Surrender (56 page)

and there ain't enough room nor food to

go
 
round. Am I s'posed to watch all my

womenfolk starve? Not bloody likely. I did

what I
 
ad to do usin" the pistol my pa left

me. That's all."

Lucas regarded him in measured silence

for a long moment.
 
You have a point,

Billy. In your shoes I'd probably have done

the same."

Billy eyed him in some confusion.
 
Ye

look like gentry to me. Ye certain ye would

have taken to the roads like this?"

 
As you say, Billy, a man does what he

has to do. But be that as it may, from

what I hear, things have changed in these

parts. There is a new earl in charge of

stone vale now.

He won't be no better'n the last one,

ye mark my words. The bleedin" Quality's

all the same. Out to suck the last drop o'

blood from people like me and mine. Ma

says the new folks up at the great house are

different and I heard what they're sayin'

in the village about the ghosts reappearin',

but I don't believe none of it."

 
Is that right?" Lucas's horse tossed its

head and he absently patted George's

neck.
 
You thought I was a ghost at first,

didn't you?"

Billy shot him a sullen look.
 
Ye took me

by surprise, that's all. Ain't no such thing

as ghosts." But he was staring at the amber

scarf draped around Victoria's throat. The

color had been clearly discernible earlier in

the light from the coach.

I'm sure you're right, Billy. But all that

is beside the point. We have something of

a problem here."

Billy wiped his nose with the back of his

hand.
 
What problem?"

 
Why, the problem of what to do with

you, of course."

 
Why don't ye just shoot me with yer

bloody damn pistol and be done with it?"

 
That's a possibility, naturally. And not

an uncommon ending for a highwayman.

What do you think, madam?" Lucas

glanced at Victoria.

 
I think," Victoria said softly,
 
that Billy

should present himself at the stables of the

Earl of stone vale tomorrow morning and

inform the head groom that he is to be

hired. In the meantime I think he should

go home and put his mother's mind at

ease. She is undoubtedly extremely worried

about him."

Billy looked up sharply.
 
What makes ye

think I could get a job at the big
 
ouse?"

 
Rest assured, Billy," Lucas said calmly,

 
there will be a job waiting for you. One

with more of a future than this one. It

won't provide quite as much excitement as

being a highwayman, but we have agreed

a man does what he must. You've got

womenfolk to see to and you cannot afford

to be in a profession that's likely to get you

killed this week or next."

The boy eyed Lucas suspiciously.
 
Is this

a game yer playin" with me?"

Victoria smiled in the shadows of her

hood.
   
Tis no game, Billy. Go home to

your mother and in the morning report to

the head groom. The wages may not be

as high as what you can make out here

on the road, but at least they'll be steady.

And that's what your family needs. What

have you got to lose? If things don't work

out, you can always go back into this line

of work."

Billy stared at her for a long moment,

trying to peer beneath the hood of her cloak.

Finally he shook his head in awe.

 
Yer them, ain't ye? The two o" ye be the

ghosts. The Amber Knight and his lady.

Look at that scarf yer wearin". It's true

what they been sayin" in the village. Ye

come back after all this time t" ride the

lands o" stone vale at midnight."

 
Go home, Billy. I think we have all

had enough excitement for tonight," Lucas

said.

 
Aye, sir. Ye don't have to tell me twice.

I ain't accustomed to makin" conversation

with a couple o" ghosts." Billy tugged at

the reins of his sturdy mount and kicked

the beast into what must have been a

bone-shaking trot.

Victoria watched as the boy vanished

around the bend in the road. Then she

threw back the hood of her cloak and

laughed softly.
 
I must admit, my lord,

that I always have an interesting time

of it when you and I go adventuring at

midnight."

Lucas muttered an oath.
 
Never a dull

moment, is there?"

 
Never. What shall we do next?"

 
We could follow the suggestion made

by that lady in the coach. I could take you

home and beat you for being so brazen as

to run around in the middle of the night in

a pair of men's breeches. But it probably

wouldn't do much good."

Not a bit of good," Victoria agreed

cheerfully.
 
In any event, tonight's

adventure was all your idea in the first place,

so it would hardly be fair of you to

beat me."

 
Ah, but you don't think me a fair

man, do you, Vicky? You think I am

high-handed and domineering and quite

utterly ruthless, not to mention priggish."

She lowered her lashes.
 
Lucas, I
 
."

 
Never mind, Vicky. It is past time we

headed home. You've had your adventure

for tonight."

He turned George's head back in the

direction from which they had ridden

earlier and Victoria had no choice but

to follow.

Half an hour later she was safely back

in her own bed and she was very much

alone in it. But she was far from asleep.

She turned on her side and plumped

a pillow, trying to get Lucas's words

out of her head. You think I am high

handed and domineering and quite utterly

ruthless.

And so he was, she assured herself for

the hundredth time. Surely she did not

need any more proof of that after their

confrontation earlier in the day. She had

known that sooner or later he would

show his true colors and behave like any

other so-called gentleman behaved after

he married and took control of his wife's

money.

But she also knew perfectly well that

any other so-called gentleman of her

acquaintance would have turned poor

Billy over to the authorities and seen

the youngster hung without a qualm.

Either that or the gentleman would

have shot the boy down on the road

and thought himself a hero in doing

so.

Yet from the moment she had realized

they were dealing with a young local lad,

she'd never had any doubts about how

Lucas would handle the situation. She had

known he would neither shoot the boy nor

send him to the gallows.

The truth was, her husband was not

at all like most of the gentlemen of her

acquaintance and she had known that from

the start. That was how she had gotten into

this situation.

That did not mean, however, that Lucas

was not excessively arrogant, high-handed,

and domineering at times.

She turned over on her other side and

gazed at the closed door that connected

their rooms. The dressing table was still

in front of it. Lucas had gone straight back

to his own bedchamber after seeing her to

her door.

Victoria had been anticipating that he

would come to her bed after their night

of adventure. The fact that he had not,

disturbed her.

She wondered if she'd gone too far by

barricading her door against him. Perhaps

she had dealt his pride an overly severe

blow with that bit of defiance. He was her

husband, after all. He did have rights.

Nor could she deny that as his wife, she

had her obligations.

They were supposed to be partners

in this marriage, just as they had been

partners in sharing the night's adventure.

And right now she wanted to be with

him.

Victoria gave up the useless attempt to

get to sleep and slid out from under the

covers. Her nightgown floated around her

ankles as she went over to the dressing

table that blocked the door. She listened

intently for sounds from the next room that

might indicate Lucas was having trouble

sleeping, too, but she heard nothing.

The urge to open the connecting door

very quietly and peek into his room to see

if he was sound asleep was overpowering.

But the barricade was something of a

nuisance. She could move it back into

its proper position, but in doing so she

would surely wake Lucas.

She glanced at the window and smiled.

If the Earl of stone vale could get from one

room to another using the window ledge,

then so could she.

Victoria went over to the window,

opened it, and looked down. From here

the ground seemed very far away and the

ledge that led to Lucas's window did not

look nearly as wide as she had thought it

would. Still, he had managed to walk it

even with his bad leg.

Victoria took a deep breath and stepped

out onto the ledge. The chilled air caught

at her thin muslin gown and she shivered.

Clutching at the cold stone of the wall,

she edged slowly toward the other window.

It was not going to be quite as easy as

she had thought. She was discovering the

hard way that she did not have a head for

heights. Every time she looked down she

got dizzy.

Halfway between the two windows

Victoria came to a complete halt. She

knew she could not go on. Lucas had

made this ledge-walking business sound

like a stroll in the park. She did not

know how he had managed it, but she

was forced to admit defeat.

It was when she tried to retreat back

along the ledge that she realized she had

a major problem on her hands, Going back