Page 67 of The Curious Life of the Unfortunate Duchess
The words gave Elizabeth chills of apprehension, particularly when he smiled so cruelly.
“Has my father come up with the money?”
Cooper grinned and flopped onto the last step unceremoniously, sitting back to study her with impassive eyes.
“You do not seem convinced that he will.”
“I have already explained to you, Mr. Cooper, he hasn’t the funds to pay you.”
“Yes. But you have special friends in better financial positions, do you not?”
Elizabeth’s spine stiffened and her yellow eyes narrowed suspiciously.
“I have many friends,” she retorted. “But none who would easily part with fifty thousand pounds.”
“No? I had heard that you have a rather close relationship with the Duke of Pembroke.”
Elizabeth’s skin prickled with gooseflesh.
“You do seem to know quite a lot about me for someone who found me in the middle of a highway robbery,” she commented, hoping that the tremor did not sound in her voice. Cooper’s smile faded away.
“You are more brazen than I anticipated. Had I known…”
She held his gaze defiantly.
“Had you known, you would have reconsidered snatching a woman away from her family?” she challenged. “Do you realize I have a sister who cries for me? A father who is sick with worry? A—”
“A wealthy Duke who will pay for your release?”
Clarity struck Elizabeth for the first time and while she had suspected that she had not been taken at random, it was blindingly obvious that her capture had been carefully calculated by someone other than Cooper or Mark. There was another, who had driven these men to perform such a terrible act. The question remained; was there someone else behind the kidnapping or had they simply been fed information by an unwitting soul?
“How could you know such a thing?” she demanded. “For whom do you work?”
Cooper snickered and rose lazily.
“I work for no one,” he replied. Elizabeth had no doubt in her mind that he would kill her if he did not get what he wanted.
“Then the Duke has agreed to fund my release?” Elizabeth asked dully, her heart sinking as she recalled her dream. It was a vile request to make of Leonard and she could only imagine the pride her father must have swallowed to bring forth such a question.
But will Leonard pay?
With a sudden burst of anger, Elizabeth hoped he did not even if it might cost her life. These men deserved nothing and there was no guarantee that she would be kept alive following the money exchange. Cooper had been free about showing his face which meant he did not feel fear that she might identify him later.
“I have not yet asked,” Cooper replied smoothly. “But I have been assured that he is quite taken with you. I suspect there will be no issue in claiming our monies.”
“Mr. Cooper, I have not been in such a situation but I daresay, I find it curious that you are taking the time to explain these matters to me. Are you seeking absolution?”
The laughter startled her as his gruff voice filled the cellar. Elizabeth stared balefully at him until he finished.
“Miss Elizabeth, you truly are a wit!” he snorted, genuinely amused by her question. “Too witty for your own good.”
He finally stopped his chuckling and shook his messy dark hair.
“No, Miss Elizabeth, you do not much seem like a priest to me,” he snickered. “I will save my absolution for church.”
She waited, her gaze unfaltering, although her pulse raced madly in her veins.
“No, I simply want you to understand that if your lover does not produce the money, you will be—”
