Page 6 of Her Runaway Duke
She knew she would be best to keep moving, but her horse was growing weary. She had heard the trickle of a nearby stream for a while now and knew she had no choice but to stop. Her legs trembled beneath her as she dismounted after so long in the same position, and she had to pause for a moment and hold onto the horse until she could recapture her balance. Giving him a pat in thanks, she began to lead him toward what she thought would be the source of the sound, which must be around the copse of the trees to her right.
She had just rounded the largest one when she came to a sudden, abrupt stop.
For there, just a few yards ahead of her, was a group of three men in dark clothing, sitting in a circle, tricorn hats perched upon their heads and pistols prominently worn around their waists. They didn’t notice her at first, so intent were they on items sitting on the ground before them.
Siena was already backing away, her heart in her throat, when she belatedly realized that what she had seen glinting from the ground was jewels.
These men were thieves, perhaps highwaymen.
Would they care about her and that she had seen them?
And as quietly as she thought she was walking backwards, her left foot, now clad in boots that Eliza had provided, snapped on a twig, which caused one of the men to look up swiftly.
He caught her gaze, and she scrambled up on the horse as fast as she could, pure fear fueling her actions, backing him up and then urging him to run.
But she had a feeling that she just might be too late.
She pushed her horse on, but he was tired and neither he nor Siena knew the ground nor their direction. As though sensing her hesitation, he paused, just long enough for Siena to hear a shout from behind her.
It was enough for her to regain her senses and urge the horse on, finally finding the road once more. Where it led to, she had no idea, but she could only pray that it was frequented enough that she had a chance to come across another person, one who might help her.
She hadn’t made it far when she heard the hoofbeats closing in on her, and she hated the whimper that emerged from her lips. She had thought her situation dire before, but that was nothing compared to her current predicament.
The men pulled even with her before her first tear could fall, and she willed herself to hold it within, to remain strong on the outside no matter how much she was falling apart within.
This had all been a mistake. She never should have gone against who she was. She should have done what she had always done, been the good girl and not questioned what her parents thought best for her. Look at the consequences of her disobedience.
What would Eliza do in this situation? Before Siena could come to a conclusion, however, one of the men blocked her wayforward with his horse, while the others closed in behind her and she had no choice but to come to a stop.
Her entire body shook as she fought to find a way out of her predicament, dread growing when she could see no escape.
“Well, well, well,” one man said, eyeing her from her feet up to the riding hat that still perched on her head, although rather vicariously at the moment, “what do we have here?”
“I am no one,” she said, swallowing a sob. “Please, let me continue on my way and I will forget I ever saw you.”
“That is a very fine dress you are wearing,” said the next one, ignoring her words. “A lady, alone in the middle of the road at this hour?”
“I am not alone,” she said, trying to keep her lip from trembling as she grasped for the words that would convince them to leave her be. “My husband is around the corner. He is a very powerful man, and I would suggest that you leave before he finds you.”
One of the men started laughing. “Do you truly think we are concerned about one man?”
“You should be. He can make life very difficult for you. Go, before he arrives.”
She hoped that they wouldn’t realize just how desperate her tone had become as she willed them to believe her.
“We shall take our chances,” said the third, the bearded one, who the others seemed to look to as their leader. “Now, pretty lady, why don’t you come with us?”
The grin that spread across his face as he looked her up and down reminded her of Lord Mulberry, and a shiver overtook her.
“I think I will be going instead.”
But they had her surrounded, and when she tried to move her horse a step forward, they blocked her in further.
“We asked nicely but you actually don’t have a choice,” said the oldest of the three. “We could use some company tonight.”
Overwhelmed by panic, she looked one way and the next, finding a newfound strength within her as she searched for any way out of this. She had run away from one lecherous man today; she would not do so only to fall into the hands of others.
Then she jumped, along with the startled horses, when a shot rang out through the air.
