It was unbelievably pitch-black behind the coach window, Alexander noticed. She could not see anything behind the road. All she knew that it was all woods and thick trees, possibly wolves or other animals further in. Nevertheless, they were taking the road, and there must be nothing to fear.

      Across her, Edward mistook the grave expression for worry. "I hope nothing happened to your mother. It is dreadful to think that—"

      "My lord, I assure you, it is probably nothing. She might be fancying herself sick again. She does it often enough that I am never reassured whether or not it is whim or truth," she sighed, as she sank back into the seat. "I only hope my sister is able to put up with my mother’s demands."

      "And you answer her every beck and call?"

      Her eyes hardened. "I underwent a period of rebellion, too, if you must know. Only I have learned the hard way, as some may say, that pleasing her is all for the better."

      Her friend shook his head. "I do not envy your relationship with your mother. It is so very unusual."

      "I do not envy yours either, even if she does dote on you."

      His lips twitched into a haughty smile. "Oh, my mother cannot help it. I am naturally charming."

      Alex smirked. "And rather all too full of yourself, too, my lord."

      "That is one of the many things I like about you, Howell. You and my uncle are the only ones who mention my faults in my presence."

      "You must know that I put some effort into being your friend, my lord. I say your faults so you may change them as you see fit."

      "I am not perfect, but there is not much about myself I wish changed — even that. I can hardly be the Earl of –on if I cannot manage to annoy you, at the very least. And you can call me Montagu, Howell. After all—" he stopped suddenly, as the coach came into a halt without any warnings from the driver. "What is the matter now?" he asked loudly, motioning to open the door and demand some answers from his servant.

      Alex blocked the door with her arm. "No, I will go out. Something might be wrong." It looked as if the earl was going to protest therefore Alex continued, "Please. I implore you. Allow me to go outside first, before you follow. But if there is trouble, please stay inside and let me assess the situation before we charge into it."

      Knowing Alex was stubborn, Edward relented. "Very well."

      She went down the coach first, and contrary to her prior belief that there must be nothing to fear, men armed with swords greeted her. "Thieves!" she remarked out loud for the earl to hear and heed the warning. Since the driver was not among them, he must either be dead or knocked out.

      "What else ‘r we, mi’lord?" the rough voice belonged to the tall, rather fat man who stood against the shadows. "Bit foolish of ‘ye to be travellin’ alone, eh?" Bouts of laughed erupted from his comrades.

      "What do you men want?" She had a sword hanging on her left and a pistol hidden behind her coat. She could not fight them alone, however, but she knew with Edward they could. She moved her right hand towards her left, and the thieves noticed it."

      "Just ‘yer gold, mi’lord. Now, ‘tis no use fightin’ us, ain’t good thinkin’ you can stand ‘gainst five."

      She grabbed her bag of coins and threw it at them and, with their attention diverted, she called out, "MONTAGU, NOW!"

      Making good use of the surprise, he charged out of the coach, faced two thieves, and successfully wounded one. Alex held his back as she attacked the thief who greeted her earlier, thrusting her sword forward. Although not the best, both of them were skillful with their swordplay. Alex stayed on offense and, with her quick feet, managed to put her sword through the man who was obviously slowed by his weight.

      Edward also put down another while Alex defended against the fourth. The thief was stronger than the other, and she was not going to win fairly. She thrust her sword forward, dodged her enemy’s attack, swiveled to the left, and with her left hand, she drew a dagger and thrust it into the thief’s stomach.

      "Are you alright, Montagu?" she asked, panting.

      "Yes, but we seem to be missing one. I heard they were five, yes?"

      She looked around them. Only four were on the ground and one was missing. Quickly, she scanned their surroundings. Something caught moonlight from the side of the forest and she knew what it was.

      Edward felt his feet forcibly slip above the ground and he fell on his back with nothing but the soil to break his fall. Then he heard two gunshots echo into the night, together with the neighing of two frightened horses. He twisted his head to the right to check if his friend was unwounded. He sighed in relief to see her standing, apparently unharmed. "What were you thinking, Howell?" he asked quite angrily for he was still unsettled by the danger they just went through minutes ago.

      "He was going to shoot you, I think," she said, pulling him up.

      "Did you get him?"

      "I don’t think so. I am a poor shot in the dark. But these pistols can only shoot once — he must have escaped already." She walked to the front of the coach. The driver was on the ground. She went down on her knees and checked his pulse. "I think your servant is dead, Montagu."

      "A pity. He is of no use to us now."

      She glared at him. "I cannot believe you have so little regard towards life. And you were the one who were criticizing me with my murderous intent towards everyone else."

      "Do not mistake my words. I am merely commenting upon his usefulness based on our situation. I do not mean to be unfeeling about it. He was a good servant — and his death is regrettable. Come, let us take him into the coach and we shall drive into town ourselves and report to the authorities an account of this unfortunate incident."

      They pushed the body of the driver inside the coach then wiped their swords in silence.

      "I think you saved my life, Howell," Edward said, breaking the silence he found unsettling. "I must be in your debt."

      "Or I might have saved mine."

      "I saved yours, too, I am sure! I defeated two of the men."

      "Then there is no debt to be paid, Montagu." Despite the deaths and the horrors of the fight, Alex tried to smile a little, in reassurance that she appreciated the companionship of the other man.

     "Likewise," he nodded.