Page 141 of If the Slipper Fits
“Where are we going? Can I assume you’re taking me back to Lord Bolton’s London mansion?”
“Keep your mouth shut. I’m tired of answering your questions.”
“Are you so sure Bolton intends to risk incurring Lady Wentworth’s wrath?”
“I said shut up.” Angelique’s voice rose an octave.
“I think he’s more likely to cross you than Lady Wentworth, don’t you? Perhaps you should reconsider your course of action while you still can.”
“Stop. Talking. You have no idea what you’re saying. Bolton is my…” She broke off and sent Anna a cold smile. “He’ll do as I say if he knows what’s good for him.”
What had she meant to say? Bolton was her what?
Anna tried another tack. “I could save you both the trouble. I could pay you whatever amount you name, if you let me go free.”
Angelique snorted in dismissal, but Anna thought she caught a gleam of interest in the woman’s eyes.
“I could give you my mother’s ruby. It’s worth a fortune.”
She saw immediately she had struck a nerve.
Angelique’s face lit with greed and malice. “Myruby. The one you stole. I assumed you’d pawned it. You kept it?”
“Of course. It was my mothers.”
Angelique scoffed. “Stupid little fool.”
Still, she appeared to give Anna’s claim some thought. “Perhaps we could work something out. Where is it?”
She swallowed. It was now or never. “I’m wearing it.”
Angelique’s eyes flicked over her. Her gaze settled on the ribbon tied around Anna’s neck, disappearing into her bodice.
“It’s on a ribbon, tied around my wrist.” She bit her lower lip and scooted on the bench, angling her body purportedly to grant Angelique access to see her wrists, bound behind her. “See for yourself.”
Angelique’s eyes narrowed. She leaned closer. “Move, you stupid cow.”
Anna made another infinitesimal shift, forcing Angelique to bend further still until, finally, she teetered forward. When she could finally make out Anna’s wrists, she grunted in annoyance. “Liar. You’re not wearing any rib—”
Anna shoved off the bench with all her might, jamming her knee into the woman’s midsection.
She heard Angelique’s muffled “Oomf,” and a masculine shout from outside as the two toppled onto the floor.
Then came a loudBang!
Anna grimaced in anticipation of disabling pain from the gunshot as the carriage braked, hard, slamming to a jerking halt, and catapulting Anna atop Angelique.
She wondered if she suffered from shock. Not only had it sounded as if the gun had exploded outside the cabin, she felt no pain aside from her still-aching shoulders.
“Get. Off. Me.” Angelique shouted, their combined skirts muffling the woman’s voice.
Gritting her teeth, Anna fought with every fiber of her being to keep the woman beneath her as she strained toward the door. If she could just nudge the handle with her—
Abruptly, the carriage door swung open wide.
Anna blinked at the sudden brightness, and then Brutus’s broad chest filled the open space, blocking out most of the light.
She sagged in defeat. Her last ditch effort had failed. She cringed as the man reached in, one handed, and with a surprisingly gentle grip, pulled her from the coach.
