"What do you mean it says they've eloped?" Theo sputtered.

"Look!" Will said, shoving the note out for Theo to take a look at. Theo snatched it, and Will watched his eyes scan it. Unable to simply stand there, Will broke loose to pace the room. Was Theo mistaken when he'd said that Emilia did not wish to marry Trevor? Or had she changed her mind?

Will let out a curse and bent over, hands on his knees while he tried to process what was happening. This was what he got for toying with her for far too long. Emilia ran off with another man, and he couldn't even be mad. Because he had told her to do so.

"Fuck!" Theo shouted, slamming the note down. Will jerked up, staring at Theo with wide eyes. The other man was fuming, his face growing red with rage. Will knew there was little the Duke of Kingfield hated more than being deceived.

"It's over," Will said dejectedly to him. "She's marrying him."

"Did you not hear what I told you not two minutes ago?" Theo demanded, rushing over to shake Trevor's note in his face. Will pushed it aside but then had to deal with Theo's gaze bearing down on him and wished he hadn't. "She did not want to marry the wretched man this morning," the duke continued. "She was going to end their courtship."

Will shrugged, not being able to stomach Theo's emotions and his own at the same time. "So she changed her mind."

"You are so goddamn stupid," Theo growled. Then he put his hands on each of Will's shoulders and shook. Hard. "She loves you. She doesn't want to marry him. Didn't you come here to propose?"

"Yes," Will bit out, not liking the reminder of all the hopes that had been crushed within the last few minutes.

"And so you are simply going to give up?" Theo asked, dropping his arms and letting them slap against his sides. "That easy?"

When Will didn't immediately respond, Kingfield added with a glare, "If that is true, then maybe you truly do not deserve her."

Silence settled over them as they stared at each other. Will's mind was working rapidly under the pressure of Theo's gaze, and his resolve began to harden. Even if Emilia did decide to elope with Trevor, Will needed to know for sure that was what she wanted. He needed to tell her, just once, that he loved her. He needed her to know that before she belonged to another man.

"Let us go."

He spun around and walked out the door, barely hearing Theo behind him as he said, "About time."

The duke pushed ahead as they both strode outside. He motioned for Will to follow him toward the back of Kingfield House. "We shall get there faster if we ride," he said, gesturing toward the stables. "The roads will be slow-moving in this rain, though it looks like it is clearing now."

Will stopped, his boots squishing into the rain-soaked ground. He glanced up to the heavens, scrutinizing it. An understanding of the weather had always eluded Will, and today was no different. The sky was threatening something, but he could not tell what. Will wasn't certain if he should pray for rain to slow Emilia and Trevor or pray for clear skies to aid him and Theo.

But for once in Will's life, he did pray. He prayed that they could make it to them before anything happened. Emilia had given him one last chance the previous night, and Will had wasted it. And now, he needed another one. Dear Lord, he needed another chance.

Words flew to Will's mind as he thought of what he would say to win her back. But those thoughts could wait for the long ride ahead of him.

Urgency filled his bones, and Will whipped his head around to find Theo. He was nowhere to be found. Trudging further across the lawn of Kingfield House, Will began to hear the other man's hollering as he threw an array of requests at his army of servants. Following the sounds, Will arrived in the duke's stables, which were astir with activity.

In an astonishingly short amount of time, Will found himself mounting one of Kingfield's horses, which had been well-packed. He surveyed the luggage, not really sure what Theo's housekeeper had stashed in there. But knowing Mrs. Combs, it likely was everything they would need and more.

Will then asked, "How long do you reckon the journey will take?"

"To Scotland?" Theo asked, glancing over his shoulder as he finished preparations on his own horse. Will nodded.

"Probably four days, if we're lucky. But you'd better hope we find them before that."

Will's nerves tightened. He did not want to think about what might happen between Trevor and Emilia within four days of traveling. "What time did you last see Emilia?"

"Oh, about a quarter after eight," Kingfield answered. Will checked his pocket watch, noting that three hours had gone by since then. He wished that he hadn't even gone to sleep after Leo left his townhome last night. He should have promptly returned to Kingfield House and waited for its inhabitants to rise.

How far had Trevor and Emilia gone in that amount of time? Will could only assume that they were riding in a carriage, and the fact that it was raining wouldn't have aided them. And though it had been three hours since Theo had seen Emilia, that didn't necessarily mean that was when they had left. It could have been just before Will had arrived and subsequently gotten a shakedown from Theo.

"If Trevor was at my house, I do not know why I wasn't informed," Theo continued to say, scowling while swinging onto his own horse, Major, whose black mane contrasted the sterling silver coat of Will's mount.

"I got into your house without you knowing," Will muttered. Theo heard it and glared.

"Do not think we are done talking about that either."

"I would never dream of that."

"Good," Theo said emphatically and positioned himself in his saddle. Will then noticed the way his eyes hardened as he turned his horse to face him. "Will..."

"Kingfield?" he said uneasily.

"Emilia told me this morning she had no desire to marry Trevor."

"Yes," Will replied impatiently. "You've already mentioned that. But clearly, she changed her—"

"I do not think she did. And I do not think she lied to me. She knows I would have supported her, although perhaps begrudgingly, if she had chosen to marry Trevor. Why would she hide it from me?" Theo shook his head, clearly irritated. "Not to mention, she's been trying to do everything by the book with Trevor. With the exception of last night, they've had a perfectly proper courtship. Emilia had been adamant about maintaining that. Why would she cause another scandal by eloping?"

Major's feet danced beneath Theo, eager to be off. After a long pause, Theo said, "Will, I'm trying to say that it is possible Trevor took Emilia."

And with that, Theo kicked his heels into his horse and galloped off down the road. Will felt like Theo had actually kicked him but somehow managed to get his own horse moving.

All the words Will had been collecting to say to Emilia to earn back her love and trust vanished as he realized Theo was right. This wasn't that kind of mission.

This was a rescue mission.

****

Emilia woke up to an awful taste in her mouth. That was the only thing she could focus on. It was metallic and awful. She moved her tongue up and down the roof of her mouth, hoping that the coating might break down. But as she did that, she realized how parched she was. Everything was dry. Dry, metallic, awful.

She forced herself to open her eyes, the movement taxing. But if she opened her eyes, perhaps she could find water.

However, the second that light flooded into her pupils, Emilia immediately shut her eyelids again. It was blinding, instantly making her head ache. Or had her head been aching all along?

She went to move her hands, hoping to rub her pounding forehead. But Emilia soon found they were tied behind her back, stretching her arms in an uncomfortable position. And that was when all the pain hit her. Pain pulsed through her head, arms, and shoulder. She tried to readjust on the seat, but it only made it worse. So she ceased her fidgeting.

Emilia made herself open her eyes again, adding to the discomfort.

Lord Trevor sat across from her, rocking gently along with the carriage's movements, and Emilia remembered. He had proposed. She had turned him down. They were going to go for a morning ride.

This was not quite what she had been picturing when he had asked to go on a morning ride.

Emilia assessed Trevor through squinting eyes. He looked the same as he always did; however, now he also appeared a little...morose.

"The next time we stop to change the horses, I can get you some water," he said as he noticed the way she was licking her dry lips.

Emilia blinked some more, trying to adjust her vision to see him better.

"Change the horses?" she asked. Or at least that's what she tried to ask, but it came out garbled. Morning rides did not typically require a change of horses. Or more precisely, they never did.

Trevor flashed her an apologetic look before explaining. "The effects of the drug should wear off soon, do not worry."

There were a million things Emilia wanted to say to that, but she did not wish to waste her breath on more nonsense words. So she simply sat, glaring. Trevor at least had the decency to look guilty.

"I do wish you wouldn't look at me like that. I did not want this to happen. If only you had said yes to my proposal, none of this would have been necessary."

Emilia gave him a questioning look, trying to communicate with her eyes.

He seemed to understand.

"Yes, this is about the proposal, of course. I knew I had to have a back-up plan in the case that you should turn me down. With the way you were looking at Trotten last night, I had assumed it would not be a yes."

He tilted his head. "Though I might add, you looked at me the same way, not once or twice. A minx, you are, Lady Emilia."

Emilia still felt as though she had cotton in her mouth, but she likely would have held her tongue even if she could speak. Trevor was suddenly saying more than he ever had in her presence.

"I do feel bad, regardless, for having to do this. However, I am confident that we will have an amiable marriage, my dear. I know I am not your precious Trotten, but I will be kind."

Emilia pondered what Trevor believed the meaning of kind was as she simultaneously noted the way her hands chaffed against their bindings.

But then Emilia's musings stopped in their tracks, reversing to what he had said at the beginning of that sentence. She managed to spit out one word, "Marriage?"

"Naturally, we are heading to Gretna Green, Emilia. We are eloping," Trevor replied casually.

Emilia began shaking her head violently but quickly stopped when the action caused the pounding in it to increase.

"Oh, do be careful," Trevor soothed with a concerned expression. He tried to reach up to cup her face, but Emilia jerked away. A sharp pain radiated throughout her body at the movement. However, Trevor did not seem bothered by her dismissal. "I do not want you to feel sick the entire journey. It will take most of the week to reach Scotland. I should hate for it to be dreadful for you."

It was all simply too much for her to process. Emilia did not wish to be here in this enclosed space with Lord Trevor, but she had no energy to do anything other than rest her head back.

Emilia's eyes felt heavy, sedation still coursing through her. She wondered what it was and how long she would feel this way. She wondered when she would wake up from this bad dream. And then she slipped away to darkness again.