Chapter Thirty-Two
BROOKE GOT SO INVOLVED with the two dogs, wolves, whatever they were, that she lost track of the time that day. She decided to call her friend Storm in honor of how they met. And she supervised the building of Storm’s abode herself, insisting not only on a shed where she could get out of the rain, but also a hole dug in the ground, which might be the kind of shelter she was more used to. Dominic tried to enclose the small area with a six-foot-high fence, but he had it torn down before it was finished when Wolf almost hurt himself trying to jump over it.
From the moment the two animals met, they were nearly inseparable. They romped across the moors like puppies. They both accompanied her when she exercised Rebel, and the mare didn’t seem to mind them. However, Royal did when Dominic tried to join them. Dominic wasn’t all that pleased that his pet preferred to stay outdoors near Storm than in the house with him. But he didn’t force the issue. He solved it instead by letting both animals in the house that night. The staff wasn’t happy about that. Brooke was. But Storm behaved like a dog, not a wolf. So the staff would get used to her in time. If there was time . . .
The marriage banns were read again the next day, her second Sunday at Rothdale. Only one more week until she and Dominic would be out of time. She realized that if he did figure out a way for them to avoid getting married and she went home without bedlam hanging over her head, her parents would never let her keep Storm—she knew them too well—and she would be heartbroken. So there was one more reason why she wanted to marry Dominic—one more reason for her to make him love her. Eventually.
His tactics to get her to flee seemed to have been put on hold after their night in the ruins. It might have been because of the dogs. She’d spent most of her time with them yesterday and again today, but so did he, so she hadn’t needed to find an excuse to seek him out. Yesterday he’d even said he expected her to join him for dinner. He might have thought that would annoy her so she didn’t let him know that she looked forward to those meals with him.
And she kept it to herself that, in letting her keep an animal he thought was a wolf, he’d completely won her over. Of course, he might be hoping that the wolf would take care of his problem for him, but she honestly didn’t think so. What happened that night, though, made her think that he might be getting desperate with only one week left before the nuptials. But it was only a small kernel of doubt. She didn’t think he could really fake the panic, and it did seem to be panic, that came over him when a letter from London was delivered to him at dinner.
He stood up immediately. “My mother has taken ill. Pack a valise tonight and go to bed early. We will be on the road by dawn. The coach takes too long to reach the coast. We can get to Scarborough before noon tomorrow if we ride.”
“I could follow you in the coach.”
“No, you come with me.”
“But—”
“You come with me. Rise before dawn so you have time to eat before we depart. I apologize for such haste, but she’s the only family I have left.”
He gave her further instructions before he left the dining room. She hurried upstairs to tell Alfreda. The maid wasn’t happy with Dominic’s plan for getting to London in the fastest way possible, especially since it didn’t include her.
“It’s not safe to ride that fast to the coast,” Alfreda warned. “You’ll be tired if you’re getting up that early. You could bloody well fall asleep in the saddle.”
Brooke grinned. “I don’t think that’s even possible. And he has a small sailboat that he keeps in Scarborough. It will get us to his mother’s side much, much faster than a coach. Besides, I’ve never been on a boat before. This could be fun.”
“Or you could get becalmed. Sailboats require one specific thing to move them, and it might not be blowing.”
There was that, but Dominic obviously didn’t think that would stop them or he would have said they would ride to London instead. “Considering how fast those boats can be, an hour or two becalmed won’t make that much difference.”
“Or you may never reach London. Have you even considered that? That the desperation you saw in him is about you, because he’s running out of time to get out of the marriage?”
“Stop it.” Brooke hurriedly changed out of her clothes into a nightgown. But she thought of the one thing that might ease Freda’s mind. “Do you like it here?”
“Yes.”
Did Freda just blush with that reply? Brooke rolled her eyes. Gabriel, of course. Maybe he’d been right in predicting Freda would love him.
“So do I, more than I thought I would. I want to stay. I want him to love me so I can. Going off with him alone could be a good thing.”
“Then take this with you.” Alfreda put a small vial in Brooke’s hand. “The right moment might arise in your journey, and now that you are certain that you want Lord Wolfe, you should use it.”
Brooke didn’t give the love potion back to the maid, but pointed out, “We’re going to be on a sailboat, but I’ll keep it in mind after we get to London. You’re to pack up the rest of my things and take them to London, since we won’t return here before the wedding. Gabriel is to ride with you.”
“Is he?”
“I hope you won’t kill him before you get there,” Brooke teased.
The maid huffed, “As worried as I’ll be about you on a tiny sailboat, I make no promises.”