Chapter 2

Godric St. Laurent, the twelfth Duke of Essex, leaned back in his saddle watching the abduction he'd orchestrated unfold. Covering his mouth with a gloved hand, he stifled a yawn. Things were going smoothly. In fact, this entire kidnapping bordered on the point of tedious. They'd intercepted the coach ten minutes before it reached Chessley House. No one witnessed the escort of riders or the driver changing his route. Oddly enough, the young woman hadn't shown any signs of resistance or concern from inside the coach. Wouldn't she have made some protestations when she realized what was happening? A thought stopped him dead. Had she somehow slipped out of the coach when they'd slowed on a corner before they'd left town? Surely not, they would have seen her. Most likely she was too terrified to do anything, hence the silence from inside. Not that she had anything to fear, she would not be harmed.

He nodded to his friend Charles who was perched next to the driver. A bag of coins jingled as Charles dropped it into the jarvey's waiting hands.

They had reached the halfway point between London and Godric's ancestral estate. They would go the rest of the way on horseback, with the girl sharing a horse with either him or one of his friends. The driver would return to London with a message for Albert Parr and a wild story that exonerated himself from blame.

"Ashton, stay here with me." Godric waved his friend over while the others rode the horses a good distance away to wait for his signal. Abductions were tricky things, and having only himself and one other man take hold of the girl would be better. She might have a fit of hysterics if she saw the other three men too close.

He rode up to the coach, curious to see whether the woman inside matched his memory. He'd seen her once before from a window overlooking the gardens when he'd visited her uncle. She'd been kneeling in the flowerbeds, her dress soiled as she weeded. A job more suited to a servant than a lady of quality. He'd been ready to dismiss her from his mind when she'd turned and glanced about the garden, a smudge of dirt on the tip of her upturned nose. A butterfly from a nearby flower had fluttered above her head. She hadn't noticed it, even as it settled on her long, coiling auburn hair. Something in his chest gave a funny little flip, and his body had stirred with desire. Any other woman so innocent would not have caught his interest, but he'd glimpsed a keenness in her eyes, a hidden intelligence as she dug into the soil. Miss Emily Parr was different. And different was intriguing.

Ashton handed the driver the ransom letter for Parr and took up a position near the front of the coach. Taking hold of the door, Godric opened it up, waiting for the screaming to start.

None came.

"My deepest apologies, Miss Parr" Still no screaming. "Miss Parr?" Godric thrust his head into the coach.

It was empty. Not even a fire-breathing dragon of a chaperone, not that he'd expected one. His sources had assured him she would be alone tonight.

Godric looked over his shoulder. "Ash? You're sure this is Parr's coach?"

"Of course. Why?" Ashton jumped off his horse, marched over and thrust his head into the empty coach. He was silent a long moment before he withdrew. Ashton put his finger against his lips and motioned to the inside. A tuft of pink muslin peeped out from the wooden seat. He gestured for Godric to step away from the coach.

Ashton lowered his voice. "It seems that our little rabbit chase has turned into a fox hunt. She's hidden in the hollow space of the seat, clever girl."

"Hiding under the seat?" Godric shook his head, bewildered. He didn't know one woman of his acquaintance who would do something so clever. Perhaps Evangeline, but then if anything could be said of that woman, it was that she was far from ordinary. A prickling of excitement coursed through his veins, into his chest. He loved a challenge.

"Let's wait a few minutes and see if she emerges."

Godric looked back at the coach, impatience prickling inside him. "I don't want to wait here all night."

"She'll come out soon enough. Allow me." Ashton walked back to the coach and called out to Godric in a carrying voice. "Blast and damnation! She must have slipped out before we took charge of the coach. Just leave it. We'll take the driver back to London tomorrow." Ashton shut the door with a loud slam and motioned for Godric to join him.

"Now we wait," Ashton whispered. He indicated that he would guard the left coach door while Godric stationed himself at the right.

***

Emily listened to the drum of retreating hooves and silently counted to one hundred. Her heart jolted in her chest as she considered what the men would do if they caught her. Highwaymen could be cruel and murderous, especially if their quarry offered little. She had no access to her father's fortune, which left only her body.

Icy dread gripped Emily's spine, paralyzing her limbs. She drew a breath as anxiety spiraled through her.

I must be brave. Fight them until I can fight no more. With trembling hands, she pushed at the roof of the seat, wincing as it popped open. Once she climbed out, she brushed dirt from her gown, noticing some tears from the rough wood on the inside of the seat. But the tears held no importance. All that mattered was survival.

Emily looked out the coach window. Nothing stood out in the darkness. Only the faint glimmer of moonlight touched the road with milky tendrils. Stars winked and flickered overhead, pale lights, distant and cold. A shudder wracked her frame, and Emily hugged herself, wanting so much to be at home. She missed her warm bed and her parents' murmurs from down the hall. It was a comfort she'd taken for granted. But she couldn't afford to think about them, not when she was in danger.

Were the men truly gone? Could it really be this easy?

She opened the coach door, and stepped down onto the dirt road. Strong arms locked about her waist and yanked her backward. The collision with a hard body knocked the breath from her lungs. Terror spiked her blood as she struggled against the arms that held her.

"Good evening, my darling," a low voice murmured.

Emily screamed once, before she bit down on the hand that covered her mouth. She tasted the smooth leather of fine riding gloves.

The man roared and nearly dropped her. "Damn!"

Emily rammed an elbow backwards into her attacker's stomach and began to wrestle free until he grabbed her arm. She swung about, striking him across the face with a balled fist. The man staggered back, leaving her free to dive inside the coach.

If she could get to the other side and run, she might stand a chance. She scrabbled towards the door, but never made it. The devil surged into the coach after her. Turning to face him, she was knocked flat onto her back.

She screamed again as his body settled over hers.

The dim moonlight revealed his bright eyes and strong features.

He caught her flailing wrists, pinning them above her head. "Quiet!"

Emily wanted to rake his eyes out, but the man was relentless. His hips ground against hers and panic drove her to a new level of terror. Her fears of being forcibly taken surfaced as his warm breath fanned over her face and neck. She shrieked, and he reared back away from her, as though the sound confused him.

"I'm not going to hurt you." His voice vibrated with a low growl, ruining any promise his words might carry.

"You're hurting me now!" She yanked her arms uselessly against his hold.

The man eased off her somewhat, and Emily took her chance. She tucked her knees up, and with all the power she could summon, she kicked. Her attacker stumbled out the open door and fell onto his back. Emily barely registered that he was winded before she turned and exited the other side of the coach.

The moment she emerged, another man lunged for her. To escape him, Emily fell back against the side of the coach. Rather than grab her, he held his arms wide to keep her from slipping by him, like he was corralling livestock.

"Easy, easy," he purred.

Emily whipped her head to the left and pleaded with her mind to think, but the man she'd bitten rounded the corner and pounced, pinning her against the coach, his arms caging her in. His solid muscular body towered over her. His jaw clenched as though one move from her would trigger something dark and wild. Emily's breath caught, and her heart pounded violently against her ribs.

The man was panting and angry. The intensity of his eyes mesmerized her, but the second he blinked, the spell broke and she fought with every bit of strength she could muster.

"Cedric, I need you!" The man shouted over his shoulder.

One of the riders trotted over holding a silver flask in one hand. Emily redoubled her efforts to escape and stamped on the instep of her captor's boot. But it was too late. The man held the flask to her lips and, when she didn't open her mouth, he pinched her nose, and she was forced to part her lips for breath. Vile, bitter liquid streamed down her throat. She gagged but swallowed.

The bitter taste in her mouth made her shudder violently, and a wave of dizziness swept through her, blurring her vision. The ground beneath her feet seemed to spin. A frightening deadness stole through her arms and legs, and she weakened against the man who still held her. Perhaps if she feigned unconsciousness here for a moment, got her breath back and cleared her head she could fight

The man with the flask stepped back and Emily let her body go limp. Her captor kept his arms around her waist and shoulder, locking her to his body. Emily drew a breath, slow and shallow so as to not attract attention. The man who held her waited as someone dropped a cloak onto the grass before he gently set her down on it. Then he stepped away to talk to his companions. She had counted five all together before she'd had to shut her eyes.

Emily did her best to lay still and breathe shallowly as she listened, but it was hard to fight the panic that rioted within her and the fog that slowly descended on her vision. Every instinct screamed for her to flee, but she remained still, praying they'd turn their attention away from her just long enough for her to rise and run.

She heard a man's voice above her. "Well, that wasn't too hard."

"I say, is that a gypsy child? I thought we were abducting a fine young lady of the ton?" Another laughed.

Emily fought the urge to snarl, despite the lethargy of her body. Bloody, arrogant popinjays! The anger felt better than the fear and it gave her a little more energy.

What had been in that flask she'd drunk from? A poison? Nothat made no sense. She'd read of this bitter taste before Laudanum! New anger sparked inside her. She let it flow from her head to her toes, and the illusion of strength built in her bones.

Yet another voice spoke up. "Charles, pay the driver an extra fee for his silence, and Lucien and I will see to the girl." This voice she recognized. It was the man she'd bitten. He and the others appeared to be gentlemen, if you could call them that at all.

After moving in with her uncle, she learned never to trust a man's appearance again. A fine set of clothes did not make someone a good man.

What confused her more was what these rogues wanted with her. Certainly Blankenship hadn't hired them to take her. He would have chosen men of lower standing. The riding glove she'd bitten had been of a fine quality, too fine for common henchmen.

"How long will she be out?" one of the men asked.

"Hard to sayprobably a good hour." She recognized the voice as the one called Cedric. "One of us will carry her back to the manor."

A gentle hand swept Emily's hair back from her face. That same hand drifted down to her neck, caressing her skin before it touched her arm then slid along her waist. Tingles of fear traveled beneath her skin. She fought to keep her breath from quickening, but her heart fluttered wildly. When the hand brushed along her waist, Emily's breath sped up. She was highly sensitive in that particular area, and the feather light dance of fingertips along her body, through the muslin, made her stifle a giggle. She cursed her ticklishness.

The hand withdrew. Then just as suddenly the hand was back, brushing along her waist, still as gently, until she burst into fit of gasping hysterics.

"She's awake!" the captor who had just touched her called out, his voice breathless as though he was fighting off his own laughter.

Emily scrambled to her hands and knees. She'd barely moved when a body tackled her from behind, knocking her back to the ground. What little strength she had left deserted her. His knees trapped her hips, pinning her to the ground. Emily cried out as his weight settled on her. He loosened his grasp enough to let her breathe but not to allow her any freedom.

"Have you got hold of her, Godric?"

Emily lashed out, legs flailing, back arching. "Please! Don't do this, I beg you!" She hated begging, but it was her last chance.

"We won't hurt you, darling." The man on top of her, Godric, ran a large palm along her side, stroking soothingly.

"Liar!"

He tightened his hold as Emily kicked and fought. "I've got her, but be quick, Cedric! She's bucking pretty madly."

Cedric knelt by her head and tilted the flask against her lips, forcing laudanum down her throat. Emily tried to whip her head to the side, but Cedric's other hand covered her mouth, preventing her from spitting out the vile liquid. It was useless to battle against her fate. She let her eyes plead where her mouth could not.

"Sorry, my dear. Truly, I am." The sincerity in Cedric's voice surprised her.

How could sincerity follow such brutality?

He kept the flask at her lips. She swallowed hard and then coughed as it the liquid burned a path through her insides.

Her last sight was of Cedric, his brows creased above his eyes. Her fingers left tracts in the gritty earth of the dark, empty road as she struggled to stay conscious. The musty aroma of soil clouded her nose, mixing with the heavy warmth of the masculine body that pinned her down. Her limbs were heavy. Her eyelids fluttered and she knew she couldn't hold out much longer. Godric gently caressed her body, as though to comfort her, but only confusion and fear followed her into the encompassing blackness.