Page 80 of Drowned in the Pleasure of a Devilish Baron
She’d find out. Moving to pass through them, she was shocked when the guard raised a hand to stop her.
“Pardon me,” she said, trying once more. This time, the guard in the center stepped forward.
“We have been sent by Lord Ashton, at the request of Lord Marlow, and are ordered to keep you within this room,” he said the words in a rote tone of voice, like he was repeating precisely what had been said to him.
Her hands began to tremble, but she would not show her fear. She stood tall, drawing all of the command of being a respected lady, and stared him down. “Sir, you are in my way, and I would like to speak with my brother. Please move aside.”
“We have been sent by Lord Ashton, at request of Lord Marlow, and are ordered to keep you within this room,” he repeated, and she noticed now that they wore the high-quality livery of Ashton’s household, fine coats, knee breeches, and stockings, giving them an air of irrefutable authority.
“How dare you!” She stepped forward again, deciding she would walk right through them. Surely they would not touch her? But at once they came together, forming an impenetrable wall of muscle, one she nearly bounced off of in her determination to get through.
“We have been sent by Lord Ashton, at request of Lord Marlow, and are ordered to keep you within this room.”
Maddening! She decided to focus on the anger rather than the fear, because it kept her focused and productive.
“John! What is the meaning of this?” she yelled, standing on her tiptoes to project over the guards’ shoulders. “John!” She would stand her all day shouting if she had to. “JOHN!”
At last, she heard footsteps approaching the other side, but it was Rebecca’s face that peered over the men at her. “I am sorry, Miss. Your mother has said to inform you that she and Lord Marlow will be in shortly to speak with you. Do not despair.”
“What is going on?” Sarah asked, desperate for some scrap of information. “Why are they doing this? And why is it Lord Ashton’s men are doing the dirty work of keeping me locked inside my own drawing room?”
“I’m afraid I’ve been told to only inform you that they will speak with you soon.” It was difficult to tell, seeing only half of Rebecca’s face, whether she was actually regretful or simply repeating niceties. Sarah had always had trouble understanding Rebecca, who was nice enough when they were alone but always quick to report back to her mother.
Rebecca backed away then, leaving Sarah alone, but for the four men whose eyes followed her every movement.
Think. Why would they do this, and what is the meaning of Lord Ashton’s men being here?
The sound she heard then made her blood freeze in her veins. The Marlow house was not very large, nor was it very grand. The drawing room where she was now was at the front of the house, and her bedroom was directly above it. From where she was standing at that moment, she heard the footsteps of a crowd of people up in her room.
“They’re looking for something,” she whispered to herself, turning away from the guards. Her mind went to her letter to Felix, detailing their plan to run away and so much more, and now her whole body was trembling with an overriding feeling of panic. “My God, what have I done?”
* * *
Leonard and Felix were halfway to London. They had spoken little on the ride, both intent on thoughts of the day ahead of them. There was nothing but the sound of the horses, the coachman occasionally calling to them, and the wheels on the road.
Felix heard a new sound join these, a set of hoof beats that sounded like a few horses, likely passing them as their own riders headed for London. The next sound took him a moment to place, as it was so unexpected.
Leonard looked up as they both heard an odd “whoof” and felt the carriage lurch. Their eyes had just met when the coachman let out a scream. “Bandits, My Lord!” he yelled from the front, and the two men inside the carriage tensed.
The crack of a shot split the air outside.
Chapter Forty-Three
The carriage rolled to a halting, too sudden stop, sending Leonard and Felix pitching forward and dropping to the ground in a tangle of arms and legs. They both struggled to stand. Felix met Leonard’s eye.
“Let’s rush them. Allow them to open the door to the carriage and we explode out,” he said in a low voice.
Leonard nodded. “Have you any weapons?”
Felix shook his head regretfully. “You?”
“No. But I have twenty pounds I can give them. They should be more than happy with that and let us alone.”
They met each other’s eyes and nodded, their plan in place. In the semi-darkness of the carriage cabin, they waited, tension humming in their bodies as they sat, coiled and ready to attack.
“Get them out!” called one of the men outside. Footsteps approached the door of the carriage, and Felix tensed, bouncing on the ball of his feet. The instant the door swung open, they sprang, one after another.
Leonard took down the first man like a sack of grain, slamming his body against him so they both shot across the carriage stairs and onto the road. Felix shot out after him, lunging after the second man who had been standing in the road. They had managed the element of surprise well, as it was clear these bandits had not expected two gentlemen to put up such a fight, and might have ended the thing there… had there not been a third bandit.
