’e runs — taking the girl with him? (6)

I believe the answer is:

elopes

'the girl with him?' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun but the answer is not.

''e runs' is the wordplay.
'runs' becomes 'lopes' (loping is a kind of running).
'e'+'lopes'='ELOPES'

'taking' is the link.

(Another definition for elopes that I've seen is " Runs away to get married".)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.

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