“Answer me, damn it! Are you the Duchess of Donetic?”
When she didn’t answer, he slapped her across the face. Pain exploded in her cheek, making tears spill from her eyes, but she held herself quiet.
The man put his hands behind his back and rolled on the balls of his feet. “Don’t prolong this suffering. Tell me why he’s not searching for you.”
Her eyes widened slightly before she closed them. The hurt from Braiden’s indifference to her disappearance struck her deeper than the superficial ache on her cheek. How could he care so little for her? Had he believed she’d run away again, but this time he wouldn’t go after her?
She reopened her eyes. Breathing through her mouth, she tried to get a grip on herself. She couldn’t afford to lose focus and be unable to free herself from this situation. Her concentration needed to be on the present, not on Braiden.
“My plan hinged on him suffering while he futilely searched for you. I’d even hoped to join in on the fun. But no. No search party. No magistrate. No word.”
“Why do you care?” she demanded in a clear voice. “What has the duke done to you?”
The man laughed. “No. This is not the part where the villain divulges his nefarious plan and all his reasons. Besides, you won’t live long enough for the information to be useful.”
Taking a deep breath, she tried to calm the shaking that had begun over her body. She didn’t want to die, nor did she want Braiden to suffer any longer.
Apparently he wasn’t searching for her, so she needed to save herself. “Do I get one last request?”
He hesitated. “What could you possibly want? Didn’t you hear? You are about to die. Anything I give you will be gone before long.”
“I simply want a small amount of comfort before the end of my miserable life.”
The man crossed his arms and glared down at her. “Fine. Answer my question first.”
“I am the Duchess of Donetic. The duke isn’t searching for me because he doesn’t love me. Never has. My father blackmailed him to marry me.”
With a sigh, he shook his head. “You mistake his regard for you. The dowager assured me your disappearance was necessary.”
“Necessary for who? I hate to be the one to tell you this, but every decision she makes is based on happiness for her son. My disappearance will help further her plans, not yours.”
“What do you know? I know the dowager. You do not.”
Grace lowered her gaze. The last thing she needed to do was anger him right now. Since her ploy wasn’t working, she would have to try something else.
“You are right. I don’t know the woman. However, will you consider my last request? All I ask is that you wash off my wound. The dirt has wedged itself under my skin and it burns.”
Indecision crossed his face. “No. I like the idea of him seeing how badly you suffered.”
She let out a loud breath. Her heart beat rapidly. This was her one chance. She had to get him to come closer. Her body tensed as failure crept over her.
“One would think he would react with the knowledge, but I already told you he doesn’t care about me. I beg you, please allow a dying woman to have her last request.”
With a huff, he grabbed the pitcher of water and stomped over to her. “All right, but then I’m going to gag you. I can’t stand your mouth any longer.”
Bracing her foot against the mattress, she waited until he got close enough, then she brought her knee up as hard as she could, hitting him in the face. . He cried out in pain while stumbling back, but, unfortunately, did not pass out. Now she would really suffer.
“You whore! You will pay for that.”
As her hands hadn’t come free, she couldn’t do anything to protect herself. Closing her eyes, she waited for the darkness to reclaim her.
Chapter 16
The next morning brought Braiden no relief. He hadn’t slept for more than a few seconds, although the search had ended with the last light of the sun. Hope was fading. Scanning Grace’s bedchamber, his gaze fell on the letters he’d carried in there yesterday.
Once he’d realized Grace was missing, he had completely forgotten about them. Perhaps they were the key. Closing his itchy eyes against the pain, he realized there was only one more person in his household who could have written them.
Hurrying down the hall, he pushed open his mother’s door and carefully entered. He couldn’t be sure what mood he would find her in, and he needed her help.
“Braiden.” She clasped her hands together in pleasure. “You’ve come to visit me again. How pleasant.”
“I have come because I need your help.”
She patted the bed beside her. “Tell your mother all about it. I will fix it for you. I live to be able to make your life better.”
Swallowing, he sat beside her. This woman wasn’t the mother he knew. She watched him with calculating eyes. He suspected this side of her was the one who decided to write those letters and to leave Grace in the garden.
“Do you know where Grace is?”
Her lips turned down in disapproval. “Why do you need her? We did perfectly fine without her here.”
“I’m afraid she has something of mine, and I won’t be happy without it.” He didn’t mention the thing Grace had was his heart.
“That is different then.” She tapped her finger against her cheek. “I suppose it’s time I told you. This won’t be easy.”
“Tell me,” he urged as terror lodged in his throat. What had happened to Grace?
“The Duchess loved coming here. She was always upset when you sent for her to return to London. The garden held such an appeal to a certain part of her.”
“I need to hear about Grace, not Tabitha.”
She patted his leg. “Son, all good stories start at the beginning. How can you understand the end if you start from the middle?”
Gritting his teeth, Braiden nodded for her to continue.
“One day I stumbled upon the reason why the gardens became a favorite place for the Duchess. He was a nice fellow and treated her as if she were a queen.”
“He?” Braiden couldn’t contain his surprise. He had no idea Tabitha had lovers all over the country. He shook his head. It no longer mattered.
“Yes. He even visited me when she wasn’t here. I told him she was coming that day. I also told him I wanted her to disappear. He loved her. You did not. His interference came as a welcome notion to everyone. But something went wrong. No one was supposed to die.”
Nearly choking on his sharp intake of breath, Braiden coughed. His mother knew the man who’d killed Tabitha? It seemed she’d even helped plan it to a point. Did the same man have Grace now? Emotions flowed through him, making him ill.
“Who is he?”
“Don’t interrupt. Have I taught you nothing?” She cast her gaze heavenward as if demanding an answer. “After that, he stopped visiting me. Then when you brought home a new wife, he came back. I saw how miserable you were with her, so he agreed to help again.”
Shooting to his feet, Braiden clenched his hands as tight as he could. He wanted to yell, to bang his fists against the wall, to demand she tell him where Grace was.
“Your story is over. Who is he? Who has Grace?”
“I don’t know. He never told me his name.”
“Where does he live? Where has he taken her?” He bit his tongue from asking if his wife was still alive. He had to hold on to the hope that she was.
“Why do you believe I would know these things? He came to me, not the other way around.”
“Mother, you better tell me something useful or I shall be forced to take action,” he ground out through his teeth.
She stared at him, her face blank. He roared as he stormed from the room. He’d lock her up. As soon as he found
Grace, his mother would be on her way to Bedlam. How could she do such a thing?
On his way out he practically ran into Danvers. “Your Grace, we have found nothing. The rain has awarded us with no tracks to follow.”
“Gather the staff together. We need a search party. The bastard must live nearby. Titled or not, I don’t give a damn. I’ll search every estate in England if need be.”
Danvers bowed, then quickly ran off to do the duke’s bidding.
Braiden cursed as inactivity ate at him. How could he do nothing when Grace remained in danger? And here Mr. Spinner could hold the answer, yet he would either be on the road at this time in answer to Braiden’s summons, or stuck in London still. Regardless, they couldn’t lose the time by going after the man.
Braiden racked his brain. They were missing something. If Tabitha met the man on the estate, surely some indication of him remained. Someone had to help him. The knowledge existed; he merely had to keep his head together to find it.
Walking into the entryway, he noticed how many of his staff members wore the same look as he. They loved her too. They would find her.
He cleared his throat, forcing himself to keep his emotions at bay. “Many of you have been employed here for a number of years. During the time my first wife visited, I understand she frequently met a man here. This is the very man who has taken the Duchess away from us.” A collective murmur moved through the crowd. “If anyone has knowledge of who this man is, or could offer any information about him, speak up now.”
A few vague descriptions were tossed around, but nothing that could be useful. His hope began to dissipate as desolation consumed him. How would they find her in time? Although Mr. Spinner had information, they had no guarantee he knew the culprit.
Braiden raked his fingernails down his face. Then the tiniest whisper of hope touched his ears. Dropping his eyes down to the cook’s son, he got down on his knees.
“What did you say?”
“Don’t tell Mama, but I followed the fancy dressed man. He said to the lady that he was going to give her some kids, and I wanted to play. But he lied. He didn’t have any kids.”
“I won’t tell your mother, but you think you can take me back there?”
The little boy nodded, making Braiden’s body relax a little. There was still hope. They would find Grace and bring her home.
After telling Danvers his intention, and that he should tell the cook where to find her son, he and the boy rushed to his stallion. His butler would follow with a few of the footmen, but Braiden couldn’t afford to wait. Grabbing his head stableman to protect the boy, they saddled up and rode off his estate.
They would bring back Grace. He wouldn’t let anything get in his way.
Grace awoke alone again. Her head ached as it had before, but she welcomed the pain. After all, it proved she still lived. Honestly, she didn’t understand his decision to keep her so, unless he hadn’t the stomach to follow through with his threat.
Unsure of the reasons behind his actions, she burned with questions she was wise enough not to ask. He hadn’t appreciated her curiosity before, and she knew the blood rushing out of his nose after she kicked him hadn’t changed his mind.
Twisting her hands, she ignored the pain as she tried to loosen her bonds. He’d left her unguarded. If only her hands were free, she could be as well.
What was Braiden doing right now? From the dim light coming through the boarded up windows, she imagined she’d been gone for an entire day, so surely he had noticed her absence. Had he found her note? Would it make a difference? The thought of never seeing him again brought hot tears to her eyes, and she moved her hands faster.
She didn’t want to leave this world with him thinking she betrayed him. She broke out into sobs and began shaking as her emotions took control. All the while, she tried to calm herself, but the feat was impossible.
When the tears finally ran their course, she laid there looking at the ceiling, completely drained. She had nothing left.
Even the door being thrown open didn’t move her. It wasn’t until she saw the knife in his hand that her fear returned. Would he torture her first? Or would it be a quick, painless death?
She closed her eyes as he lifted the knife above her head. With a swish and a rip, her hands came loose from the bed. Popping her eyes open, she looked at him in confusion. Was he letting her go?
“Come on. We must move quickly.” He flipped her over and retied her hands behind her back before she could retaliate against him. “I heard mention of a search party. We have to get you there first.”
“I don’t understand,” she croaked out through her parched throat.
He shoved a cloth in her mouth, then fastened it behind her head. As he tossed her over his shoulder, terror pricked at her skin like hundreds of tiny needles. More tears cascaded down her cheeks. She didn’t want to die.
“You don’t have to understand. Everything must be set up right. I want him to find you alive. You are going to die while he powerlessly watches.”
Once outside, the brightness burned her eyes after the dim light of the cabin. A breeze wafted over her face, giving her the illusion of freedom. If only she hadn’t been so stupid as to break her ankle. Then none of this would’ve happened to her.
When they approached a horse, the man slid her down until her feet touched the ground. Unfortunately, her weak muscles didn’t allow her to stand or lend her the ability to run. She had to lean against him and watch helplessly as he retrieved a gun from the saddlebags.
As if doing so on its own, she heard the hammer of the gun cock.
“Put her down.” The furious voice of Braiden demanded.
Although relief sailed through her, her chest tightened knowing the villain had a gun. She could do nothing to warm Braiden.
Slowly the man spun around while winding his hand around her waist and pointing the gun to her head. “I don’t believe you are the one who can make demands here. You put your weapon down.”
Without hesitation, Braiden did as he was told. The villain laughed.
Braiden held his hands out. “What do you want? I’ll do anything. Pay any price.”
“All right. I’m not an unreasonable man. We’ll make a trade. You can have this one when you bring Tabitha back to me.”
“I can’t. You killed her.”
Grace felt the cold metal of the gun quivering against her head. Closing her eyes, she tried to block out the feeling and the smell. She felt ill, and the excess saliva in her mouth was only being soaked up by the cloth.
“If you had been in the carriage like you were supposed to be, you would be dead, not her. The plan was to keep her, not you.”
Suddenly Braiden’s mother appeared from out of the woods. “Truly? You lied to me. No one was supposed to die. You were supposed to have her. While I had him.”
“Stay out of this, you old fool,” he spat. “Your information is always false.”
Grace’s head reared back. The dowager had a hand in Tabitha’s death? Grace shouldn’t be surprised. After all, she was to be the woman’s next victim.
“We must move on,” Braiden said, much closer than she realized. “Something went wrong. We can’t bring Tabitha back. In her stead, we can live. All of us. She would have wanted that. Just put the gun down.”
The man rapidly shook his head. “Someone must die. Someone has to pay for this.”
“Yes,” the dowager agreed, while keeping her eyes on the man as she boldly walked up to Braiden. “Someone must. You, maybe. Just not him. Please let me keep him.”
Holding her breath, Grace waited for a decision. All their lives were in the hands of a murderer. She refused to stand here and wait for him to decide to kill her in the end.
As she turned to dead weight in his hold, the man cursed and released her. O
nce on the ground, she threw herself at his legs to knock him over. Unfortunately, she once again underestimated his strength. As if time had slowed down, she watched in horror as the man leveled the gun at Braiden, who now only stood a foot away, and shot.
Simultaneously, the dowager screamed and another gunshot sounded. Grace felt faint as the sounds drifted further from her. Danvers and a group of Braiden’s staff came rushing up, but she took no heed of them. Twisting her head around slowly, she noticed her kidnapper and the dowager lay on the ground, both in similar pools of blood.
Braiden sliced the gag in her mouth and released her hands before pulling her into his arms. Over and over he chanted “I love you.”
She smiled, the sound of the beautiful words a balm to her soul. Closing her eyes, she laid her head against him as she slowly succumbed to the darkness.
Two days following Grace’s rescue, Braiden sat in his study facing his solicitor. Had the man not been tied up in London, Grace could have been saved from the horrific ordeal.
“I’m so sorry, Your Grace. Had I believed the baron would attack you or the duchess, I would have come sooner.”
Not feeling in a gracious mood, Braiden didn’t acknowledge the apology. He’d made it clear he expected answers to be delivered immediately. On the other hand, Grace made it out alive. But his mother . . .
The thought of her still confused him and made his chest ache. She had done so many terrible things and caused so many problems, but she’d done it with a madwoman’s view of how to help him. She’d done it out of love. If she hadn’t jumped in the way of that bullet, he wouldn’t be here now. His mourning over her death was an unusual one.
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