“Thank you, Father,” Gwendolen replied with a light blush on her cheeks. As the breakfast was served, they talked ideally of the day. Dark clouds could be seen off the coast and they all agreed that any outing would need to be cut short.
“I also promised Lord Sergio and Sir Roberts that I would join them in the tavern tonight to discuss matters of business,” Lord Murphy added.
“Are you sure, darling? I should hate to think you’d be forced to spend the night at the tavern if a strong storm did come to land,” Lady Murphy said, concern clear in her voice.
“Fear not, my dear. I will not go if a storm is imminent. But I do believe it would be a fun outing for myself, since I do not have much in common with young ladies,” Lord Murphy said, causing them all to chuckle.
As the day progressed, Gwendolen and Caroline went down to the beach together while Lord and Lady Murphy relaxed on the veranda. They spotted plenty of seashells but figured they had already collected enough to last a lifetime. All the while, they watched the storm building on the horizon and felt a cool wind sweeping across the beach.
“Come, we should return to the house. These sea storms can come upon shore quite suddenly. Even though the clouds are still far away,” Gwendolen said as she took Caroline’s hand and led her back towards the house.
As they passed the small fissure in the stone wall, Caroline couldn’t help but blush at the thought of what she’d experienced with William the evening before. How she wished she could join him right now and feel his bare body pressed up against hers.
The moment they stepped through the open doors of the house, rain began to fall heavily from the sky. Caroline quickly closed the door behind them as a cold breeze rushed into the house. She was surprised by how furious the rain was as it pounded against the windowpane, filling the house with the sound of its onslaught.
“My word, I don’t believe I shall venture out this evening,” Lord Murphy said as the young ladies joined the older couple on the other side of the drawing room.
“These rains rarely last long,” Lady Murphy said in an encouraging voice. “There may still be hope yet.”
“Either way, the roads will be impassable with water and mud. The gentlemen shall have to wait till tomorrow afternoon,” Lord Murphy decided as he returned to looking at his newspaper.
Eventually, the rains became so thunderous that candles were lit in the room and a small fire was built up in the chimney. Gwendolen and Caroline decided to play cards to pass the time. All the while, Caroline couldn’t help but think about William and how he was faring at the tavern. He hoped that he was safe and out of the weather, with a warm room and plenty of good food to eat.
“I am sad that Lord Sergio will be leaving England in a few short weeks,” Gwendolen mentioned during their card game.
“Have you two spoken about the state of your relationship?” Caroline asked, making sure to keep her voice low so that her friend’s parents wouldn’t be able to hear them.
“We have,” Gwendolen said with a bright smile on her face. “Lord Sergio promises to write to me. And though it will take weeks for me to receive his letter, I know it will be worth the wait.”
“I certainly understand having to wait for something you want,” Caroline admitted. “I have faith in your relationship.”
After having a light dinner, the weather too treacherous to try to cook anything gourmet, everyone retired early for bed. Caroline couldn’t help but think of William, remaining quiet throughout the meal and taking to her novel that evening to read.
Every time the thunder would sound outside, she would jump with surprise and have to take a deep breath to calm herself. On a night such as tonight, she dearly wished she could feel safe in William’s arms.
Chapter 27
With the sound of the thunder ringing in her ears, Caroline could hardly sleep. She tossed back and forth, trying to focus her mind on anything that would be of comfort to her. She imagined what it had been like to be with William, the heat coming off of his body as they lay together. She thought of the way he kissed her and the pleasures he gave to her body.
Caroline was so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t realize that someone else was in her bedchamber till it was too late. A flash of lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating her surroundings so that she could see the masked person stepping into her room and quickly coming to her bed. She tried to scream, to warn someone of the intruder. But it was far too late. She felt cotton being stuffed into her mouth so that as she screamed, the sound was muffled.
“Now, now, my dear. There is no need for hysterics. Just come along nicely and no one will get hurt,” came a familiar voice as Caroline thrashed in the bed, trying to escape. But he was much stronger than her, pinning her down on the bed so that he could bind her wrists and ankles. Then, as though she was a recently killed deer, the man slung Caroline over his shoulders and made haste in taking her out of the room and down the stairs.
Caroline was beyond frightened as the man left through the open front door, her body pelted with the cold rain as the figure carried her towards a waiting carriage. The only relief she felt was when she was placed inside the carriage and allowed to sit up, the carriage protecting her from the storm outside.
When the figure settled into the carriage across from her, the door was closed and locked before the vehicle was urged forward by the horses. It wasn’t until her capturer lit a lantern and hung it on the side of the rocking carriage that she was able to see for herself who the man was.
Caroline’s eyes went wide as she gazed upon the maddening face of Lord Canton. The rain caused his black hair to stick to either side of his face, his jacket soaking wet as he took it off and tried to shake off the rainwater. All the while, his dark eyes stayed focused on Caroline as she tried to force herself as far away from the man as she could. But with nothing on but a night gown, she found it very hard to shield herself from his prying eyes.
“I really wish I didn’t have to resort to such measures,” Lord Canton said after a while. “But once you refused to marry me, I had little choice. I must have your father’s title and fortunes. Therefore, you shall go with me to Scotland, where I know of a priest who will marry us for a handsome sum.”
Caroline used her bound hands to finally rip the cotton out of her mouth, her anger boiling to the surface. “I will never agree to marry you, Lord Canton. You are a foul man, and you will hang for kidnapping me,” she bellowed.
“That’s the best part of this arrangement, Caroline. The priest will marry us whether you agree to it or not. And once I have an official document saying that we have been married, it won’t matter what you do or say. In fact, I doubt you’ll live very long if you don’t start agreeing to whatever I ask,” Lord Canton said in such a dark voice that Caroline shivered.
“Would you really kill me?” she asked after a while.
“I’ve done a lot of killing to reach where I am today,” Lord Canton said then. “I’ve even paid men to do the killing for me from time to time.”
“You’re a monster,” Caroline stuttered.
“No, Caroline, I am a smart man. There is a grand difference.”
“Once William finds out that I’m missing, he’ll come after me,” Caroline said before she realized she’d spoken before really thinking of his words. Lord Canton stilled as she spoke, his eyes narrowing on her.
“I know it,” he hissed. “I knew that Sir Roberts and William Ryan were the same person. I have no idea how he convinced the King to knight him under a new name, but I knew in my bones that they were one in the same.”
“How does it feel to know that the man you paid off became more of a man than you’ll ever be?” Caroline asked, wanting to really hurt Lord Canton where she knew it would.
“It bothers me very little, Caroline. I have you now and that’s all that matters,” he said.
“But why me? Why can’t you go claim some young woman who would actually want you?”
“Have we not bee
n over this before, Caroline? It’s because there is no challenge in pursuing women that are easy to claim. I’ve enjoyed hunting you for some time, but you’ve always made it rather hard. Having your parents killed was really the only solution I saw. But when you pushed me away instead of clinging to me, I knew I needed to try something different.”
Caroline’s heart seemed to stop in her chest, the air growing thick around her. For a moment, she wondered if she had heard Lord Canton wrong. Could he have really meant to say that he’d killed her parents? Caroline feared fainting but willed herself to stay awake. She didn’t want to fall unconscious in the presence of such a man. She was starting to understand what Lord Canton was capable of and became too frightened to fall into blissful unconsciousness.
“Please, don’t do this,” she whimpered, tears pooling in her eyes.
“Come now, Caroline. It’s not like you to plead or beg. Try to endure the rest of your life with some dignity. It shall be a long journey to Scotland from the coast, so I suggest you get some rest. You never know what might happen next,” Lord Canton said with a smirk, his eyes focusing on her soaked body.
Caroline pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them the best she could. She tried to face away from Lord Canton, but it seemed pointless in a carriage. She wasn’t sure how she managed it, but eventually, she fell asleep.
~*~
The morning hour was very early when William heard pounding on his door. He woke with a start and moved quickly to pull on his trousers. One hand was holding them up while the other opened the door to reveal Lord Murphy on the other side, his face pale and wet from the rain that continued to fall.
“Caroline is gone. It appears as though she was kidnapped,” the older man stammered. William felt his stomach clench and he briefly thought he was going to be sick. He stumbled back into his room, leaving the door open as he finished dressing.
“Any ideas on who?” William asked as he pulled on his boots and tugged on his jacket.
“No. And I fear to speculate regarding anyone in particular. I don’t know if Lord Goldman had any enemies, or if Lord Canton would try to do something like this?” Lord Murphy rambled.
“Lord Canton hired men to sail the open waters destroying other ships and killing men for his own gain. The man is quite capable of kidnapping,” William said, his voice matching the anger that was boiling up inside of him. “He no doubt is heading to Scotland to make things official with Caroline. Then he can gain Lord Goldman’s title and fortune.” William was already walking down the tavern’s hallway in a hurry, Lord Murphy trying to catch up with him.
“This is all a lot of speculation,” Lord Murphy said as they both jogged down the stairs and into the main room of the tavern.
“I’ve been studying Lord Canton for years, ever since he paid me off to leave Caroline alone. If anyone knows him better, I’d be very much surprised,” William said over his shoulder as he stepped outside to feel the rain still falling from the sky. However, it felt lighter than the day before. William made haste to the stables, with Lord Murphy rushing to stay close to him. William saddled his horse as soon as he could and mounted with nothing more than the clothes on his body.
“What are you going to do?” Lord Murphy asked.
“I will ride north and try to catch up to them. You should remain at home to see if you can find any sign of Caroline close by. Send Lord Sergio in another direction just in case,” William explained. “I will bring her back, I promise.”
“Here, take this,” Lord Murphy said as he removed a small pistol from his pocket and handed it to William. “It is not much, but I’d feel better knowing you had a weapon on you.”
William pocketed the gun with a nod, then steered the horse out of the stables. Once they were on the open road, he flicked the reins and sent his horse into a gallop as he leaned over the animal’s neck, wanting to shorten the distance between him and wherever Caroline was.
Fear, anxiety, and worry coursed through William’s body as he urged his horse forward at an alarming rate. Rain washed down his face as he blinked back the water, needing to see as clearly as possible. The road was wet with puddles and William knew that riding in these conditions was risky. But knowing that Caroline was no longer safe was all that William needed to take such a risk.
William paid no attention to his own needs as the day progressed. He pushed back any feeling of hunger and licked the water from his lips to quench his thirst. His horse heaved with exhaustion, yet he never let his steed slow his pace. He had to find Caroline at any cost, even if his horse were to die in the process.
Up in the distance, William could see a strange sight. A carriage had become lodged in the mud, two of its wheels appearing to be beneath the rainwater as it sat cantered on its side.
If William hadn’t been in such a rush, he would have stopped to help the people. It was only the sight of a man with black hair trying to help free the wheel that caused William to pull on the reins of the horse to immediately stop the beast.
“Where is she?” William shouted as he leapt from his horse and pulled out the pistol, aiming it at Lord Canton. His two footmen and driver turned to see what the commotion was about, and once they saw the pistol, they turned and fled.
“Come back, you cowards!” Lord Canton bellowed. But his attention was quickly brought back to William as he stepped forward, the pistol still in his hand.
“Release Caroline, or I will take your life,” William said then, eager to make this man suffer for all the sorrow he had caused.
“You don’t have the guts to do it, William Ryan. That’s right, Caroline let it slip who you really are,” Lord Canton hissed with delight. “And once we are married, I shall have the papers announce your true background.”
“You are not taking her anywhere. Your carriage is lodged in the earth and your servants have abandoned you. Now, for the last time, release Caroline to me,” William said as he cocked back the firing pin of the pistol and aimed it as Lord Canton’s torso.
“People will want to know why you killed an earl, William. No matter the fact that you are knighted, the people will want justice for my death.”
“Your death is imminent, Lord Canton. The King already knows what you’ve done, the people you’ve hired to privateer, and the dozens of ships you’ve played a hand in destroying.” Lord Canton’s eyes went wide at William’s words, even causing him to take several steps back towards the carriage.
“You know nothing of what you speak,” Lord Canton stammered, rainwater running down his face like a river.
“I know everything about you, Charles. I used every penny of your money to ensure I not only knew who you were, but also your business dealings. I made a fortune for myself through business and became a hero to the English after joining the Navy. I’ve spent the last three years ensuring that you’d never get the opportunity to be with Caroline. And the best part was that you had no idea.”
The fear in Lord Canton’s eyes soon turned to rage as they narrowed at William. The man let out a terrifying yell as he raised his hands over his head and ran towards William, causing him to stagger back and fire his pistol at the last second. The sound of the gun firing pierced the air, causing Lord Canton to halt and grow quiet. Eventually, both men looked down at Lord Canton’s stomach, where a large, red stain was forming. A moment later, Lord Canton sagged to his knees and ended up face-first in the mud.
When Lord Canton didn’t move a muscle, William pocketed the pistol and walked around him, quickly opening the carriage door to find Caroline huddled in the corner. He reached his hand out towards her, saying her name softly till she felt safe enough to move towards him. It was then that he realized that her ankles and wrists were bound.
“Oh, William! I was so frightened,” she wept as he stepped up into the carriage and started to work on the cords binding her.
A Lady's Passion Knows No Distance: A Historical Regency Romance Book Page 24