Page 77 of A Bride for the Beastly Duke
“Hush. On your feet.” He pulled her upward, and she had no choice but to stand, hefting Lily securely on her shoulder.
“W-what are you doing?”
“I said, shut your mouth,” he hissed and began dragging her down the driveway. His hand moved away from her mouth for a moment.
“Where are we going? Let go of m?—”
He put his hand back on her mouth, forcing her to swallow her words. She dug in her heels, deciding that she would make it as hard for him as possible to do whatever it was he was trying to do.
She struggled, trying to shift her mouth away from his hand, but it was difficult to do with Lily in her arms. Meanwhile, Aaron continued to pull her forwards, and she spotted a carriage parked in the shadows. She tried her best to scream, but the sound did not go very far. In desperation, she dropped her shawl, trying to leave a clue as he pushed her forward and hustled her into the carriage.
He slammed the door and locked it before climbing up onto the coachman’s seat and turning the horse not towards the well-guarded gates but along a single cobblestoned path that led to the bottom of the garden. Ava remembered that there was a servant’s gate there, and her heart sank. Would anyone think to check it? She highly doubted it.
She flung herself at the door, trying to get it open, but it was securely locked. Lily lay on the seat, fast asleep from exhaustion and fear. Ava was glad that at least she was not awake to experience any of this with Ava.
“God… help me…” Ava whispered, pushing at the door with all her might. It did not budge even an inch.
Most of the flames were finally out now that not only had the fire brigade turned up but some of the neighbors too. There was a lot of smoke and soot everywhere, and the second floor, where the fire started, was going to be unlivable for a while. It did not escape Edward’s notice that whoever had started the fire must have known which floor exactly he and his family were sleepingon. He planned to take Ava and Lily over to the dowager cottage for the rest of the night.
Tomorrow, they would deal with the aftermath.
Walking out of the house, he looked around, a frown marring his brow as he failed to see them. He caught sight of Diana, curled up on the grass, seemingly fast asleep, and hurried over to her. He shook her a little more roughly than intended in his worry.
“Diana!” he called, and she mumbled something in protest before blinking awake. When she caught sight of him, she shot up to a sitting position.
“Your Grace, what…?” She looked around in confusion.
“Where’s my wife?” he asked urgently, and she looked even more confused.
“I beg your pardon?”
“Ava and Lily!” he yelled. “Where are they?”
“I-I-I don’t know, Sir.” Her eyes widened with fear.
“I left them right here, next to you. Did you not see where they went?”
She shook her head, pursing her lips with trepidation. “I must have… fallen asleep, Sir. My apologies.”
He let out an annoyed breath. “No, no, it’s fine.” He got to his feet, looking around for clues.
“What’s wrong?” a voice asked from behind him, and he turned to see Lord Pemberton watching him with narrowed eyes, his breeches stained with soot. Edward had been surprised when he caught sight of the Marquess, diligently passing the buckets of water that went from hand to hand.
“I can’t find my wife and daughter,” he explained, knowing the other man would understand his fears.
Pemberton looked around. “Were they out here on their own?”
Edward pointed to Diana. “She was here but apparently, she fell asleep.”
“Well then, I suggest we get a search party going as soon as possible,” Pemberton said briskly. “Gather your household, and perhaps saddle a few horses just in case they did not leave on foot.”
“Leave? Do you have an idea why they would leave?” Edward’s heart was hammering in his chest.
“I don’t want to alarm you, but what with the fire and all, I’m sure that foul play had occurred to you. And were thisperson aiming to cause harm to you and yours…” he trailed off ominously.
Edward blew out his breath. “We need to find them.”
“I concur,” Pemberton said at once. “Bring out some torches and let us search for clues.”
