Page 76 of Her Duke in Shining Armor
“The plans for demolishing the west wing are coming along, aren’t they?” one man said.
“Yes,” the other, whose voice was deeper, added. “Though I have not the faintest idea why His Grace would want to destroy a hundred-and-three-year-old house.”
“Isn’t the fact that it’s over a century old enough?” the other added. “These are modern times; the customs have changed and so are the designs. I am all for antiques, but one has to modernize.”
Father is demolishing the house? Why of all a sudden?
She made a mistake by shifting her leg and snapped a twig.Drat. Instantly, she stilled but not too soon enough. The men’s attentions were already drawn. She did not dare look up but heard the click of a pistol’s safety latch.
“Where did that come from?” One asked.
“The hedges,” the other replied.
Fear shot through Eleanor’s limbs like fuel, she shot up and ran. The tree-line was nearly there…nearly there…almost there…just three more feet. Victory was in sight, it was so close, so very, very close—when she was grabbed and spun around.
Eleanor cried out in fury, “Let me go!”
She struggled but knew it was futile. The hands were too strong and the grip was too sure. She lashed out, mania took her over and she scrambled with hysteria. She had to get to Aaron.
“Stop fighting,” one man growled in her ear and as Eleanor shot her hand out, her nails scraped across his eye. The man swore loudly and pinned her arms behind her.
“My Lady, please do not make me use force on you,” the first one spoke.
At this point, Eleanor did not care anymore. She had been found out. Sagging, she felt the fight slip out of her veins and she went weak. With her head down, she allowed them to walk back inside the house and to the main sitting room.
She sank to a chair while one man went to find her father. With her head down, Eleanor continually castigated herself on her failure. If she had not moved in that split second, she would have not drawn the attention of the guards. She would have been at Aaron’s house by then, free from the prison that was her home.
“The Devil you say!” her father bellowed from above.
Hard, thumping footsteps stormed down the stairs and her father was before her. “Eleanor, I am going to give you a minute to explain yourself before I take action.”
Explain myself? What is there to explain? Is it not obvious?
Stubbornly, she looked up, met her father’s glare but did not say a word.
“What were you doing?” he fumed.
Her lips were tightly pressed and her silence only aggravated the man more. “Tell me now.”
Still, she held her silence and nearly flinched when he raised his hand to her. The fear of being struck nearly consumed her but not a finger was laid on her to her relief.
“You will be locked in your room for as long as I determine is necessary,” Fenton ordered. “You have had too much freedom and your independence is the price you will pay for this shameful action. I cannot believe that after all these years and everything I have given you, you are ready to betray me like this and cause such shame on our name. Mr. Oliver, accompany her to her rooms and bolt the door after her.”
“Yes, Your Grace,” the man who had walked her inside said.
Without a word, Eleanor stood and went to the stairs. Her father called after her, “Do you have anything to say for yourself, Eleanor?”
On the third step, Eleanor stopped, turned to him and met his eyes. While his were fiery, hers were cold and dispassionate. The look held but then she turned and continued on her way. Her silence was louder than any word she could have said.
Chapter 21
His hazed green eyes blinked awake in the darkness of his master bedroom. Aaron tried to catch the fleeting images of his dream, but they slipped away like vanishing smoke. Sitting up, the Duke felt the soft worry he had tried to dismiss at hours before only strengthening in his chest— Eleanor.
Not once in the last three days had he heard from her, which was troubling, to say the least. He knew Eleanor was strong, but to swallow the fact that she might be living with a murderer had to rattle her. He had expected to see her on his doorstep again. Like the tremors that came after an earthquake, Aaron would have expected Eleanor to come to him when an emotional one had hit, but eighty-four hours later there was nothing.
What has happened?
There was no ‘if’ to his question. Something had happened, he just did not know what. He had to see her today—there was no question about that. He tried to go back to sleep but rest evaded him and two hours before dawn, he went to the study and began to work.
