“Just don’t fight it. I’ll be right behind you. Now go.”
Sophie jumped. She tried to follow Alex’s instruction, but after the initial jarring impact she lost all control of her body to inertia. She did manage a great deal of rolling though, and when she finally managed to clamber to her feet—ignoring the myriad of aches and pains that promised spectacular bruising—she contented herself with that knowledge.
Before her head could finish spinning, Alex was at her side, grabbing her hand and pulling her into the woods at a dead run. She was immensely grateful for his company at that moment. Not just for his calming presence, but also for his ability to move in a straight line, a skill she currently lacked.
“Did they see us?” she whispered between gasping breathes. It took an enormous amount of effort to keep up with him, and she suspected he was capable of moving much faster. She hated that she might be slowing him down, but she knew he would never leave her behind. Her only hope was that their escape had gone unnoticed.
“No. You don’t have to whisper,” Alex answered in a normal tone of voice and, she couldn’t help but notice, a barely winded one. “The wagon picked up speed after it rounded the corner. They didn’t suspect a thing.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I waited to jump.”
“You waited until it was going faster?”
“Not much, just enough to be sure they hadn’t noticed you’d gone missing.”
Sophie glanced around fretfully for any sign of pursuit. Then she stumbled over a tree root. Alex pulled her arm to right her without slowing. “But could they have noticed after you jumped?” she asked, whispering again.
“They didn’t,” he replied, and she could almost hear the confident smile he was wearing. It grated on raw nerves.
“Well, if they didn’t see me and they didn’t see you,” she began caustically, “then why the devil are we running?” She considering digging her heels in for effect, but at the speed they were going, and with the death grip Alex had on her hand, she figured she’d probably end up with an injured shoulder for her efforts.
Besides, Alex was already slowing down to a brisk walk.
“Are you tired? Do you need to rest?” he asked. Concern laced his voice, and she immediately felt foolish for her outburst. And more than a little ashamed. After all, she was the reason he was in this mess.
“I’m fine,” she answered in a small voice. It wasn’t strictly true, she hurt to the roots of her hair, but she would live, and all because of Alex. She would run until she dropped if that’s what he wanted. “Really, I’m fine, we don’t need to slow down.”
Alex shook his head. “We don’t need to run anymore, either. We’re far enough into the woods.”
“Oh.” She glanced at his profile. “You’re not hurt, are you?”
He looked well enough, but one could never be sure.
“Perfectly fit,” he assured her, and with such confidence she took him at his word and walked along beside him for awhile in silence.
“Alex,” she asked, once she’d more or less regained her breath and good sense. “How did you get out of those ropes so quickly?”
Alex flinched. He had gotten out by using tricks he’d been taught by his father and William. Tricks Sophie clearly did not have. Dear God, she’d been trying to chew through her bindings. He was simultaneously horrified at the danger he’d put her in, and unspeakably proud of how well she was handling it. Untying knots with one’s mouth wasn’t the most efficient means of escape, but it was a damn clever solution for someone who, by all rights, should have been rendered senseless with fear.
“I’m proud of you,” he said, giving her hand a little squeeze.
She blinked at him. “Um…thank you, I think, but I haven’t done anything.”
Alex stopped and looked at her. “You’ve been uncommonly brave, Sophie, and in circumstances you can’t possibly understand—”
“Well—”
“Let me finish, please, I think this may be easier for me if I do it quickly.”
She nodded. There didn’t seem to be anything else for it, since she hadn’t the slightest idea what he was talking about. He sounded as if he were about to pull out a tooth, or sever a limb.
Alex reached down and took her other hand in his. “I believe those men were either Napoleon sympathizers or hired by one. In fact I’m almost sure of it. I’m….” Alex put a fist to his mouth and cleared his throat. He retook her other hand, increased his grip as if afraid she might try to bolt—and he was—and said, “I know because I’m an agent for the war office and I’ve been investigating your cousin’s affairs. I am sorry, Sophie. I wanted to keep you safe. I never suspected they knew. I….”
Alex didn’t know what else to say, how to make things right, or even better.
At least she wasn’t trying to run, although she did appear sufficiently shocked.