Page 60 of The Curious Life of the Unfortunate Duchess
“Thank you,” she told him again. “You are most kind.”
He snorted and she watched as he retreated up the stairs and into the sunshine, not closing the door. Elizabeth realized he was returning and she held her breath with anticipation.
A moment later, she heard his feet on the steps and a canteen was thrust into her mouth.
“Drink this,” he growled but she heard the warmth in his voice. Elizabeth’s heart jumped as water trickled into her throat, blissfully wetting her hoarse throat.
He is not all bad. He has a heart, a conscience. I can win him over and convince him to set me free.
“Thank you,” she whispered, beginning to feel much like a parrot. “You are most kind.”
“Do not get accustomed to this, now,” he grouched, retreating again toward the steps. “Later, if you stop your screaming, there will be food. If you behave yourself, Miss, you will go home. If not…”
He let the sentence hang between them but Elizabeth already disbelieved him. He was not the man he was portraying himself to be.
I will get out of this place,Elizabeth vowed to herself.And he will help me.
* * *
Elizabeth did not call out for help again, knowing that her only hope was to earn her captor’s trust. She had hours between his next visit to contemplate what had happened, why they had only taken her and not Catherine or Frances. Of course, she was thankful that they were not intertwined in her nightmare and she took comfort in knowing that they were safe.
Surely someone must have found them by now and they are safe back at Brookside—with Leonard and Father.
Elizabeth could only imagine the turmoil her suitor and father were enduing, wondering where she was, or if she was alive. A small, fanciful part of her fantasized that Leonard would burst through the cellar doors and whisk her away at any moment. Yet, logically, she knew that the Duke would not have a clue where to start his search for her. Who could say where highwaymen set up their camps?
Poor Frances must be fit to be tied,Elizabeth thought. She hoped that Herbert was comforting her in this time of crisis but as she thought it, she once more turned her thoughts back to Leonard. She kept herself rational by envisioning his warm eyes, hearing his voice reverberating in her mind as though he were whispering in her ear.
It was the thought of the Duke and his insatiable need to prevail, to succeed, which inspired Elizabeth to do the same. She felt as though he had infiltrated her soul and was sitting in the dark with her, erasing her fears as she continued to work against her binds.
She was no closer to loosening herself when her captor returned but Elizabeth was ready for him and did not give him an opportunity to speak first.
“I am Miss Elizabeth Follett,” she told him. “Second daughter to the Viscount of Gordon.”
“I know who you are,” came the response. Her lips gaped. It was not the reply she had expected and suddenly the power she had meant to claim dissolved.
“Do you?” she asked, recovering as quickly as she could but she knew she had lowered her guard. He had undoubtedly seen the shock on her face. The highwayman did not respond and Elizabeth cocked her head back to get a better concept of where he stood. She noted he had with him a tray of food and for the first time, she realized she was hungry.
“What may I call you?” Elizabeth asked boldly. “I daresay, it is awkward for me to simply yell out for you without a title.”
“Do I seem like the kind of man who has a title?”
“But surely you have a name,” she insisted. “Please, just one which I can call you by while I enjoy your company.”
“Enjoy my—my Lord, I had no idea you would be so witty!” he snickered and the words sent another tingle of worry through Elizabeth as she wondered why she had been brought there. She did not feel genuine fear in the man’s presence but she did not doubt that he was capable of violence if the circumstances suited him. She intended to be on the proper side of the man at any cost.
“Please?”
“Oh, ballocks. You may call me Mark but only when we are alone, understand?”
“Yes, Mark, of course!” she exhaled. “That is a lovely name.”
“Miss Elizabeth, you needn’t flatter me. I will not hurt you if you do not give me good cause but I am not your companion. Make no mistake.”
“I did not presume you were, Mark.”
“I am untying your hands so you might eat but if you make one false move—”
“You need not worry. I do not wish to fight with you, Mark. I sense that you are a man who makes good on his word, an honorable man.”
