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“Anything else?” Sam prompted after an uncomfortable pause.

“That she doesn’t want to trap me in an unwanted marriage, and she’s leaving for Northumberland.” He threw the crumpled piece of paper into the hearth, his hands pressed against the stones, his head hung. Everyone fell silent for a short moment as Adam processed what he’d just read. Then he whirled around, fire coursing through his veins. “I am going after her.”

“Finally!” Isabel shot up. “I’ll get the carriage.”

“I’ll ask the chef to get you sandwiches for the road.” Sam dashed past him and into the corridor.

Adam shook his head. “No, there’s no time. No carriage. No food. I’ll go on horseback. It’s faster this way.”

Isabel grinned. “Then go. I’ll still get the carriage to follow you, anyway. You are going to have to bring her back somehow.”

Adam nodded resolutely. “I am going to get her back.”

Gage just watched every member of his family rush out of the door with his arms outstretched, a confused look on his face. “And I shall… wait here.” Perhaps he’d said something more, but Adam didn’t hear him. He was already halfway down the stairs to get his mount.

Did she have to leave without a word? Couldn’t she have waited at least a day more if not the allotted three days her family was supposed to stay in London? Why leave now?

He knew why.

She thought he was angry with her, which was true. She thought he would never forgive her, the foolish girl. And that part was abjectly false.

What she didn’t know was that he had already canceled his trip and refused the position with Sir Richardson’s expedition last night. Because even if he hadn’t realized that he loved her yet, he had already known he could never let her go.

Chapter 23

The journey to Northumberland took Adam a painstakingly long time. To add to his troubles, he couldn’t get horse changes right away at some of the rest stops, and as a result, it took him longer than it would have taken him by carriage. Except that he was also soaked in rain, splattered with dirt, and his bum hurt from spending the whole time atop a horse.

None of it mattered, however, as long as he got to see Beatrice again. As long as he could hold her in his arms and claim her as his forever.

He stayed at an inn a few miles from Lansdowne’s estate the last night of the journey so that he could clean himself and appear at Lansdowne’s house in the morning rather than the middle of the night looking like a sophisticated gentleman rather than a beggar or a highwayman. However, knowing Beatrice’s love for criminals and scoundrels in her books, perhaps he shouldn’t have bothered.

But as he approached the Lansdowne estate that early morning, a feeling of foreboding assailed him. The entire house seemed eerily quiet.

Not that he could tell from the outside if his assumption was true. Perhaps the anxiousness within him tried to paint a grim picture.

You’re too late, his heart whispered the frightening thought.

And that was why when the door opened and a polite butler enquired how he could help, Adam forgot all his manners and simply asked, “Is Miss Beatrice Fowley there? Is she in the house with her family?”

The butler stiffened at the lack of manners Adam displayed but obliged him with the answer nonetheless. “No one is at home, sir. They’re all at the church.”

“Church?” Oh, no! Adam’s eyes rounded, and it was as if all his fears suddenly came true. He was too late. They were getting married!

“Where’s the church?” he asked, already stepping away from the doorstep.

The butler gave rather simple directions, and Adam jumped onto his horse and spurred it into a gallop. His steed’s hooves pounded against the earth, kicking up dust in their wake as they hurried through the winding paths.

The church wasn’t difficult to find. They never were. They stood tall, their pristine white façades unmistakable.

As Adam approached, he saw dozens of carriages surrounding it, the horses neatly tied up on the lawn beside the church. The sight made it clear that a sizable congregation had gathered, with many people in attendance.

Adam’s heartbeat was like a roll of the drum. He rushed in, sweat dripping down his face, his breathing frantic. And it seemed that his nightmare was playing out before his eyes.

The church was packed with people, some standing, most occupying the pews to the brim. But the only thing Adam saw, the only person his gaze instantly was drawn to, was Beatrice at the end of the aisle, in a simple pale green gown.

“Stop the ceremony!” Adam cried, and the entire church turned their eyes on him.

Beatrice turned, her eyes filled with shock.