The Heiress - Lynsay Sands [97]
The immediate change in both women was rather startling. They went from anxious worry to immediate outrage and fury in a heartbeat. Daniel couldn’t help taking a surprised step back as they both suddenly rose and flew at him like a couple of harpies.
“You horrible, horrible man!” Lisa yelled.
“How could you even show your face here, you bounder?” Christiana snapped.
“You vile debaucher of innocents,” Lisa added. “She loved you, you cad!”
“You’ve broken her heart! You should be shot for toying with her that way!” Christiana reached out to poke at him to emphasize the point, but Richard caught her before her finger quite touched him and pulled her back even as Robert hurried around Daniel to grab Lisa by the arm and stop any possibility of physical assault from her.
“Well!” Lady Woodrow’s voice rang out, immediately startling both women into silence and garnering their attention as she moved to Daniel’s side. Much to his amazement, she then smiled and said, “I am so glad to see you stand up for Suzette. It warms my heart to see such sisterly love. Alas, my own sisters did not turn out to be as loyal.”
Christiana and Lisa stared at her blankly, and then Christiana turned to Richard and asked, “Who—?”
“My mother,” Daniel interrupted quietly. “If you’ll recall I went to collect her and bring her back to join the party to Gretna Green so she might also witness my marriage to Suzette.”
“Yes, but you broke off the engagement,” Lisa said angrily, and when he shook his head, said uncertainly, “You didn’t break it off?”
“But the letter,” Christiana said sharply. “I read it, my lord, there was no misunderstanding. You flat-out said you would not marry Suzette and as good as called her little better than a light skirt.”
Daniel cursed under his breath, and then glanced to his mother as she took his arm to urge him past the women toward the tables.
“You need to eat,” Lady Woodrow reminded him firmly. “You promised you would eat as soon as we arrived at the inn. It is the only reason I agreed to leave Woodrow without insisting you eat first and you shall keep that promise.”
“But I need to speak to Suzette.” Daniel glanced toward the stairs, sure she must be up in her room. Probably crying her heart out. Poor thing, he thought.
“You can speak to her while you eat. Now sit down and eat before you fall down.”
“Why would he fall down?” Lisa asked, moving closer to get a better look. “He’s so pale. What’s wrong with him?”
“He was shot on his way to Woodrow,” Richard answered. “And he didn’t send the letter.”
“What?” Christiana asked with horror.
Daniel started to turn around, intending to insist they tell him where Suzette was, but a shaft of pain as he twisted his upper body made him freeze and suck in a bit of air.
“Sit,” his mother said firmly. Once she had him on the bench, she moved away saying, “Richard, go speak to the innkeeper and arrange for broth and a hearty meal.”
Daniel, recalling what happened the last time he tried to turn, simply stood up and moved around the table to the opposite side so that he could see what was going on as Richard hurried over to the innkeeper and his mother turned her attention to Suzette’s sisters.
“Now, you must be Christiana and Lisa,” she greeted, taking each girl by one hand.
“Yes. How did you know?” Christiana asked.
Rather than point out that they had just been attacking Daniel on their sister’s behalf and so were easily identifiable as relatives, she simply said, “Because I knew neither of you could be Suzette.”
“Why not?” Daniel asked with a frown. He hadn’t described her looks to his mother, just her personality and actions.
Lady Woodrow frowned when she saw that he’d moved, but merely shook her head and said calmly, “Because no doubt she is on the way to Gretna Green right now with what she thinks is merely some bachelor in need of coin who just happened to show up in her hour of need.”
“What?” Daniel asked with disbelief and wondered where she could have come