“Well, that is a lot better, seeing how you have resorted to fate,” he said with a wicked grin on his face.
She badly wanted him to at least give her a chance to speak but he picked out a book and began to read.
Hot tears flooded down her cheeks. She was supposed to be meeting Christopher that day and now, she was being abducted by an insane man. She knew her family would be really worried.
The more she thought of how this could have happened, the more she realized she could not recall anything. Benjamin had done his worst just like she was afraid he would.
Finally, she gave up and the only thing she was capable of doing was to cry. She had been so stupid to have thought that the letter had come from Christopher.
He would never have asked her to meet her down the road without a chaperone and without telling her parents. But she had been so stupid and had allowed her emotions to control her.
She had been looking forward to seeing Christopher again and the letter said he felt the same way and could not wait to see her as well. That was why he had suggested they quickly meet and discuss about Benjamin. How stupid of her to have fallen for that?
* * *
Lord Benjamin Gibbs, the Baron of Salsbury
He was trying to distract himself by reading but he realized that was not working as well so he lowered the book in time to see Ophelia crying.
“Oh, sweet Ophelia. The fairest of them all,” he said, bending very close to her and putting his arms around her neck to stroke her chin tenderly.
“Ssh!” he hushed. “You are too beautiful to cry, besides, you are only wasting your tears. You should keep it for our wedding night when I shall be taking your maidenhead, joyfully. I have heard that women tend to cry tears of joy on the night of their wedding.”
She stared at him in horror and shut her eyes, more tears flooded.
On an impulse, he wiped the tears with his index finger and stuck the wet finger into his mouth.
“Well, salty and delicious, just as I have heard.”
After this, he leaned back into his former position and looked down at her.
He could feel a sense of pride and ownership surging through him. Ophelia was finally his and there was no one who would change that.
He was going to take her to their old country house where no one knew and he would bind her but feed her everyday, until she would finally accept to be his. He had no desire to torture or to kill her.
Torture would only ruin her pretty face and killing her, was not an option. He loved her too much than to kill her, except if things get worse which he hoped would never happen.
Abducting her was easier than he had thought, many thanks to Luke who had helped him in everything.
The plan was for Luke to dress up like a servant and go to her house that night with a letter from Christopher Crampton. To ask her to meet him alone, in the night.
He had given her a place to come to without a chaperone and not to tell her parents, of course.
Just like he had hoped, she had done exactly that. It did not take Luke a long time to hit her on the head and this has caused her to blackout. Then, Benjamin had brought a carriage and all they had to do was to carry her inside and bind her.
Benjamin knew Christopher was on to him and that was the chance he had taken. He knew that she loved him to the point of doing whatever he said. Why could she not love him in a similar manner?
If it gets to a point of killing her, he would do so and then kill himself. There should not be a life without Ophelia. If he was never going to have her, then no one would!
* * *
Christopher Crampton, Viscount Barrington
He was just tying his cravat in the mirror when the door opened and his sister stepped in.
“I thought you should be on your way to the Campbell’s by now,” she said, sitting on his bed.
“I am but, this letter keeps haunting my thoughts. I think I shall go ask father if he knows anyone by the name,” he said, throwing at her the letter Elias has given him.
Rebecca frowned and opened the letter. “Oh, this is the one you found at Benjamin’s house?”
“Yes, the one his doorman gave me,” he corrected before turning to face her.
“You should ask father, he might know someone that goes by the name. But what do you think this letter means?”
He walked closer and sat beside her. “I think he must have had something to do with the Lindemuth family and it must have been something terrible.
For his doorman to have given me, I have this feeling that he is very frightened of him and he must be counting on me to get him punished what all his wrongdoings. ”
Rebecca shrugged. “Well, I support that he deserves to be punished but I also think you should do whatever you have to do on time, you do not want to be late for the meeting with the Campbells.”
He found his father in his study.
“What are you still doing here?” asked his father. “I thought you would be on your way to the Campbell’s by now.”
“Yes, father. It is amazing how everyone keeps reminding me of that.”
“Well then, why are you not on your way?”
“Well, father I need to ask you if you know any one that goes by the name, Nathaniel Lindemuth?”
His father frowned. “Just only one, the Baron of Helchester, unfortunately he was involved last year in a fatal accident. People said it was a miracle for him to have survived but his wife and two kids did not. He has since then shunned any social event and hardly comes out. Now, why are you asking this?”
“Because, I think Benjamin may have something to do with it,” he replied.
His father threw him a quizzical glare. “And why would you think that? I must admit you are beginning to give Benjamin more credit than he deserved.”
“Father, I know what I’m saying and I am certain of it. His doorman gave me this letter, as if knowing he had something to do with the family.”
He stood up, finally relieved that he just got something on Benjamin.
“You know you cannot do this on your own, son. You need to bring this to the attention of the authorities.”
“I know, father,” he replied, checking the time. He was suddenly excited. “I am finally going to get rid of Benjamin and see to it that he is put behind bars. But first, I need to go to the Campbells and tell Ophelia about this discovery. It will be a great relief for the family.”
“Well, good luck and God speed.”
His carriage halted in front of the Campbell’s cottage. He smiled as the coachman came around to open the door for him.
It has been a while since he came here and he was even more excited when he knew he was coming there for a very important course. He would be seeing Ophelia again, the only lady he truly and deeply cared about.
He walked to the front door but the door opened before he could get to knock.
“My Lord,” said the maid, bowing a little.
“May I come in,” he asked and the maid stepped aside.
He stepped in just in time to see Mrs. Campbell in tears.
“Where could she be? We have searched everywhere for her…” she lamented until she saw Christopher and stood up.
He could not understand. “What is going on?”
“She is missing, Lord Crampton. Ophelia is missing. We have been looking for her since last night. We do not know where she has gone.”
Christopher’s heart sank as he heard this. No, this must be a nightmare.
“I…I do not understand,” he said, walking closer to her. “What exactly happened, please?”
The woman sighed, wiping her face. “She just left her room last night, a letter came for her, or so the maid said. Then she said she needed fresh air, left the house and never came back home. We tried looking for her, my husband has gone to speak with the constables but so far, no one has brought any news concerning my daughter.”
Christopher could feel his heart beating really fast as he heard th
is. This was no coincidence, he thought. This had Benjamin’s fingerprint written all over it.
“I need you to calm down Mrs. Campbell,” he said. “May I ask which of the maids saw her leave?”
“Rosa!” The woman called out and the lady who had opened the door earlier for him came back in.
“Yes Mrs. Campbell,” said the lady rushing in,
“She is the one who saw her,” Ophelia’s mother explained.
Christopher stood up. “Can you describe to me, how the letterman looked like?”
“I could not really see his face, my Lord. But he was big, burly and rough looking,” she explained. “He also had a cigar in his hand.”
When Christopher heard this, his mind went back to the gambling hell. He remembered Benjamin’s friend, the one that he was always talking to. He hardly sat without having a cigar in between his lips.
He faced the mother. “I will find her, Mrs. Campbell. I promise.”
As he went home, his mind was greatly troubled. He had no idea how to start or where to begin from but one thing was certain, he was going to find Ophelia by all means.
Chapter 38
Miss Ophelia Campbell
“This is going to be your room from now on and please, do try not to escape or I shall be forced to tie you up and that is not how I like to picture my bride.”
Ophelia inhaled.
“Why don’t you take a seat?” he asked, pointing to her a seat.
Ophelia walked to the seat and did as she was directed. “Why are you doing this?” she breathed, blinking back tears. She was really tired of crying.
He laughed upon hearing that. “Why am I doing this? Have you not thought about that and come up with the answer?”
“All because I do not want to marry you?”
“Exactly! Do tell me,” he asked, walking closer to her. “How would you feel if you are the one? If you saw someone, fell in love with them and…”
“No, this is not love,” she blurted. “This is something insane.”
He chuckled. “Then maybe I am insanely in love with you,” he added and burst into laughter.
A knock sounded on the door.
“By all, means, please come in,” he said aloud and Ophelia turned to see a middle aged woman coming in with a tray of food.
“Thank you pumpkin,” he said to the woman and collected the tray from her. The woman left and he faced her.
“Here is your dinner, I know you are famished but before you eat, I would love us to have some discussion.”
She sighed but said nothing.
“So, after I proposed to you, did you go ahead to tell Christopher or has he been trying to reach you all this while? I would like to know for I must admit, I was surprised and angry when I realized he was in the picture all over again.”
“I told him,” she lied, protecting her cousin. She did not want him to do anything to her cousin.
“And why did you do that?”
Ophelia straightened up. “Because I never stopped loving him and because you terrified me!” she said, emphasizing each word,
“Well, that is fair enough,” said he. “You are here now and I am certain that within a day or two, you shall understand that you are supposed to be mine.”
“I shall never love you!” she retorted angrily even though she was terrified. “No one can love you with this intolerable, despicable manner. You abducted me and now you want to force my love? It does not work that way. You are psychotic, Benjamin and no one can love you!”
His eyes immediately turned, and she knew she had angered him. Angrily, he threw away the tray of food in his hand and all the content splashed to the floor and on the wall.
“If that is the case,” he groaned, coming closer and putting a hand around her neck. “Then you are going to be here for a very long time!”
* * *
Lord Benjamin Gibbs, the Baron of Salsbury
He angrily walked out of the room and slammed the door behind him. He ran into the maid he had seen earlier.
“Lydia?”
“Yes, my Lord,” said the lady with fear in her eyes. “See to it that the room is properly cleaned and do not give her any more food!”
Lydia nodded and curtsied. After this, Benjamin walked out of the house and into his carriage where Luke was waiting for him.
“Well?” Luke asked, smoking a cigar.
“She made me angry, Luke. I love her to death but she made me angry. I had to tie her back to the chair now she would have no food to eat for two days.”
“No, Benjamin. That is not a good way to treat her. You must be patient and kind to her.”
“I do not care if she loves me anymore, I just want to torture her for choosing Christopher over me all over again. I cannot believe she would do that after everything I did to make sure they stay far apart!”
“Still,” continued Luke. “It will be wrong to starve her to death. Benjamin, tell your maid to prepare another food for her. Have some pity on her and treat her like a gentleman that you are.”
Ben chuckled. “Of course, I am a gentleman and I shall show her that.” Saying this, he shouted, “Lydia!
Minutes later, the maid was coming towards him.
“Give her something to eat!” he said and the maid nodded and left.
Now, he faced Luke. “How long do you think it will take for her parents to realize she is gone?”
“Well, it is almost twenty-four hours since she has been taken,” replied Luke. “I think they already know and they must be doing all they can to find her. Are you certain that no one will find her here?”
Benjamin chuckled. “Of course, I am certain of it. Look around. This place is practically out of the town.”
“What is this place exactly?” asked Luke, glancing around the dark environment.
“Just an old farmhouse that I am certain no one would come by. I was told that my parents used to spend time here, when they were alive.”
“Well,” said Luke, leaving the carriage and mounting his horse. “I shall leave this place soon and I must warn you, be very careful, Benjamin.
“I shall. Thank you, my good friend.”
After this, he watched as Luke bounced away on his horse. Then he turned to go back to the house. He was excited for one reason, Ophelia was in the house. He did not care if she eat or if she did not eat, what mattered was that they were together and what he wanted was for them to be together forever. He thought of what Luke said.
Could they really find him in that place? He shook his head. The next day, he thought, he would make sure to leave the city with his bride. They would go faraway where no one would find them.
* * *
Christopher Crampton, Viscount Barrington
“Lord Nathaniel will be here soon,” said the butler with a bow and went back to his position.
“Thank you,” replied Christopher.
He was in Nathanial Lindemuth’s’s house. Through the help of his father, he was able to get the direction easily. He had also sent him a letter the previous day.
Couple of minutes later, a man who looked old enough to be his father, was wheeled in.
He had several wounds all over his face, most of which were healed and were drying off slowly. His hair was all white and wrinkles plastered his forehead.
On seeing him, Christopher stood up.
“Thank you, Cynthia,” the man said to the servant that had wheeled him in. “You may take your leave now.”
The servant nodded and left. Then the man turned to Christopher.
“My Lord, Christopher Crampton, the last time I saw you was a few years ago. Quite a surprise that you have come to visit me but I must disappoint you, I do not allow strangers in my home. The only thing that made me invite was the content of this letter. Please have your seat.”
“Yes, my Lord. I understand and I appreciate you. But I must ask you, do you think this has anything to do with the unfortunate event?” Christopher asked and sat down.
The man stared blankly into the empty space. “I do not enjoy reliving the most terrifying day of my life but yes, I think it has everything to do with the death of my wife and children. The authorities have been trying for a long time to solve the mystery of the accident for it was discovered it was a set-up. Whoever did it, did a lousy work. However, the constables could not find enough evidence to connect the suspect to the crime.”
“Then you must have suspected someone,” Christopher went on.
A Lady to Redeem a Rakish Lord: A Historical Regency Romance Novel Page 27