“I have no evil designs against your virginal body.”
Julia was not sure why his words filled her with such cold. “Then you are speaking of a marriage in appearance only?”
“Certainly. What else could possibly be between us?” Deverel asked.
“Nothing, of course,” she answered. “Is that what you want—to tie yourself to a loveless marriage?”
“It’s not a question of what I want. Or of what you want. It is a question of what we have to do. Or do you not believe that you have a certain duty to your family?”
“Of course I believe I have a duty to them.”
She had sworn she could not marry the man who had ruined her brother—but had he really been responsible for that? Everything inside her quailed at the idea of facing a lifetime in a loveless, even antagonistic marriage. Yet she knew that to refuse to do it would be the act of a coward.
Julia looked Deverel squarely in the eyes. “All right,” she said. “I will marry you.”
“A smart, fun-filled romp.”
—Publishers Weekly on Impetuous
Swept Away
Candace Camp
Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Epilogue
Julia pulled the cap low on her head, hiding her face in the shadow of the brim, and edged closer to the horse whose head she held. Every muscle in her body tensed, and her eyes were glued to the man strolling down the opposite side of the street. It was Lord Stonehaven, all right. She would recognize that arrogant, muscular stride anywhere.
The horse shifted nervously as her hand unconsciously tightened on the bridle. Julia ran a soothing hand down his neck. The last thing she wanted was to alert Stonehaven. In just a few more steps they would have him. Her eyes went involuntarily to the darkened doorway beyond her quarry. She could see no sign of Nunnelly or Jasper, even knowing that they were there. It was a well-recessed doorway; that was why they had chosen this particular spot for their ambush.
She waited, scarcely daring to breathe. In another moment they would have the man responsible for her brother’s downfall. Lord Stonehaven took one step, then another. Suddenly, without a break in his stride, he stepped out into the street, bypassing the doorway. Julia clenched her teeth against the shriek of frustration that rose in her throat. Damn the man! How did he always manage to thwart them?
She knew it was over, the attempt failed like the other two times, even as the two men bolted out of the black doorway toward their quarry. Lord Stonehaven was simply too good a fighter for them to subdue him without the element of surprise. Nunnelly still had a welt across his forehead from their last attempt to prove it.
Stonehaven whirled as Nunnelly and Jasper charged, and he slammed his walking stick into Jasper’s midsection. The young man doubled over, and Lord Stonehaven neatly sidestepped him and drove a fierce right uppercut into Nunnelly’s jaw. The burly Nunnelly staggered back, dropping the sack that they had intended to pull over Lord Stonehaven’s head. Nunnelly’s feet got tangled up in the sack, and he fell to the street. Stonehaven reached down and grasped the man’s jacket, hauling him up.
“All right, you!” Stonehaven’s crisp voice carried clearly across the street. “I want some answers—now! What the devil do you mean, attacking me? This isn’t the first time, either.”
For an answer, Nunnelly swung at him, but Stonehaven stepped sharply back to avoid it, releasing Nunnelly. Jasper, still bent over from the earlier blow to his midsection, charged the man, but Stonehaven turned and brought his hand down hard on the young man’s neck, sending him sprawling to the ground.
Julia knew she had to do something to help. But she was also aware of how little good she would do her men in a brawl with Stonehaven. If he could deck Nunnelly like that, he would send her flying. So she scrambled up the coach onto the driver’s box, taking the reins in her hands. She slapped the reins noisily, then cracked the whip. Startled, the horses surged toward the men.
Even Lord Stonehaven jumped back at the sight of the coach and four barreling toward them. Nunnelly and Jasper scrambled to their feet and came running. Julia jerked the horses to a stop, knowing that Nunnelly would have a few choice things to say to her about her handling of his prize team, and the two men jumped inside. She slapped the reins again, and the carriage took off. To her surprise, Stonehaven ran after them, reaching up to grab hold of the bar the coachman used to climb up into the high seat. He jumped up onto the step. With his free hand, he reached toward the driver’s box to pull himself up. Panicked, Julia whirled and kicked him hard in the chest. It was enough to break his grip. Stonehaven fell heavily to the street.
Julia risked a look back as the horses charged forward. Stonehaven was slowly rising to his feet, dusting himself off and cursing. She turned back around and devoted herself to controlling four spooked horses. It was not an easy task. Even planting her feet firmly on the floor and standing up to haul back on the reins, she had an uneasy moment when she thought that the horses were not going to respond. It felt as if her arms would be torn from their sockets. Then the lead horses shook their heads and slowed and gradually came to a halt.
Nunnelly erupted from the carriage below. “Jaysus, Mary and Joseph!” he exclaimed, his Irish accent thick in his excitement. “Now what did ye think ye were doin’, Miss Julie?”
He ran to inspect his horses, running a calming hand over them and talking to them in the special low voice he reserved for his animals.
“I was saving your ungrateful skin, is what I was doing,” Julia replied crisply, accustomed to the man’s rough way of talking. She turned and looked behind her. The street stretched emptily into darkness. They had left Lord Stonehaven far behind in the mad rush to escape.
“Sure, now, and it’s glad I am you did,” Nunnelly allowed. “But did ye have to spook the horses while ye were doin’ it? Here, Jasper!” He swung toward his hapless assistant. “Come make yourself useful and take their heads whilst I get up atop. It’s little enough you’ve done tonight so far.”
The young man bristled at the words. “I didn’t see you do aught better!”
“Hush,