Chapter 43
“Miss Balfour, Your Grace. We were ambushed in the woods and she was taken by a man on a horse. There was nothing I could do. I am afraid that she’s gone without a trace.”
“Garth, what man are you speaking of? Who was this man that took her? Where? When?” Zachariah was aware his voice came out high-pitched as he examined the man’s wound. He’d taken an arrow to the arm; it was clear as day. “Quickly, call for a surgeon, Caleb.” The older coachman was bleeding from the arm and Zachariah dragged him to a chair while Caleb rushed away to do as he was instructed.
“Brandy!” His mother’s voice pierced the air. “Get the man a brandy, someone!” She came closer and peered down at him. Garth and his mother were roughly the same age, and the coachman had been in the family’s employ since Zachariah was a young boy.
“The barmaid has been taken?” she asked, eyes on Garth.
“Aye, Your Grace. She ran away when I told her to, but the man on the horse came after her. That is how I got away, he went after her and I escaped.” He turned his eyes to Zachariah. “I wanted to go after him, but in this condition…”
“Do not fret. I do not blame you. It was better to come here and inform me at once. Say, this man. Was he tall? Short?”
The coachman shook his head. ‘I saw little of him. He was upon his horse the whole time. But sturdy I would call him; stout even. Didn’t look terribly tall. Commoner, that I could tell from the accent. Liverpool, if I were to make a guess.”
Zachariah looked at his mother. “The same man who also took me. The one’s whose companion has been taken. So, I am certain the two are connected and whoever was behind my kidnapping also set this trap.”
He scratched his chin.
“But it makes no sense. Who would want to kidnap you for ransom and then take a poor widowed barmaid?”
He shook his head when from the corner of his eyes, he spotted Lord Bellsover and his family making their way to the front door.
Who, indeed, would have cause to abduct me and ask for such a ridiculous ransom, knowing all my funds are invested in India?
“Are you departing so soon, Lord Bellsover? And without a goodbye?”
The older lord turned around and glared at him. “It appears you have a great number of concerns of your own here, Your Grace. Another kidnapping? Entanglements with barmaids? I must say, were it not for my daughter’s great desire to marry you, I would have never set foot into this house. But it was her heart’s greatest wish and her logic was solid. Now, however, I see that it doesn’t matter how much money the Indian venture will make you. You are a disgrace.”
“And to think our daughter was willing to give up her entire dowry for this. Even after your rude steward told us you had decided to go against the agreement, she was sure you would change your mind.” His wife agreed as she shook her head in dismay.
“I was convinced by her words that your desire to marry a commoner stemmed from your being held captive, not fed, and treated abhorrently. But it seems the only person acting abhorrently is you. It is you who has brought this down upon your own head. We will be departing now and I hope for no further entanglement between our families.”
Zachariah’s head turned slightly toward the young lady who stood with her arms behind her back and her gaze fixed to the marbled floor. His mind was churning. Her parents’ words, along with hers, and with everything that had occurred, were quickly spinning into a realization. And a shocking one at that.
“It was you.” He spoke the words before he’d finished the thought. If he hadn’t been sure before, he was the moment Lady Adelaide’s face turned to him. Her eyes were wide, like a fawn about to be captured.
“How dare you!” Her mother called out. “Our daughter deserves better than this ill treatment.”
Lady Adelaide stepped forward then and took ahold of her father’s arm. “Let us go. It is as I said, he is clearly disturbed and in an altered state to make such accusations. We mustn’t remain here another moment. He is so enamored of this unsavory creature that he cannot think properly.”
The comment made his blood boil.
“How dare you speak ill of her? You do not know her. And this behavior makes me even more certain it was you who is behind it all. All of you.” He pointed his finger from one to the next and the family stood in silence as if struck down by lightning.
“What is the matter?” Caleb asked when he entered the room again.
“His Grace is making a mockery out of our family,” the Duchess cried.
“Stop it, Mother. We are the ones that are being made a mockery of. Don’t you think it odd that the very day a ridiculous amount of money is sought for my freedom, in strolls Lady Adelaide whose dowry conveniently amounts to almost the exact amount? And she so kind-heartedly offers it up to get the one thing she’s been after for years. Me.”
Caleb frowned then, quickly catching on to the reality of the situation.
“And you already knew His Grace’s monies were tied up in India when I came to see you about the matter of purchasing land.”
“It is not as though your dealings are a secret,” Lord Bellsover replied.
Zachariah looked past him and cocked his head to one side. He noticed the sweat pearls that were appearing on the young lady’s face. Her already pale face had grown paler still and her heart-shaped lips were pressed into a thin line.
I knew I was right. It was a mere suspicion, but now I am convinced.
“And yet, it was all rather convenient. Just after I told you I would soon to be departing for India. Don’t think I didn’t see the way you flinched when I made the announcement, that afternoon we saw one another in front of the jewelers. I knew you were keen to wed, I knew you had your eye on me. And by my leaving for India, it would have made your quest all but impossible. You had to wed, and this Season, did you not? For that is all a woman is good for in this society.”
She looked at him then. “I am sorry that our society offends you so, Your Grace. And I’m sorry that my gracious attempts to save your life are taken with such ill regard. And for what? In favor of some jezebel? Father, let us go,” she implored.
“You will not leave. Not before you tell me what you have done with Melody Balfour. And do not dare call her any viler names. She is ten times the woman you could ever hope to be. You and your fellow ladies of the ton with your empty conversations, and vapid, foolish behaviors. The giggles and the false representation of who you are—it sickens me.”
The women in the room gasped and even Caleb took a step back and stared at Zachariah in alarm. He no longer cared. These people, this society, this social system to which they were all but prisoners had taken the most precious thing from him.
Lady Adelaide stared at him. “You think me vapid and silly? Very well. You are welcome to her then. I cannot believe how much I sacrificed for you.”
“Horatio, let us go. I do not feel it appropriate we remain here any longer.” Lady Bellsover took her daughter by the arm but Lady Adelaide seemed to have no intention of leaving. And Zachariah was not done saying his piece, either. The more he spoke, the more convinced he became she was behind it all.
“You are the only person who stood to gain anything from having me abducted. You came in as though you were our saving grace. And when you were told I would not marry you, for I love another—the very same man who held me, abducts her? Admit it. Admit you are behind it all and perhaps I will show mercy.”
“Mercy?” Lady Adelaide’s voice rose. “I do not need your mercy. This was for you. All of it was for you. I was trying to show you what you were unable to see. That I am good, and kind. And honorable. That I would be a perfect duchess. But no! You choose a barmaid. Well, you are welcome to her.”
Suddenly, the atmosphere in the room shifted and the assorted company stared at the young lady. She pulled her arm away from her mother and took a step back, her eyes wide as though she’d just realized what she had done.
“Adelaide!” Lady Bel
lsover exclaimed and clutched her pearl necklace. “You did not. Surely you did not.”
“I did. You told me I would be left on the shelf if I did not wed. What was I supposed to do? Become an ape-leader while he went to India?”
Lord Bellsover swallowed hard. “But there are other lords. You did not need to resort to such…” The man fell silent.
“You told me all of my life I must marry and marry well. You told me to do whatever it may take to achieve my goal. Now I was wrong?”
Zachariah scoffed at this. “You thought you might con me into marrying you? How unfortunate for me that you set your eyes on my person. Caleb—get the constables.”
Lord Bellsover stepped in front of his daughter at once. “Do not come near her. I dare you! I will challenge you to a duel.”
Zachariah rolled his eyes at this. He had no interest in dueling with the man nor engaging with him further. All he wanted was to find out where Melody might have been taken. Nothing else mattered. To his great surprise, it was his mother who stepped forward, placing herself between Lord Bellsover and Zachariah.
“Now, now. Let calmer heads prevail.” She stared at her son and Zachariah instantly felt as though he were all of five years old again and being scolded for some misstep or another. She turned to Lady Adelaide.
“Am I to understand that you readily admit to arranging the kidnapping of my son?”
The young lady swallowed. “I instructed the men not to harm him. And he was not.” She crossed her arms in front of her chest and pouted as though she were a small child.
“I see. And then you arranged for the same men to capture the…” She paused here and glanced at Zachariah.
“The innkeeper. The owner of the Gentle Rose Inn.” Zachariah’s heart pounded as he thought of her.
“The innkeeper. You instructed the same men?”
“Man. The same man, since Skryer was already caught.”
At once, Caleb was at her side, staring her down. “That is his name? The man we caught? Where did you find him? How did you hire him?”
At once, Lord Bellsover pulled his daughter behind him. “She will answer no further questions from any of you. In fact, I am quite sure she spoke only out of a misplaced desire to impress. I say she had nothing to do with any of it and…”
“Let it be,” Lady Bellsover sighed. “She has already confessed to it. What a disgrace. What an utter scandal. Who will marry her now?”
“That ought to be the least of your concerns,” the Duchess said. “If the innkeeper is found harmed, your daughter will surely be held accountable. As she will be for her actions against my son, one of the highest-ranking peers of the realm.”
Zachariah forced himself to be calm. It would do Melody no good for him to dissolve into a panic or a fit of fury. He had to think… He had to come up with a plan.
Adelaide shuddered.
What have I done? Why did I blurt out the truth in such a manner? This temper of mine has always found a way to get me in trouble.
She wanted to leave, wanted to run, but she knew it was too late for that now.
“Sit,” the Duke ordered. She wanted to protest, but the tide had turned against her, thanks to her mother who stood and glared at her as though she wished she’d never been born.
“If you tell us all you know, perhaps I will show lenience. Perhaps an agreement can be reached.”
“What agreement could be reached to save her from her own actions? It is all too late. You will be in the poorhouse, Adelaide. The poorhouse, I declare. You will be cut off from us. That much is sure.”
Adelaide’s mother wailed. To her great relief, the Duchess took it upon herself to escort her out of the room, leaving her alone with her father, the Duke, and that wretched steward.
Adelaide pressed her lips together. Certainly, her family would not cut her out. She’d only done what was expected of her. What was demanded of her. Ensure you marry well. It’s all she heard all of her life.
They cannot punish me for trying to live up to their expectations, and their demands. Surely.
As if answering her question, the sky rumbled once more as thunder and lightning struck almost simultaneously.
“If Adelaide tells you all she knows, I demand your reassurance that she will not be brought up before the magistrate. There will be no punishment other than the one I see fit to bestow upon her.”
The Duke shook his head. “I cannot make such an agreement until I know that Miss Balfour is unharmed. If she is found well, entirely unharmed, I will consider it. Otherwise I will bring hellfire down upon your daughters’ head. That much I assure you right now.”
Her father swallowed and then looked at her. “Go on. Tell him what you know.”
“Father!” She protested as loud as she dared. How was she to know if the trollop was harmed or not? She’d told them to get her out of the way, but unlike her instructions not to harm His Grace, she’d told them nothing about the manner in which they were to act.
“Tell them what you know or I promise you, I will take you up to the magistrate myself. What a terrible shame you’ve brought on our family.” He turned then and walked down the length of the room.
She sighed. “Very well. I do not know where she is. I told Bent to take her out of the way until our wedding was set.”
The Duke scoffed at her and shook his head. “Our wedding…”
It was the loathsome steward who stepped up next. “Where did you find these men? Who are they?”
Adelaide rubbed her lips together. It seemed she had nothing left to lose now. Her fate was in the hands of her father and the Duke, both of whom seemed to despise her now.
“Very well. I heard that one could hire a rough at the docks, in London. I made my way there one night, alone—which was terribly scary. I paid Mr. Skryer and Mr. Bent and they agreed to abduct His Grace and hold him for a few days in a little cabin in the woods. They told me it was a quaint little space and he’d be most comfortable, surrounded by birds and squirrels.”
The Duke laughed out loud now. “You ladies of the ton are indeed as empty-headed as I suspected.”
Adelaide pinched her mouth together at the insult. Could he not see she’d only done what was expected of her? To do all she could to marry well?
“I believed what I was told. I do not know any unsavory people, how was I to know? Anyhow, I told them the amount to request for the ransom and they arranged everything else.”
“And Miss Balfour?” The Duke’s voice was harsh and cold, so unlike the sweet way she’d imagined him speaking to her in her daydreams.
She sneered despite herself. She was well aware at this stage she ought not to aggravate him further. Not if she wanted him to show her the promised mercy.
“After your steward departed, I realized my only chance left was to remove her from the picture, at least for a little while. Mr. Bent was willing to take on the job, but for double the payment. As well as Mr. Skryer’s share of the previous job.”
“So much for loyalty,” the Duke said to the steward, who snickered. “Wait till Skryer hears how quickly he was to be sold out.” Then he turned his attention back to her. “Where has he taken her?”
“I do not know,” she replied. “He was instructed to keep her out of the way. I suppose he will have taken her to the same cabin he took you.”
He huffed at this and turned away. “We do not know where that is.” He spun back around. “Have you no more to tell me? No more information to give me?”
“That is all I know, Your Grace.” She swallowed and looked away, not sure what more she could say. She knew this had gone as terrible as it possibly could have for her. What was her future to be now? Who would marry her if word of her deeds came out? Nobody. That’s who. She would be in the poorhouse. She was sure of it. Before her, the Duke sank into his seat and shook his head, the color draining from his face.
The young lady was being dragged to the carriage by her father through the pouring rain. Her mother had already fle
d to the carriage for some time. As Lord Bellsover stepped into the vehicle, he turned and raised his hat to Zachariah who did not return the gesture. The anger in his heart was eclipsed only by his fear for Melody.
“Did you mean what you said? You would forgive her if Melody is found alive and well?”
Zachariah shook his head. “I cannot say what I will and won’t forgive. Alas, she had to be given some incentive to help. If Melody is indeed unharmed, then perhaps her biggest punishment will be her reputation. One that I know will be in ruins. My mother will ensure her actions are known to the ton, no matter what I tell her or what I decide.” He paused then and watched the carriage pull away. “What is more important than anything now, is to find Melody. But how?” he asked Caleb, who stepped out beside him.
Desperately Inn Love with the Duchess: A Historical Regency Romance Novel Page 25