by Jane Charles
“Bath,” Lydell grumbled again.
Jordan chuckled. Miss Kirkwood hadn’t even given Lydell a chance to charm her before she simply turned him down because of the location of his estate. “You ended up married to your wife before the Season was over,” Jordan reminded Lydell.
“I noticed her about a week later. We both know I needed to marry an heiress but I think I would have wanted Millicent even if she were poor.”
Jordan glanced at Lydell. He really did care about his wife?
“I tried everything thing I could to court her, make her take notice of me, but all she wanted was you.” Bitterness rang in his tone.
An uncomfortable feeling began to form in the pit of Jordan’s stomach which was in no way related to the fear and anxiety from worrying about Audrey already eating at him.
“I thought I had my chance at the house party when you did not show. But even there Millicent kept asking for you and wouldn’t give me a moment of her time. She dismissed me whenever I approached and returned to staring out the window waiting for your arrival.”
Jordan did not know what to say. It wasn’t as if he ever encouraged her. They danced a total of three times. If that was the foundation for such ardent feelings then he should be in love with most of the ladies in London.
“That is why I did it.”
Jordan looked at Lydell.
“I knew she would never welcome me so I waited until it was late and went to her room.”
“You claimed to be me when you slipped into her bed.”
Lydell shrugged. “It is the only way I knew to get her.”
“Have you told her the truth?”
“Yes, several times but she won’t believe me.”
They reached the carriage. The driver had not yet returned though fresh horses were already harnessed. There was no footman for this trip so Jordan opened the door.
“As long as you are around she will never accept me or my love.”
Jordan stepped into the carriage, a sense of foreboding slid up his spine and he had the urge to slam the door leaving Lydell in the courtyard. He reached forward to grab the handle.
Lydell leaned in. “That is why you have to go.”
Before Jordan could react, Lydell’s hand shot up, pistol in his grip and slammed it against Jordan’s temple.
Audrey slowly opened her eyes and tried to focus on her surroundings. Her head was pounding and her stomach churned. She lay back against the pillow, closed her eyes and willed her body to calm. It would do no good to toss up her accounts. This nausea would pass in a moment, she was certain of it. But where was she and what had happened?
She lifted a hand to rub her face but the other came with it and they felt weighed down. With reluctance Audrey opened her eyes again, hoping she would not be ill. Her wrists were shackled together in some form of iron maniacal. Why?
She tried to twist and slip her hands through but they were too tight on her wrist.
“I wouldn’t bother,” a voice came from the opposite side of the room.
Audrey turned in the direction to find Millicent lounging in a chair caressing a knife. Her blood ran cold.
“I found them in the cellar.” She rose from the chair. “This used to be part of a castle and there are dungeons below.”
Audrey struggled further and only scratching her wrists as Millicent rose and began walking toward the bed.
“I don’t even think there is a key, not that it matters.” Millicent shrugged.
“Where am I?” Audrey finally asked.
“In my home in Bath.” Millicent turned in the room, holding her arms out. “Isn’t it lovely?”
Millicent certainly didn’t mean for Audrey to actually answer that question did she? “How did I get here?”
Millicent settled on the side of the bed. “Two of my footmen carried you up. I told them you had become ill on the trip.” She frowned and studied Audrey. “I thought perhaps I had given you too much the second time.”
“Second time?”
“Yes, you woke earlier and I had to give you more to drink. I couldn’t have you alert and talking when we arrived now could I.”
Audrey barely remembered waking in the carriage, disoriented and her head pounding and Millicent giving her something vial to drink.
“They didn’t think it odd that I wore these?” Audrey lifted her shackled wrists.
Millicent laughed. “I didn’t put them on until they were gone.”
If there were servants in the house, certainly someone would come help her, eventually. She opened her mouth, ready to scream but Millicent pounced on her, covering Audrey’s mouth with her hand. “You don’t want to bring anyone up here.”
Audrey certainly did want someone else to walk through that door.
“Besides, we are in the family wing. Nobody will hear you cry out.” She relaxed her hold and leaned back.
Should Audrey trust her? If no one could hear then it wouldn’t hurt to scream. She opened her mouth and let go of the loudest scream she could muster. Millicent smiled and polished the blade.
Audrey waited. She could hear no sound of footsteps coming from the hall. Was she really so alone with Millicent?
“Whoever cut those whores did me a favor.”
Audrey blinked at Millicent. What was she talking about?
“My Jordan was spending too much time in their company. Now that their beauty has been destroyed he will want nothing to do with them.”
Audrey was going to point out that he hadn’t seen the women since their injuries because he had been in Newgate but there was no reason to further agitate Millicent given she was practically caressing the blade of the knife.
“It occurred to me that if I scarred you in the same manner he would no longer want you.”
“You can’t go around maiming any woman Trent happens to glance at.”
Millicent cocked her head and looked at Audrey, a thoughtful look upon her face. “You call him Trent. Has he not given you leave to use his first name?”
Actually, he hadn’t. It was not something they ever discussed. One day he was Mr. Trent, then Trent and then Jordan. It was a progression that one has as a relationship moves forward, not that she would say as much to Millicent.
“He has been Jordan to me for a year.” She smiled. “Of course, when a couple shares a child, they are much too intimate to call each other anything other than by their Christian name.” Millicent blew on the blade and then polished it with her handkerchief. “It is nice to know you and he have not been intimate.” She glanced up. “Otherwise, I might be forced to kill you instead.”
“If you didn’t cut Lady Rothsbury or Angelique, who did?”
Millicent shrugged. “I have no idea, but I thank them for taking care of the situation and the idea of what to be done with you.”
Fear lodged in Audrey’s throat as Millicent leaned forward and drew the blade down her cheek. Tears fogged her vision but she blinked them away. One leaked out and ran down her cheek.
“Ah, so sweet.” Millicent wiped it away with the pad of her thumb. “I promise to try and not cause you too much pain.”
Audrey bit her upper lip as Millicent grasped her jaw to hold Audrey’s head steady. “You will heal in no time, but the scar will be hideous.” She grinned again. “Jordan won’t want you when I am done and he will be all mine.”
Jordan lay on the bench, eyes closed and going over his options. It would be easier to concentrate if his head didn’t hurt so much. What happened? The carriage gently swayed as it traveled along the road and he wished he could disappear into oblivion again and wake when the pain was gone.
“I know you are awake,” Lydell said from his side of the carriage.
Jordan slowly opened his eyes and waited for his vision to clear. He then struggled to a seated position, finding it difficult to balance since Lydell had tied his hands in front of him. Jordan stared at his one-time friend. None of this was making sense and he was trying to remember where he was and w
hat was happening. He tried to think back over the events that brought him here. The last clear memory he had was leaving Newgate. He was going to pack and take Audrey to her father and gain permission to marry. What happened after that? He wouldn’t have left London without Audrey and he certainly wouldn’t have decided to travel with Lydell instead.
Why were his hands tied? “What do you intend to do with me.”
“That all depends on what Millicent has done to Miss Montgomery.”
Fear lurched inside him at the thought of Audrey being alone with that deranged woman. Jordan knew deep down to fear for Audrey and wasn’t sure why. Is that why he was with Lydell now? Were they going after his wife? Yet, if Lydell was to help him, he wouldn’t have tied his hands.
The pain increased the more he tried to concentrate and Jordan closed his eyes and simply tried to clear the thoughts from his mind, hoping the fog would clear from his brain.
Lydell leaned forward. “We will be at the estate shortly and I want to caution you about warning your driver or calling out for help.” He produced a pistol from inside his jacket.
Jordan focused on the barrel of the gun. The odds of him escaping quickly diminished.
“You will tell your driver to go on into the house.”
“He will see that my hands are tied,” Jordan pointed out.
“Not if you call to him from inside the carriage.”
The carriage began to slow.
“Do not contradict me,” Lydell warned.
Jordan lifted and eyebrow in challenge. “If I do?”
“Then I will kill the driver and Miss Montgomery next.”
There was a cold glint in Lydell’s light eyes and a hard edge to his tone. Jordan couldn’t risk the driver, and especially Audrey, being hurt or killed. He gave a quick nod of his head.
The carriage rolled to a stop. The weight shifted in the front as the driver moved from his seat and jumped to the ground.
Lydell tossed a blanket on top of Jordan to hide his hands and the rope wrapped around his wrists. The door swung open.
The driver jerked back and frowned. “Are you alright, Mr. Trent?”
Jordan slowly nodded.
“Mr. Trent fell off the bench and hit his head while he slept,” Lydell explained. “I will have my footmen come out and escort him inside.”
“I will be happy to help.”
“It isn’t necessary,” Jordan answered. He wanted the driver away from here before Lydell shot him. The gun may be out of sight again but Lydell could shoot through his pocket if necessary.
“It has been a long night. Have something to eat and get some rest. I will be fine.”
The driver paused, reluctant to leave Trent.
“I’ll see that he is taken care of,” Lydell insisted as he rose from his seat to exit the carriage.
“If you insist.” The driver took a step back.
“I do.” Jordan somehow managed to offer an encouraging smile.
Lydell jumped to the ground and waited until the driver had disappeared around the side of the house before motioning Jordan out of the carriage. They walked toward the front door, Lydell behind him and Jordan could feel the pistol in his back.
Nobody was there to greet them and Lydell unlocked and open the door. The two stepped inside and if Jordan had hoped there was a servant who would come to his rescue he was sadly disappointment. There wasn’t one in sight.
“We are short of staff at the moment.” Lydell nodded toward the grand staircase. “Millicent managed to fire over half the servants before we left for London. She was going to worry about hiring replacements when we returned in the summer.”
Jordan began climbing the steps, taking them slowly. His mind worked frantically at a way to get out of this predicament. He could try and push Lydell down the stairs but what if the gun went off and he shot Jordan? And, he wasn’t much use with his hands tied together like this.
“I had hoped it wouldn’t come to this,” Lydell muttered, almost apologetically. “I rather like you but as long as you live and breathe Millicent will never really be mine.”
“You intend to kill me?”
“Eventually,” Lydell answered. “You won’t be returning to London. I just need to figure out what to do with your body.”
At least he had some time, though Jordan had no idea of knowing how much. He glanced around. Shouldn’t there be a few servants around even if the manor was only half staffed?
“Turn left at the top of the stairs.”
“Where are we going?”
“To the family wing.”
For some reason this gave Jordan comfort. Certainly Lydell wouldn’t kill him where he slept.
He turned as instructed and continued down the corridor and stopped at an arched entry with two heavy doors. Lydell opened one and ushered Jordan inside. “The servants never come in here unless summoned. The walls and doors are thick so nobody will hear you even if they are right outside those doors.”
Ahead of him was a central sitting room with four separate doors. This area was almost as if it was a separate apartment of rooms instead of being part of the manor house.
Audrey wasn’t anywhere to be found. Was she in one of the chambers? Was she in danger?
Jordan took a step forward intending to find Audrey when a blood curdling scream reverberated from the chamber at the end of the room.
He took off at a run. He had to save her. Even if his hands were tied he would find a way to save Audrey. Lydell was running after him, not giving chase, but Jordan suspected the man wanted to stop his wife from whatever she was doing.
His heart stopped when he entered the room, his eyes fixated on Audrey, lying on the bed, eyes wide with stark fear as Millicent placed the blade against her cheek. One droplet of blood emerged as she pressed and broke the delicate skin.
“Stop,” Jordan yelled.
Millicent jerked but thankfully didn’t cut into Audrey’s cheek further. Her face lit with joy as she dropped the knife and moved toward Jordan, arms open. Did she think he had come for her?
“If you harm Audrey I will never forgive you, Millicent.”
She frowned. “But if she is ugly you won’t want her any longer.”
It wouldn’t matter to him how scarred Audrey was because he would always want her though he didn’t voice the thought to Millicent as it could possibly enrage her.
“I am here now,” he said instead. “Just let her go.”
Millicent glanced back at Audrey, then at Jordan.
“Don’t let her go,” Lydell ordered. “She will bring all of Bow Street down on us.”
Millicent bit her bottom lip and her gaze shifted to Jordan’s hands. “Why is he tied?”
“He needs to be gone.”
Millicent rushed forward and put her arms around Jordan. “I won’t let you hurt him. He is mine, the father of my daughter.”
“He is not,” Lydell yelled and grabbed Millicent, turning her until he faced her, his hands firm on her upper arms. “I’ve told you repeatedly. It was I who came to you that night. Trent was never there. I am the father of our daughter.”
She stared up at him. Worry creased her brow. “Why would you lie to me?”
“I lied that night to get into your bed. I am not lying now.”
Millicent glanced at Jordan and then back to Lydell. “I don’t know what to believe.”
“Believe your husband,” Jordan said quietly.
Tears formed in her eyes and Jordan suspected this was the first time in months she may be facing the truth or leaving her deranged world. While it was a relief, it could very well be dangerous for him and Audrey. Her madness was too hard to predict and they could both be dead within the hour.
“Did you harm those women, Millicent?” Jordan had once dismissed the idea because he thought it impossible until he saw her with a knife pressed against Audrey’s cheek. He no longer knew what to believe.
“No,” she answered. “But it did get them out of my way so I though
t to do the same to Audrey.”
“I did it,” Lydell announced.
Jordan’s head snapped to Lydell. He attacked Lady Rothsbury and Angelique. “Why?”
“For the reason Millicent stated. Once they were scarred you would leave them and concentrate on Miss Montgomery. I needed you married, Trent, so my wife would stop going after you.”
For a moment he thought he was going to be ill. It never occurred to him that Lydell attacked the women. Was the husband as mad as the wife?
“Oh, Peter,” Millicent put a hand to her husband’s cheek. “You did that for me?”
“I did that for me.”
“If I ruin Audrey then Trent will be mine.”
“Trent will never be yours,” Lydell bit out. “He’ll end up dead in an alley like the other two.”
Millicent pulled back, confusion swept over her face. “Other two?”
“You killed Dalton and Everton?” Jordan asked for confirmation.
“I am not going to stand by why another man lifted my wife’s skirts.” Lydell grasped Millicent’s arm. “And I needed Miss Montgomery married to you, not Everton.” He started dragging Millicent toward the door.
“You can’t hurt Jordan, I won’t allow it.”
“You have no say, wife.” He glanced back to Audrey and Jordan. “I’ll be back when I’ve decided how best to dispose of the two of you.”
He pushed his wife into the sitting area and slammed the door.
Jordan glanced at Audrey, her face completely devoid of all color with the exception of a small trickle of blood, all the more bright against her white cheek. Thank goodness they had arrived when they did. Her light brown eyes were wide with fright as she stared at the door. Millicent’s knife lay on the bed beside Audrey and Jordan moved to grab it. If he could get the rope cut from his wrist he would have a better chance at fighting Lydell.
The door flew open before he reached the bed. “Not another step, Trent.”
Jordan glanced back to find Lydell moving toward the bed, his pistol leveled on Audrey. As much as he wanted the knife and to be free, he was not going to risk Audrey’s life.
Lydell stepped around Jordan and grabbed the blade. “Stupid woman.” He pocketed it and exited the room. In the silence Jordan heard the click of a lock.