Page 56 of An Unbending Lady for the Desperate Earl
Perhaps my trail wasn’t good enough. Perhaps they lost sight of it, with all the rain and wind. Perhaps I will have to do this alone, after all.It wouldn’t be easy, but she was convinced she had faced starker odds than this. She could not think of any, at present, but then her mind was not exactly clear.
She sat on the rancid hay and pretended to shiver, which was not all that difficult considering her attire and the chilly temperature outside. Presently, she heard the voices of Castell and Benson outside her shed and listened in to their conversation.
“Why does he want to check her?” Benson asked. Victoria would have recognized that voice anywhere. “He’s never checked any of the others, not so soon after they’ve been captured, anyway.”
“Why are you asking me? I don’t know, any more than you do. He asked to see her, and we have to obey. What more do you need to know?” Castell retorted.
Benson huffed out a sigh. “Fine, but if she starts wriggling again, I’m going to have to throw her over my shoulder. I don’t care what the boss says about treating these ladies with decorum. I’m not risking a kick again.”
“This one didn’t kick you,” Castell replied.
“No, but that don’t mean she won’t try.” Benson muttered something rude under his breath, that made Victoria want to snort. She resisted the impulse, for the sake of appearances, but she would happily have kicked Benson clean across the courtyard, had she not had to pretend to be someone else.
The door to the shed screeched open, and she was once again grasped by the arm. Fortunately, Benson didn’t attempt to throw her over his shoulder, or she might well have indulged in some hand-to-hand combat. Instead, he dragged her across what she supposed was the courtyard she had seen through the cracks.
Estimating the steps they were taking, and the distance between her temporary abode and the barn, she figured that was precisely where Benson and Castell were taking her. A few moments later, a warmth hit her in the face, and she smelled the faint aroma of woodsmoke—they had a fire burning in here somewhere, to stave off the biting chill of the autumn.
“Where do you want her, boss?” Benson asked.
Victoria’s heart began to race, as she realized she was about to meet the ringleader of this entire operation. Why else would they be calling him boss? It came as something of a surprise, as she had been working under the assumption that there were only two men involved in this kidnap scheme. However, if she really thought about it, she realized it shouldn’t have come as a surprise. The kidnappers were too stealthy, and too well organized, to be working solely as a duo. Of course there had been a mastermind behind it all.
It makes sense now…
“Sit her beside the other one.” A different voice spoke, though it sounded distorted, as though a mask or a piece of cloth were covering the speaker’s mouth.
She felt herself being pulled in a new direction, only to be shoved down abruptly onto what appeared to be a chair. With her loosened hands, she felt beneath her. Sure enough, solid wood sat under her.
Well, at least they have given me the courtesy of a seat…
“Take her blindfold off,” that same, muffled voice instructed.
Without warning, the world burst into light again. Benson had torn away her blindfold, giving back the gift of vision. She blinked rapidly; her eyes unaccustomed to such brightness. Even outside, they only had to deal with the dawn’s dull glow. But there were torches aplenty in here, each one ablaze, matching the roar of the enormous bonfire that burned in the center of the barn. The smoke filtered out through a hole in the roof, though Victoria didn’t know if the hole was intentional, or accidental.
Glancing to her side, she came face-to-face with Simon Green—the driver who had been knocked from his perch and left for dead. He was similarly bound, but lacking a blindfold, his eyes widening as he looked upon her. Meanwhile, she reeled back in surprise. How could Simon be here? When did they retrieve him? She had no idea but, evidently, the kidnappers had considered it wise to clear up their mess.
Turning away from him for a moment, she took in her new surroundings. Her eyes quickly adjusted to the brightness, letting her absorb the layout of the barn. It was fairly sparse, aside from all the flames, with a makeshift sitting area to one side, complete with a desk and some armchairs.
Her entire body went rigid as she set eyes on the figure behind the desk. At first, she didn’t believe what she was seeing. But no amount of blinking cleared the image that lay before her. No, he was as familiar to her as her own reflection. In all of her wildest imaginings, she couldn’t have come up with a twist like this.
“Father?” she whispered. “Is it… really you?”
Chapter 25
“This is hopeless!” Christian cried, throwing his head back in dismay. “Victoria’s trail ran dry an hour ago, and we are entirely lost.”
Benedict offered him a sorrowful look. “Aye, I’ve a feeling we might be going in circles.”
“Not to mention that we will likely freeze to death out here, whilst being no closer to finding Victoria or the rest of the missing ladies.” Christian and Benedict had been following the trail of fabric scraps, pierced with hairpins, for what felt like an eternity. But they had discovered the last one an hour ago and had not seen another one since. Either the rain had swept them away, or they had missed one somewhere, but going over the same terrain had yet to relinquish any fresh hope of picking the trail up again.
“The sun is coming up, My Lord. Why don’t we find some place to shelter for a while, and get our minds clear, before we head back out,” Benedict suggested. The older man looked utterly worn out, his face deathly pale and his eyes shot through with thread veins of red.
Christian grimaced. “And where would we find shelter? There is nothing but woodland as far as the eye can see.”
Benedict shrugged. “We could go back to the road?”
“No. I am not leaving this godforsaken place until I have found Victoria. I will not rest, I will not pause, I will not stop until I know she is safe. And if that means riding around this wilderness for the next week, then so be it.”
Benedict laughed unexpectedly. “You really do love her, don’t you?”
