Thankfully, he calmed down enough that she could fasten the lids on the baskets.
“Where do you intend to take him?” Beaufort asked as she finished lashing the final straps.
She gave him a cautious look. “I am not sure I can trust you, even if you are Katharine’s brother.”
In the lantern light, she could see his expression grow annoyed. “Do you even have a destination in mind?”
“Yes.”
Since she was certain Deering would hunt for her untiringly, she’d thought long and hard about where to seek refuge for the stallion. There were scores of livery stables all over London, but she couldn’t hope to hide a peerless racehorse among common carriage hacks for long. So obviously she would have to spirit him away from London. She didn’t think it wise to tell Beaufort where she meant to go, however.
When her silence dragged out, he muttered a low oath. “I’ll be damned if I want to see you hanged.”
“I have no intention of being hanged,” she assured him quietly. “If I were to be caught, there would be no one to protect Emperor from Lord Deering. Now, I need to be on my way, my lord.”
He let her close the gig’s boot but then grasped her arm. “No. It is too dangerous for you to set out alone.”
“I cannot let that stop me.”
“Maura …” His tone was still low, but became more urgent. “You need to think carefully about what you are doing. If you run now, there could be no turning back. This decision could change your life irrevocably.”
The deep concern in his voice made a strange emotion twist in her chest. He was right, Maura thought, staring up into his eyes. She was at a major crossroads in her life. Yet she had to do this.
“You don’t understand,” she replied, her voice unexpectedly quavering with emotion. “I could not save my f
ather from that cursed man, but by heaven, I will save my horse.”
To her dismay, she felt her throat suddenly close with tears.
It wasn’t like her to be so missish, Maura told herself. No doubt the stress of the past days and hours had frayed her nerves. But she had cried in front of Beaufort once today, and she wouldn’t do so again.
Swallowing the aching lump in her throat, Maura resolutely pulled her arm from his grasp and stepped back from him.
Whatever he saw in her face must have convinced him of her unwavering determination, for he held up his hands in a show of defeat and exhaled a sigh. “Very well, then. If you won’t abandon your idiotic scheme, I have no choice but to accompany you.”
Maura had started to turn away, but froze in her tracks. “That is out of the question.”
He went on as if she hadn’t spoken at all. “At least I can give you my protection. If I am with you, perhaps I can save you from prison. In my position, I can get away with endeavors that you cannot.”
“I told you, I cannot involve anyone else. I must do this alone. You could be implicated in my crimes, and I don’t want that guilt on my conscience.”
Beaufort took a step closer. “Let me put it this way,” he said slowly, as if explaining to a dimwitted child. “There is no bloody way in hell I am letting you set out alone. I am coming with you, vixen.”
She gave him a long, frustrated look. “You realize you are only interfering where you are unwanted?”
“No doubt. But I promised Katharine I would look after you. How do you expect she will react if I return empty-handed? She would hie after you herself.”
“Well, you will just have to stop her.”
In reply, he reached up to cup Maura’s face with both of his hands. His gentle touch caught her off guard and held her immobile, as did the quiet, earnest sound of his voice. “Answer me one question honestly. Do you really want to face this ordeal all alone? A fugitive from your family, your friends?”
The question startled her as much as the answer that instantly sprang to mind: No, she didn’t want to be all alone, fleeing in the dark of night, abandoning everyone she knew, a hunted fugitive for God only knew how long—perhaps for the rest of her days.
Maura swallowed again. She had no choice but to risk becoming a fugitive, but she did not have to endure it all by herself.
“No,” she whispered. “I don’t want to be alone.”
“Then it’s settled,” he said curtly, turning to tend to his horse.