Page 53 of An Unbending Lady for the Desperate Earl
He kept feeling as though he ought to be furious with Victoria, for pulling the wool over their eyes in such a dramatic fashion. But he could not muster any anger. Instead, he felt only fear. Deep-rooted, all- consuming fear that something terrible was about to happen to her. And he would not be there to stop it.
Wherever you are, my love, we are coming for you. Hold on. We are coming.
He only hoped they wouldn’t be too late. She had promised to leave a trail, if something befell her, but the winds were picking up, sending leaves skittering across the roads. It howled through the carriage door as he entered, and he could scent the metallic tang of oncoming rain in the atmosphere. In truth, he was terrified that, by the time they were en route to Miss Longacre’s country house, there would be no trace of Victoria left anywhere.
Chapter 23
Dark landscape flowed like a river of shadow past the window of the carriage, as it left the glowing lights of London behind. Victoria sat within, trying to steady the rampant nerves that ran riot inside her. She had expected the kidnappers to strike the moment they reached a quiet road, but they had yet to do anything, even though she knew they continued to follow.
Frustrated, she lifted the mirrored disc and angled it once more, in case she had been mistaken. But, sure enough, a second carriage followed behind at a slower pace, keeping a cautious distance, as though it didn’t want to be spotted. Not that a cautious distance mattered out here, on the eerie emptiness of the country road. There could be no other reason for a carriage to be in pursuit of hers, however slow, unless those within had some dastardly notion in mind.
What are they waiting for? I don’t understand it.
Her mind turned toward Christian. If he had any sense, he would have entered the house and found the note by now. Although, she had lost all concept of time, sitting inside the rattling carriage, not knowing when the aggressors might strike at her.
Are you in pursuit of me now, Christian? Are you bringing rescue?How she wished he were here beside her, as he had been ever since they had begun on this endeavor together. Somehow, she had grown so used to him that she didn’t know what she would do without him. Not in the investigative sense. She was quite capable of doing that alone, but as for her life… she didn’t want to think of it without him at her side.
There had been plenty of allusions from Miss Longacre, suggesting that Christian cared for her, in a way that business partners didn’t care for one another. And she had seen it in his eyes, directly. But what could they do about it? Miss Longacre had also mentioned that Lady Helena had an admirer of her own, but Victoria remained unconvinced that Christian and his childhood friend would be able to put aside the promises they had made to their families and forgo their betrothal in favor of actual happiness.
It is hopeless. Perhaps it is nothing more than a fleeting fancy. He has said, often enough, how I intrigue him. Would he still care for me if the intrigue wore off, and he discovered that I am just… me?
She scolded herself, for these were not helpful thoughts at a time such as this, when she ought to be at her most alert. Lifting the mirrored disc once more, to make sure the carriage was still following, her heart plummeted. The second carriage had gone. Whilst she had been dwelling romantically upon her star-crossed affections for Christian, the kidnappers had… vanished.
Where did they go?! Oh, I am a fool! Where did they go?!
Her body flew forward as the carriage came to a violent halt. From outside, she heard the startled whinnies of the two horses up front. Her head collided with the bench opposite, sending a splinter of pain through her skull as she scrabbled around for purchase.
“Who goes there?” she heard the driver, Simon, shout. A sickening thud followed, accompanied by a pained groan.
Victoria gripped the squab and pulled herself up, squinting against the fresh throb in her temples. She blinked rapidly to clear her blurred vision, in time to see the door wrench open. A thin fellow with half his face obscured stepped inside, backing Victoria into a corner. Her eyes darted to the fellow’s little finger, where a blue gemstone glinted in the moonlight.
Maintain the ruse! I must maintain the ruse!Every survival instinct within her wanted her to lunge at this cretin, and swipe at his face with the knife she had concealed beneath her skirts. But that wasn’t what Lady Laura would have done, and she needed to keep up the pretense for as long as she could. If she didn’t, then they may very well leave her in the dirt, instead of taking her to the place where they were keeping the other captive ladies.
“Please, sir! Please, I beg of you, do not hurt me!” she wailed, in a suitably damsel-like voice. It disgusted her, to lower herself to such an extent in front of a man so foul, but it was necessary.
“Hurt you?” the thin fellow snickered, “I don’t intend to hurt you.”
“I implore you, sir. Do not dishonor me. Do not harm me. I have family—I don’t want to die.” Victoria even managed some crocodile tears, to make herself appear more convincing.
“Miss Longacre, I urge you to calm yourself,” the man said sternly. “You will not be harmed, as long as you do as you are told.”
She realized that her hood lay half over her face, while the impact from the bench had started to swell the other side. This man truly seemed to believe she was Miss Longacre, and she was only too happy to let him continue to believe that.
“I will… obey, sir. Please, I will behave,” she whimpered, despising that note in her voice. She had never whimpered in her life.
“That’s what I like to hear.” The thin wretch leaned forward and hauled her to her feet with surprising strength. She didn’t resist, as he dragged her bodily out of the carriage and into the icy darkness.
However, she made sure to stumble, collapsing into the dirt. Quick as a flash, she removed the bracelet that she had borrowed from Miss Longacre and placed a rock upon a small part of it, to hold it down against the gale that had started to blow across the countryside. All concealed from the thin villain’s sight.
He rolled his eyes. “Get up, Miss Longacre.”
“My apologies, sir. Please, don’t punish me. I didn’t mean to fall.” She managed to stand, her skirts hiding the first breadcrumb that she planned to leave for Christian and Benedict. If they were, indeed, following her at that very moment.
“Be more careful where you tread,” the man retorted. He grasped hold of her arm once more and tugged her along the dirt road. She staggered after him, though not before she stole a look back, to make sure the bracelet could be seen from the road. It glinted, as if to let her know that it had her covered.
The second carriage, which had been pursuing her all the way from London, sat ahead of hers. Somehow, it had managed to get in front, whilst she had been distracted by thoughts of Christian. And Simon Green lay on the ground, his head bleeding, though he still appeared to be breathing.
“Hold still,” the man instructed.
