“I’ve taken worse than this,” he replied. “Mrs. Abbott, tell Mr. Nelson I want Sanders up here.”
“Of course, my lord,” she said and quickly left the room.
After a few minutes, Mr. Sanders entered the room with his head bowed down. “I am dreadfully sorry, my lord. I cannot possibly imagine what happened. The carriage was checked before you called for it. I personally inspected the carriage this morning.”
“And the wheels were all right?” Braden asked.
“Absolutely, my lord. Not a one was loose.”
“Could a rut have caused the accident?” Hart spoke up.
Mr. Sanders looked over at Hart. “In the country, I would say yes because they can grow so deep. But in town? I find it highly unlikely. People fill them in as soon as they see them. The chance that a rut just formed and then you hit it would be unusual, to say the least.”
“That seems to be my life lately . . . unusual,” Braden muttered softly. “What about the driver?”
“Townsend has been with us for over a year, my lord. I’ve never had an issue with him.”
“Was he injured in the fall?”
“No, my lord. He managed to jump down as the carriage tipped. He was very lucky indeed.”
Braden was glad to hear his driver survived without a scratch, unlike him. “Thank you, Mr. Sanders. Please see that the carriage is fixed.”
Mr. Sanders bowed and left the room. Tia inhaled a sharp breath. “I cannot take this any longer. You need to get back to the estate.”
“It will be all right, Tia,” Braden cooed.
“No, it will not! Someone is trying to kill you! It is time you took this seriously.” Tia pulled away from him to pace the room. “I cannot do this any longer.”
“Perhaps we should take our leave now,” Hart suggested to Mia.
“Of course.” Mia moved to her sister. “If you need me, send a footman and I will be here quickly.”
“Thank you.”
“Hart, before you leave, fill in one blank for me,” Braden said. “How did you come to bring me home? I thought you were detained by Lady Bunworth.”
“It was odd indeed, Middleton. She offered me her congratulations on my marriage and wanted to know if she could pay a call on Mia. By the time I left the house, you were only a block away. I saw the carriage tip.”
“And why couldn’t she say that to you in front of me?” Braden asked.
Hart shrugged. “She said she didn’t want to insult you, because she is not comfortable calling on Tia.”
Tia didn’t doubt that answer. Personally, she didn’t care if Constance ever called upon her. Once her sister left with Hart, Tia sat on the bed next to Braden and stared down at his handsome face. All her emotions bubbled to the surface. “I thought I was going to lose you,” she said to him. “Can we please leave for the estate? You will be safe there.”
“One condition,” he whispered.
“What is it?”
“That you marry me before we leave.”
Chapter 22
Braden’s heart stopped as he waited for an answer from her. If he was going to return to the estate, he wanted her on his arm as his wife. She was something worth living for and he wanted to do this properly. No more of his adolescent and rakish ways. He wanted a wife and family. He wanted to prove that he could be a good viscount and provide for his family, tenants, and servants.
She stared at him for what seemed like hours before whispering, “I cannot marry a man who doesn’t love me.”
He didn’t know what to say. Telling her he loved her right now would make her think he was only saying those words to get her acceptance. But what choice did he have? “Tia, I never wanted to fall in love. I have done it twice and each time it ended in heartache.” He reached up and touched her cheek. “But I couldn’t seem to help myself with you. You made me mad. Insanely mad and totally in love with you.”