Page 29 of A Duke in Pursuit of Passion
If he has not been hurt or maimed or worse,she thought several times, shivering at the thought of what these kinds of men would do to someone like her Joshua. In fact, she was surprised so far that they had not hurt her more. Save for dragging her into the carriage with her mouth covered and a little shoving, they had left her unharmed.
And every time she heard the guard at the door disappearing down the tavern stairs, she would drop onto her knees beside the door and try to use the nail again, hoping to pop the lock even though she really had no idea what she was doing.
The raucous sounds coming from all around the tavern aided her escape. Men were laughing and calling out, and women were giggling and screaming, though she thought that the screams were not at all the kind she would have used were she to be grabbed again as she had been in her room at the inn where she had been staying with Joshua.
In fact, most women sounded like they were having fun rather than being abused. And yet, the sounds still made her cringe.
Just when Louisa thought her plan to open the lock was an utter failure, having tried several times, she felt it beginning to give. One more second, and she had it unlocked, taking a moment of silent celebration before she jumped to her feet and shoved the nail back into her bust just in case she might need it again. It was such a little thing and nothing like a real weapon, but one never knew when it might come in handy.
Grabbing the door handle, she pulled it open just a crack and looked this way and that down the hall. When she was certain there was nobody about, she pulled the door open just a little further and slipped out, holding her breath when one of the floorboards creaked beneath her foot.
Trembling with fear and anticipation, Louisa crept towards the staircase where she remembered the thugs dragging her up days earlier, hoping it would be as clear as it had been when they arrived that day.
All would be well if she could just get down those stairs and get to some kind of safety.
The door ahead of her was ajar, and within the room she caught sight of movement, making her stop dead in her tracks. A man she recognised as the landlord, who the thugs had been very chummy with when they arrived, stepped close to the door, and though Louisa thought he had laid eyes upon her, he did not pull it open to stop her. Instead, he slammed it closed, and the next thing she heard was his yelling, “Get over here, wench, if you know what’s good for you!”
An audible flesh on flesh slap followed soon after accompanied by the sound of hysterical giggling. Maybe if she hadn’t seen how friendly he was with the men who brought her here and locked away, she might have pounded on his door for help or even for the help of whoever owned the feminine giggling.
Instead, she got the sense that there was no help to be had in this place. No, she had to make it out of the tavern, inn, or maybe even the brothel she found herself in and plead for help elsewhere. Wherever they were, there had to be someone willing to help the daughter of an English nobleman. At least, she hoped so.
Oh, Joshua, where are you?she thought, hoping that once she was free of the building, she might actually run into him on his way to find her. With every step closer to the ground floor that she came, she began to feel her heart beating faster, hope soaring as she imagined what it would be like to finally feel sunlight on her face again after so many days with the windows shuttered so that she could not even gaze at the outside world.
Then, just as she reached the bottom of the stairs, right as she turned to hurry down the next hallway, she felt someone slipping out of the darkness at the foot of the stairs.
“And just where do ye think ye goin’?” came the snide tone in her ear as she was grabbed around the waist. A second pair of hands latched onto her wrists the second she started to fight back, and in the near darkness of the hallway, she tried to scream only to feel another hand fall over her mouth, catching any sound she could make.
“Get her back up the stairs,” came a fourth voice, one that Louisa had never heard before, and bile rose in the back of her throat as she found herself wondering just how many people were involved with whatever the hell this was. “And this time, tie her up. She’s not worth anything if she escapes or does herself any harm!”
And just like that, the true weight of her situation slammed down on top of Louisa. No matter how much she fought, she was no match for three thugs ordered by a man who sounded even larger than the three of them.
Soon she found herself slammed into a wooden chair, her arms tied down with ropes that scratched her skin and threatened to cut her the moment they touched her.
“Why are you doing this?” she questioned. “What did I ever do to deserve this?”
She opened her mouth to continuing questioning, only to have a dirty piece of rag shoved into her mouth. And it was then that she finally realised her captors had finally lost their patience with her. And one question rang over and over in her mind,what is going to happen to me?
Chapter 18
The news that Ella woke to the next morning was beyond horrendous. She had barely risen from her bed, Alice slipping on her dressing robe while they sorted out her bird’s nest of hair when there was a raucous banging knock upon the door as though somebody was in a hurry to speak with her.
“Come in!” Ella called, though the moment the door opened, she regretted it.
Just seeing Lord Rolfe’s face after what had happened the night before caused her cheeks to flush red hot, and her insides fluttered. A small flame of anger mixed with desire burned in her stomach, and the urge to yell at him to get out of her bedroom was only swallowed by the fact he was holding an envelope in his hand.
“What is that?” she exclaimed, jumping to her feet to hurry over to him, clutching her dressing robe tighter to protect her modesty if she had any left after allowing him to half disrobe her the night before. Her skin trembled when she thought of how it had felt to have his fingertips brushing over her, how it had felt like an energy shock when his fingers had touched her nipple.
Closing her eyes for just a second, she sucked in a deep breath to steady herself and quickly came to decide that what had happened was better left in the past. At least, for now.
“A telegram arrived. I believe it is from your mother.”
“Well, why didn’t you say so?” Ella exclaimed, snatching the envelope from him to rip it open before he could say anything else. She pulled out the telegram and began to read, absolutely horrified by what she saw.
With every sentence she gasped, feeling her heart skip another beat and wishing she had been sitting down when she opened it. Now she was frozen to the spot, unable to move, fearing her knees might buckle beneath her.
“Do not hold us in suspense!” Lord Rolfe insisted, his hands tightened into fists at his sides. “What news is so awful that all the colour has drained from your face? Is it your father?”
“No, no!” Ella said, only able to feel a little relief. “Mama says that my father is making a full recovery, but he is still very delicate, and the next news she has to give me might very well send him spiralling back again.”
