If He's Daring by Hannah Howell

others.” He nodded when she scowled at him. “You could be well-versed in fisticuffs, but you are still a small woman who could be, if not easily, at least eventually overpowered.”
    “This could take days, you realize,” she said after a moment of silence that even she recognized as sulking.
    Sir Orion shrugged as he packed up the remainder of the food. “I have nothing planned and nowhere to go. I must simply send a note to Penelope to let her know that Giles will arrive later and not today. I can do that when we stop for the night. And we will be stopping for the night,” he said firmly when she opened her mouth to argue that plan. “So will Morris. The chances of catching him today are very slim. As you said, this could take a few days.” He held out his hand.
    With a sigh of resignation she took it and he helped her to her feet. “I should have come home earlier,” she muttered.
    “Would that have made a difference?”
    She sighed. “In truth, I doubt it. Morris stormed into the house and had a hired brute, as my father called him, with him. They fought with my father, knocked him about, and took Alwyn. I suspect they would have just knocked me about as well. Morris must have known it was the servants’ day off and that there would be no help from that quarter.”
    “So you already knew he had hired ruffians with him when you set out after him all on your own.”
    “He has my child.”
    “Of course.” Sir Orion moved to hitch the team to the carriage.
    Catryn was surprised that there was no note of condescension or mockery in his words. The man simply accepted that she had no choice, that the fact that Morris had her child was explanation enough for her risky behavior. It could be that he told the truth when he expressed his whole family’s belief in the need to protect children.
    Her next thought was that she was about to ride around the countryside with a man who was not her kin, fiancé, or husband. Racing over the roads, driving a carriage, and traveling unattended had been bad enough. Traveling with a very handsome single gentleman would truly cause a lot of gossip. If anyone they knew saw them, her name would be blackened within society in mere days.
    She hastily pushed aside that thought as she watched him hitch his mount to the rear of the carriage. If it happened, it happened, and she would accept the consequences of her actions. Alwyn was in danger. Whatever it cost her to get him home and safe again was worth it. The fact that they were trying to save her son would be enough to keep her closest friends at her side, she hoped.
    When Sir Orion held out his hand to help her into the carriage, she took it and nearly yanked it back a heartbeat later. Neither of them was wearing gloves, having removed them to eat. The first time their skin had touched as he had helped her stand, her mind had been so preoccupied she had barely noticed the brief brush of his skin against hers. This time her whole body responded to it. That had never happened to her before and it unsettled her, but she forced her mind back to the problem of hunting for Morris and getting her son back.
    “Should I not ride up on the box?” she asked, hesitating to get into the carriage.
    “If you think the sight of you racing down the road driving a carriage with all that bright hair flying about your face was enough to cause talk, then just consider what talk will ensue if you are seen riding up there with me as we race down the road.”
    Catryn got into the carriage. He was right. Again. It was very annoying. Giles sat across from her and smiled. At least someone is enjoying the adventure , she mused. The boy’s insistence that he and his father help her save Alwyn did surprise her a little.
    “You truly believe this is what you and your father should do?” she asked as the carriage began to move.
    “I do,” Giles replied. “Your son is just a wee lad and has not had the rough life I have had. I have skills. Had to learn