“I cannot marry him!” the young woman stated, her jaw set in a stubborn line, hazel eyes flashing in anger and defiance.

“You can and you will,” her mother, who was an exact copy of the young woman except for the eyes, retorted as she crossed her arms over her chest.

“How can you not see that Samuel Dawes is a vain, self-absorbed peacock, interested in nothing outside his own comforts and amusements?!?” the young woman demanded as she paced the room in agitation, “Mother, do you not understand or care how unhappy I would be married to such a man?”

“Oh rubbish,” the elder retorted with a roll of her green eyes, “The man is a duke. He has enough riches to last for more than one lifetime, with numerous estates and land holdings as well as a well-known, strong familial line. You will not be able to find a better candidate to marry than if you married the king’s son if he had one.”

“That doesn’t matter to me!” the young woman cried, “You and papa got your chance for true love and happiness, now why can I not have mine as well?”

“Your father and I had an arranged marriage too,” the older woman reminded her daughter, “In time, we came to love each other. Neither of us expected it to happen, but it did, and it could be exactly the same for you my dear.”

“Well by condemning me to an arranged marriage, you are almost completely taking away my chances of finding love,” the young woman practically yelled, her infamous fiery temper starting to get the better of her, “Why, the very idea of such a thing is archaic!”

“But your father and the duke have already agreed…”

“I do not care if Samuel Dawes paid father twice what my dowry is, I shall not marry a man who does not love me and is obligated to become my husband because of a betrothal contract,” the young woman interrupted.

“What would you have me do?” the older woman demanded, raising a brow at her offspring, “You know how stubborn your father can be when he gets something into his head. And you know, because he dotes on you, he wants nothing but the best for you, a husband who can be your equal and can provide you every comfort you could ever dream of.”

“Perhaps, though, papa has forgotten that what matters most to me, in a husband, is that he loves me,” the young woman retorted with a roll of her eyes.

“Nicole…”

“Mama, please. Do not force me to marry Samuel Dawes. Let me choose a husband of my own instead of forcing me into a union with a man who has no interest in me other than in the siring of heirs,” the young woman pleaded as she sank onto the sofa next to her mother.

“You know very well that I cannot let you do that. It would cause too much scandal in society’s circles, and with the title your father holds, it would bode very ill to cause an uproar in the upper echelons of the ton’s circles,” the elder snapped with a frown, “No, you will do as your father says and marry the Duke of Eversfeld.”

“Perhaps you did not hear me mother,” the young woman ground out as she surged to her feet, “I will not marry the man and that is final!”

With that last statement, the young woman swept out of the room, leaving her speechless mother behind to try and come to grips with her daughter’s stubbornness.

To say she was angry was a definite understatement. The fact that her parents were choosing her future for her, that they did not stop to consider her feelings and wishes, put her in a temper of the worst sort. She needed to have a few private moments to herself, where she could think, away from her mother and the whispers of the household servants; a few private moments where she could come to grips with the road her life was taking.

Nicole Elaine Ashby had lived a privileged life from the day she was born. As the third and youngest child of Daniel and Jennifer Ashby, Duke and Duchess of Halifax, she had wanted for nothing. Except the one thing that she was unable to have: freedom.

Freedom, however, was going to be forever out of her reach, as long as she was under the rule of her parents and the society that governed those of her social circle. She would have to marry, produce an heir and become one of those party-throwing nobleman’s wives. All that, she had already accepted. But an arranged marriage?

She thought the idea archaic and out of date; an idea that should have been abolished long ago. Why should a young woman be forced to marry a man she didn’t love solely because he was her equal in social status alone? Unfortunately, not many of the older generation, which her parents were a part of, saw her point of view and agreed with it.

But she was adamant in her position. She had already witnessed a cousin struggling through an arranged marriage, devoid of love and devotion, and she knew without a doubt, she would do whatever it took to avoid such a state for herself. This is why she was still unmarried as of today, at twenty-two, and causing her parents an incessant amount of worry because she refused every man who asked for her hand.

But she would not settle for less than love and devotion from the man she was to call husband and share the rest of her life with.

And those who knew her well enough, knew without a doubt, that she would not waver from her stance. If she was nothing else, she was surely as stubborn as a mule, a trait which many knew she inherited from her father. Paired with the fiery temper that her mother was known for, she was a hard person to cross, and an even harder person to try and convince to change her mind once she had gotten something into her head.

Many a young men her age found her quite amusing and a challenge to keep up with in the wits department. Yet many of those same men were also too terrified to contemplate marriage to such a spitfire of a woman. They wanted a meek, obedient, willing wife; she fit none of those requirements.

This was not to say she hadn’t had any offers of marriage. On the contrary, her beauty alone had attracted many a men’s attention, and despite the stubbornness and temper she also possessed, she had received countless offers for her hand in marriage. She had refused every last one of them, much to the chagrin of her parents, who had allowed her, perhaps unwisely, to have some say in who she was to marry.

So after five successful seasons in London’s social arena with the upper crust of the ton, and as of yet, still unmarried, her parents had taken it upon themselves to see that she was suitably settled, and soon. This meant that she would most likely be forced to marry a man she did not love and who did not love her in return. It also meant that perhaps she’d have to learn to compromise and not be so stubborn all the time.

Stifling a sigh of frustration, Nicole determinedly walked to the stables where her horse Ginny, a beautiful Arabian mare, was kept. She didn’t care who saw her in a pair of her brother’s old breeches and tunic, her typical riding outfit when she wasn’t around her parents. After all, she was on her family’s country estate, and the only people about were servants, who didn’t dare whisper to their employer what his daughter was doing for fear of retaliation on the daughter’s part.

After saddling the horse up without the help of the shocked groomsman, who had no words for her inappropriate attire, she climbed into the saddle and was off, coursing across the lawn of her family’s manor house at the breakneck speed she loved. The wind whipped through her long dark locks, which she had left haphazardly hanging down her back, the cheery warmth of that spring day invigorating after being cooped up with her mother for the past hour or so.

Riding, truth be told, was her ultimate passion. From the moment she could walk, she had been riding a horse, a feat she had accomplished through begging and pleading with her father, much to the annoyance of her mother. The result was that she knew practically all there was to know about horses, breeding and riding. And while her mother thought this inappropriate for a young lady of her social stature, her father had been thrilled beyond all reason.

Unfortunately, she had, surprisingly, not found a man who enjoyed horseflesh as much as she. In fact, after they found out that she knew more about horses than they, a few of her would-be suitors had fled her company in the pursuit of other, less intimidating female companions. It was, in a way, disheartening.

If she had it her way, she would find a man to be her equal, one who would fit all her requirements, not those of her parents. And especially not a man who was only fitting on the financial and social front, of which her mother and father were most concerned with. Oh she knew she would be hard-pressed to find a man she truly wished to marry, but that did not mean she was giving up so easily. She was determined to find him.

When she had been years younger, still a young miss growing up and too young to attract the attention of the young gentleman of the ton, she and her friend Lauren had dreamt up and discussed their ideal men. Most requirements still held true to this day.

He had to be tall, strong and elegant, possessing of a fine manner, with just a touch of danger and intrigue. With eyes of ocean blue and a smile that could dazzle any woman, he enjoyed horses, the outdoors and adventure. He would be willing to let her have her freedoms yet always there to protect or rescue her if the need arose; he would also possess just the slightest touch of jealousy if any other man ever looked at her. And above all, he had to love her, wholly, completely and irreversibly like the stuff of fairytales.

Of course, she had been twelve at the time when she had come up with this fanciful description, however, the hopeless romantic side of her that still existed yearned for this white knight of yonder day. Reality, however, was cruel. A man like that, to her knowledge, did not exist, so instead, she was stuck settling with somebody half as worthy.

In the case of Samuel Dawes, however, the man was not worthy at all. Nine years her senior at thirty-one years old, the man was vain, obnoxious and the last person on earth she could ever force herself, or be forced for that matter, to marry. True, the man was rich and any woman who married him would want for nothing…nothing except a love that wasn’t there. The man was too in love with himself to ever be able to spare love for another.

This was why, above everything else, she couldn’t marry him…

Nicole was so caught up in her thoughts that at first, she didn’t hear the shouting that echoed across the open plains. She had ventured farther from home than she had ever gone before, the road before her, which led to London, a testament to that fact. And here she was without a groom as well.

She swiftly swallowed back the panic that had quickly risen in her throat and tried to calm down the rapid beating of her heart. It had been almost three decades since the wars in England had occurred, and the old queen and her infant son had been killed, however, that didn’t mean that she was completely safe. Renegade bands of thieves and marauders still roamed the lands and haunted the roads that led to London intent on picking clean the wealthy and keeping unrest just on the horizon.

With no place to hide, she quickly reared in her mount and listened, waiting for another sound that would alert her to the presence of others and from which direction they traveled. She didn’t have to wait long.

Another shout, much like the first, shattered the idyllic quiet of the spring afternoon and altered Nicole to the fact that the commotion was coming from somewhere behind her, to the southeast. It was quickly apparent with the heavy crunch of wheels and loud pounding of more than one horse, that a carriage was being pursued. And it was being pursued at a rapid pace, which was very dangerous on this rocky terrain, especially with the rain they had had a few days previous.

The noise continued to get louder and in no time at all, Nicole saw an elegant black carriage appear some paces back, being quickly pursued by a half a dozen men on horseback. She swallowed, her throat dry as she watched the carriage roll precariously over the rough ground. Her heart went out to the occupants and it didn’t take more than a split second for her to decide that she needed to do something in order to avert disaster.

She quickly dug through her saddlebag and grabbed hold of the pistol her brother insisted she keep there, thankful that he had the oversight to do so. After checking the clip and realizing that she only had three bullets, she quickly spurred her horse into motion, muttering an unintelligible curse under her breath. How she was supposed to stop six men she certainly didn’t know, but she was going to try.

The carriage and its attackers had passed her some moments before, so she now had the element of surprise on her side. And the fact that they were heading for the Aldred Woods also helped her, as her horse was used to a forestry terrain. The cover of the trees, too, would supply her with a better opportunity to unseat a man from his horse.

Nicole reined in her horse, who was eagerly anticipating a gallop, so that she stayed behind the horsemen. She quickly realized that five of the six men were beginning to slow, their mounts tiring, which would be yet another advantage as Ginny had yet to be given her head. The sixth man, it was becoming apparent, was part of the carriage’s entourage, as was confirmed when the carriage’s driver threw the man a gun and he turned his horse back to face his attackers.

Gritting her teeth, and knowing she could wait no longer, she aimed her gun and shot at the feet of one of the men’s horses. The roar of the gun filled her ears, deafening her for a split second, but she was pleased to see the horse rear up and dump its rider to the ground, where he lay unmoving. Her element of surprise was now gone, but they were quickly coming upon the forest, which would afford her the cover she needed.

The carriage was the first to reach the safety of the forest, the clattering of its wheels instantly silenced on the new, softer ground. As soon as she reached cover of the forest, Nicole quickly turned in her saddle to discover the whereabouts of the attackers, only to realize that their number had been diminished now from five to three as one man lay on the ground, nursing what appeared to be a broken leg. This was obviously thanks to the man on horseback who was protecting the carriage; the same man who was battling with a beefy guy on a horse at that precise moment.

This left two others unaccounted for.

A blur of black against the bright green of the trees quickly caught her attention as one of the attackers turned his horse in the direction the carriage had taken just moments earlier. With a growl of anger, Nicole spurred her horse after him, intent on overtaking him before he reached the traveling contraption. She was so intent on her target, that she almost didn’t notice that she, herself, was being followed by the third attacker still left on his feet.

She debated what to do as the man behind her gained ground, his mount somehow finding the strength to gallop once again. There was no way she could deal with both men at once, yet she had to. If she chose to fight the man gaining on her, she would leave the carriage’s occupants vulnerable to the man pursuing it. But if she went after the carriage, she was leaving herself vulnerable if the man behind her overtook her.

Ginny persistently galloped along, her hoof beats muffled by the moss-covered forest floor, as Nicole continued to contemplate on her plan of action. If she didn’t do something soon, then she would succeed in stopping nothing, a result she did not desire in the least. She stared ahead, trying to come to a decision.

Up ahead, she saw a large branch dangling precariously, barely attached to the tree it belonged to. Inspiration struck her, and with a wicked grin, she took aim. She hit the branch right where she wanted to and urged Ginny forward, missing the falling object by the smallest of inches.

Her attacker was not so lucky. She heard a solid thunk of bone on wood, accompanied by a cry of pain that could only be human in nature. A few moments later, the dull thudding of the hooves of the horse that had been following her were no more and she knew that her plan had worked.

Now she needed to catch the carriage and apprehend the last man.

With a whispered command, she urged Ginny into a full-fledged gallop, quite aware of her surroundings, and thankful for the mare’s sure-footed stride in the uncertain terrain the forest presented. Wind whipped through her hair, but the cover of the forest prevented the bright rays of the sun from penetrating and blinding her. Thus, she had no problem finding her quarry.

The last man was quickly gaining on the carriage as the horses pulling it began to show signs of tiring. She could see the carriage driver urging the horses on, the reins clutched in his hands like a lifeline as he tried to outrun the attacker who was intent on pulling them over. She urged Ginny faster.

A quick movement to her left caught her eye and when she risked a glance, she was shocked to see the man who had been protecting the carriage almost neck in neck with her, his horse glistening with sweat. She didn’t have time to stare, not while racing at breakneck speed. But it was obvious his intent was also to apprehend the last man who had tried to attack him and whomever he held dear that rode in that carriage.

But it was quite evident that his horse had practically nothing left to give. The man began to fall slightly behind her, though he was still close enough so that she heard oaths muttered in a voice that was distinctly foreign. Her eyebrows rose, questions immediately flitting into her mind.

But there was no time for that now.

The forest was becoming denser and denser, the path they were on becoming fainter and far less traveled. Nicole knew that up ahead, it would disappear completely into a dense copse of pine trees, thus not leaving much room for a person on horseback to pass through, much less a carriage. She swore.

Either the carriage had to be stopped, or its occupants removed or else there would be a rather large disaster that she did not want to witness. Apparently, the man beside her sensed the same thing for his muttered curses became louder and he urged his horse into a faster run. He turned to say something to her, only to be interrupted by the shot of a gun.

To her utter horror, Nicole watched as the carriage’s driver fell off the carriage, his fall cushioned by the soft forest ground. But that meant that the carriage had no driver. And it was still cruising recklessly down the ever-narrowing path, closer and closer towards disaster.

Muttering to herself, she pulled out her gun, and with a determined aim, shot the last man in the back, flinching as he shrieked and fell from his horse. She had no idea what possessed her to commit such an act. But now they were free to stop the runaway carriage without having to deal with any opposition.

“We will never reach it in time,” the man beside her suddenly yelled, his voice carried on the wind.

“Yes we will,” Nicole stubbornly replied, determined to take control of the situation as it stood, “Remove the occupants of the carriage and leave handling its horses to me.”

“You can’t honestly be serious…” the man began, but Nicole merely kicked Ginny into a faster gallop, thus drowning out his words and bringing her up next to the carriage.

Her eyes were trained on the two horses that were running at full speed towards the end of the path, their burden jostling along behind them. She had to find a way to loosen them from the harnesses before disaster struck, but without injuring herself. She gritted her teeth, determination shining in her eyes, thankful for all that she had learned from her father and brother.

On Ginny’s back, she was quickly neck and neck with the carriage’s horses. Without a thought, she loosened herself from her saddle and prepared to jump the distance from her horse’s back to one of the carriage horses. She had managed a feat like this before, when she had been younger and her brother had dared her to try such a trick.

Now, however, the stakes were much higher.

After taking a deep breath, she leapt from the safety of Ginny’s back onto that of one of the carriage horses. She breathed a quick sigh of relief and sent a silent prayer skywards. Her attention, however, was immediately diverted as the animal beneath her galloped over the terrain.

Gritting her teeth, she reached across the distance separating the two carriage horses and began to work at the harness in an attempt to free the beast. She managed a quick glance back and noticed the man on horseback already had a second man behind him, and the two of them were working to remove a young woman from the carriage. Their plan seemed to be working, and moments later, she had the first horse was free.

She just needed to free the horse she was currently riding.

Glancing up, she saw the end of the path looming in the distance, growing ever closer. She refused to panic, though her heart rate began to accelerate at a rapid pace, adrenaline coursing through her body. Determinedly, she began to work on the bindings that held the second horse still attached to the carriage, trying to block out the sound of the man on horseback yelling for her. She would not allow this horse to become injured in the inevitable crash of the carriage, not if she could help it, however, she was quickly running out of time.

Frantically, her hands worked on the bindings, which seemed to be caught in the wood of the carriage, quite aware that the end of the path was a mere few paces away. Cursing, she pulled out the dagger she kept tucked in her right boot, as ordered by her father and brother whenever she went riding, and began to saw at the trappings. She had no other option left…

At last, the bindings were cut and the horse was free. Nicole glanced up, and realizing that she and her mount were about to run right into a dense standing of trees, grabbed the horse’s mane, as it was not tethered by a rein, and turned it sharply to the right, thus avoiding the collision. She grimaced at the crash she heard from the carriage meeting the dense copse of trees, however, since she and her mount were still traveling at a breakneck speed, she had no time to imagine the extent of the damage the carriage had sustained.

They were nearing the end of the forest, and she realized that if she didn’t stop the horse soon, they would be heading straight into the rocky bed of an old, dried-up stream. It was dangerous ground even for the most sure-footed and well-rested of horses, which her mount, obviously, was not. Swearing, she used all her strength to try and rein the beast in.

Instinctively, the horse abruptly stopped and began to rear up on its hind legs, a nervous whinny escaping at being thus so severely stopped. Nicole had almost no time to try to grab onto the horse’s mane in order to keep her seat. Unfortunately, she was not quick enough and she soon found herself falling, the ground looming ever closer.

With a cry, she rolled into a ball mere seconds before her body crashed to the ground amidst sharp, jagged rocks. Pain immediately began to infuse her body as the wind was forcefully knocked out of her and her head jarred against the hard ground. Had her eyes not been close she probably would have been seeing stars at that point.

She lay there, unmoving, just trying to breathe, a massive feat after what she had just endured. She almost didn’t feel the pain in her right shoulder. But after trying to move, she was quickly made aware of her injury as the pain coursed down her arm. She had to bite down on her tongue to keep from crying out.

Moments seemed to pass like hours as she lay, motionless, still curled into a tight ball, biting her lip as she willed the pain to go away. She almost didn’t hear the approach of booted feet a few moments later as she was so concentrated on the pain radiating through her body. But when she did, she barely reacted at all even though she had every reason to be scared out of her mind and on the defensive against the newcomer.

“Where does it hurt?” a soft, wholly male voice suddenly began to question as a gentle hand was laid against the back of her head. She merely whimpered in response, shutting her eyes to block out the blinding light of the day. “You have to tell me or else I cannot help you.”

“Everywhere,” she finally gasped out.

The gentle hands immediately began to massage her temple, where it seemed like the sound of a thousand drums pounded, before traveling down to her neck in an attempt to ease away the tension. Surprisingly enough, she found her muscles begin to relax, and the pain start to ebb away, replaced by a slight sense of grogginess. She lay silent, her eyes still squeezed shut, as he checked for broken bones or strained muscles, and once satisfied, returned to massaging her temple.

Pain, however, still radiated from her right shoulder, something he had not checked due to the fact that she lay on her back. A slight whimper escaped her lips as the injury came in contact with a jagged rock, which was most likely the culprit of said injury. She tried to squirm into a more comfortable position, but found that she had not the strength to do so.

“What is it? Where does it hurt?” the voice suddenly questioned again at the sound of her whimper.

“Shoulder,” she whispered, “I’m sorry.”

With that, she blacked out, the pain suddenly becoming too much for her senses to handle. She was therefore unaware of being lifted into a sitting position so that her rescuer could assess her injury. It was most likely a blessing that she was not awake, for the injury caused from the fall was most likely more alarming than she realized for part of her tunic was soaked in blood.

“Stupid females,” the man muttered to himself as soon as he had assessed her injury.

He quickly stripped out of his overcoat and, after removing all the rocks from the ground, laid the coat down before depositing his burden back into her prone position. Though he hated to wait around for her to come to her senses, he feared that moving her without knowing the full extent of her injury could cause even greater harm. For that he would wait to have permission to look at her wound without the fabric of her tunic blocking the damage from sight. Then he would think about moving her.

Thankfully, he didn’t have long to wait. She came to with a groan, her lips turning down in a frown as she was hit with more waves of pain.

Nicole thought she was dying. The pain in her shoulder was causing her stomach to roil in waves, nausea coming quickly to the forefront. She wished for the blessed darkness of unconsciousness again, but unfortunately, this time it would not come.

“Ma’am you need to look at me, so I can check to make sure you are alright,” the gentle voice from before suddenly came again, piercing through the painful haze that had settled over her consciousness.

Reluctantly, she opened her eyes to look into the face of her care-giver. And felt her heart begin to race as she stared up into the bluest eyes she had ever seen…