The Heiress (Madison Sisters 2)

"Aye, that's what you said," her father agreed grimly. "But I find it hard to believe that anyone would agree to an arrangement where they had to hunt down the payment themselves, or indeed that any respectable owner of a gaming establishment would even suggest it."

"Cerberus is hardly respectable," Jeremy muttered. His twiddling had picked up in speed so that the thumbs were whirling around and around each other very fast.

"Yes. So I've heard. I've been told he drugs and fleeces the unwary, like myself . . . which is why I find it so hard to believe that you won anything, let alone such a large sum."

Jeremy shifted impatiently and snapped, "Well, I did, which makes you most fortunate that I am willing to marry your daughter in lieu of payment, doesn't it? Can we change the subject now?"

Her father narrowed his eyes. "We have learned that Dicky led me to the gaming hell again and tricked me out of more money to ensure a friend of his could marry my Suzette as he had my Christiana," he said grimly. "And it's very odd that you happened to arrive to save the day just as my gel was getting her heart broken."

Suzette stared at her father, wondering when they had learned that. Obviously, it must have been discovered while she had been in the parlor with Lisa. What else had she missed? She frowned slightly and recalled that Daniel never had got around to telling her who had poisoned George. Not that she'd thought to ask him again. Cold as it was to admit, she was just glad the man was dead, doubly so now if he had planned to force her into an unwanted marriage too. Really, the only regret she had about Dicky's death was that she wished he'd suffered more.

"I have no idea what Dicky's motives were," Jeremy muttered. "And it was just happenstance that I arrived when I did. A happy coincidence that I ran into Suzette and heard her troubled tale."

He smiled at Suzette, but she didn't smile back. Her father's questions had drawn her far enough out of her self-pity so that her brain was starting to think again for the first time since receiving Daniel's letter.

"The only thing we know about this friend of Dicky's is that he is called 'Twiddly,' " her father announced, and stared meaningfully at Jeremy's hands, which had suddenly stilled mid twiddle. Mouth tightening, he accused, "You are the friend of Dicky's who planned to marry my Suzette. You were in on the scheme from the start, and the happy coincidence of your arriving just as the letter did tends to make me wonder if Daniel wrote it at all."

Suzette stiffened at the suggestion. He had her full attention now.

Cedrick Madison set his cane aside and turned to her to take her hands as he pointed out, "Daniel was damned eager to marry you, girl. He even asked me not to tell you about my selling the townhouse so that you wouldn't think you no longer had to marry."

"And you agreed to that?" she asked with amazement.

He shrugged. "You can be a stubborn girl, Suzette. And sometimes you are your own worst enemy. I had no trouble believing that you might avoid marrying him out of fear. But it was obvious to me that you both loved each other."

"You think he loved me?" she asked in a small voice, afraid to hope.

"I'm sure of it," he said solemnly, and then added, "No man would put up with your nonsense if he didn't love you."

Suzette frowned slightly at the backhanded compliment.

"But whether he did or not, Woodrow is too honorable to have his way with you and then take a runner," her father continued grimly. "Besides, he didn't seem to me to be a coward who would give such news in a cold letter. There is something wrong here. I think we should return to the inn and wait to hear about Daniel."

Suzette hesitated. Her heart was already broken, the worst that could come of their returning was more humiliation and while just moments ago she would have done almost anything to avoid that, her father's words had given her hope. If there was even the slightest possibility that Daniel hadn't written that letter . . . Surely it was a possibility? She'd never seen his handwriting before, and someone could have seen them in the stables and perhaps known about that.

Swallowing, she gave a small nod.

"That's my brave girl." Her father patted her hand and started to turn to Danvers. "Stop the--"

Suzette had been staring at her hands, but when his words died abruptly and Lord Madison suddenly slumped against her, she glanced to him with alarm.

"Father?" Suzette caught him as he started to slide toward the floor of the carriage and then glanced to Danvers to see that he was holding her father's cane by the bottom so that the iron handle could be used as a club, which he had obviously used on her father. At her glance, Jeremy smiled coldly and shrugged, allowing it to slip through his fingers until he was grasping the handle. He set it on the bench seat beside him now and drew a pistol.

"We will not be stopping," he said solemnly. "And you are marrying me."

"Not bloody likely," Suzette snapped at once, easing her father to rest in the corner of the carriage seat so that he slumped against the wall.

"You should have said something like, 'Over my dead body,' " Jeremy said idly. "Then I could have replied, 'No, over his dead body.' Because I will kill your father if you don't."

Suzette stared at him, wondering where all that gentle charm had come from and where it had gone. It was like facing an entirely different man. Was it so easy to pull the wool over her eyes? Apparently so, she thought unhappily and opened her mouth; but before she could speak, Jeremy forestalled her by saying, "Please don't say anything as droll as, "You can't do this." He grimaced and pointed out, "I already have. Now use his cravat and tie him up," he ordered coldly. "Tightly, mind. I should hate for him to get loose and get himself shot before the wedding."

Daniel raised his eyebrows in question as Richard hurried back across the inn yard toward the carriage. Rather than waste the time involved in everyone getting out at each stop, one person did it. Richard and Robert had been taking turns at it to save Daniel from aggravating his injury.

"No sign of them?" he asked as Richard neared.

Radnor shook his head, his expression grim, and Daniel glanced to the carriage stopped behind their own in time to see his mother withdraw her head from the open door and close it. She had heard Richard's answer too and was now no doubt telling Lisa and Christiana the news.

After the first hour, their party had been stopping at each inn so that they could check to see if Danvers's carriage had perhaps been there and might be still. They had expected him to stop for meals or to allow everyone to stretch their legs and relieve themselves. Even if he had decided to drive straight through, the man would have to stop eventually, if only to change horses. However, it appeared he hadn't stopped so far.

"I begin to suspect he isn't going to stop at all and we are wasting time stopping at each inn we pass," Daniel admitted grimly as Richard climbed into the carriage.

"Hmm," Robert muttered with disgust. "If he shot you and wrote the letter Suzette received, then he'll no doubt be eager to get her to Gretna Green and get the deed done before anything can interfere."

Daniel sank back on the bench seat to peer at Robert and Richard across from him, then said, "Maybe we should stop checking each inn. We are wasting a lot of time, and even if they do stop and we pass them, it can only be to our benefit to arrive at Gretna before them. We could lie in wait then."

He waited for both men to nod their agreement before giving these instructions to his driver.

Suzette breathed out a little sigh of relief as she saw her father's eyes flutter. He had been unconscious for so long, she had begun to fret that Danvers had hit him so hard he might never wake again. But he was coming around . . . and now she could carry out the plan she'd come up with while waiting for him to regain consciousness.

Danvers had put his gun away the moment she'd finished tying up her father. Suzette supposed he didn't feel threatened by her enough to bother keeping it out. Whatever the case, he was twiddling his thumbs again and staring out the window into the darkness blanketing the countryside.

"We shall have to st

op at the next inn," she announced coldly. "I need to use the facilities."

Danvers glanced at her with disinterest, and then turned back to the window. "No."

"I need to relieve myself," she insisted pointedly.

Jeremy merely shrugged. "Then you had best get used to a damp dress, because we are not stopping."

Suzette narrowed her eyes grimly. She had half expected this answer and come up with a contingency plan should it happen. She carried it through now and got up from her seat.

"What are you doing?" Danvers barked, glancing around with surprise when the rustle of material warned him she was moving. She was standing up when he looked and moving toward him by the time he tugged his pistol out. Suzette ignored it and turned her back to him, not terribly concerned that he would shoot her. She was the golden goose, after all. She was relatively safe--at least she was until they were wed--so dropped to sit on his lap.

"What the devil?" Jeremy gasped, sounding alarmed now and trying to remove her by pushing on her back. "Get off me and sit in your seat."

Suzette braced her hands on the carriage walls to prevent his shifting her. "If I am going to be damp and uncomfortable because you are a rude bounder, then so shall you be," she said calmly, and then added, "Bear with me, my lord, this should only take a minute."