Page 69 of A Duke Under Her Spell
The Earl laughed at his declaration. “You may try.”
Chapter 31
Oliver and Mr. Wheatly approached Blackleigh Castle. Through the trees, they could just make out the movement of men milling about outside the castle walls. They looked like armed guards and Oliver wondered if the Duke had arranged for them to guard the tunnel. “Did His Grace arrange for more guards?” he asked Mr. Wheatly.
“Not to my knowledge,” Mr. Wheatly shook his head. “After the intruder was apprehended there was no need for further guards.”
“I know that he posited the notion that perhaps the intruder had been led astray by another’s influence, but I do not recall the Duke taking any further action on the matter.”
“No, I do not believe that he did.”
“Shall we go and see for ourselves?”
“I am not certain,” Oliver sat in thought studying the men circling the castle. “Something seems amiss here. Do you recognize any of the men?”
Mr. Wheatly peered through the trees attempting to get a better look. “I cannot say that I do, but I do not know every man in the county.”
“I would feel better about approaching them if I were not in a nearly invalid state,” Oliver admitted. “I fear I would be of no real use in a fight in this condition.”
“I am a butler, not a soldier.”
The two men sat staring at the strangers for a moment, attempting to ascertain the correct course of action. A shout from the castle, told them that they had been spotted as the guards came running toward them, drawing their pistols. “I do not believe that they have been hired by the Duke,” Mr. Wheatly gulped from behind him.
A pistol shot rang through the air as a bullet thwacked into a tree near Oliver’s head. “No, I do not believe so.”
Mr. Wheatly whipped the horse into a full-on gallop, careening through the trees in a most dangerous race against death. “I believe it is time to alert the magistrate,” Mr. Wheatly wheezed as he urged the horse to go even faster.
* * *
The Earl stood over the top of Marybeth as he cautioned Lord Enfield to be patient. “Her time will come, Enfield. I promise you will not be disappointed with what I have planned.”
“This had better be worth it, Bredon, or it will be you at the end of my blade next,” Lord Enfield threatened. The murderous light in his eyes had not dimmed one jot since his entry.
Shouts from the men outside drew their attention away from Marybeth and over to the castle’s main entrance. “What has happened?” the Earl demanded to know as one of his men ran up to him.
“We spotted someone watching us in the forest. Some of the other men have gone out after them,” the man explained. The sound of pistols firing punctuated his words.
“See that they do not get away,” the Earl instructed.
“Yes, My Lord,” the man bowed and disappeared from sight.
“I thought you said no one ever comes here,” Lord Enfield pointed out.
“No one but the witch. I have worked diligently to ensure that no one would desire to come here. I have managed to convince the local populace that the castle is haunted,” the Earl answered.
So, he is the one who is responsible for the screaming banshee noises and falling stones, Marybeth realized. She had never heard it herself, but her grandmother had come home one day greatly distressed by it.
She looked at Felix across the room and met his eyes. His eyes were full of pain and anger. They reflected the same agony that she herself felt about the situation they were in. Everything that the Earl had threatened to do to them flashed through her mind, turning her stomach once more. “We will get through this,” Felix mouthed silently to reassure her.
She nodded her head in response watching as Felix looked all around them, searching for a way out of their situation. She did the same but did not see any immediate possibilities. The Earl and Lord Enfield turned back into the room. “Now you are going to lead me to this treasure,” the Earl demanded of Felix as he walked across to him. Lord Enfield grabbed Marybeth up by the hair again and put the knife back to her throat. “I believe I have made it quite clear what will happen if you do not.”
“I have told you repeatedly that, to my knowledge, there is no treasure to be sought. The legend is only that, a fable,” Felix replied in earnest, attempting to get his words of reason through the Earl’s haze of greed.
The Earl struck Felix across the face. “Where is it?!” he screamed in rage, spittle flying from his lips.
“It does not exist!” Felix yelled back. The Earl turned and nodded at Lord Enfield. Lord Enfield responded by pressing the knife to her throat so hard that it drew blood. Marybeth gasped in pain. “Leave her alone!” Felix demanded. He attempted to move toward her and was knocked back down again. “Do not touch her! You are hurting her!”
Lord Enfield laughed. “I have not begun to hurt her.”
