With the candle in hand, she made her way down the stairs, the sounds of talk and laughter floating from the ballroom down the hall on the ground floor. At the bottom step, she snuffed out the candle and placed it on a table. If her conversation with John did not go as planned, she would return to her room despite the gaiety of the party going on elsewhere.
When she turned, she gasped as she collided with Forbes.
“Forgive me, Miss Hannah,” he said as he placed his hands on her arms. “I did not hurt you, did I?”
“No,” she said with a small laugh as she brought her hand to her breast. “I did not hear you approach.”
His hands left her arms. “Your mother informed me that I will not be needed this evening; therefore, I am on my way to pour myself a small drink and then retire for the night. Is there anything I may get you before I go?”
She shook her head. “No, I believe I have all I need.” She placed her hands on her skirts. “Do you like my gown?” she asked with a wide grin. Then she leaned forward. “Do you see? It matches my new pin!”
“It is as beautiful as you, Miss Hannah,” Forbes said. “It is not a dress nor hairpin that makes it so, but rather what is in one’s heart.”
Hannah sighed at his words. “Thank you.”
He bowed and walked away, and she turned toward the ballroom. With each step, the sounds from within grew louder, and Hannah wondered if John had already arrived. Isabel had not said if he was here or not, only that he had said he would be here. She paused at the door and peered inside.
The room was magnificent, almost as grand as the ballroom at Scarlett Hall. It had brighter white walls and a massive chandelier with dozens of candles in gold holders. Dozens of women in the latest fashions spoke with men in the finest clothing, and her heart warmed when she saw Laurence speaking with another man. He had been a wonderful addition to the Lambert family, even if the truth was that Isabel was an addition to his. Regardless, he was a kind and generous man, and he made her sister very happy.
Her gaze fell on that sister and their mother, who stood speaking together and appeared happier than either of them had been in a long time. They did not remain together long, for Isabel, the ever-attentive hostess, was soon off to chat with other guests.
Then fear gripped her when her eyes fell on a figure beside a table that held a variety of foods. There, standing alone, was Connor Barnet, and images of him accosting her in the alley popped into her mind of their own accord. She was finding breathing difficult, and now she wished she had told Isabel what the man had done. The manner in which he had held her, trapping her like a hound trapping a fox. The memories terrified her as much as they had that day, and she went to move behind a nearby fern only to have him look up and lock eyes with her.
He smiled, and she felt as if his eyes bore into her soul. For a moment she stood there frozen in place as he began to walk toward her, but she somehow found the courage to turn and run away.
She hurried past the stairs and slipped into the servants’ hallway. The area was dark, and she had to run her hands along the walls to make her way through in order to not trip along the way. How did the servants find their way? She could not stop the tears from sloshing over her lashes. What if he saw her enter the otherwise hidden hall? Would he pursue her once again?
The hall led to a door that opened to the small room where the servants rested and ate. It was empty now, as all the servants were otherwise engaged in serving the guests, but she hoped Forbes was still here.
“Forbes?” she called out in a loud whisper. Oh, please be here! “Forbes!” Her toe bumped against something, and she covered her mouth to stifle her cry. Just enough light came in from under the doorway for her to find a long table with heavy wooden chairs settled around it. She made her way toward the door but stopped when she heard footsteps coming from behind her.
A cool breeze washed against her arm, and she turned to see the outline of a door that led outside. Returning down the dark hallway was out of the question; who knew who had followed her? She could either go to the door with light trickling beneath it, which would startle the poor servants and force her to admit she had run when she should have gone straight to Isabel, or she could run outside and wait until the threat left. No one would be outside that she could frighten with her sudden appearance. Whoever was following her—she was certain someone had been following, and more than likely it had been Connor—that person would not believe she would have gone outside alone. Her reasoning made as much sense as a dog riding a horse, but it was the best she could do when her mind was in a panic.
With her heart racing, she slid the door open and slipped out into the chill night. A moon just shy of being full gave enough light to see despite the fact she stood in an alley, and she pressed an ear to the door she had closed behind her. Trying to control her breathing, she listened until she heard the telltale sound of footsteps. Connor had found her!
In a panic, she glanced around her. The alleyway was long and foreboding despite the moon’s attempt to maneuver around the nearby buildings. When the footsteps stopped, she pressed her back to the wall, and counted to twenty before letting out a sigh of relief. Connor must have done as she had expected and gone through the other door. She was safe.
She rubbed her hands over her arms to warm them in the cold night air. Looking first in one direction and then the other, she considered her options. She could chance walking around and reentering the house from the safety of the front door. However, too many shadows hid unknown threats, and furthermore, who would hear her cry for help if she was accosted? None had heard her in broad daylight when Connor had accosted her before! Yet, what if Connor was waiting for her when she returned to the room on the other side of that door?
In that moment, Hannah wanted nothing more than to have John by her side. He would see her protected from any harm, and he would love her like no other man could. However, he was not here, so she took a final deep breath. The safest option was to return to the servants’ room, and once inside, she would alert Laurence and Isabel. She would tell them what he had done before, and they would remove him from the house.
As she turned to head back inside, a figure appeared in front of her. She went to scream, but a hand covered her mouth, and an arm wrapped around her waist.
“Come with me,” a man’s voice whispered in her ear. “Your mother is in danger.”
***
“I am sorry,” John said as he shivered from the cold. “I am sorry for having to approach you in such a manner, but there was no other way. You must understand that I love you, and nothing will stop me from telling you so.”
He let out a sigh and shook his head in frustration at his words. “Let me try again.” He cleared his throat. “I am nothing without you. A former rogue who has been set free from his foolishness by you. Do you understand? I cannot allow you to not hear what my heart feels for you.”
He groaned and pressed a hand to his forehead. He sounded like a fool! He began his harried pacing once again from his place across the street from Laurence’s townhouse, where he had been for the past ten minutes trying to build up the courage to approach Hannah. However, each attempt to speak the words sounded more awkward than the prior, and he did not know what to do. He had only one chance to make things right with Hannah, and he would not fail!
As each moment passed, he grew colder and realized that he needed to speak with her whether his words were foolish or not. Therefore, resigning himself to the fact that his words would not be any more elegant with more practice, he straightened his coat and began what seemed a great distance to cross the street.
Halfway, his feet gave pause as two figures emerged from the alley that snaked between Laurence’s townhouse and the one belonging to the neighbors. The woman in the blue dress was no doubt Hannah, and an older man held her hand. They moved quickly as they turned and hurried away from him, and his heart filled with dread.
He was too late. Hannah had been driven into the arms of
another man. In her heartbreak, she had made the decision to steal away into the night as a way to ease her pain, and he could not blame her. Yet, she had not mentioned any gentleman who had caught her eye. Therefore, this man had no doubt leapt at the opportunity to gain her trust while she was reeling from her heartbreak over what John had done to her. If that was true, then this man would use her for his own pleasure only to leave her even more heartbroken than before.
The question was, would Hannah, even in sadness, run off with another man, any man? Surely she would not do such a thing, and certainly not so soon after what she had endured. Even if she was hurt, which she most certainly was, would she sneak off into the night during a party where her sister and mother were in attendance? It made no sense no matter how he considered it.
“What will you do?” he asked himself.
Something was not right; he was certain of it. Therefore, he decided to follow the couple. He would follow close enough to not lose sight yet keep his distance so they would not see him. If Hannah had indeed found another man, at least John would have his answer, and he no longer had to rehearse what he would say to her. If she was being taken against her will, he would never allow that to happen.
John had seen the man look over his shoulder more than once, forcing John to scurry to one doorway or another to hide in the shadows. At the next alleyway, John came to a stop and pressed his back to the front wall of the building, hoping they had not seen him. This was the moment, he was certain of it. He would learn if she was a willing accomplice or a hostage.
The moment when he heard Hannah screamed, he realized he had his answer, and John bounded around the corner only to find the alleyway empty. He had waited too long.
He shouted her name, and when no reply came, he cursed himself for not going with his instincts sooner. Now he had no way to find her, and he was certain she was in peril.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Hannah had never been more terrified in all her life. Her heart threatened to leap from her chest as she was led away, and she made an attempt to escape only to have a hand clamped over her mouth once again and she was dragged into the deep shadows of a thick hedge in the alley.
“Hannah!”
She fought against the arm that held her tight. That was John! However, try as she might, she could not break free. Tears ran down her face and her head grew light as the hand covered not only her mouth but her nose, as well. Tears ran down her cheeks. She would die here in this alley, and whatever she might have been able to rectify with John would be gone forever. For he had come to save her! However, her rejoicing turned to torment when he ran past where she stood in the shadows with her captor.
Before she could blink, she was dragged through a narrow space between the hedges, the branches tearing at her gown, pulling at her hair, and scratching the exposed skin on her arms. They came out on the other side in a clearing, her slippers dragging across the grass of the small park she had visited often when she wanted time away from the townhouse.
She managed to glance around and was dismayed to find thick trees and other shrubbery provided concealment, and with the late hour, no one was about who would be able to see her. Her first thought was to scream again when he released her, but the knife he withdrew from his pocket negated that idea.
Her captor removed his hand, and she shivered from cold and fright as she turned to face her assailant. “Why…?”
“I have missed you,” Albert Moore said with a wide grin. “When you sent me that letter, I know it was untrue, for you would never refuse to marry me.”
Hannah wiped the tears from her face, praying that John would think to look in the park. The entrance was on the opposite side, but from where they stood, she could not see it, for the that side of the park was as deep in shadows as their current location.
How had Albert, a man she thought a friend, tracked her down in London of all places? The look in his eyes told her he had an objective, and she was it.
“You said my mother is in danger. Is she safe?” Hannah could not keep her voice from trembling.
Albert nodded. “Your mother,” he said, tapping the breast of his coat, “has many secrets, all of which she wrote down. You never told me your mother was a writer.”
“I did not know,” Hannah said, barely listening as she glanced around for any way to escape. She sucked in her breath as Albert placed a firm grasp on her arm.
“It is true,” he said. “And I know how to protect her.”
This caught Hannah’s attention. “Protect her from what?”
“Secrets,” he replied. “Secrets I am certain she does not wish others to know.” The look in his eyes was that of a madman, and Hannah knew her days were nearing their end. No man such as this made plans to keep a woman such as she alive, at least not long. And she refused to be used. She would take her own life before she allowed him to touch her in that way.
“I know secrets that will destroy her, your sisters, your brother, and everyone else you love.”
The man made no sense whatsoever. “How could my mother being a writer destroy her?”
His laugh made the hair on the nape of her neck stand. “That is nothing compared to what else I know.” Then he told her things that made her stomach churn, things that could not be true. However, if she stated she did not believe, who knew what he would do?
“How will you protect her?” she whispered again.
“Why, by not revealing what I know, of course,” he said, tapping his breast again. This time she heard a deep thumping, as if he had something hidden inside his coat. “You will inform her that it is your desire to marry me, and I, in return, will keep her secrets. It is quite easy, really. What a heroic way for you to save your family’s reputation, would you not say? You leave with me tonight.” He stepped in closer. “I have secured payment for a vicar to perform the ceremony. It was expensive, but well worth the cost. Then we will return together to Scarlett Hall.”
Hannah thought she would bring up every meal she had ever eaten. “I-I cannot marry you,” she said. The man’s smile faded. “I do not love you, and I must return to the party before my mother worries.”
“Your mother will be hurt,” he hissed as he tightened his grip on her arm. “Unless you leave with me, I will see her suffer. I have spent countless hours scouring every corner of Scarlett Hall. Many nights over the last year, I have watched you and Juliet, even your mother, sleep at night.”
How could this be? she thought, her mind whirling at the thought of this man gaining access to her home without anyone knowing. Then horror struck her. “Juliet? Is she…?”
“Safe for now,” he replied, his smile eerie in the light of the moon. “As long as you do as I say, she will remain so. I will ask one last time, and I would answer wisely. Will you leave tonight with me and become my bride?”
What if he was lying? What if he had never been inside her house? Should she ask him to prove what he said?
As if reading her thoughts, he reached into his pocket and produced a bracelet she immediately recognized. “As easy as I have taken this is as easily as I could slip into her room and…” He lifted the knife to show what he would do.
“No!” she gasped as tears streamed down her face. To imagine her mother or Juliet hurt by this man was more than she could bare. “I will leave with you now.”
“Good,” he said. “Once we are wed, we will return to Scarlett Hall where I will rule over the house. I will be the master there…” His ramblings were those of a lunatic, and Hannah cringed as he pulled her to him and pressed his lips to hers.
Disgust and shame rushed through her, and she pushed against his chest with her hands.
A low groan erupted from his throat. “Do not…”
A light rustling caught their attention, and Hannah turned to see a man emerge from the shadows.
“John!” she cried.
Albert made to grab her, but at the last minute, Hannah turned and leapt to her side, the knife whizzing past her, m
issing her cheek by mere inches.
“Hannah, leave!” John shouted, running toward them as Albert grabbed at her arm once more. It was in that heartbeat that Hannah realized how much she loved John.
Albert, who she thought was a friend, was in fact a man who meant to hurt everyone she loved. It was that thought that replaced her fear with anger, and she brought her foot down as hard as she could onto his.
Albert cried out just as John crashed into him, sending them both to the ground.
“Run!” John shouted as he scrambled to his feet. Hannah’s feet refused to move, and he shouted at her again, “Go! Get help!”
Albert struck John in the jaw, causing him to stumble back with a grunt, and Hannah turned and ran, not only for her life, but for that of John, as well. The branches tore at her dress, arms, legs, and face, but she did not care. She had to find someone, anyone, to lend aid.
She emerged back in the alley, her breathing painful, but she did not pause. Instead, she ducked her head and ran as fast as her legs would carry her, praying that John would be safe.
As she turned the corner on the street that led to Laurence’s townhouse, she caught sight of two figures ahead.
“Help me, please!” she cried, forcing the words with what little breath that remained.
“Miss Hannah!” Forbes shouted, followed by a cry from her mother as the two came rushing up to her.
“What is wrong?” her mother asked. “Where did you go?”
“John,” Hannah gasped. “He needs help. Albert is hurting him! This way!”
She did not wait to see if they followed her as she rushed back to where the narrow opening between the hedges sat. She forced herself through the branches once again and stopped when she spotted John staring down at Albert who was lying on the ground.
Secrets of Scarlett Hall Box Set: A Clean & Sweet Regency Historical Romance Collection Page 42