"You got off lightly. Your horse threw you off." His voice was calmer now. She couldn’t very well be dying if she was smiling.
"He was spooked by the highwayman. How..."
"I was returning and he raced past us. One of my outriders gave chase," he explained to her.
"You returned—for me?" Her husky voice shot straight to his groin. He shook his head to dislodge the haze of desire and relief creeping up on him.
"I came to find you," he continued.
"You did?" The words whispered with—hope? She raised the hand lying on the ground to him. It reminded him of her actions in the gamekeeper’s lodge in the morning. This time he leaned into it, careless of the dust.
"I came to a realisation..." he started but the horse neighed again. Robert turned to realise his outrider still lingered. He drew her to her feet and turned, “Take your horse and ride for Mossford. Have the physician wait for us. Inform Lord Rochester of what has happened," he ordered.
"Papa will be worried. I saddled a horse and rode out." Amelia drew his attention back to her.
"Leave the Arabian and tell the groom to come forward." He turned back to Amelia and said, "Let us be free from the gloom of this location."
Without a word to prepare her, he hefted her weight into his arms with a smooth move. With a care he cradled her head against his chest. He walked out of the shadows into the beckoning sunlight at the other side of the trees. Somehow the horse knew to follow. The jingle of bridle and bits followed them. At the other side, Amelia insisted on getting on her feet. He obliged her but stayed close to her in case she started to sway in a faint.
“Robert...”
“Amelia...”
“I love you.”
The words startled him, knocked control cleanly out of his hands and had him gaping at the situation. He gaped at her in shock, unwilling to credit the words he had just heard. Impossible. She tried to turn away and he suddenly grabbed her hand and dragged her back to him.
"Say it again," he demanded.
This time she looked into his face. Her green eyes focused with a depth of sincerity and emotion that could easily bring him to his knees as she repeated, "I love you, Robert."
"I love you too, Amelia. I couldn't bear to have us part the way we did. I was turning back to tell you, to erase our shabby goodbye. And I wanted to be with you, even if I had to convince you for the rest of my life I was not going to leave without you.”
"Robert..." The sound of the carriage filtered to them. Robert stopped her words by putting one finger against her lips.
He removed his hand and kissed her. A mere brush of warm lips that eased one hunger and woke another. "It'll keep."
He turned with instructions to the groom. “Continue on to the estate. We will return at a more leisurely pace.” He wanted time with her. Days, weeks, even many, many years. He was loath to even share her with anyone.
The coach continued on, and after a while only the two of them and the horse remained on the road, the outrider having ridden on. Robert caught the black stallion and helped her mount. After adjusting her skirts as decently as possible he mounted after her and she leaned into him.
"I love you, Amelia," he whispered to her.
"I love you too, Robert," she returned softly.
"I shall never tire of hearing you say it," he vowed.
"I shall never fail to tell you again," she promised him. Then she tensed. "We came so close to..."
"No, love. Do not dwell on that. It is past now," he admonished. She leaned back into him. "How did you come to be accosted by a highwayman?"
"I missed you."
"Wife." The growl so close to her ear wreaked havoc with her senses. She bit down on her lips to contain her gasp.
"Husband." She returned with an impish grin he couldn’t see. Then she sobered. "I thought on us when you left, and I found I couldn't bear to be parted from you. I raced to come and tell you. Also, I couldn't bear to have our argument as our parting words."
"I couldn't bear it myself," he admitted.