Martin g
lanced up the road to the next bend. The curve would hide the coach from view. He looked at Reggie and nodded curtly; the other man was being remarkably understanding, but then, he'd known Amanda all her life. He pulled Amanda back from the coach. "We'll join you shortly."
"You're going to leave me here, alone with him?" Amanda's astonishment, and her rising temper, rang in her tone.
"Yes." Reggie frowned at her. "With luck, you'll come to your senses." He shut the door; reluctantly, the coachman flicked his reins and the carriage slowly rumbled on.
Amanda stared after it, then turned on Martin, eyes narrowing. With regal disdain, she looked down-to where his fingers encircled her wrist. "Kindly unhand me."
He set his jaw. "No."
She looked him in the eye… her eyes narrowed even further…
The growl that issued from his throat was entirely instinctive; glowering back at her, he eased his grip, forced his fingers from her skin.
"Thank you." She drew in a quick breath. "And now, if you please, you can explain what you think you're doing, dragging me out of my parents' coach in the middle of nowhere in the depths of the night!"
"What I'm doing?" He aimed a finger at her nose. "You were supposed to give me an answer tonight!"
"I explained! I left you a note."
He searched in his pocket. "You mean this?" He brandished the crumpled sheet in her face.
She grabbed it, smoothed it out. "Yes. As I'm sure Mama explained when she gave it to you-"
"Your mother didn't give it to me-your butler did."
"Colthorpe?" Amanda stared at him. "Colthorpe gave it to you? Oh." Her face blanked. "That's why you caught us-"
"This side of the border. Luckily for us all, because I would have damned well caught up with you at Gretna Green or later, and that wouldn't have been pretty."
Her eyes only got rounder. "Gretna Green?"
Her stunned look had him frowning. "God only knows why you thought tying the knot with dear Reggie was a good idea-"
"We weren't going to Gretna Green-and I would never marry Reggie. Why on earth did you think that?"
She was telling the bald truth-the fact was written all over her face.
His frown turned to a scowl. "The note-what you wrote. What else did you mean if not that?" He was starting to feel as lost as she looked.
She glanced at the note, read the few lines, then grimaced. "Mama asked me to write a note so she had something from me to give you-it was supposed to be read once she'd explained. It wasn't supposed to be a communication in itself."
Disgruntlement swept over him. "Well, what the hell was I supposed to think?" He ran his fingers through his hair, drew in a huge breath for what felt like the first time in hours. She hadn't been about to marry Reggie. He blinked, then scowled at her again. "Where the devil are you heading then, if not to Gretna Green?"
Her pert nose rose. "There is more to Scotland beyond Gretna Green."
"But not much is habitable. Why the devil do you need to travel all the way up there?"
She narrowed her eyes at him. "I'm going to visit Richard and Catriona. They live in the Vale of Casphaim, north of Carlisle." She swung on her heel and stalked toward his curricle.
He fell in beside her; his mind supplied a picture of an exquisite, flame-haired young matron-Richard's wife. Supplied all he'd heard of her… eyes narrowing to shards, he glanced at the woman walking by his side. "Catriona… isn't she a witch?"
She nodded. "A wise woman-a very wise woman."
"One who works with herbs, and other medicinal plants?"
She went to nod, then halted, looked at him. Astonished anew. Then her lips thinned. "I am not going to Catriona for any… herbal remedy! As if I would! Oh!" Hands flying as if to push him away, she turned and stalked on. Shaking her head furiously. "You are impossible!"