Suddenly, Caddock lurched, and Thora's hoof slipped causing Elizabeth to twist in her saddle and nearly slide off. Darcy's head whipped around as he tried to find the source of the ruckus. Eight armed men were riding at them full speed. She gasped, her chest tightening. With haste, he grabbed Elizabeth and steadied her.
“Ride for those trees!” It was a command, not a suggestion.
“But—”
“Do not argue! Ride!” Towards his men he shouted, “Protect the princess!”
She sped off, gripping the reins tightly, bile rising from the fear of having nearly lost her seat. The animal and rider ducked into the copse, hoping against hope that the attackers would be dispatched quickly. Through the leaves, Elizabeth could discern that two men came upon her new husband, followed by the furious flash of swords. The horrible sound of crashing metal quavered through the air like a foul disease searching for its next victim.
A bloodstained man, one of Darcy's attackers, fell from his mount, who trotted on, unmindful of the body beneath its back hooves. The other man fought on, matching Darcy blow for blow until Darcy's dagger appeared and ripped an unnatural canyon across his throat in a fatal mock-up of a joust.
The other men were engaged equally as brutally, and one of the royal guards had fallen. No one had made it to the grove with her.
“And look what we have here. A Southerner miles away from home.”
In a trice, her head turned towards the voice. A man merely a few years older than her was leering at her. His teeth were yellowed, and his hair was heavy with grease. Elizabeth choked on his stench.
“Sir, I warn ye, harm me not!”
“'Ye?' Oh, that is pathetic! They neglect to teach you toads anything, do they not? You cannot even speak properly.” He pulled his horse close to hers so they were eye to eye. “But I suspect you are a sweet bit of ass to have driven our High Lord so mad.”
She struck him hard enough on the cheek that her palm stung, and tears sprang to her eyes. He was knocked back, but not down, and the horse moved with him.
“You shall pay for that, Sweet Bit,” he hissed.
“And you shall hang for treason. Move away from my wife.”
Oh, thank the Lord, her husband was here!
“She is at the tip of my sword, Lord Darcy. This bit is going to die no matter what you do.”
“Move away from my wife. I will not tell you again.”
Elizabeth stared down, frozen, at the blade hovering against her belly. Slowly, it slipped into her mind that she had spent hours with her husband in the marriage bed and she might, even now, be with child. The thought of somebody harming her suddenly paled in comparison to the possible destruction of her innocent babe. She was unarmed, but she was not stupid. Willing him to understand her, Elizabeth met Darcy's eyes, took a deep breath, and gave a nearly imperceptible jerk of her head. Before the toothy man knew it, Thora had been jerked backwards, and Darcy was descending on him.
Once again swords clashed violently enough to cause sparks. Each loud hit caused her to flinch. The men fought hard, and the traitor seemed to be able to match his opponent in every way. Unexpectedly, the greasy man switched hands and managed to slice Darcy's sword arm from shoulder to elbow. Elizabeth screamed, unable to tell the depth of the wound, and made to tug Thora's reins and direct her mount to Darcy’s side.
“Stay back!” Darcy yelled at her. She moved Thora away, but the space was limited amongst the trees. He probably wished she would ride for Nanningbrook, but she would never leave him now.
He took his own sword in his right hand and played on the traitor's surprise by running him through just as more riders appeared. Darcy manoeuvred Caddock in front of Thora, and his three remaining guards followed suit, surveying the dead, the dying, the injured, and the new party.
“My lord! I rode as fast as I could. One of my spies learnt of the plot to abduct and kill the princess and informed me. I had hoped to reach you in time.” Foster was panting hard.
To abduct and kill the princess? Oh, my lord! She could fall faint! She had no idea! Her one thought had been that this was to hurt her husband, whowashurt!
“You have,” said Darcy. “I have injured men, and I fear my wife is going to go into shock.”
“You are injured too, sir!”
“Pay no mind to me. We must get back to Nanningbrook now.”
Swords drawn, the new riders surrounded the Pemberley party. Elizabeth drew Thora next to Caddock and reached towards the blood on Darcy's arm with cautious fingers. Without thinking, her eyes wide and tear-filled, she touched his cheek.
“I thought I had lost ye,” she said in a hoarse whisper.
With his good arm, he took her hand, then wrapped his bleeding arm about her waist, pulling her over to his saddle.
“You shall never lose me, my sweet. Even when you most want to.”