by Jenna Hart
This was too much to take in. Her papa had never given her any of this information, never told her anything. She had felt alone, the target of vicious gossip, all because of this, and she had always thought it was something she had done.
Humiliation burned her face.
"I would like to return now, please, Your Grace," Serena said, staring out the window.
For the first time since they had reunited, he did not try to correct her with his given name, instead choosing to pick up the staff beside him and bump the carriage top three times with it, signaling the driver to return them to his home.
Serena rode in silence the rest of the way, lost in her thoughts. She was a pawn, nothing more.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
The carriage arrived in front of the townhouse, and Serena couldn't wait to get out.
Not waiting for the footman, Hadden pushed the door open, stepping down, and turned to offer Serena his hand. She refused and made her way to the steps alone, where Alice met her.
"Oh, I thought something happened to you," Alice said, wringing her hands together.
“It's fine, Alice, I'm here, safe and sound," Serena said.
Serena knew Alice was trying to help, so she smiled at her and continued up the stairs.
Hadden watched as Serena went inside. She had not spoken to him since the last thing she had said in the carriage to him, refusing even to acknowledge his presence. Maybe he shouldn't have told her, not in that exact moment, especially after what had transpired between them.
He knew if she knew the truth, she would go out of her way to stay away from him, hopefully confining herself to her rooms, allowing him to focus on the task at hand and not her safety.
Hadden made his way into the house, checking in to see how Greyson was. He peered into the room and could see Serena's small frame sitting on the side of the bed. Greyson's eyes were still closed, and his breathing was easy, resting comfortably.
Not wanting to upset her any further, Hadden made his way into his chamber.
He didn't want to go to his study, wanting to be somewhere he would be less likely to be interrupted and with no reminders of Serena.
Hadden sank into the chair and tossed his head back. She deserved better than to be treated that way as if her feelings had never mattered.
He had hoped to turn her against him tonight, to drive away any chance of love with her, but his heart sank, and he felt as if he had been punched in the gut when he saw her face fall after telling her everything.
Serena dismissed Alice early for the night, wanting a few minutes to clear her head. She knew Alice would hover out of worry and try and make Serena calm down before doing anything irrational, such as chasing after her husband at night dressed as a page boy.
Serena needed to get away without any questions. The fewer questions, the less she would have to explain. The less she would have to think about the painful truth of what Hadden told her.
She would go to the one place where she could think everything over and be safe, and no one would think to look for her. Her safe place. Danerly Hall.
Greyson was stable, and Dr. Blake now stayed around the clock with him, so she pushed the guilt away about leaving. Besides, no one had ever bothered to take her feelings into account or think about how things would affect her.
She would be a pawn no further. Her husband could live his life here, chasing after whomever, and she would go where she could be free and no longer in the way of anyone.
After all, Hadden had told her she would be free to do whatever she liked, and that's precisely what she was going to do.
"I'm just going to lie down for the night," Serena had told Alice. "I'll tell you everything in the morning."
Not that Serena felt she had to explain anything to Alice, nor did Alice expect an explanation from her. They were more than mistress and maid. Although the boundaries were established in public, the women shared a friendship, and Serena knew she could confide in Alice.
She just didn't want Alice to risk becoming too upset about her safety to give away her plan before she could sneak away.
"Perhaps some tea? Or maybe just a small bite to settle your stomach before resting?" Alice asked, hoping to help Serena relax. She knew something was wrong, but she didn't want to press. Not right now.
"No, Alice, I'm quite alright," Serena told her. "I just wish to lie down."
"Very well," Alice conceded. "Please call if you need anything at all."
"I will. Thank you."
Serena waited until she thought Alice had made it far enough away from her room before she grabbed a satchel and pulled a few simple dresses from the wardrobe.
Thankfully, the weather was still quite warm. The usual accessories would not be needed.
Tonight, she would put her years' worth of sneaking around to use. And this time, they would be useful and appreciated. Serena checked the hall before leaving her room. Clear. She made her way down, as quietly as possible. Serena checked the foyer. Hadden's office door was closed, and she could hear his voice and knew he was in there with someone. He’s was probably telling Lennox and Devlin how she had ruined his night.
Checking one more time, she eased her way to the door, slipping out into the night.
She would need to find a hack willing to take her to Danerly Hall. She had enough coins with her to ensure that it wasn't a problem. Serena walked a bit, looking for a hack to call.
The night was still, and the air muggy, causing Serena to pat at her neck while she looked back, no longer able to see the townhouse.
Up ahead, she saw two hacks, both drivers standing beside them.
Perfect, she thought. I'll just pay them to take me.
"Out late, miss," one driver called to her.
"Yes, I would like to rent a hack, if either of yours is available," Serena said, her stomach turning in knots. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.
"Where ya off to?" the other asked.
"Surrey, Danerly Hall," Serena told them. "I've more than enough to pay you twice over for the journey."
Serena took out a pouch filled with gold coins. She wanted them to know she was serious.
"Best not be swinging that around out here, miss."
"The name's Fred. I'll take ya. We may have to stop and change horses. These almost tuckered out, but they may make it."
"Alright, thank you." Serena gave the man a small curtsy.
"Right then, in ya go," Fred told her. "Got a little bit of ride, we do, but I'll get ya there safely."
Fred opened the door, stepping back to allow Serena to get in.
"Your Grace," Alice said, taking several breaths to calm herself.
"What is it, Alice?" Hidden asked, panic rising in his chest. "Serena, is she alright?"
Both Devlin and Lennox stood now, looking at the frightened maid, attempting to make sense of her panicked state.
"Your Grace, Lady Serena, she's …she's …she's gone," Alice blurted out at the men, before promptly fainting in the study.
A few minutes later, Alice sat up, blinking the room into focus. A handsome face with deep blue eyes peered into hers.
The Marquess of Sutton. "Are you alright, miss?"
"I'm alright, yes, my lady, she's gone," Alice said, remembering why she had run down to get the duke.
"What do you mean she's gone, Alice," Hadden asked, trying to maintain his composure.
"She said she wanted to rest for a while, that she needed to nap after her ordeal tonight," Alice told them. "When I went back to check in on her, she was gone, and she left this."
Alice pulled a small folded note she had found on the bed and handed it to Hadden.
Dear Alice,
Please do not worry. I am going to the one place where I will be free and safe. I will send for you soon.
Rena
Hadden's heart sank. She had left him. He had driven her away.
"Alice, where is this place, do you know?" Lennox asked her, seeing his friend at a loss for words.<
br />
"Danerly Hall, Lord Sutton," Alice said. "Her childhood home, she loves it there."
"Where is Danerly Hall," Devlin asked, also seeing his friend's distress.
"Surrey," Alice told him. "She couldn't have gotten far, Your Grace, it was only about a half-hour or so."
"How would she even get there?" Devlin asked. "Your driver wouldn't risk taking her anywhere without your permission."
"She'd have to hire someone," Lennox said. "There's normally rental hacks close to here. Maybe one of them saw her."
Hadden still clutched Serena's letter in his hand. He had driven away his wife.
He had to find her. He had to fix this. He had to let her know how important she was to him.
If anything happened to her, he would never forgive himself.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
The hack took an extra sharp turn in the opposite direction, and Serena could feel the hack rolling over, tumbling down the hill, causing Serena to scream.
She had no way to get out of the rolling hack. Serena curled her body tight and tried to shield her face.
When the hack finally stopped, Serena could no longer hear Fred.
One of the doors was over her head, so she tried to push it open.
It was stuck! Pushing with all of her strength, she tried again and managed to budge the door open.
She peeked out, looking around. She could see one of the horses lying on the ground. A shadow moved close to the horse.
Maybe it's Fred.
Serena pushed the door completely open and stood up. A sharp pain shot through her shoulder, and she doubled over, taking a deep breath to keep from yelling out.
She didn't think it was broken, but she couldn't be sure.
Serena climbed out of the hack, still looking around. She started to make her way up the hill to see if she could find Fred.
"Fred?" Serena called out, hoping the driver would answer her.
Her shoulder throbbed, and her back was hurting now. She just wanted to go home. She wanted...Hadden.
"Stop, miss," a male voice said from behind her. "Don't need you to go any further, don't want to hurt you. Just doing what we're paid for."
Serena's heart dropped.
"It'll be real easy miss for everyone if ya just coming along," the voice continued.
Trying to think quickly, she had to come up with something.
"My husband is the Duke of Averton. He's wealthy and powerful, and he will pay very handsomely to return me."
Serena closed her eyes, hoping that would persuade the attackers to rethink the situation.
She could hear two voices behind her whispering to each other. Before they could stop her, Serena took off running the opposite way from the hill. She needed to find somewhere to hide.
One of the men caught up to her and tackled her to the ground.
"Let go of me!" Serena yelled, twisting and turning from her assailant, hoping to break free.
"Stop that, or else I'm gon' to have to knock ya out, miss. Don't want that, do we?"
Serena continued her struggle, managing to scratch his face. For a brief second, he let go of Serena, howling in pain. Serena dashed for the wood line.
"Not so fast. I've had enough of ya," he yelled, catching and tackling her to the ground.
"Now, get up and behave," he ordered. "We gotta get going. Someone's waitin on ya."
The man tied Serena's hands together, while his partner tied her feet. The pair moved her to the nearby carriage, tossing her in.
Serena began screaming, kicking the side of the hack with her feet. The men ran over, snatching the door open. Serena attempted to kick the man as he came closer.
"We can't hurt her, you damn fool. She's got to be in one piece," she heard one of them yell. "That's the deal, or we ain't gettin paid."
"If she keeps kickin 'round, she might fall out when the hack heads back into town. What we gon' do then?" the other asked.
Serena heard him curse as he stepped out of her sight.
Before she could try and move away, the man grabbed something out of his coat and swung it at her head. The darkness swarmed in around Serena, overtaking her, as her head fell back, her body limp on the floor of the dirty hack as it lurched forward.
"I don't understand how you could let this happen." He took a long drag on his cheroot, watching the man who had nearly blown their identities, squirm, unsure of what was going to happen to him.
"You are to get rid of her, do you understand?"
He had taken enormous risks by bringing this man into their folds and now, the loose stitch was starting to unravel.
He could not have that.
THEY would not have that. Too much depended on them succeeding and bringing down Averton and his partners-once those bastards where out of their way, they would be able to move forward with their plans.
Too many sacrifices and too much money had already been spent to make sure their plan worked, and they would kill anyone who stood in their way.
"Don't care how you do it-shoot her, drown her, strangle her, I don’t care how you do it! JUST DO SOMETHING RIGHT FOR ONCE!" The older man screamed at him, the veins straining in his neck.
"I did everything you told me, all of it!" Sanders stood defensive, ready to protect himself as his leader's two giant, menacing henchmen stood in front of him, holding heavy mallets in their hands, cruel smiles on their faces as the tapped the hammers into their hands.
"Bearingston was there! I didn't think he would show!"
"You are an idiot!" the leader snarled. "Of course, he would be there! He wanted Danerly's daughter, and now they're married."
Two of the most powerful families in England were now joined by marriage. It was disastrous for all their group, as Averton would go to the ends of the Earth to protect his family, and so would the old marquess.
He slammed his hand into the table in front of him. The fool in front of him was becoming a liability. He couldn't risk exposure.
He sat back down, his fingers rubbing the large ring on his right hand. The ring was given to members of his group by one of the French rebellion leaders fueling their operation. It served as a way for them to know who they were safe to speak.
"Get out. If you fail me one more time, I'll have you cut apart slowly and fed to my dogs." The man hissed, pulling the curtain back, looking out into the rain.
Sanders rushed out, heading for the hired hack that awaited him to take him back to London. He couldn't go to his house-not that he ever went there anyway. It was old and rundown, but he had won it in a lucky poker hand at White's, back before his losing streak began.
He had lost most of his inheritance to gambling and whores and needed a way to fuel his habits and keep his crumbling estate afloat. He had started working with the mysterious group after being approached by them the night he lost his estate. They promised another title and more riches then he could spend if he helped them with a few small tasks.
It was too good to be true, but a desperate man takes what offerings come along.
He had to get rid of the girl. To hell with riches. His own life now depended on it.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
"Wake up, Miss!"
The man gently nudged the girl with the tip of his boot. She hadn't moved since they had brought her in and dropped her on the floor, not so much as a peep had come out of her small body.
They had given careful instruction to make sure that she was kept alive and unharmed, and no one was allowed near her.
Her hands were tied in front, and she had a filthy cloth rag stuffed in her mouth. He slid it out after they left, thinking it cruel to leave it in.
Even if she started screaming, no one was going to hear her, so he reasoned there was no harm in doing so. They were so far away from anyone that the chance of someone hearing her was slim.
He lit the old lantern and bent down to get a better look at her.
She had a small knot on the side of her head that would turn into a nasty bruis
e, for sure. Blood matted her pale-colored hair that had halfway worked itself out of whatever updo the girl had to arrange it in.
She must have struggled a good bit, he thought.
She didn't look like no common miss he had seen before. Whoever she was, she was of great importance to someone, or she wouldn't still be breathing. He hadn't asked after her or about her when they dropped her off.
It wasn't his job to ask questions. Those who did ask questions tended not to live to ask anymore.
He nudged her one more time.
This time, she let out a soft moan. He held the lantern closer to see if she would wake up. Her eyes fluttered and slowly opened.
She started to scream, but stopped, as the older man held his finger up to his lips to silence her.
"No need to scream lass, I'm not here to cause harm."
Serena looked around the room. It was dark, except for the small bit of light coming off of the lantern the man standing over her was carrying.
"Who are you, and why am I here?" She asked him as she struggled to sit up.
The man walked over and helped her. She immediately scooted herself back into the corner, facing him, fear crossing her face.
"Someone kidnapped me from my carriage. My husband is the Duke of Averton and a great friend of the Prince Regent," she stammered out, hoping to put some fear into the man.
"You are committing a great crime by keeping me here!"
"Lassie, I have no idea who your husband is or who you are. And as for the Prince Regent, well, let's just say, he isn't my prince anything." The older man shrugged his shoulders.
The man walked away from her and stirred a pot over the fire.
"Need not worry yourself about me harming you if that's what you're thinking. I didn't take ya from anyone." He shrugged his old shoulders again, watching the girl.
"What's your name?" He asked as he walked back to his desk and sat in the old wooden chair.
"Don't think I need to be telling you me own name, miss, with all things considered." He gave her a half-smile trying to put some of her fear at ease.