luck, it was clear, was intolerable. He hadn't changed. He was still stuck in bleak perfection. "He was to get the message to me at midnight. Instead, of course, he found me immediately."
At that moment, a nearby clock began to strike midnight, with others near and far picking it up. Diana shuddered at the thought of being in Lord Randolph's hands until now.
Then she realized that if she'd not screamed, if Lord Randolph had not gagged her and enjoyed watching her struggle for breath, Bey would have been far too late. Dear heaven, but it would have destroyed him.
"You hired this Stringle," she offered. "Your watchfulness did save me after all."
"There was too much luck involved, and even with luck, we were almost too late. And I wasted that five minutes."
She didn't know what to say, for now she realized how he felt. It was offensive that his sanity had been preserved by chance. Delayed shock and the night air set her shivering, despite his coat.
They were into fashionable streets now, but it was Sunday and quiet, though one coach did rattle past, a pale face peering out nervously at them.
What did that traveler think of the strange group? What would they think if they knew who it was?
Midnight, she thought. "Will de Couriac be there now, do you think?"
"I hope so. I left two men in addition to the one watching Somerton. They're to take him alive if possible."
The chill was setting in, and she suddenly desperately wanted to be home. Though she didn't know where home was. "You didn't tell me how you were getting me back into the Queen's House with no one the wiser."
He glanced across at her. "A wave of my sorcerer's wand... In fact, we're going to Malloren House."
"Why?"
"Because of the difficulties of returning you to the Queen's House."
"But... Clara won't have raised the alarm."
"Will she not?" He sighed. She heard it. "I can't let you out of my sight, Diana. Not yet."
She inhaled in surprise, and then again to savor it, like perfume. Some of the chill in her melted to warmth. He was in a strange state, but this might also be the first step to capitulation. To a chance for them.
When he said nothing more, she asked, "What will we tell the king?"
"The truth, of course, but that's for later."
They were entering a wider street lined with grand houses. They must be close to Marlborough Square.
"What was the plan?" she asked. "Is the Chevalier D'Eon truly involved in such a sordid affair?"
He turned to look at her. "That, I intend to find out."
Fear stole her breath. "Don't fight him."
"Don't give me orders. Unless, that is, you reciprocate, and let me order your every step for my comfort."
"Damn you."
He turned to look forward again. "Hell and I are old familiars."
That didn't sound like capitulation.
"Won't taking me to Malloren House make it difficult for us to stay unwed?" she asked, hearing a touch of bitterness she could not suppress.
"Portia's there. She and Bryght turned up not long ago, pushed to racing back south by Elf's instincts."
"Instincts about tonight? That's impossible."
"Instincts about you and me." He glanced at her. "She warned me off at Arradale."
"Damn her."
"You want the whole Malloren family consigned to hell?"
"At times, yes."
"She was right. I should never have let you close when I knew I could not give you all you deserve." Voice cold as moonlight, he added, "It's true, is it not, that now you will have no other?"
"When we first met, I was determined to have no one at all. Wanting no other