Page 91 of The Curious Life of the Unfortunate Duchess
He handed her the paper in his hands which she read it with wide eyes.
“My word! How do they continue to get onto the property?” she muttered. “Are the guards suspect?”
Leonard’s head throbbed mercilessly. He wanted to yell at his sister that everyone was suspect, that no one was free from suspicion. Until that moment, however, he had not considered that the guards might also be party to the endless nightmare which plagued them.
“What will you do?” Catherine demanded when he did not reply. “Will you permit him to meet the kidnappers?”
“I haven’t much of a choice in the matter,” Leonard told her bitterly. “Elizabeth has not returned as I expected she would. It is our best hope to see this through, as I should have.”
“You must not fault yourself, Leo. Your instinct was to have faith but we have been given another chance to get her home. You cannot dismiss this gift.”
Leonard snorted contemptuously at her word choice.
“Gift?” he echoed. “It is not a gift to be robbed of both your beloved and your hard-saved money.”
“It is only money, Leonard,” she told him softly. “Father often said—”
“You need not speak to me about Father’s philosophies, Catherine. I remember them all quite well. I remember when he taught me to be unwavering and not bow down to those bent on destruction. I remember when he told me to follow my passions and never stop. Giving Cooper this ransom is failing, particularly when I am convinced he does not have her.”
“It is not failing if it brings Elizabeth home safely. You cannot be certain unless we try everything we must. She is your responsibility now, Leo. You brought her here and you swore to protect her.”
He turned and looked at her, the corners of his mouth pulled down into a frown. She was right, of course. He would use any means necessary to bring Elizabeth home. Catherine’s eyes fell upon an item atop the dresser, her brow furrowing in confusion.
“Why have you Elizabeth’s shoe here?”
Leonard glanced at it. He had forgotten he had brought it to his chambers after finding it on Lord Cooke’s property. The Duke had spent so little time inside his quarters, he had all but forsaken it there.
“Why does it matter? It is the one we found out Lord Cooke’s manor.”
“You found that shoe on his property?” Catherine asked dubiously.
“That is what I said, Catherine. What is the issue?”
Catherine’s mouth parted to speak but for the third time, someone dared knock at his door. Leonard’s wits were frayed on end yet before he could shout out in anger, Herbert howled for him.
“YOUR GRACE!” the barrister yelled, bursting inside the chambers, his face flushed red with excitement.
“How dare you, Herbert!” Leonard snapped. “Have you no shame—”
“Miss Elizabeth is home! She has returned!”
Time seemed to cease as the words sank into Leonard’s fragilely balanced mind.
“Herbert, that is a cruel joke!” Catherine cried indignantly, tears springing to her eyes. “This is no time for such things!”
“It is no joke! She is here! She is unharmed and she has returned!”
The barrister barely finished his sentence before Leonard was sprinting past him and into the hallways, his footsteps echoing throughout the house.
“Is it true?” Frances screamed from the doorway of her room but he could not stop to address her. His heart was close to exploding as he ran, bouncing down the steps two at a time until he landed in the entranceway among the dozens of servants who gasped in awe at the pale woman in the doorway. Elizabeth’s wrists were heavily bandaged, her dark hair hanging in strings along her face. She still wore the same dress she had from the night of the gala but it was stained with blood and dirt, the rips and frays interlaced with twigs and debris.
“Elizabeth?” he choked, forcing himself to move toward her. “Oh, thank God! You are alive!”
She lifted her head upward and met his eyes with hers and his chest filled with love for her. To his utter amazement, a wan smile touched her pale, cracked lips.
“Had you any doubt that I would make it back to you, Leonard?” she asked teasingly and relief nearly brought him to his knees. He stumbled forward to embrace her, holding her exhausted body to his.
“Beatrice!” he barked. “Run a bath at once. Get her some food! Fetch a doctor! Fresh water!”
