Page 2 of Rescuing a Tantalising Heiress
One afternoon, Isabella had identified twenty different faults with the design, when compared to actual examples in her books. But now, she stood on the steps, calling to Caesar, who was nowhere to be seen.
“Where are you, Caesar? I can hear you, but I can’t see you. Come along, don’t dawdle. We should be getting back. You know what Anne’s like—she’ll be running across the lawns at any moment in search of us,” Isabella said.
Caesar yelped again, the sound appearing to come from the far side of the folly by the lake. Isabella sighed. She had been far too indulgent of Caesar—he was poorly trained and never came when she called him.
With an exasperated shake of her head, she made her way around the folly, following the line of the wall until she came in sight of the lake. The moon was reflecting on the surface, the ripples casting a path of light across the water. She looked around, calling for Caesar once again.
“Come here, Caesar!” she exclaimed, in what she hoped was a more forceful tone.
But as she spoke, a hand grabbed her, pulling her backwards as three figures emerged from the shadows. Isabella tried to scream, but a foul-smelling rag was pushed into her mouth, her hands pulled behind her back, and the sting of sharp cords binding her wrists together. She struggled, trying desperately to free herself, even as Caesar gave another yelp.
“Hold her. Stop her struggling,” a voice growled.
The cords cut into Isabella’s wrists, and the men had her in an iron grip. Tears welled up in her eyes—she did not understand what they were doing or why they were doing it. Was she being kidnapped? Did they mean to rob her? The men’s faces were obscured, and they leered over her like black shadows, terrifying her as to what they intended to do.
“Where’s the dog? Keep it quiet,” another of the men said.
To Isabella’s relief, a fourth figure, holding Caesar, emerged from the shadows. Her relief turned to fear as the dog barked, and the man struck him hard on the nose.
“Stop your yapping,” he snarled, and Caesar whimpered.
“Where now?” one of the men holding Isabella said.
“Let’s get her to the carriage. We’ll have the whole household roused at this rate. At least she’s made it easy for us—wandering around the grounds like this. I didn’t like the look of the ivy outside her bedroom—we’d never have climbed it. This whole thing is…” he began, but he was interrupted by one of the others.
“Stop your complaining. Think of the money. Now get moving. We’ll soon have her away from here,” he said, and Isabella was dragged into the shrubbery, her hair and cloak catching on overhanging branches as they went.
The rag in her mouth was making her nauseous. She could hardly breathe, and her legs suddenly gave way beneath her. As she collapsed, the two men dragging her let out angry exclamations as Isabella fell to the ground.
“Get that rag out of her mouth. Let her breathe. We’re far enough away from the house now,” one of them said, and the rag was pulled from Isabella’s mouth.
She gasped for breath and sobbed as she tried feebly to fight them off.
“Please…let me go. Why…why are you doing this? I’m the daughter of the Duke of Burlington. You’ll pay dearly for this,” she said, but the men only laughed.
“It’s your father that’ll pay dearly for it. Why else would be doing this?” one of them said, and the others laughed.
Isabella felt faint, and it was all she could do to let out a feeble cry as they dragged her further into the shrubbery. She knew the path well—it was one she had often taken as a child, hiding herself away from her governess and sitting for hours in the depths of the bushes, reading her books, and making up stories about far-off worlds and magical lands. But this was no make-believe, and she felt terrified to think what they were going to do with her.
From the way the men spoke, it had all been planned—a kidnapping, a ransom demand, the threat of something dreadful occurring if her father did not give into the demands of these wicked men. Isabella felt helpless, entirely at the mercy of the four men who continued to drag her through the undergrowth.
I’ll be missed by now. Anne will know something’s wrong,Isabella told herself, reassured by the thought of her maid raising the alarm.
The footmen and other servants would be sent out to look for her, and the road to the village would be searched. If these bandits thought they could get away with kidnapping her, they would surely be sorry.
“They’ll find me, you know,” Isabella said, finding the courage to speak, but the men only laughed.
“You’ll be long gone before anyone knows you’re missing, my lady,” one of them said.
They had emerged from the shrubbery now and come to a place just off the main drive leading to the house. A carriage was standing there, with two black horses at the front, and a fifth man waiting at the reins.
“Put her inside. We need to leave as soon as it’s clear. Did you check the length of the drive?” one of the men said, and the one standing with the horses nodded.
“The gates are still open. The duke’s not back yet. Let’s hope the damaged spoke on his carriage did the trick. It should’ve come off during the journey. He’ll be stuck for hours—or he’ll have to walk back,” he said, laughing as Isabella was dragged into the waiting carriage.
They threw her inside, where she landed hard against the seat, knocking her head and rolling to one side, dazed and in pain.
“Let me go!” she cried out, struggling to sit up and kicking out at the carriage door.
