by Lucy Langton
However, as the liquid slid down his throat, it had a very funny aftertaste as though he’d just swallowed chalk. He went to ask Miss Talbot if her drink tasted funny as well, but he found himself losing his balance. Miss Talbot quickly took his glass out of his hand as he stumbled to his knees. His hands went out in front of him as he braced himself on the floor, feeling lightheaded and dizzy.
“What have you done, you witch?” Hugh said, his voice sounding funny in his mouth as he slurred his words. He wanted to yell for Portlock, to summon his servants, but he was having a hard time staying awake.
“I’m only doing what you deserve,” Miss Talbot said as she stood over Hugh. Using her foot, she shoved him onto his side. And being so dizzy, Hugh couldn’t stop her attack. “You’re a pompous fool who should be made an example of.” Hugh’s eyes fluttered shut then, but as adrenaline started to force its way through his veins, he snapped them back open again. This time, he saw Lord Harding standing over him as well as Miss Talbot.
“You,” Hugh tried to yell, but it came out more as a whisper. “I should have known you were behind all of this.”
“You have no idea just what I’m capable of,” Lord Harding sneered down at him. Then, the man’s hands were on Hugh, lifting him up onto the settee. Hugh tried hard to lift his arms and fight against the man, but he couldn’t do a single thing but watch. Every time his eyes fluttered closed and opened once more, he saw another horror in front of him. First, he was undressed down to his long underwear. In the next blink of an eye, he saw Miss Talbot removing her clothes. Hugh was very worried about what these two had planned for him, but he knew that no matter what happened next, he wasn’t going to like it at all.
~*~
Kitty hurriedly paid the petty driver as it came to a halt in front of Hugh’s townhouse. There wasn’t a single ray of candlelight coming from the windows, making the house look quite ominous. Kitty stepped down from the carriage and hurriedly made her way up to the townhouse. Seeing that the front door had been left open, Kitty stopped a moment and stared into the house. It was dark, save for a dim light coming from the sitting room.
Slowly, Kitty made her way into the house. She listened with all her might and soon picked up the sound of a woman. Kitty couldn’t understand what the meaning of all of this was, but her hair was standing on end as she approached the sitting room.
As Kitty looked into the sitting room, her heart completely stopped and then fell into her stomach. She spied Miss Talbot on top of Hugh, who laid on the settee. Miss Talbot was giggling as she picked up Hugh’s hands and had him squeeze her breasts through her chemise. He lay there, unmoving, in only his long underwear. As Kitty took in the scene, her heart started to beat again as she quickly found her voice.
“You monster!” Kitty yelled as she came into the room. Frightened, Miss Talbot quickly jumped off of Hugh and dashed across the room to gather her discarded gown to pull it up to hide her nakedness. Kitty looked at Hugh, his eyes wide with fright as he saw her. His movements were slow as he came up into a sitting position before vomiting all over the floor. Disgusted, she took several steps back.
“How could I ever have felt anything for you, Hugh?” Kitty said as tears started to form in her eyes. “I never want to see you again!” Kitty turned around and walked as fast as she could out of the room. The house sounded like it had just come alive as servants called to one another down the hallway from the servants’ part of the house. But she didn’t want to be seen in the townhouse. She made her way towards the open front door, planning to walk home if need be. Kitty was startled when a figure came to stand in the doorway.
“Miss Worthington, what is wrong?” Lord Harding asked, his face filled with concern for her. She glared at him in return, not wanting anything to do with men.
“It’s none of your business,” Kitty said back, venom dripping from her words. “If you have any sense of your own safety, you’ll stay out of my way.” Kitty marched promptly by him, shrugging off his hands as he tried to steady her. She went quickly down the stairs and into the night, wanting to get as far away from these people as quickly as possible.
Tears came falling from Kitty’s eyes as she walked at a quick pace. She shook with rage and anger, feeling foolish for allowing her heart to open up to Hugh. And now she’d seen what kind of man he really was and that he had only toyed with her heart.
How could she have ever believed that a womaniser such as Hugh could ever truly love someone? And now she’d been tricked by three different men who she had assumed were or could be better than society had detailed them to be.
Kitty crossed over the street and dipped into a dimly lit park. Lanterns flickered above her as she walked along the path. Eventually, she came to a bench and plopped down on it as she buried her face in her hands and her body became overwhelmed with sobs. Her heart was breaking in two and now she didn’t know what to do with herself. For now, she’d let herself grieve for the sudden death of her love-filled heart.
~*~
The moment the contents of Hugh’s stomach had been regurgitated onto the carpet, he seemed to gain more control over his body once more. He tried to yell for Kitty, to convince her not to go so he could explain, but his head was still clearing from the fog created by the drug. Once he did regain his balance and stood on his feet, he turned on Miss Talbot with all the rage and fury of Hell itself.
“You wretched woman. I shall have you hung for this!” Hugh yelled at her as she began to cower.
“He made me do it,” Miss Talbot quickly said as her eyes went to the man that had just stepped into the sitting room. He turned to see Lord Harding sneering at him, and Hugh knew that he wouldn’t be able to contain his temper. He crossed the room in two strides and jabbed the man in the face, sending the Earl to the ground quickly. Lord Harding rolled onto his back, fear in his eyes as he looked up at Hugh.
“I know what you’ve done now,” Hugh said. “And Miss Talbot will either be my witness, or I’ll have her thrown in jail, too.”
“Oh please, Your Grace. Have mercy on me. Lord Harding blackmailed me into doing these things,” Miss Talbot said in a crazed voice. Hugh could tell she was terrified of what he could do to her and knew that he had her in the most perfect situation.
“Then you’re going to listen to everything I say or I’ll completely ruin you,” Hugh said as he looked over his bare shoulder at her. “Now, get dressed.” Miss Talbot only nodded once, her dark brown eyes like globes as she looked frightened. She quickly pulled on her gown and began to compose herself just as Portlock came running into the sitting room.
“What on Earth is happening in here?” Portlock asked as he looked at Lord Harding on the ground and Miss Talbot half-dressed in the process of pulling on her gown. Then his eyes settled on Hugh as he breathed heavily in just his long underwear.
“I’ve been misled, drugged, and now I’m mad,” Hugh answered. “Have someone call for the constable immediately. I need clothes, my carriage readied, and this room cleaned up.” Portlock was clearly shocked by the scene but didn’t hesitate to do what Hugh had ordered. Hugh sighed, thankful to have Portlock woken and brought to him. He could hear the butler’s voice ringing through the house as he barked orders and the servants were woken to do his bidding.
Hugh was about to pull Lord Harding to his feet and contain him till the constable could be collected when the Earl kicked with his leg, sending his boot into Hugh’s thigh. Hugh cried out in pain and stumbled back, giving Lord Harding enough time to get to his feet and dash out the open door.
Hugh roared with anger as he tried to regain his balance. His head was still fuzzy from the drug, making him stagger as he tried to run after the man. But by the time he reached the sitting room doors, Lord Harding was long gone.
“You’ll pay for this!” Hugh called after him. The sound of a carriage taking off from the street sounded in his ears, and Hugh knew that Lord Harding would be long gone before the constable could be summoned.
“Pl
ease, Your Grace. Please let me go as well,” Miss Talbot said as she slowly approached him. “My parents will be home soon and will discover that I am not in bed like I should be.” Hugh turned on her, daggers in his eyes as he stared down at her.
“Then you should have thought of that before agreeing to this rouse with Lord Harding,” Hugh snarled at her. “You’ll find now that this trickery has resulted in disastrous results that you will confess to in order to set the record straight.”
“But I’ll be ruined,” Miss Talbot stammered, stepping several steps back from Hugh.
“You were already ruined when you agreed to this plot. You’ve been spotted in gaming hells for months now and have surely already tarnished your family’s name,” Hugh continued, his anger only seeming to rise with every passing second. He needed to ready himself so he could go after Kitty and explain everything to her.
“Everything is ready, Your Grace,” Portlock said as he came back into the room. Hugh turned and watched as the man pulled his handkerchief from his pocket and placed it over his nose. The stench of Hugh’s vomit was starting to stink up the room, yet Hugh was too livid to even notice.
“Escort Miss Talbot to the drawing room. As soon as the constable arrives, make sure she confesses everything. And until she does, she does not leave this house,” Hugh instructed. Hugh then moved past Portlock and jogged up the stairs to his bedchamber. As expected, his footman was there and ready to help Hugh get cleaned up and dressed once more.
His body was filled with anger and hatred towards Lord Harding, making him feel warmer than normal as though he was coming down with a fever. A part of him wanted to run off into the night to track down Lord Harding and finish what he’d started with the man. But he knew that it was more important to find Kitty and ensure that she got home safely. He could only imagine what state she was currently in after seeing him almost naked with Miss Talbot.
His anger only continued to grow as he was finally ready to head out into the night. He moved quickly and almost ran down the stairs to the foyer. He could hear Miss Talbot crying in the drawing room, but he didn’t worry about that now. He trusted Portlock to keep a close eye on the woman and not let her wailing soften him.
As Hugh finally made his way out the front door, his carriage was pulling up in front of the townhouse. His coachman looked tired but seeming to be aware of the situation as he said, “Don’t worry, Your Grace. We’ll find that vile scum.” Hugh couldn’t help smirking as he looked up at the driver.
“First, we need to find Miss Worthington. She was quite shocked and will no doubt be in a disastrous state. I fear she may have tried to walk home,” Hugh explained. Concern came over the coachman’s face as he nodded.
“Let’s look for her, Your Grace,” the coachman said as he patted the space on the bench beside him. Hugh had never ridden up front like this before and figured it would give him a better vantage point than sitting in the carriage and peering out the window. Hugh pulled himself up the side of the carriage like he’d seen the footman do a hundred times before and came to sit next to the driver. As soon as he was seated, the driver flicked the reins and sent the horses off into a fast canter. Hugh kept his eyes focused on the streets as he looked everywhere for any signs of Kitty, praying that she would soon be found safe.
Hugh felt an overwhelming wave of grief flood through his body at the thought of losing his dearest friend and sweetheart. He had to prove to Kitty that it was all a big misunderstanding, and hopefully Miss Talbot’s confession would help his cause. Hugh had developed such strong feelings for Kitty that he couldn’t imagine ever losing her for good. Portlock’s words about continuing the Blackmore bloodline came back to mind, and Hugh knew that the only person he ever wanted to have a family with was Kitty. Hugh knew then that he needed to find Kitty and reveal the truth to her at any cost.
Chapter 15
Anxiety was running rampant through Hugh as he clung to the side of the carriage as it rumbled down the street. His eyes scanned the streets from side to side, praying and pleading that he’d spot Kitty. He needed to know that she was safe, that she hadn’t been sought after by Lord Harding. Hugh knew that the madman was currently running wild on the streets and no one could trust the Earl. Hugh couldn’t believe that he’d been tricked so by the man, and he was eager to ruin him completely as soon as he’d found Kitty and made sure she returned home safely.
Through the dim light of the street lanterns, Hugh peered into a park they were currently passing. In the shadows of the park, he saw movement and his heart seemed to stop beating for a moment as he caught the shimmer of Kitty’s gown.
“Stop!” Hugh cried out to the driver. Hugh had to tighten his grip on the carriage as the coachman pulled hard on the reins, forcing the horses to dig in their hooves and immediately stop. The moment it was safe, Hugh leapt down from the driver’s seat and took off into the park, running in order to confirm that it was Kitty.
“Kitty!” Hugh said as he approached her. She’d been sitting on a bench in the low light, lost in what seemed to be a sea of tears. As she looked up at him, she looked startled. But then that surprise soon turned to anger as she quickly wiped her face and stood.
“Don’t you dare come near me! I’m done with you, Hugh,” Kitty said as she turned her back on him and started walking further into the park even though it had become quite dark. The further they walked, the darker it became as Hugh continued after her.
“Kitty, please. I’m begging you to only hear me for one minute so that I might explain,” Hugh pleaded. “It was not what it looked like.”
“It was exactly what it looked like,” Kitty said as she turned on her heels and poked her finger at Hugh. “I should have known that you’d bed a woman like Beatrice Talbot.”
“I had received a note from you stating that you were waiting for me at my townhouse,” Hugh explained. “I came home as soon as I could to find Miss Talbot in the sitting room. She explained that you were on your way and then drugged me with a drink. I had no control over my body!” Kitty had turned and started walking away from him again, and he was starting to lose hope that he’d be able to convince her on his own.
“I don’t want to hear any more of your lies!” Kitty called back over her shoulder. She had pulled up her gown to where the hem was just above the ground. If she needed to, she could make a run for it and lose Hugh in the dark park.
“Don’t you think it’s strange that Lord Harding appeared the moment you came into the sitting room?” Hugh cried out, needing her to see reason. Kitty stopped then, remembering that she’d seen Lord Harding in the doorway as she ran out of the house. She’d forgotten that as she remembered the scene in the sitting room over and over again.
“He was the one that arranged all of this, Kitty. The moment I was drugged and unable to move, he stripped me of my clothes and put me on that settee so that when you came in, you’d see Miss Talbot on top of me in little more than her chemise as well,” Hugh cried out. Kitty turned slightly towards him, and Hugh finished catching up to her. He looked down at her, tears still in her blue eyes as she searched his face for answers.
“I had attended the opera with Miss Talbot and her family this evening,” Kitty began to say. Her fists clenched as she spoke. “Miss Talbot had returned home during the intermission, explaining that she didn’t feel well. Then, when the opera was finished, I received a note from you, Hugh, requesting that I come to your home immediately.”
“But it wasn’t from me,” Hugh said, trying to soften his voice and not frighten her away. “It had to be from Miss Talbot or Lord Harding. The moment I was done talking with the Royal Magistrate, I received a note as well. It leads me to believe that we were both being watched carefully tonight.” Kitty didn’t respond but only nodded her head. Hugh reasoned that she was starting to believe him but would be too stubborn to actually apologise or offer forgiveness. Hugh knew Kitty too well to believe anything could be remedied tonight.
“Come. Take my carriage hom
e,” Hugh offered as he stood back and gestured to the path they needed to take to depart from the park. “We both could use some rest, but I won’t be able to until I know you are home safely.”