Bronwyn Scott's Sexy Regency Bundle (70 page)

'A carriage, fast as you can!' Jack barked to a waiting groom, sending him scurrying for any available conveyance.

'No, a horse, it will be faster.' Brandon said and set off after the groom. He'd saddle the beast himself and be off all that much quicker. Time was of the essence. Nora was an expert at disappearing. If she vanished, it would be hard to find her again unless she wanted to be found.

'Where are we off to?' Jack queried at his heels.

'The house,' Brandon said with little conviction. She would have gone there first to retrieve The clothing and to leave

the jewels. She would have bargained on having enough time to do that before he realised she was gone and before he could reach her in the absence of his carriage. The little liar had no intentions of sending the carriage back for him. The longer it took him to follow her, the better her chances for escape.

Brandon flung a saddle over the back of one of the Squire's fastest hunters. Escape! It hurt to think Nora viewed leaving him as an escape. Escape implied so many negative things-stolen freedom, held captive against one's will.

Brandon leaped into the saddle and spurred the horse out into the night, not bothering to wait for Jack. Every minute counted. He did not know where Nora would go after she left the house and he didn't dare think of what she'd do.

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The mile to his door seemed interminable, even though Brandon knew he was pushing the horse as fast as he dared in the moonlight. The big hunter hardly stopped before Brandon slid off its back and tore open his front door, bellowing, 'Nora!

Nora! Sweetheart, are you here?'

He gained the staircase and heard the sound of running feet on the boards. Hope soared in him. He wasn't too late. She was still here.

'My lord, is that you? Thank goodness you've come.' Harper stood at the top of the stairs with a brace of candles along with and the butler. Brandon's heart plummeted. It had been their footsteps he'd heard.

'Is she here?' Jack burst into the entry.

Brandon swallowed his disappointment. 'No. We've missed her.' He turned to Harper. 'How long ago did she leave? Did she say anything?'

spoke up, her voice trembling. 'She was only here a few minutes. She stuffed some clothes into a valise and took off her jewels. She didn't bother to change her gown.'

Brandon nodded grimly. It was as he'd expected. 'Call the groom in, I want to know if she took her horse.' He gestured for Jack to follow him and together they mounted the stairs to Brandon's rooms.

All was as the staff had reported. Her gowns hung in the wardrobe. The personal items he'd purchased for her still lay on the bureau. The Stockport diamonds shimmered on the vanity next to the blue velvet box. Brandon shut his eyes and groaned, not caring if Jack witnessed his distress. The evening had started off with such promise. Now, their vibrant coupling on the floor seemed a lifetime ago.

'I am sorry, my friend,' Jack said softly. 'I can see you're in pain over this.'

Brandon sighed, pushing a hand through his hair. 'The thing

Scott

is, Jack, I am hurting more for her than I am myself. I cannot begin to fathom the depth of betrayal she must be feeling. The level of deceit she thinks me capable of must be devastating.'

'Now, stop right there.' Jack took a seat on the edge of the bed and looked stern. 'I think you might possibly assume too much. She might have been playing you the whole time. According to your arrangement, your association expired after the ball. For all you know, she was leaving tomorrow anyway. If she overheard us, she might have felt it was safer to leave immediately instead of waiting for you to pull a fast one and have her arrested in the morning.'

'God. I am an idiot.' Brandon swore softly, on to the

bench in front of the vanity. When had he stopped about her as The Cat? At what point had he started seeing her only as Nora? He'd been blind to all the nuances outside their relationship. She'd so cleverly used sex and self-disclosure to weave a web of intimacy around them that cocooned him from all else going on under his nose. He had loved her. Had she ever loved him? At any point had she cared for him?

He thought of her resistance to his proposal. He'd been a fool not to see it for what it was-the oldest trick in the book of female wiles. It had been nothing but a clever rendition of playing hard to get. She'd kept him panting after her right up to the end with her bed tricks. Even tonight, just hours ago, she'd writhed beneath him in hot passion on this very floor, making him believe she cared, that she might stay, that she might accept his honourable proposal.

'Brandon, I'm not saying that's how it was,' Jack cajoled.

'I simply believe it bears thinking about. I don't want you torturing yourself with unnecessary guilt .'

A knock sounded and Harper entered. 'The groom's downstairs, my lord.'

Brandon looked up, all business.

be there in a moment.

Have him wait in my study.' Brandon stood up and brushed at

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his trousers. 'There may be some

in what you say, my

friend,' he said to Jack. 'I suspect we'll soon enough what

The Cat really felt for me.'

'I hope I am wrong.'