by S Cinders
CHAPTER 17
Samantha was not intercepted as she made her way back to Chatterling. And so it was provident that as she raced into the Duke’s great country home that she encountered the men’s rescue party that was gearing up to come out to search again.
“Samantha, thank God!” Lord Shore gathered his little sister into his arms and crushed her against him. “I thought I had lost you.”
“Benj, I am perfectly fine, I assure you. Please, I have something of the utmost importance to say. It cannot wait another moment.”
He didn’t want to relinquish her even for a moment.
Randall stepped forward, “What is it, Samantha?”
“Henry and I were hiding in a cave by the sea when a French man named Rigal approached us with a gun holding us hostage.”
“Oh dear Lord,” Juliana’s hushed cry was smothered by Benjamin.
“He will not live to see another day, mark my words!”
“No!” Samantha placed an arm on her brother’s tense one, “Please we are wasting time.”
Randall stood before her, “What is it you wish for us to do?”
“Henry has overpowered Rigal and taken his gun. French soldiers are coming, please you must go and help Henry. He cannot face them all alone!”
“We shall go at once!” Randall turned to the men at his side. “I know that this is not your war.”
The Duke of Bilkshore bristled, “Are you saying because I was born an American that I am not loyal to England? Be careful of your next word s, Randall. I am still a Duke.”
There was an eerie silence between the men. Many of them hadn’t expected the young American Duke to throw his oar in with the English Army. However, he was a peer of the realm and his title one of the highest in the land.
The Duke’s brothers stood tall around him. It was a formidable sight.
Randall flushed, “I meant no disrespect, Your Grace.”
The Duke nodded slowly, “None taken, let us go immediately.”
“Yes, please, we must return,” Samantha pleaded.
Lord Shore turned to his sister, “Sam, I cannot allow you to go back to the cave. It is no place for a lady. We have been beyond blessed that you were returned to us safe. I won’t place you in harm’s way.”
“You won’t allow me?” Samantha replied hollowly. “Benj, how can you say such a thing? You have never been the type of brother to put onerous restrictions on a sister. And this, you cannot know what you are asking. I won’t obey you, so please do not ask it.”
Lord Shore’s eyes flashed dangerously, “Samantha, you are just a child. You might find this romantic to go about fighting pirates and smugglers, but people die in wars. I am not willing to sit by and watch my sister die. I would no more send Hazel or our daughter down to that cave. I know I have been over indulgent with you. But this is insanity, and I will not tolerate it a moment longer.”
“I am not a child, I am old enough to marry, old enough that mother fears I am on the shelf!” She threw back at him.
He grabbed her arm and pulled her roughly behind him up the hallway to where Hazel stood white faced, “I am certain you heard the whole of it and are in complete agreeance with Samantha.”
Hazel only had to nod once.
He grabbed her with his other arm and marched them both over to where poor portly Freddy. He hadn’t gone on the man hunt, as there wasn’t a horse in the Duke’s stables sturdy enough to carry his current girth.
And despite his attempts to look as invisible as possible, there is only so much invisibility that can come about for a man that size.
“I am counting on you Frederick to keep our women safe,” Lord Shore’s eyes bore down into Freddy’s terrified ones. “Tell me man, are you up to the task?”
“Oh,” Freddy’s ruddy face was flushed with discomfort. He fumbled nervously with his neckcloth, “Surely I will, that is to say, I am confident they will behave just as they ought, Shore.”
Lord Shore narrowed his eyes, “They will do nothing of the sort, and that is why I will be locking them in my bedchamber. But I am going to entrust the key to you. Can you keep it safe?”
He spoke the words slowly drawing out each syllable.
Freddy’s color drained, he was never very good in a trial of any sort, but he knew that this was his cross to bear, “Of course, Shore,” he gulped, “I shan’t let you down.”
Samantha and Hazel didn’t fight Lord Shore as he towed them up to his assigned bedchamber, but Hazel did turn her head away when he leaned in for a kiss.
“Do not think that I am on good terms with you, husband because I am so furiously angry I could rip your eyes out at the current moment.”
He took a step back, “I am only trying to protect you. Hazel, I love you.”
Her cold smile glittered like diamonds, “That is why you still see. I love you, too foolish man, now be gone.”
He turned once more to Samantha, but she had her back to him so with a resigned sigh he left locking the door from the outside.
After his footsteps echoed down the hallway, Samantha turned to Hazel, “How long do we have until Lucy springs us out of here?”
Hazel cocked a brow, “I can’t imagine more than half an hour at most. Now, tell me everything, and do not leave out a single detail.”
CHAPTER 18
It was thirty-two minutes before a key was heard scraping against the lock and the door was flung open. Lucy stood there panting with her dress a bit askew and her hair looking a bit worse for wear.
“Gracious,” Samantha took a step back, “What happened to you?”
Hazel’s eyes danced with merriment, “I do hope you didn’t end up with rug burns on your knees, dearest.”
Lucy turned scarlet.
“What are you talking about?” Samantha demanded.
Hazel laughed, “Ask your Mr. Harris. I am positive he will be more than happy to provide instructions.”
Lucy blanched, “Hazel, you cannot possibly send Samantha asking questions about such things!”
Hazel shook her head in delight, “You don’t know Lucy, our little girl has been getting up to all kinds of naughtiness.”
Lucy turned her gaze on a rather red Samantha, “Are you trying to destroy your reputation? What are you thinking?”
Samantha wrinkled her nose, “Lucy, take a damper, for a moment you sounded exactly like my mother.”
Hazel wrinkled her nose, “I hope never to hear those words uttered in my direction. And besides Lucy, lighten up, they are in love.”
Lucy brightened considerably, “No one ever mentioned lo ve—t hat changes everything!”
Samantha smiled hopefully, “It does?”
Lucy’s expression fell, “No, you dolt! Not if your beau ends up smashed to bits tonight and you're traipsing about is uncovered. Now, we had best round up Juliana and Vivian. We are going to need all the help that we can get!”
“What about Freddy?” Samantha asked hesitantly, “Won’t he catch us sneaking out?”
Lucy smiled wickedly, “Oh, no dear. He will be out for quite a while. I made sure of it.”
Hazel laughed heartily, “You naughty minx!”
“With Freddy?” Samantha wailed. “It’s bad enough pretending that Benjamin and Hazel live strictly platonically when there are noises that one simply cannot get out of one’s head.”
Lucy glanced appreciatively at her friend, “Do tell.”
“Not right now! Or I shall never have stories of my own to tell for my dear Henry is likely to be murdered by spies. I don’t know how he has managed on his own for all of these years without me.”
The ladies crept quietly along the corridor and approached Juliana’s bedchamber but it was empty, and she was nowhere to be found.
It didn’t take them long to free Eden who wished them well on their way but chose to go up to the nursery to cuddle her little one.
Eden pushed her spectacles up flushing mildly, “I might be in a particularly interesting condition, and
I wouldn’t want my delicate stomach ruining the entire affair.”
The ladies quickly hugged the Marchioness and wished her well on their new arrival, but made hast not wanting to wait any longer to free Vivian.
The four women armed with nothing more than some ancient swords they found hanging on the gaming room wall snuck out into the night. The air was brisk and the mood as damp as the grass. Each of the ladies knew in their hearts that they wanted to do what was right for home and country. But they were not fighters, and certainly not soldiers.
Samantha stopped them, “We need a plan. We can’t just go in there willy-nilly and expect that things will automatically work out in our favor.”
Lucy rolled her eyes, “Nothing is going to work out in our favor. I am fully praying for an act of God to see us through.”
Hazel looked up, “Do you have such a relationship that you might request such favors at any moment?”
Vivian snorted, “I would be more than willing to bet she had a fast deal arranged with the adversary.”
“Viv!” Lucy stamped her foot in protest, “What a sisterly thing to say, and I will have you know that I am very religious.”
Vivian rolled her eyes when Lucy turned around making the other ladies laugh.
“Well,” Samantha tried to deflect the squabbling siblings, “we will take all of the help that we can get—heavenly or otherwise.”
Hazel grinned, “I think Sam approves with your association with the Devil, Lucy.”
“Sam can go to the Devil for all I care,” Lucy muttered crankily.
Sam laughed aloud, “I have a strong affection for you too, Lucy.”
Vivian stopped in her tracks, “Do you see that? Just there!”
They looked across the water to see a boat gliding away from England towards to channel. But they did not see their men. These were rough characters. They seemed huge and menacing.
“Get down!” Lucy called out, and we dropped to the ground beside her.
“Do you think they saw us?” Vivian asked hesitantly.
“It was a rather far distance,” Hazel reasoned, “And why would they be looking up on the hillside?”
But Sam knew that they had indeed seen them. Because her eyes had locked on a very familiar pair of eyes, one that she had grown to adore in such a short period of time.
“They have Henry,” her worst fears were coming true. Sam fought back nausea that threatened to overtake her.
Someone, anyone—this couldn’t be how it ended.
CHAPTER 19
The men came up slowly over the passageway to the cave. It would seem that they had been too late. There was a battle that had ensued. But aside from a few cuts and bruises, and a large dose of battered pride. None of the men were worse for wear—except Henry.
He was now a prisoner of war. And the thoughts of what they could be doing to him tortured Samantha. It didn’t matter how much Lord Shore ranted and raved, she didn’t hear a thing.
It wasn’t until Hazel placing an arm on her husband’s sleeve to calm him said the words, “We will get him back.” That Samantha turned and looked halfway human again.
“I’ve lost the most important thing in the world to me,” she whispered.
Lord Shore did not take kindly to hearing these kinds of statements coming from his unattached younger female sibling especially in front of a large group of people.
“Samantha, watch your tongue,” the rebuke was meant to help her regain her wits but she paid him no heed.
“What are we to do?” she asked turning to Lord Randall for support.
Randall, knowing he was in a very precarious position, eyed his best friend carefully, “Miss Shore we will do all that we can to recover Mr. Harris. He is a seasoned veteran of war and I dare say the most clever in these types of predicaments of all men that I know. We will pursue him, I will check in with Colonel Brad and then we shall be on our way.”
Samantha nodded woodenly.
Hazel wrapped her arms around her sister in law, “Let us get you inside, dear.”
The rest of the crew started back to Chatterling. Assignments would have to be made and decisions would be executed as quickly as possible.
Vivian stood near the back of the crowd itching her arm where a few of the red welts from earlier in the day still resided. Her breathing had much improved and she was never one to make a fuss.
“You shouldn’t be out here,” Ian’s deep voice rang out to greet her in the darkness.
“Oh,” Vivian flushed, and stopped scratching. “I did not see you there Mr . Stanford. I beg your pardon.”
“No need,” he came toward her, his towering height dwarfing her own. He was dark where she was light. It was a picture of contradictions, and yet there was something very attractive about the pair . “I wanted to check in on you, anyhow. So, I am glad that I have this moment to speak with you.”
Vivian willed her pale cheeks to stop flaming with color. This was not the first man to pay her any attention. So, why was she acting so twitterpated. It was beyond reason and she gave herself a stern talking to.
“There was no need to check in with me, Sir. I assure you, I am perfectly alright, as you can very well see. Now, if that is all, I must be off.”
She turned to leave him, but Ian caught her arm. His large hand burned her even though they were clothed. His eyes seemed to take her dismissal as a challenge, “I can see that you are perfect, Miss Pressmiser, but that is not why I wished to speak with you.”
Vivian quirked a brown as if to say, very well then, proceed.
He almost smiled, “I wanted to apologize for earlier. I did not realize that you could not tolerate the animals.”
Vivian looked away, she hated anyone finding fault with her. Even on things that she knew perfectly well that she could not control. “Thank you, but I could have exerted myself further.”
This time his lips did twitch, “I was pretty adamant that we go into the stables.”
Vivian bristled, “Are you implying, Mr. Stanford that you forced me to do something I did not wish to do?”
The very idea of this man!
The left side of his lips tipped up, “Are you implying that my company is so appealing that you would risk your health just so that you do not leave my side?”
Vivian let out a puff of anger, “Of all the conceited notions! No, I did not stay with you out of some calf-lovesickness, you hauled me in there before I could tell you the truth.”
“Then it is as I said?” Ian was grinning now. “And I do owe you an apology.”
Vivian wasn’t even certain what they were arguing about. All she knew was that this tall rugged American was starting to really infuriate her. And the more he smiled at her apparent irritation, the more she wanted to smack that same smile clear off of his face.
“You are impossible !” She jerked her arm out of his hold and went to storm off. It would have been a grand exit had there not been a rabbit hole two steps directly in front of her.
Vivian felt her ankle roll and the next thing she knew she had fallen to the ground screaming out in pain.
Ian flew to her side, “I am so very sorry! I shouldn’t have antagonized you.”
“You can bloody well stop apologizing!” she bit off, as tears welled in her eyes. Her ankle hurt like the dickens, not that she wanted to admit that to him.
“Can I see your foot?” Ian was already lifting her skirt.
Vivian screamed and kicked out, which only managed to tweak her already damaged ankle.
Ian had caught her foot before it could strike him but he lifted her leg causing Vivian to fall back on her elbows.
Her skirts billowed around her and it was a confection of lace and frills. Ian could smell the Jasmine wafting from her clothing and wondered if she also used the oil when she bathed.
His cock stirred.
This was not expected, nor was it wanted. He frowned looking at the delicate boot in his hand.
“I am going to remove your bo
ot to see how bad your ankle is.”
Vivian had given up fighting and sat there with her teeth clenched—trying not to cry.
He was tender and gentle with her and noted that she had indeed sprained her ankle but the damage did not seem to be too bad. A few days off of her feet and she would be right as rain.
But for the time being, he needed to get her back to Chatterling.
“I am going to carry you back to the estate. I do not think that your ankle is broken. However, it might be best to have the Doctor sent round to take a look at it. The swelling is starting to increa se. We need to get you back.”