The carriage rumbled along in the dark down the dirt and gravel road as Gina Marie and her new husband made their way through the countryside that separated his home from hers.

Night had fallen some time ago, but since they'd made no mention of stopping at an inn, Gina Marie assumed they'd be pressing through.

It was fine by her.

At least in the carriage, in the dark he Couldn't see her face, and she Couldn't feel his gaze anymore. She didn't think he'd fallen asleep, for there was no noise of snoring from his side of the seat.

But then again, he trusted her so little why should he let himself sleep in her presence? He probably suspected her to produce a knife and rob him on the highway before they reached their destination. He thought very little of her now, of that much she was sure.

"What do I call you, since there are so many Georgina Maries in the area?" he'd grumbled, some twenty minutes after they had rolled away from the Manor house, leaving behind everything ugly in Gina Marie's life all at once.

"Gina Marie," She'd answered meekly, still in shock that her plan had worked at all. Brisbane had frowned at this suggestion - though it was the name that everyone called her.

"Don't like it," he'd muttered, more to himself than her, then eyeing her wickedly, but without a smile he'd pronounced, "George seems to fit you better... in honor of the lying monarch himself."

Gina Marie supposed She'd deserved that, so She'dn't said a work to rebuke him or object. Instead, they'd sat in silence for some time afterwards until he spoke again, almost as if he'd never stopped thinking about it.

"You can call me Bane, or Brisbane," he'd informed her in a commanding tone, though he would not look at her when he said it. She'd only nodded in reply.

There would be very little occasion for her to call him anything, She'd already determined that much. For as soon as they reached civilization, Gina Marie would make her move.

Their name game had been hours ago, and he hadn't found a single thing to say to her since then. Instead they sat in uncomfortable silence, like strangers forced to share public transport who are trying not to get to know one another.

Gina Marie's chin dipped to her chest for the third time, startling her awake and she realized she was falling asleep sitting up. Louisa had warned her against sleeping in a moving carriage, saying it was bad luck to be going backwards while you were asleep - as this would reverse any good dreams into nightmares.

Gina Marie smiled at the memory of her friend, the two had said a brief goodbye in thier room, lest AUnt and Uncle catch Louisa hugging the living daylights out of her for they were very particular about propriety from their servants. All three of them.

Gina Marie had promised the maid who was more like a sister that she would send word as soon as She'd made it to freedom. Louisa was the only living soul that Gina Marie had trusted to tell of her plans, and even then not all of them, for she knew Louisa would worry.

Caught up in her own thoughts, Gina Marie didn't hear the horses' galloping as they came upon the Marquis' carriage in the dark. In fact she didn't realize anything was amiss until she heard Bane swear under his breath from across the cab about the same time a shout came from just outside.

"What is it?" she asked quietly, pulling her coat closer to herself now, but Bane never answered her.

"Stand and deliver!" came the cry from at least four different voices as they surrounded the carriage from different corners. Highway men.

"Get down," Bane commanded, but Gina Marie didn't have the chance to obey before he reached for her hand in the darkness, taking hold of her by the forearm and dragging her to the floor of the cab.

"What -" Gina Marie protested as her left knee hit the floor boards with particular force and she winced in pain. But Bane was not listening.

"Pistols, Geoffrey!" he barked the order like a man at arms about to head into battle, he hovered over her where he'd left he on the floor, and the smell of his aftershave distracted her for longer than it should've.

In a flash, Bane had ripped up the cushions where She'd been sitting to reveal a hidden compartment which he'd then opened, a veritable armory to be found inside. Taking out two pistols, Gina Marie watched as he clicked back the hammer of each one handed.

"Aren't you supposed to just stand and deliver?" she heard the squeak in her own voice as she spoke from her spot huddled on the floor.

"Quiet," was Bane's only reply as he moved to one window and began firing. Deciding it was best to listen for the moment, Gina Marie did as he said. Geoffrey, apparently the name of their one and only guard for the journey, could be heard firing his own pistols from above them in the mechanic's seat.

The highwaymen who might've given up after such a response, only fired back.

"Get us out of here!" Bane barked, banging one fist on the roof of the cab capartment, Geoffrey obliged immediately.

The locamotive horse hissed as the steam pressure that had built up from the unexpected stop made the vehicle jump violently. Bane swore again under his breath, now switching from the east window to the west, guns still blazing. Gina Marie had eyed the elongated magazines of both weapons and guessed that Bane could survive quite a stand off.

Her teeth chattered from the rough rumbling of the carriage from her seat on the floor, it seemed they might make it away from their attackers when suddenly, a cry came from above.

"I've been shot, m'lord!" Geoffrey called, almost sounding apologetic from up above. The vehicle swerved, jerked and then there was a terrible shriek of metal scraping against metal just before the entire carriage rolled.

Gina Marie fell hard against the roof of the cab, her shoulder taking most of the hit, before she felt two arms like tree trunks retrieve her from the rolling, pulling her towards a solid wall.

Bane pinned her to his chest as they continued to roll, and Gina Marie could hear his body make impact with the sides and roof as they spun. At last it stopped, the carriage fell silent, and the sound of the highwaymen's hooves retreated into the darkness.

Gina Marie was not surprised for such a kind mercy... robbing the wealthy was one thing, being found guilty over their death was another.

"Are you hurt?" came a grumble from the mass of flesh that still held her in a vice grip, huddled down in the center of the carriage roof, where they'd landed. Gina Marie quickly assessed for pain, trying to catch her breath but finding it a bit difficult.

"Hit my shoulder," she explained as she felt Bane move away from her in the darkness. Trying to act less afraid than she felt, Gina Marie sat up quickly, but that only served to make her more dizzy.

"Alright," Bane nodded, and she heard his breathing coming fast in the cold darkness as well, "Stay here while I check on Geoffrey."

Having no interest in moving, Gina Marie leaned back against the carriage door, upside down though it was and realized she was shaking all over. There was no light anywhere, except for what was provided by the moon outside, and suddenly without the forboding and dominating presence of her husband, fear was washing over her.

"Bane?" she called, her voice a little more desperate than she intended, using her hands to feel out in front of her as she crawled towards one of the windows, glass everywhere but inside the pane. "Bane?!" she cried again when he didn't answer immediately, the feeling of sickness coming over her, and tears coming unbidden to her eyes. Gasping for air, she felt frozen in the darkness.

"George?" his voice came strong and clear through the fog of darkness, and his shadow appeared large and looming at the window, "C'mere," he ordered, but it was not harsh this time.

He reached inside the cab and took hold of her by one arm, pulling her forward through the window until she landed on the grass, in the clear air once again.

"Where is Geoffrey?" she asked, though she regretted it almost immediately at the sound of trembling in her voice.

"he is dead," Bane answered in a short tone, and Gina Marie tried to read his expression in the darkness.

"Oh," she squeaked, feeling sick, "Oh." she repeated stupidly.

"You're alright now," Bane admonished, and Gina Marie nodded her agreement. She knew that statement was true, but she Couldn't stop shaking.

Her new husband must've noticed, for with a low and begruding growl, she felt the strong arms pulling her to him once again.

"What will we do?" she asked quietly, trying to distract herself from the overwhelming need to wretch as she pressed her cheek into the warm woolen fabric of Bane's jacket.

"We'll need to find an inn," he answered, his hand moving in slow, comforting motions up and down her arm as if he was trying to warm her, "A magistrate must be called..." he added, seeming lost in his thoughts now. But still he held her and for the moment, that was all she wanted.

"Where - where are we?" she stuttered, refusing to move even an inch from her position now.

"The middle of nowhere," Bane confirmed gruffly. Gina Marie wondered for a moment if he would take them back to her family home, and dread filled her stomach like a drink of wine.

"Can you walk?" he asked finally, and Gina Marie knew this meant he would pull away from her soon.

"I think so," she nodded, and the two began to rise from their place in the grass. But just as she put weight on it, her left knee buckled, it was the one that had hit the carriage floor first in the chaos. Gina Marie winced at the pain and clenched a hand around Bane's armd to steady herself.

"You can't walk on that," Bane muttered, and Gina Marie heard the underlying anger in his tone.

"I'll be fine," she insisted instead, "You can be my crutch," she added, wrapping her hand into the crook of his arm and taking a step forward, as unsteady as a little foal.

"I had no idea you would be so stubborn," Bane commented, but Gina Marie heard just a hint of admiration in his voice now.

"Remember when I wrote you the time I walked home from church on a broken ankle because I refused to admit to my father that I had fallen out of a tree when he'd forbidden me from climbing it at all?" Gina Marie reminded him, hissing through gritted teeth when she shifted her weight to the knee too abruptly. She felt Bane's hold on her tighten as the two hobbled on together.

"I should've known then what a warning it was," Bane admitted. He didn't sound happy or jovial as younger men might, but neither did he sound angry, and for that Gina Marie was grateful.

They walked on for over an hour in the darkness and cold of the night, Gina Marie limping along at a horrible pace, though Bane didn't say a word of complaint. Finally, they saw light in the distant - they'd reached an inn at last.

Bursting through the front doors of the establishment, Bane began delivering orders almost immediately.

"There's been an accident," he heaved, "Some two miles south - my man was shot and killed, I am in need of a magistrate immediately"

"Oh my stars!" the large chested lady of the house cried out, her husband only nodding in a serious manner.

"And a doctor, for my wife - quick as you can," Bane added, without letting go of her. Gina Marie felt the wind leave her lungs... there was that confounded word again. Wife.