Page 13 of Rescuing a Tantalising Heiress
The Duke of Burlington was an elderly man, though noble in his looks, with white hair, hazel eyes—like Isabella herself—and a tall, athletic build. He looked exhausted, as though he had not slept, and at the sight of Isabella, he let out a cry of relief as she rose to her feet and hurried to embrace him.
“My darling child, how thankful I am to see you. Oh, but what wickedness you’ve endured,” he exclaimed as Isabella clung to him, fighting back the tears in her eyes.
It had been she who had been anxious as to his return home, fearing the worst, but his own suffering had surely been more pronounced—returning to find his only daughter missing and the house in an uproar.
“Father, I was so scared, but I escaped from them. I didn’t know what to do, but Edward…the viscount took me in. He and his sister have been so kind to me,” Isabella exclaimed, blushing at her over-familiarity.
Her father turned to Edward and held out his hand.
“I owe you a debt of gratitude, sir. If it hadn’t been for you…” he said, his words trailing off, even as those gathered knew precisely what was meant by the unspoken possibility.
Edward shook Isabella’s father’s hand but looked somewhat embarrassed.
“Really, your Grace, it was nothing. I merely answered the door to a young lady in terrible distress—at least…my butler did. We did what any decent people would do. Such terrible wickedness. But tell me, how did you come to arrive here so swiftly? I only sent the stable hand out with the message for you a few hours previously,” Edward replied.
“Ah, you should reward the boy—as I have done. He met me on the road and recognized the crest on my carriage. In desperation, I’d set out in search of Isabella. I didn’t know what else to do, and the boy hailed us, delivering the message, to my immense relief. We came at once,” the duke said.
Isabella was filled with relief. Her father would take her home, and there she would be safe. This horrible ordeal would be behind her, though Isabella knew her life would never be the same again. She would be forever wary of going out alone, and there would certainly be no more midnight walks for Caesar.
“What happened at home, father?” Isabella asked as they sat down together at the viscount’s behest.
Her father shook his head.
“Anne was in hysterics when I arrived home. She came rushing into the hallway carrying Caesar in her arms. She informed me that someone had taken you. It took a while to get any sense from her, but eventually, I did. I discovered you’d gone out to walk to the folly in the middle of the night,” the duke said, raising his eyebrows and causing Isabella to blush.
She knew she had been foolish to go out alone, though she could never have predicted such a terrible fate befalling her. As a child, Isabella had played freely on the grounds and the gardens of her father’s estate, roaming across the parklands without any sense of concern for her safety. Her father had never forbidden her from doing so, and it had not occurred to her to fear the darkness of the previous night, or to imagine anyone lying in wait for her.
“I was waiting for your return, Father. I couldn’t sleep. Caesar was excitable—he thought it was time for a walk, and so that’s what we did. I never imagined any danger,” Isabella said.
Her father reached out and took her hand in his. He smiled at her with a look of relief on his face.
“It’s all right, Isabella. I’m just relieved you’re all in one piece. It’s been a terrible ordeal for you. I can’t imagine what you’ve been through. Your poor face is all cut and bruised—what happened?” he said.
Isabella sighed. She had already recounted the events of the previous night to Augusta and Edward, respectively. Reliving them was unpleasant, even as she knew her father needed to know everything that had happened. She glanced at Edward, who gave her a reassuring look.
“It’s all right, Isabella—take your time,” he said.
“She’s exhausted, the poor thing,” Augusta said, also looking sympathetically at Isabella, who took a deep breath, and now recounted all she could remember of the previous night’s ordeal.
The duke listened patiently, though with a shocked expression on his face, as Isabella explained how she had taken Caesar for a walk to the folly, where she was set upon by the men, the kidnappers, who had dragged her through the shrubbery to the waiting carriage.
She told him about the carriage ride, how her wrists had been bound, and she had heard talk of taking her to whoever it was who had ordered her kidnapping. When she got to the moment of her escape, her father’s eyes grew wide with astonishment.
“You took them on like that? My brave child!” he exclaimed, and Isabella smiled.
“What other choice did I have? I knew I had to get away from them, and it was my only opportunity to do so. If it hadn’t been for the horses, I’d never have escaped. They charged like the Gadarene swine—I was terrified, but I preferred my chances with them than the kidnappers.
They kept going for what seemed like hours, though it can’t have been for that long—though long enough to get away from those men,” Isabella said, recalling her ordeal in the back of the carriage, thrown this way and that by the runaway horses, who had surely only halted due to exhaustion.
Her father shook his head.
“I should’ve been there. I should’ve protected you,” he said, but Isabella squeezed his hand.
“What could you have done? Those men were sent to kidnap me, and that’s what they did. Your being there wouldn’t have helped. My impression was that they intended to break into the house and snatch me from my bed. I walked straight into their trap.
But I’m safe now, and thank goodness, I ended up here. I was worried I was walking into the jaws of death—I feared this might even have been the place the kidnappers intended to bring me,” Isabella said, glancing at Edward, who smiled.
“Fear not, Lady Isabella. You were always to find yourself amongst friends,” he said, and Isabella smiled back at him.
