Betina Krahn by The Soft Touch Read Free Book Online Page A

of profit and the march of “Progress.”

F OUR

    Saturday evening arrived unseasonably warm and rich with the scents of the maturing spring. The Wingate carriage wound its way through the darkening countryside toward Pennyworth, the Vassars’ estate, carrying only Diamond and Hardwell. Hannah Humphrey had insisted on staying at home with Robbie, who had refused a third dessert at dinner and sent everyone into a state of alarm.
    Weathering the bounce and sway of the coach, Diamond adjusted and readjusted her posture to keep from wrinkling her long, snug-fitting satin bodice and arranged and rearranged her skirts to keep from flattening the ribbons and flounces on her elaborate bustle. When she achieved a suitable arrangement for her skirts, she turned her attention to the lace that rimmed her princess neckline, fluffing, smoothing, and tugging. Hardwell chuckled, and she looked up.
    “You look lovely, Diamond. You’ll charm Morgan’s socks off.”
    Morgan could jolly well keep his socks
on
, she respondedsilently, trying not to let her thoughts show in her face. The very last thing she needed was Morgan Kenwood hovering over her all evening. Why couldn’t he have kept to his original schedule and arrived home from Ireland only days before her wretched birthday?
    Her dread of seeing him was compounded by feelings of guilt. She had allowed him to extract a promise from her to announce her marriage plans on her birthday … knowing full well that he interpreted that promise to mean she would be announcing plans to marry
him
.
    It wasn’t entirely dishonest of her. At the time she made the promise, she had not yet eliminated marriage as a possibility and, if she were to marry, she honestly considered Morgan Kenwood to be one of her leading matrimonial candidates. His family’s home, Kensington, bordered Gracemont; she had known him all of her life; and his breeding and appearance were perfectly—
    A sudden lurch of the carriage caused her to grab for the strap hanging beside the door, to steady herself. “Why are we speeding up?”
    Hardwell was already heading for the window and squinting out into the gathering darkness to see what was happening. “It’s another vehicle—a wagon.” He pointed out the window, to the rear, and Diamond looked back to glimpse a pair of horses in harness struggling to overtake their landau. The billowing dust made it difficult to see who was trying to pass their carriage on such a narrow and rutted road and in such abysmal light.
    But as they neared Pennyworth, the road widened enough to permit the wagon to draw abreast of them and it became clear that the driver did not intend to pass. In the dissolving daylight, they could see the man driving the wagon begin to yell and wave his hat. His words were obscured by the rumble of the wheels, but he seemed to be calling to them to stop their carriage.
    “Perhaps he’s in trouble,” Diamond said, glancing at Hardwell.
    “No doubt. Lunatics usually are.” He stuck his arm out and waved the driver off. “Drop back, man!” he shouted. “Have you no sense a’tall?”
    He thumped the roof of the coach to signal Ned, and upon a crack from the whip and a snap of the reins, the horses broke into a gallop. The heavy coach lurched again. Diamond braced her feet against the opposite seat, tightened her hold on the hanging strap with one hand, and gripped the opening of her evening wrap with the other. She had never known Ned to push the horses like this … especially with darkness coming on. Her heart began to pound.
    Their pursuer drove his horses with shocking recklessness, trying to keep pace. Then, just as they rounded a curve and the gates of Pennyworth came into view, one of the wagon’s wheels hit a deep rut, broke several spokes, and sent the vehicle bouncing and careening off the road. Diamond and Hardwell strained to see if it overturned and were able to catch a glimpse of the man climbing up on the footboard of the wagon to