Avast!
Chapter 2
The guards found him.
Damnation. That was the last thing he needed at the moment.
He'll need to send them off his trail. Again. And with the new complication of having to commandeer a hackney with a woman inside, he'll need to be extremely careful to make sure none of them will get their hands on him. If someone asked him about the first thing he did when he woke up the next morning, being hanged won't be the answer he'll give.
The woman trembled slightly against him and he felt a small pang of regret. He hoped he wasn't forced to take drastic actions. He wasn't in the habit of scaring women. And she was frightened enough. It'd almost be a sin to hurt a female who, he breathed, smelled pretty nicely as well.
"Take a seat" he instructed softly, "and don't even think of alerting the coachman."
She did as he said, seating herself at the corner of the hackney, as far as possible from him.
He sat opposite her and stared through the window, making sure no one could see him peering outside.
"Is everything all righ', miss?" the coachmen inquired loudly above their heads.
With a single node from him, the woman cleared her voice nervously and said, "Yes, quite. What was the whole mess about?"
"Some poor bugger is being chased by three uniformed men. Luckily for him, he's armed"
"Was he the one who fired that shot?" she asked the coachman sharply, her gaze fixed on him. He only smiled in response.
"Aye, miss" the coachman clicked his tongue to make the horse move again, and with a jolt, the hackney rumbled on. "Not to worry, miss. I promised m'lord to deliver you safely. I won't let any harm come to you"
He stiffened slightly in his seat. Was it his imagination or did the coachman used a certain undertone to emphasize his last words? By the small gasp the woman draw, he realized she heard it too. Her hood covered her features and he couldn't see if the coachman's words maid any sense to her.
"First a drunk rapist, an ungrateful employer, a long and painful ride, cowering guards and now a madman with a pistol and an optimistic old man who praises him" he heard the woman mutter under her breath. "What's next? Pirates giving their gold in the inn?"
"It might do you well to remember that this madman had an excellent hearing" and a loaded pistol. He watched as she shrank in her seat and stared at his weapon as if hypnotized.
Good. That will keep her mind occupied for a few minutes.
"You're not doing it correctly" she suddenly blurted out.
He turned his attention back to her. "What?"
"You suppose to threaten me with a physical harm and demand that I'll give you my belongings"
He frowned to her. "And what am I suppose to do with them, woman? That's an extra weight to carry with me, and useless if I'm going to be shot"
She sighed and crossed her arms. "You could at least try. It's the first time I'm being abducted and let me tell you, you're a very disappointing highwayman."
"But I'm not-!" he caught himself in time.
She let a dry chuckle. "That is obvious. Are you by any chance J.M.Potter?"
He narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Why?"
"Because if you are, I have a message for you from Lord Longbottom" she rapped on the ceiling and called, "Moulten, stop the vehicle!"
She handed him a sealed letter before opening the door and jumping down. He followed her out. "Wait!" he called after her retreating back.
"Miss, it's not safe to walk alone in the streets!" the coachman called after her desperately. A cold gust of wind pulled back her hood as she turned quickly around and stared angrily at them.
She was young, James noticed in surprise. But even in the dark he managed to see that she had a copper hair, piled up in the fashionable way ladies used to wear these days, though a few strands managed to get loose and were now hitting across her face.
"Were we actually heading to Houg's Inn, Moulten, or were you just driving in circles hoping to catch his" she waved indifferently in James' direction, "skin before the guards did?"
"Moulten?" James repeated uncertainly, before the name clicked into place. "Moulten!" he turned and indeed there the man stood. Moulten, Longbottom's trusted butler, dressed in a coachman's attire. Disbelief mixed with fury as he glared accusingly at the old man. "You followed me?"
"I received an urgent message that you needed help, sir, so I've changed the course of our riding towards the place where you were last seen" Moulten explained.
"And where was I when it happened? Asleep, of course" the woman answered her own question with an unladylike snort.
An urgent message? In a flat undertone James muttered, "Black".
"Miss Lily, please wait!"
James watched the woman walk away with a proud pose that'll make even a queen envy and heard Moulten mumble, "Her ladyship will have my head on a platter if anything will happen to her"
"Who is she?"
"Miss Lily Evans, sir" Moulten fumbled with his hands, watching anxiously at the retreating figure. "Won't you stop her, Mr. Potter? She might get into trouble"
"Not surprising, with a temper like hers" James muttered under his breath. "Prepare your horse; I'll get her for you"
Avast!
He had to break into a run to close the distance and mentally shook his head. What Longbottom was thinking when he sent his mistress after him? Without breaking his pace, he grabbed her waist from behind, swung her up, flung her over his shoulder and turned back.
She let a small shriek and hit her fists on his back in protest. "What in devil's name do you think you're doing, you louse?"
"Fixing your impression of me as a highwayman. I'd hate to disappoint you a second time" he swatted her backside playfully, making her yell once more.
"It's not amusing!"
He smiled, knowing that she won't see it. As unsettling and confusing as this event turned to be, he found himself quite enjoying the situation. Using his most dangerous tone, he said, "You asked for a live demonstration. So here you have your threat of a physical harm, and according to you, I now must demand all your belongings"
"I don't have any valuables on me" she answered angrily. "And it is cruel of you to make such a jest, when all I wanted was to tease you"
They were now near the hackney. Moulten sat in the front, reins in his hands, and watched them closely.
James opened the door and placed her down on the seat, not too gently. "If it's true that you have no valuables on you, then in my role as a highwayman," he lowered his voice to a murmur, "I shall take what you still have to offer". And without giving her a pause to protest or to fight; he pressed his lips to hers.
She stiffened in surprise. He pulled back with a chuckle when she tried to bite him and closed the door firmly. With a nod from him, Moulten flicked his reins and urged the horse to break into a light run.
James watched as the hackney pulled around a corner and disappeared. Touching the place on his lips where she tried to bite him with his tongue, he smiled ruefully.
Little savage. Yet, a pretty one and with sweet kisses.
He should commend Longbottom's taste in women. Too bad she already belonged to another.
Shaking his head, he rested his hand on his pistol and chose a shortcut through the streets. The beginning of a fog swiveled behind him lazily, muffling his steps and concealing him out of sight.
A/N: thanks for all the 12 reviewers! I'm glad you all liked it. I know the story doesn't make sense so far, but what's the fun in revealing all the secrets in the first chapter? To anyone who grasped the general idea of this story, I'll welcome any idea/suggestion you have in mind.
Review and tell me what you thought, ok?
(Disclaimer: as much as I'd loved to, nothing belongs to me… life is so not fair!)
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