Page 68 of A Duke's Scandalous Obsession
“Tonight?” she gasped again. “And you still won’t contact the constable?”
“No,” he shook his head. “Timothy advised us against it.”
“Are you sure about that?” she asked apprehensively. “I feel like all this is just too much. The constables could come and sort everything out. We might not even have to pay him, and we’ll assure that Annabel and Rosie are all right.”
“You can’t know that,” he shook his head solemnly. “You don’t know these people, Catherine. They are… desperate, and sometimes desperation drives people mad. It makes them oblivious to anything and everyone else. If he sees a constable, if he suspects even the slightest of things, that could mean that Reginald will never see Annabel and his child again.”
Catherine gasped. “Do you really think so?”
“I don’t mean this as a bad thing, Cate,” he said, much more softly this time. “But you and your brother have lived a sheltered life because you had each other. I was also fortunate enough to have my aunt. But Timothy… he lost his brother to such people.”
“He did?” Catherine asked, aghast at what she had just heard.
“Yes,” Dominic nodded. “It... broke him. It broke them all, him and his parents.”
“What happened?” Catherine asked, but she wasn’t certain if she wanted to know.
Dominic paused for a moment, as if he could read her mind, and was waiting for her to decide on her own whether she truly wished to hear the story.
“Tim’s family had always been wealthy,” Dominic started. “Beyond wealthy and with direct lineage to the royal family.”
“Really?” Catherine’s eyes widened in surprise. “I would have never guessed.”
“He never speaks of it,” Dominic clarified.
“He is actually a very private person, and he became even more so after what happened to his brother. You see, two men, desperate men, such as George Thompson kidnapped Tim’s younger brother, Samuel. He was thirteen when it happened. He was taken from his carriage one sunny afternoon in the middle of the street. No one lifted a finger to help a screaming boy. No one knew where he had been taken. All that was known was that he was kidnapped.”
“My goodness… poor Tim,” Catherine gushed sadly.
“Two days later, a letter arrived, demanding an insane amount, which, of course, Timothy’s father was ready to pay at once,” Dominic continued. “The called the constables, and they assured them everything would be all right, that they did the right thingby involving the law into the whole affair. As it turned out… it was the worst thing they could have done.”
“Why?” Catherine asked, although she was even more afraid to ask now than she was before.
“Because the two men found out about the constables,” Dominic's story went on. “They left a note at the delivery place. They didn’t want to get caught. The note stated that they didn’t want the money any longer, and where to find Samuel.”
“So, they rushed to find him, no?” Catherine asked, breathless.
“You would think that,” Dominic replied. “But no. You see, the note was found several days later. By the time they found Samuel, nine days had already passed since the day he had been kidnapped.”
“Oh, no… no…” Catherine shook her head, her hand pressed to her lips.
“They were in time to bring him home, exhausted and feverish,” Dominic explained. “But Samuel had been born with breathing difficulties. So, being kept in a hole for nine days, with no food or water given to him for the last several days, left him on the brink of death. And the night that he was brought home, he passed away peacefully, in his own bed. Tim said that he simply fell asleep and didn’t wake up.”
“Oh, goodness…” Catherine burst into tears, and Dominic immediately wrapped his arms around her.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have told you the story.”
“No, no,” she shook her head. “I wanted you to tell me. You can’t shelter me from the hardships of the world and from evil people.”
“But I want to,” he said, cupping her chin. “I am your husband and I love you. I will give my life to keep you safe.”
“Oh, Dominic,” she gushed, as tears rolled down her face.
“You see, that is why Tim is so against the law being involved, as they don’t really care about the people involved,” Dominic continued.
“He is afraid that the same thing might happen again. He hasn’t said it in those exact words, but I know him well. There is a child involved here, and he is worried about her more than he is letting on. He fears that if George finds out, he might choose the coward’s way out and just disappear again, without telling us where Annabel and Rosie are. If that happens… I’m afraid we will never be able to find them.”
“No, no,” Catherine shook her head. “We can’t allow that to happen.”
