Page 71 of A Duke Under Her Spell
“Who do you work for?” Lord Alexander demanded.
Again, he was met with stony silence. Another kick and the man lay on his side whimpering. “The Earl of Bredon… I work for the Earl of Bredon.”
“Has the Earl taken a young healer named Miss Marybeth Wright or the Duke of Arkley?”
The man nodded. “Yes, he has them both.”
“Who else is involved in this? What is the plan? Why were they taken?”
“The Earl seeks the treasure of Blackleigh.”
Lord Alexander exchanged a look with his brothers. “The treasure of Blackleigh Castle.”
“Yes, My Lord.”
Lord Alexander looked down at him suspiciously. “You know who I am?”
“Yes, My Lord. I have seen you at Enfield when I delivered messages to your father, Lord Enfield, from the Earl. Your father is with him now at the castle.”
“Why does that not surprise me?” Lord Alexander remarked disapprovingly shaking his head. “Are the girl and the Duke still alive?”
“Yes, My Lord. They were when last I saw them.”
Lord Alexander nodded his head then turned to speak with his brothers. “Thomas, David, Ewan, and Jacob come with me. Benjamin and Christopher, you remain here and stand guard over these men. I am certain that the magistrate will have a great many questions for them.” He turned to Oliver and Mr. Wheatly. “Do either of you know the layout of the castle?”
“Yes, I know it very well,” Oliver answered.
“I will need you to come with me, but that contraption is too conspicuous.” He eyed the bandage around Oliver’s head. “Can you ride behind one us? Are you able?”
Oliver was not at all sure that he could with the way his head was feeling after being jostled through the forest at such breakneck speed, but he was not about to admit it. “Yes, I will hold on.”
“Good,” Lord Alexander nodded his head in approval then offered Oliver his hand to climb up behind him on his horse.
Oliver stood and accepted the proffered hand. He mounted behind him and held fast to his jacket. Lord Alexander shook his head. “You will not be able to remain horsed this way.”
Oliver’s head was spinning, and he felt himself tipping over. He had no desire to wrap his arms around the Lord’s middle like a lass. He barely knew the man. “Perhaps I could be tied to the horse instead?”
Lord Alexander growled in his throat, grabbed Oliver’s hands, wrapped them around his middle, then tied them together in front of him. “There, now you will not go anywhere.”
Oliver was too taken aback to argue. Lord Alexander kicked his horse forward leaving Mr. Wheatly to stand gape mouthed as they thundered away. Oliver looked back over his shoulder to see the two remaining brothers standing with a pistol in each hand, their faces as menacing as the devil’s own.I am glad that they are on our side.
They rode through the trees until they came to the edge of the forest. They stopped and took in the scene before them. “I do not see a dozen men,” Oliver remarked peering over Lord Alexander’s shoulder.
“Nor do I.”
“Perhaps they are in the castle.”
“Perhaps, either that or he lied.”
“I would not put it past him, given his allegiance to such a dastardly fiend as the Earl has turned out to be.”
“He and my father have been consumed by the legend of the Blackleigh treasure our entire lives. My brothers and I watched it destroy our grandfather, much as it did the Earl’s father.”
“Are you a part of this?” Oliver did not believe that he was, but one could never be certain.
“I want nothing to do with it. Neither do my brothers. It is a fool’s quest that has brought many a man to folly.”
They stood studying the situation before them. Alexander motioned to his brothers, sending them in different directions around the clearing. The brothers moved out, pistols in hand. Before the men knew what had happened the brothers were upon them, subduing them with relative ease. Men on foot caught unawares seldom fare well against those on horseback with deadly intent.
