Lady Vivian Defies a Duke - By Samantha Grace Page 0,101
“Thank God, you are safe.”
Vivi rubbed the sleep from her eyes and sat up. “What is going on? It’s the middle of the night.”
Her maid gave her a lopsided grin. “It’s early morning, milady. The milkmaids are up.”
“I am not milking cows if that’s your reason for bursting in here.”
Luke took the candle from Winnie and shooed her from the chamber. “One of the chambermaids discovered the door to Collier’s room ajar. He is gone, and I feared he had taken you with him. I should have posted a guard outside his door.”
None of this was making any sense. “Wasn’t his door locked from the outside?”
“Yes, I checked it last night, which means someone had to take the key.”
A gentleman cleared his throat at the threshold of her chamber. Vivi yanked the covers up to her neck. “Lord Brookhaven?”
“Pardon the intrusion, Lady Vivian. Your Grace. I have just been informed by my driver that Mr. Collier has absconded with my coach. Apparently, Miss Truax woke my man and told him the coach needed to be readied for my departure, but when he wasn’t looking, Collier jumped on the box and drove the team.”
“Wouldn’t it have been easier to saddle a horse and avoid detection?” Vivi asked.
Lord Brookhaven grimaced. “And less costly. My outrider was badly injured when he tried to stop Collier and received a boot to the jaw. The back wheel rolled over his leg.”
“Oh, dear!”
Luke stalked around the end of her bed toward the viscount. “Perhaps we shouldn’t speak of such things in the lady’s presence.”
“Forgive me, Lady Vivian.” When the two men moved into the corridor, Vivi swung her legs out of bed, wrapped the counterpane around her, and hurried after them.
“Wait a moment.” She caught up to them halfway down the corridor. “What about Miss Truax?”
The men turned to frown at her. She pulled the covers tighter around her.
“It makes no sense for Collier to steal a coach when a horse would provide a better chance at escape,” she said. “And how did he convince Miss Truax to help him?”
Brookhaven scratched his whiskered cheek. “We should ask her. Will you send for her, Foxhaven?”
Luke met Vivi’s gaze, understanding flickering to life behind his eyes. “He needed a coach for his passenger.”
She nodded. “She’s in danger. I know it.”
“Damnation.” Luke spun around and stormed to his bedchamber. Vivi lifted the counterpane so she wouldn’t trip and dashed after him.
“Where are you going?” Brookhaven called after them.
“Miss Truax is in need of rescue,” Vivi said then disappeared into Luke’s chambers.
He had already peeled his dressing gown over his shoulders and tossed it aside before grabbing a pair of trousers from his wardrobe. “I should wring her neck.”
Vivi let the counterpane fall to the ground and walked to his wardrobe, too. “There will be plenty of time for that once we find her.” She eyed the trousers hanging on pegs and picked the smallest pair.
“What do you mean by we?”
She shoved her leg into the pants. “I am going with you.”
“You most certainly are not.” He paused after pulling his shirt over his head. “What the hell are you doing, Vivian?”
Her chin lifted an inch. “I can’t ride astride in a gown, and a sidesaddle is out of the question. It will only slow us down.”
Luke stalked across the room, grabbed her by the shoulders, and bent down to her level. “You are not going. I need you to stay behind and tell Mother what has happened.”
“She needn’t know anything until we return with Miss Truax. They haven’t been gone long. We can catch them if we hurry.”
“And why should I take you along?”
“Because I can shoot almost as well as you, but more importantly, she may need a lady when we find her.”
The stubborn set to Luke’s jaw eased a bit, and she knew he was considering her logic. She pushed harder to make him understand.
“I hope I am wrong about Mr. Collier’s intentions, but if he treats her poorly, the presence of another man may be too upsetting.”
“How do you know of these things?” he asked quietly.
“Even in Dunstable, we had men misuse women. Please, allow me to help you. I promise to listen to everything you tell me to do.”
He scoffed and released her shoulders. “Another first for you, darling?”
She stuck her tongue out and rummaged in the wardrobe for a shirt, the pants falling low on her hips.
Luke tugged them up and pulled a sash from a drawer. “You won’t be much help if you