Page 53 of A Lady's Passion Knows No Distance
“I will not deny that it felt rather good to catch up on some much-needed sleep,” Caroline admitted. “Thank you all for your patience.”
“Take heart, Miss Caroline. It does us all to see you so happy. I must thank my thoughtful daughter for the suggestion of coming to the coast. It was a rather smart idea,” Lord Murphy declared.
“Thank you, Father,” Gwendolen replied with a light blush on her cheeks. As the breakfast was served, they talked ideally of the day. Dark clouds could be seen off the coast and they all agreed that any outing would need to be cut short.
“I also promised Lord Sergio and Sir Roberts that I would join them in the tavern tonight to discuss matters of business,” Lord Murphy added.
“Are you sure, darling? I should hate to think you’d be forced to spend the night at the tavern if a strong storm did come to land,” Lady Murphy said, concern clear in her voice.
“Fear not, my dear. I will not go if a storm is imminent. But I do believe it would be a fun outing for myself, since I do not have much in common with young ladies,” Lord Murphy said, causing them all to chuckle.
As the day progressed, Gwendolen and Caroline went down to the beach together while Lord and Lady Murphy relaxed on the veranda. They spotted plenty of seashells but figured they had already collected enough to last a lifetime. All the while, they watched the storm building on the horizon and felt a cool wind sweeping across the beach.
“Come, we should return to the house. These sea storms can come upon shore quite suddenly. Even though the clouds are still far away,” Gwendolen said as she took Caroline’s hand and led her back towards the house.
As they passed the small fissure in the stone wall, Caroline couldn’t help but blush at the thought of what she’d experienced with William the evening before. How she wished she could join him right now and feel his bare body pressed up against hers.
The moment they stepped through the open doors of the house, rain began to fall heavily from the sky. Caroline quickly closed the door behind them as a cold breeze rushed into the house. She was surprised by how furious the rain was as it pounded against the windowpane, filling the house with the sound of its onslaught.
“My word, I don’t believe I shall venture out this evening,” Lord Murphy said as the young ladies joined the older couple on the other side of the drawing room.
“These rains rarely last long,” Lady Murphy said in an encouraging voice. “There may still be hope yet.”
“Either way, the roads will be impassable with water and mud. The gentlemen shall have to wait till tomorrow afternoon,” Lord Murphy decided as he returned to looking at his newspaper.
Eventually, the rains became so thunderous that candles were lit in the room and a small fire was built up in the chimney. Gwendolen and Caroline decided to play cards to pass the time. All the while, Caroline couldn’t help but think about William and how he was faring at the tavern. He hoped that he was safe and out of the weather, with a warm room and plenty of good food to eat.
“I am sad that Lord Sergio will be leaving England in a few short weeks,” Gwendolen mentioned during their card game.
“Have you two spoken about the state of your relationship?” Caroline asked, making sure to keep her voice low so that her friend’s parents wouldn’t be able to hear them.
“We have,” Gwendolen said with a bright smile on her face. “Lord Sergio promises to write to me. And though it will take weeks for me to receive his letter, I know it will be worth the wait.”
“I certainly understand having to wait for something you want,” Caroline admitted. “I have faith in your relationship.”
After having a light dinner, the weather too treacherous to try to cook anything gourmet, everyone retired early for bed. Caroline couldn’t help but think of William, remaining quiet throughout the meal and taking to her novel that evening to read.
Every time the thunder would sound outside, she would jump with surprise and have to take a deep breath to calm herself. On a night such as tonight, she dearly wished she could feel safe in William’s arms.
Chapter 27
With the sound of the thunder ringing in her ears, Caroline could hardly sleep. She tossed back and forth, trying to focus her mind on anything that would be of comfort to her. She imagined what it had been like to be with William, the heat coming off of his body as they lay together. She thought of the way he kissed her and the pleasures he gave to her body.
Caroline was so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t realize that someone else was in her bedchamber till it was too late. A flash of lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating her surroundings so that she could see the masked person stepping into her room and quickly coming to her bed. She tried to scream, to warn someone of the intruder. But it was far too late. She felt cotton being stuffed into her mouth so that as she screamed, the sound was muffled.
“Now, now, my dear. There is no need for hysterics. Just come along nicely and no one will get hurt,” came a familiar voice as Caroline thrashed in the bed, trying to escape. But he was much stronger than her, pinning her down on the bed so that he could bind her wrists and ankles. Then, as though she was a recently killed deer, the man slung Caroline over his shoulders and made haste in taking her out of the room and down the stairs.
Caroline was beyond frightened as the man left through the open front door, her body pelted with the cold rain as the figure carried her towards a waiting carriage. The only relief she felt was when she was placed inside the carriage and allowed to sit up, the carriage protecting her from the storm outside.
When the figure settled into the carriage across from her, the door was closed and locked before the vehicle was urged forward by the horses. It wasn’t until her capturer lit a lantern and hung it on the side of the rocking carriage that she was able to see for herself who the man was.
Caroline’s eyes went wide as she gazed upon the maddening face of Lord Canton. The rain caused his black hair to stick to either side of his face, his jacket soaking wet as he took it off and tried to shake off the rainwater. All the while, his dark eyes stayed focused on Caroline as she tried to force herself as far away from the man as she could. But with nothing on but a night gown, she found it very hard to shield herself from his prying eyes.
“I really wish I didn’t have to resort to such measures,” Lord Canton said after a while. “But once you refused to marry me, I had little choice. I must have your father’s title and fortunes. Therefore, you shall go with me to Scotland, where I know of a priest who will marry us for a handsome sum.”
Caroline used her bound hands to finally rip the cotton out of her mouth, her anger boiling to the surface. “I will never agree to marry you, Lord Canton. You are a foul man, and you will hang for kidnapping me,” she bellowed.
“That’s the best part of this arrangement, Caroline. The priest will marry us whether you agree to it or not. And once I have an official document saying that we have been married, it won’t matter what you do or say. In fact, I doubt you’ll live very long if you don’t start agreeing to whatever I ask,” Lord Canton said in such a dark voice that Caroline shivered.
