Reckless (Mockingbird Square 4)

A moment later, she found herself transplanted from her side of the coach and onto Dominic’s lap. His strong arms were wrapped around her, his breath was warm against her hair, and although she knew she should struggle and fight him, she didn’t want to. If she was honest, it felt nice being held in the curve of his body. It felt comforting. And just this once she didn’t want to deny herself the pleasure.

So she continued to sob into his shoulder while he continued to hold her. After a time he found her a handkerchief and she buried her nose in it, still not moving from her comfortable spot. Her tears began to slow and she was exhausted. It was as if a dam had burst and all the emotion she had been holding back had flooded out, and she wasn’t sure what was left.

“You are a wicked man,” she said in a shaky voice.

“I know, but I mean well.”

With a sigh she lifted her head. Despite wiping away her tears with his handkerchief she must look a fright. He was watching her, his dark eyes warm with emotion. She saw sympathy and understanding, but she knew that neither of those things meant he was going to turn around and take her home again. She accepted that he wasn’t. She was even feeling a little bit relieved about that.

“I didn’t know what to do. At home, I mean. I felt overwhelmed,” she admitted to him, her voice catching. She stopped another sob by biting her lip.

He bent closer, as if to comfort her. “I could see that,” he replied gently.

She set her hands on his shoulders. “This isn’t the solution,” she said as sternly as she was able.

“It is one solution,” he replied, sitting back a little to observe her, his arm firm about her waist to prevent her moving from his lap. “It is the solution I have chosen.”

She stared at him but he said nothing more, just watched her curiously, waiting to see what she’d do next.

“How will running away with me help? My father will be furious. I won’t even be able to escape by marrying Louis. I’ll have to stay a spinster forever. And what of the new parish? Will the Dean allow my father to accept such a rise in status when his daughter has a scandal hanging over her head and the Willoughby name?”

“I will deal with it,” he said.

“You’ll …?”

“Of course I will. Who do you think I am?”

She blinked at him, yet again amazed at his arrogance. “My father will refuse help from you on principal!”

“Your father might be a bully and a brute, but he’s a practical bully and brute. He won’t refuse my help, Margaret.”

Margaret narrowed her eyes, wanting to argue, almost wanting him to be wrong. Knowing it, his mouth twitched into a smile and he tipped the end of her nose with his fingertip.

“You’ll see,” he promised. “I am going to raise your father to the dizzy heights he’s always wanted to reach, and I will see to it that your mother lives out her life comfortably and happily. There will be nothing left for you to worry about, Margaret.”

“But why?” she cried. “Why would you do all this for me?”

“You know why. Because I love you, and by compromising you I get to keep you.”

“Unless I refuse to be compromised,” she retorted. “Others may believe I have succumbed, but at least I will know the truth.”

“Very true.” He sounded out of sorts.

“If I refuse, will my refusal change your mind about running off with me?” she asked in a voice that strove to be calm.

Dominic shook his head at her. “No. Never.”

“But—”

“Margaret, I want you to understand that whatever happens between us, I will fulfil my promises. I want you to be free. No longer shackled or a martyr. You may never be mine, not in the way I had hoped. That is true. But even if you do not stay with me, if you don’t want to be my love, then it will still make me happy to know I have been instrumental in changing your life for the better.

Dominic sounded sincere and she could not doubt he meant what he said. He would not pressure her into accepting him as her lover. He wanted to give her a happy ending, or as happy as he could manage in difficult circumstances.

Margaret opened her mouth to respond, then closed it again. She needed to think. Reluctantly, she climbed off his lap and returned to her side of the coach. There was a rug folded on the seat beside her and she drew it over herself, realizing how cold it was without Dominic to keep her warm.

“Where are you taking me?” she asked in a more reasonable voice. “Answer me truthfully now.”

“A friend of mine has a hunting lodge and it’s empty. We will go there.”