by Wendy Vella
“Don't know, but we both felt it.”
“Eden!” he said, overtaking Cam and shooting out of his front door behind Dev. “It's Eden!” he roared, coming level with the eldest Sinclair.
“How do you know?” Dev wheezed, still sprinting.
“Ch-chest... stabbing pains.”
Neither spoke again, arriving at the Wynburg house minutes later.
“P-Pennyroll, get everyone here at once!”
If the butler was surprised by the three men, all bent double and gasping for air in the entrance way of his master's home, he did not show it. Closing the front door he said, “Lord and Lady Wynburg are visiting Admiral Eales at the present time, Lord Sinclair.”
Somer, Dorrie, and Warwick stopped further conversation as they appeared at the top of the stairs. James saw the worry on their faces, and felt the pain in his chest increase.
He had turned away from Eden yesterday, simply because he had always dealt with anything challenging by himself. The fear of Samantha's abduction had been unbearable, so he had shut down, and hadn't known how to reach out and ask for help from the woman he loved. Rubbing his chest, he tried to ease the pain that seemed to be burning a hole straight through him.
“Where is Eden, Pennyroll?”
“Lord Laurent called this morning to take Miss Sinclair and Miss Eden driving, your Grace.”
“Then surely they are safe?” Cam said.
“Essie is coming, Dev.”
All eyes turned to Warwick as he spoke. It was Cam who dropped to his knees before the boy.
“How do you know Essie is coming, Warwick? Where is she?”
The young boy looked at his sisters, they in turn nodded and then he spoke.
“She's close, I can hear her yelling.”
James was suddenly aware that the Sinclairs had gone very still; even the little ones were silent and looking at their feet. The eldest was the first to move. Wrenching open the front door, Devon went to find his sister.
“How do you know she is yelling, Warwick?” Cam said slowly.
“I can hear her.”
“No!”
“It’s true, Cam, he can hear,” Somer said.
“Someone tell me what the hell is going on?” James demanded.
“How long have you been able to hear like Eden, Warwick?” Cam rasped.
“Our senses are not strong yet. But he can hear, I can taste, and Dorrie can smell,” Somer whispered, her eyes filling with tears. “We didn't tell you because we didn't want you to be upset.”
“Christ!” Cam groaned, grabbing all three of them and hugging them tight in his arms. The children burrowed into him, sniffling.
“Eden, Cam!” James roared. “Where is she and what the hell is going on?”
“I heard her talking to him—Lord Laurent—but I couldn't hear everything because Dorrie and Somer were singing. Just that he was taking Essie and Eden driving,” Warwick said when his brother had released him to stand once again.
Behind them someone knocked on the open door and they all turned as one. Pennyroll stepped around the family to intercept whoever was there.
“A Mr. Spriggot is here, your Grace, and wanting to speak to you with some expediency,” Pennyroll said, as if they had not all heard the man talking just two feet away.
“Let him in.”
Mr. Spriggot stopped just inside the door, his face showing surprise at seeing such a gathering in the front entrance. Next through the door was an ashen faced Essie in the arms of her brother.
“What has happened, Essie?” Cam stepped to her side.
“L-Lord Laurent,” she sobbed. “H-he is not who we think, Cam. He had a gun, and then Eden urged me to jump from the c-carriage, but she d-did not follow.”
Dear god, not Eden. Please don’t let her be hurt. The thought nearly dropped James to his knees.
“Lord Laurent!”
James spun to Mr. Spriggot, who had said the name in shocked tones, which could only be a bad thing.
“Speak, Mr. Spriggot. If my fiancée is in danger then we must move quickly.”
“Lord Laurent is not his real identity, your Grace. His mother was Miss Tolly and she was your father's mistress—”
“I know who she was, Mr. Spriggot,” James said, his mind whirling in circles. Louis was his half brother and he was going to harm Eden to get to him. What other reason would he have for hiding his identity?
“He said he would k-kill Eden while you watched, James.” All eyes turned to Essie as she slumped into her brother's arms. Cam cradled her against his chest as if she were a small child.
“I'll kill him if he harms her!” James's words shook with rage and fear.
“Where would he take her, Spriggot?” Dev said urgently.
“I have located his sister, your Grace. She lives here in London. Perhaps she can shed some light on where her brother has taken your sister, Lord Sinclair.”
“Get whatever you need to travel,” James told the Sinclairs. “We leave as soon as I have the horses readied.” He ran out the door.
He tried to focus as he sprinted back to his house. She would be safe until he got to her. He would not hurt her, not Louis; surely he had no reason to harm Eden, as it was James that he wanted. He tried not to think of the attempts on his life, the ruthless ability of a man to throw another bound hand and foot into the sea alive.
“Eden!” he whispered, praying that she could hear him, but knowing he was fooling himself. Please don't take her from me. He felt the emotionless man he had once been slide back into place. Could he live like that again? Be forced into the dark, when he now knew what it felt like to live in the light.
Throwing open his front door, he surprised his butler, who was moving an arrangement of flowers.
“Buttles! Have three of my best horses brought to Lord Wynburg's house at once!”
“Right away, your Grace.”
He fired out several other orders about coats and hats then took the stairs two at a time to his office.
He pushed his knife into his boot, then armed himself with two pistols and supplies to fire them. Lastly he pulled a pouch of money from his desk.
“James, has something happened?” Samantha had entered behind him.
“Someone has taken Eden, Samantha, and I must go now and get her back.”
He watched the old fears flit across her young face, and hated that it was he who had put them there. Pulling her into his arms he held her close
“We will return, sweetheart, but until then Jane will take you to stay with Warwick, Somer, and Dorrie, and I want you to stay with them and Lord and Lady Wynburg until I return,” he said, releasing her.
“I love you, James. Promise that you and Eden will come home safe.”
“I promise, and I love you too.”
Samantha nodded and then ran from the room with James on her heels. Reaching the front entrance, he shrugged into his coat and hat, then took his gloves and went outside. Mr. Brown was mounted and leading James’s horse; a groom held two others.
“I thought you could use my help, your Grace. I'm a fair shot.”
“My thanks” was all James said as he swung into the saddle.
“Buttles, escort my sister and her companion to Lord and Lady Wynburg at once. I am unsure when I will return, and she will stay there until I do.”
“At once, your Grace, and God be with you.”
In minutes they were at the Wynburg residence, where Dev, Cam, and Essie waited for them outside. Essie was lifted by Dev to ride behind Cam, her face pale yet composed, a satchel on her back.
As a small somber group they rode through London. Slowly the houses lost their grandness and grew shabby, pressing closer together and stacked one on top of the other, until finally they stopped before a small building.
“This is the address Spriggot gave us,” Mr. Brown said.
“Stay with Essie, Cam, you too, Mr. Brown. Devon and I will go and visit with Tolly's sister.”
“She is you
r sister also, James,” Dev said, knocking on the worn front door. The place was dismal and dark even though the sun still sat high in the sky.
“I am aware of that,” James said, rubbing his chest. He watched the door open slowly. A young woman the same height as Eden looked up at them. She could only be Louis's sister; the blue eyes and blonde hair were identical. And your sister, James added.
“Can I help you?”
“Miss Tolly?”
“Yes.” She nodded, looking anxious, her eyes flitting from James to Dev then back again.
“We are looking for your brother, Miss Tolly,” James said.
“I—I am afraid he is not here.”
“I am the Duke of Raven, Miss Tolly. Your half brother.”
Her fingers gripped the door, knuckles white as she stared at him. “I believe your brother has abducted my fiancée and I must find her. Please help us.”
“Oh Louis, no!” Her moan was that of a wounded animal as she stumbled backward and fell to her knees, sobbing. James stepped forward and knelt beside her.
“Miss Tolly, please don't cry. We shall try to return your brother to you unharmed, but I must find my fiancée.”
Tears streamed down her face as she looked up at him.
“H-he never recovered fr-from our mother's death, you see,” she whispered. “The D-Duke would not help us and Louis could d-do nothing for her. It destroyed him, your Grace.”
“Where would he go?”
“The church at Raven Castle,” she whispered. “It was as close as he could get to the castle. He would go there at night when no one could see him, and sit and plot his r-revenge upon your family.”
James did not wait to ask further questions. Lifting her to her feet, he held her shoulders between his hands, forcing her to look up at him.
“I am your brother, Miss Tolly,”
“Emily,” she whispered.
“I realize our father gave you no reason to trust the word of a Raven, yet I would ask you to do just that, Emily. I will come for you upon my return, I promise,” James added, placing a kiss on her forehead. Closing the door behind him as he left, James and Dev ran to their horses.
“Raven Castle!” Dev barked as they mounted, and they were soon on the road out of London.
CHAPTER TWENTY SIX
Eden woke feeling dizzy and nauseous. Her wrists and feet were bound and a piece of cloth was tied around her mouth, forcing it open. Her eyelids felt heavy as she opened them. She was lying on her side on the floor of a carriage that was travelling at speed. The curtains were drawn, but she knew that night had fallen, which suggested she had been asleep—drugged for some time. She was alone in the carriage. She could hear no one else breathing so Lord Laurent—or whoever he was—was either on horseback or sitting with the driver.
Struggling into a sitting position, she turned and wedged her feet against the opposite seat and pushed herself up and onto the seat at her back. She wriggled her wrists, but they were bound tight. Now she was awake, the gag was making her choke, and it was a struggle to inhale. Slumping sideways, Eden closed her eyes again. Her head was aching from whatever foul thing that man had made her breathe.
At least Essie had escaped, and Eden prayed she had not harmed herself when she jumped from the carriage. Did James and her family know she had been abducted yet? Had her sister made it back and told them? How would they find her? Fighting down the swell of panic, Eden knew she could not let it overwhelm her if she was to somehow get out of this situation. Where was he taking her? Eden didn't know how long she lay there in the dark with thoughts tumbling through her head.
Her family would not stop until they found her, but what of James? No, he loved her, he would be distressed that she was missing. Eden may have been hurt by his behavior yesterday, but in this cold, dark carriage, she realized that it was he she wanted most. She needed the strength he gave her when he held her in his arms. She would not allow herself to doubt they would find her, for that path lead to fear and tears, and she could not go to that place yet.
Their senses would lead them to her, she just had to be strong and stay alive until they did.
When Eden woke the second time, the carriage had stopped. Her body ached but her head was now clear. Her eyes went to the open curtains, and she saw early morning mists out of the window.
“I have food and drink for you, Eden.”
The man she had known as Lord Laurent stepped into the carriage and sat opposite her. In his hand was a wooden bowl. His eyes were narrowed, face taut, and she wondered how he had fooled them all for so long.
“I will feed you, as I do not trust you enough to release your bonds.” He pulled the gag from her mouth.
Eden breathed deeply and then glared at him.
“I want nothing from you.”
“That is your loss. It worries me not if you go hungry.”
She watched him as one would a venomous animal.
“No questions, Eden? Have I at last found a woman who can hold her tongue?”
“If you have kidnapped me in the hopes of luring James to your side, then think again. Yesterday we argued after you attempted to take his sister from under his nose, and I doubt he will miss me overmuch.”
“He loves you, so he will come.”
“I will see you pay for what you have done to my sister.” She hissed the words at him.
“Your sister is a gullible fool. How she could believe a man like I would love her is beyond belief.”
Eden wanted to lunge at him, scratch his handsome face, and make him pay for the pain he had inflicted on those she loved.
“Are you not curious as to who I am, and why I want to kill your precious Duke?”
She saw it then, the madness that haunted his eyes.
“Why do you want to harm the man I love?” she whispered.
“Because of what he did to my family,” he spat out. “My mother died writhing in agony because of that man.”
“You are James's half brother,” Eden realized.
“The Ravens are no kin of mine!” he roared. “They forfeited that right when the Duke turned us away when my mother needed help. I will have retribution for her death—I will,” he vowed.
“James is not responsible for his father's actions. You would make an innocent man pay for a death he had no hand in?”
“He has lived a good life, now it is time for him to die. No other of his blood will be Duke. I will make sure of it.”
His simmering hatred had robbed his mind of all but vengeance, and Eden knew she would never be able to reason with him.
“Y-you will not succeed.”
“Of course I will succeed. Your beloved will ride to your side, and I will kill you before his eyes, and then him.”
“N-no.” She tried to lunge at him, but he simply pushed her back to the seat, and once again she felt her head spin as he placed a cloth over her face.
...
They rode through the night, with a change of horses at each stop. Mr. Brown organized food at each inn or posting house, they ate and drank while standing, and then mounted and rode hard once more.
James could think of nothing but Eden. The thought of never seeing her smile again, or touching her hair and hearing her laugh, was a physical pain inside him. His chest ached as if a hot poker were pressed against it.
“The innkeeper said a carriage and a man of Tolly's description came through here two hours ago,” Mr. Brown said, stepping outside the inn's doors. His face wore fatigue, as did they all, his clothes covered in dust and dirt. Behind him came two servants, one carrying a tray with five large pieces of pie, and another with mugs of ale and one of tea.
“The castle is five hours from here; we should arrive as he does, if not just after,” Dev said, shooting James a look.
Nodding, James took a piece of pie and the cup of tea and went to Essie, who had not complained once since the journey began many hours ago. She had sat behind Cam, stoic and composed when he knew inside that his half brot
her had shattered her heart into tiny pieces. She was slumped on a mounting block, her head lowered, shoulders hunched, fatigue and defeat in every line of her body. Her brothers had tried to protect her as best they could, tried to talk with her, and yet she had remained silent, like he, locked behind a wall of agony.
“Eat this, Essie,” James said, handing her the plate. She shook her head and reached for the tea.
“I will have your brothers hold you and we will feed you this pie one bite at a time if you do not willingly eat it,” he added in a firm voice. “You will do your sister no favors if you faint before we reach her. Should she need you, then you must be strong enough to help, Essie, and when I get my hands on that bastard who has her, I am sure you, like me, will have a few things to say to him.”
The look she sent him was filled with anguish. Her eyes were bloodshot and she suddenly appeared much older than she had yesterday.
“Essie, you will survive this because you have family who love you, family who would give their life for yours. Take their strength and hold it around you and know that you are not alone.”
“I'm so scared, James, scared that I let this man into my heart when he is so evil.”
“He fooled us all, Essie.”
“I am scared that such a man, one so desperate for revenge he took the steps he did to secure it, has my sister. I want her back now, need her here with me.”
“I know, Essie,” James said, reaching for her hand. “I know your fears, for they mirror my own. My last words to Eden were angry bitter ones that I had no right to speak. I hurt the woman I love deeply, Essie, yet I cannot think about that. Only that Eden needs our strength. She needs us to stand up and fight for her and what we have.”
“What do we have, James?” she whispered as the tears once again fell down her pale cheeks.
“Family, Essie. Family and love, and after years of living without either I am not about to lose what I have only just found. So fight with me, Essie.”
She squeezed his hand one last time then took the pie and started eating.
James rose and returned to the men, where he gulped down his ale and then started in on his pie.
“Thank you.”