Randall's Romance (Behind Closed Doors) Read Online Free Page B

he'd seen enough of injuries swelling so that a boot once removed could not be replaced to know to keep it on.
    There was no traffic at all upon the little track along the river he'd followed that afternoon, and that alone caused him some concern. There should have been someone, surely? Unless this were a trade night for the gentlemen, in which case his presence out and about was unlikely to be greeted as innocuous.
    "Stand and deliver!" The thunderous shout caught him unaware, and he nearly stumbled for a second time that evening.
    "Bloody hell!" He stopped moving as a dark figure on horseback darted from the underbrush brandishing a pistol. Conscious of the pistol concealed beneath his jacket, he stood as still as possible, trying to remain calm and breath evenly. It only wanted this to make his evening complete.
    The beast nickered in front of him, prancing a bit as the highwayman swung from the saddle. The man controlled the beast easily. It was the horse of a laborer, a stalwart steed, as at ease being ridden as pulling a plow. The man who'd dismounted wore a black domino, black trousers and a concealing black caped coat, a coat more appropriate on a man of means than on the sort of man who might own such a horse. Still, he may well have relieved some wayward traveler of the garment on a past hold up.
    "I've every hope that we can avoid bloodshed, but I assure you, if it must be, it is yours that will be spilled." The sardonic humor grated on Randall, but he forced himself not to react. The job he had to do here was more important than his pride, or sense of outrage.
    The man negligently waved the weapon at him. "Please raise your hands above your shoulders."
    Obeying, lifting his hands and holding them so the palms were visible in the moonlight, Randall squinted. The highwayman was tall, broad, and vaguely familiar in silhouette. There was a familiar quality in the black domino that masked the man; his voice stirred some echo in Randall's memory. "Do I know you?" The sense of familiarity nudged at his memory, but he couldn't put a face to the figure.
    "I'm fairly certain you will wish you do not before too long." The highwayman waved the long nosed pistol at him. "Keep your hands up." He stepped close, and if he hadn't been lamed, Randall might have put up a fight. In close proximity he had a good chance of resting the weapon from the man, but the grace and ease of movement, the aura of strength in the broad shoulders, warned him not to press his luck.
    "You can toss your pistol over by the horse, My Lord."  Oblivious to Randall's discomfort with his proximity, seemingly confident of his ability to defend himself, the man surveyed Randall. The mask obscured his face, but the mockery was clear in his voice.
    "If you're thinking to make a fortune, I have to warn you, I was just out for a stroll. I have no valuables on me." What kind of highwayman hung around outside a small village? Randall chafed under the urge to defend himself and his possessions. "Surely you'd do better plying your trade on a road closer to some major township?"
    "You think so, eh?" The man ignored him, pulling Randall's watch from its pocket in his waistcoat and examining it. Chagrin at losing the piece made him grimace. It had been a gift on his twenty-first birthday from his father. Since Lord Brigstock's departure for the continent six months earlier, Randall had found himself wearing it more and more often, when he had others that were more appropriate. Somehow it brought his father closer to him, and he cherished it the more since he'd learned of his father's illicit love. It seemed they had more in common than Randall had ever expected.
    Perhaps his feelings showed on his face, because the highwayman thrust the watch back at him. "I leave you this; it would be too hard to fence. But you will hand over the signet ring, please."
    Again, Randall obeyed the brusque command with alacrity. He thought he'd managed to get off lightly when a warm,