Page 51 of Bedding the Marquess
“I should slit your throat right now!” The blade pressed more deeply into Gideon’s neck, and a warm trickle of blood began to soak into his neckcloth.
“No!” shouted the other man. “They want him alive!”
“For now…” He removed the blade and pocketed it. “But that doesn’t mean we cannot have some fun first. Give him what he deserves.”
Immediately, fists began to rain upon Gideon’s head and chest. Still tied to the chair, he was knocked to the floor, unable to stop his head from striking the stones. The momentary blinding, ringing pain was a blessing before he once again felt every blow. A kick landed in his ribs and he heard, as well as felt,the crack of bone. He groaned and grunted, refusing to give them the satisfaction of crying out. It was hell, but he knew he could—he would—weather anything as long as it distracted these men long enough for Oliver to get Caroline to safety.
Chapter Twenty-One
“We wait untilthey come for us,” Caroline whispered. “Someone must come sooner or later; they will not leave us here forever.”
“I will stand off to the side of the door and then strike him over the head with the bucket,” added Emily. It was a weak plan at best, but it was all they had, and the bucket was the only item in the room. They had little to work with and, judging by the ache in Caroline’s abdomen, not a great deal of time to escape to safety.
At least it was a heavy bucket…
Not long after, there was a metallic scrape as the door was unlocked. The women flew to their positions with Emily on the side of the door and Caroline standing before it, but well on the other side of the room to draw the man in. The man who stepped inside was lean and tall—too tall for Emily to properly strike him over the head. Instead, she struck his ear and shoulder. He bellowed in surprise and dropped to one knee.
“Again!” Caroline squealed. “Hit him again!”
Emily flinched but did just that. The second blow landed true and knocked the man face-first to the floor in a heap.
Thunderous footsteps pounded up the hallway. Panicking, Caroline snatched up the bucket and prepared to strike the next man. She didn’t know how long they could fend them off, but they had to try.
The shadow in the doorway grew larger, looming like a nightmarish demon. She began to bring down the bucket to strike, but it stopped dead, jarring her teeth, before it was wrenched from her hands.
“Caroline?”
She opened her eyes to find Oliver, dressed all in black, holding the bucket in one hand and a polished stiletto in the other. And…was thatbloodsmeared on the blade?
With a cry, Emily launched herself into her husband’s arms. Dropping the bucket with a clatter, he crushed her to him and held on as if afraid she might disappear into a puff of mist. The tender sight constricted Caroline’s throat; her nose burned with emotion. The moment was short-lived, however, because another painful band of hot iron clamped down around Caroline’s middle. She whimpered and clutched her stomach, nearly dropping to her knees.
Emily flew to her side. “What happened?”
“The baby,” Caroline moaned as all the pain and fear began to slip past the wall she’d built. “I fell.”
Emily looked up at her husband. “We must take her out of here.”
Oliver scooped Caroline into his arms and she slung her arm around his neck. She tried not to listen as two other men met their deaths at the tip of Oliver’s knives, thrown with deadly accuracy.
Soon, they were out into the misty night and spirited away in a dark carriage that would carry them far from their captors. Emily held Caroline’s hand during their escape, comforting her as each spasm of her womb caused an unholy amount of pressure in her pelvis. She paid no attention to how far they traveled but was relieved when they rolled to a stop and Oliver lifted her out of the carriage. Tears and sweat blurred hervision as Oliver climbed several flights of stairs before she was deposited on a comfortable bed.
“Caroline, this is Dr. McCullom. He is going to see to your care,” Oliver said, staring into her eyes to ensure she understood. Caroline could only nod and turn toward the chestnut-haired man, silently pleading with him to save her baby.
“I will return as quickly as I can,” Oliver said as he stood near the door to the room.
“Please do not leave me again,” Emily begged, clutching the sleeve of his coat with white fingers.
“I must. I have to go back for Gideon.”
Emily reared back. “Gideon? He was there as well? Why would you leave him behind?”
“Because he made me promise to put you and Caroline before him; he made me swear that I would save you at all costs. I would have told him the same if the roles had been reversed.”
Finally, Emily nodded. They shared a deep, passionate kiss before Oliver slipped from the door like a shadow and Emily, with quiet tears falling from her eyes, hurried to Caroline’s bedside.
“What is happening?” Caroline asked her. Both their hands were trembling as they held one another.
“Oliver has gone to retrieve Gideon; they will return soon.”
