“I do not think it,” Leonard replied without hesitation. “I know it.”
The Viscount chuckled and kicked his horse forward, the two men riding neck-and-neck through the black forest.
“I will welcome you into our family with arms wide,” he assured Leonard but it was difficult for the Duke to take the word with any genuine excitement. He still could not shake the terrible sense of foreboding that Elizabeth was in danger and that the Viscount would never have an opportunity of embracing Leonard into his family.
He glanced at the shoe and a shiver slid through him. One shoe at the scene of the kidnapping, another on Alexander Cooke’s property.
What else is Elizabeth without?
Chapter 25
The cuts on her wrists were aching terribly and Elizabeth was certain they were infected but her captor did not wish to hear of it. She struggled against the ties and cried out when the twine touched her freshly opened wounds. Once more, she sat bound to a chair but she had been twisted into a much tighter bind. She could not move an inch.
“Why did you run?” he growled furiously. “What did you think would happen if you did something so rash?”
“I had hoped to escape,” Elizabeth replied dryly.
“You may laugh but you are as good as dead if Cooper finds you. He is half-mad at best.”
“Then you should permit me to leave,” Elizabeth told him earnestly, her eyes wide and pleading.
Earlier that day, when she had seen it was Mark who had caught her in the woods, Elizabeth had been momentarily relieved. For a fleeting second, she thought he was going to permit her to continue running but her hope was instantly crushed when he grabbed her and dragged her further into the woods.
“Where are you taking me?” she cried.
“Keep your voice down!” Mark snarled, his ire nearly palpable. “What have you done?”
It was then that she realized he was not turning her back toward Cooper and the glimmer of faith she had returned. The kindness she had bestowed upon Mark on the first day had blossomed and the kidnapper had become her savior.
They paused at a small cabin after close to an hour of walking. When they entered, four bats flew at them, causing Elizabeth to scream.
“Are you daft?” Mark snapped. “He is out there looking for you.”
“Why do you not return me to him?” She knew it was a dangerous question but Elizabeth needed to know where his mind was for him to perform such a treasonous act against the man who was clearly in charge.
“Killing you was not part of the deal,” Mark muttered. “Sit down.”
He gestured at a chair which barely appeared as though it could support her weight but she did not argue when he pointed the pistol at her again.
“I do not wish to hurt you, Miss Elizabeth but you are leaving me little choice. If I have to choose between your life and mine, I will choose mine, make no mistake.”
She believed him entirely and allowed him to rebind her to the chair.
“I will not run from you, Mark,” she told him. “Please, there is no need to bind me.”
Mark scoffed at her.
“You have fooled me enough,” he barked. “I will not be fooled again.”
She stared at him imploringly.
“If you do not bring me back to Mr. Cooper, what do you intend to do?”
“You ask too many questions!” Mark snapped. “Give me a moment to think in silence!”
“You can release me, Mark,” she told him. “I will never tell anyone about you. I will say it was Cooper who acted alone—”
“Shut your mouth!” Mark whirled to stare at her and Elizabeth clamped her mouth closed, terrified at what she saw in his eyes. It was the first time she had seen any true sign of danger and she realized that she had pushed him much too far. She lowered her eyes demurely.
“Forgive me, Mark. I did not intend cause you trouble.”
“Well you did!” he spat. “Now I must figure out what to do with you.”
Elizabeth could not be certain what options he was entertaining but she was moderately sure that killing her was not one of them.
“If Cooper learns that I have helped you and hidden you, that will be a bullet in my back but if I permit you to leave, we will never collect on the ransom.”
Elizabeth waited, her breath held heavily in her chest.
“I will go back to Cooper and convince him to go through with the ransom without you present. When we have our money, I will come back and free you.”
Elizabeth was paralyzed with fear.
“Y-you intend to leave me here alone for a day—bound?”
“Have you a better idea?” he snapped. “It is the only way.”
“What if he refuses to go through with it?”
Mark snickered coldly.
“He will not. It is all he wants. This is our final raid. Once we have collected the funds, we will disappear from Britain, never to be seen again.”
“You cannot leave me here bound,” Elizabeth insisted. “I do not wish to ever see Cooper again. I will wait here until you return, I swear it, Mark but you cannot—”
“It is not a subject for debate,” he retorted. “You have done more than enough flimflamming of your own, Miss Elizabeth.
He did not permit her an answer and he disappeared into the woods, leaving her calling out after him. When he had gone, Elizabeth clamped her mouth together, the threat of Cooper finding her filling her mind. She could not yell for assistance, not when she did not know where she sat, her fingers growing cold from lack of blood. Her eyes darted around the tiny space, looking for anything she might be able to use to free herself but there was nothing but four walls and sleeping bats who she could not see.
Elizabeth glanced down at her lap, noticing how pale her feet had gone. She would not last in such a situation for an entire day. She needed to free herself again.
She moaned quietly as she strained against the chair, the seat rocking precariously beneath her.
The chair in the cellar loosened the binds when it broke. This one will splinter with ease.
She dismissed the warning voice in her head which told her not to aggravate the wounds on her wrists. She had no other choice.
With a crash, she heaved herself sideways, the chair cracking with the motion. In seconds she was rubbing the twine against the rough edges of the broken wood, gasping in pain.
I will do this. I will break free and get back to Brookside before the ransom goes through. Leonard and Father will not spend one pence on my release, so help me God. I will do this.
She chanted the mantra in her head over and over, until, through the pain and the blood, she once more managed to free herself in the very same manner she had in the cellar. It was odd that Mark would have left her with precisely the same tools to escape but she reasoned that he had likely not had time to discover how she had managed to break free.
He might return to ensure I am where he left me. I must leave at once.
Her arms were cut in so many places, she could not be sure where one injury started and another stopped. Tears of agony slipped down her cheeks but she did not permit herself allowances for self-pity. She threw open the door to the windowless shack and froze, her resolve draining into the blood trails at her feet.
Night had fallen in the hours since she had been brought to the cabin by Mark. The night was deeply awake and the moon barely existent. She was in the depth of the woods, injured, and alone without a sense of direction.
Instinctively, she looked to the stars, attempting to orient herself. It was difficult to know where she was as she did not know how long they had traveled the night she had been taken but she reasoned that if the ransom was scheduled to be picked up within the day, Pembroke must be within a reasonable distance.
But which way?
Elizabeth closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, trying to recall the little she knew about the constellations. It had been a long while since she had sat before a governess but from somewher
e in her exhausted mind, she heard the voice of Agnes sternly calling for her to pay attention as she pointed at the star charts and it all flooded back at once.
She opened her eyes with a start and stepped forward, ignoring the pain in her feet as she walked, veering sharply to the right. With each step she took away from the cabin and, presumably, in the correct direction, her confidence grew. She could not be certain that she was headed toward Pembroke but she was headed away from her captors and was free for the first time in days.
Soon I will be with my family again—and with Leonard.
As she trekked through the woods, the pain began to diminish and a warm heady feeling flowed through her. Elizabeth began to envision her reunion when she finally made her way back to Brookside.
In her mind’s eye, she saw Frances’ tearful face, blubbering with joy as she cried and lectured her for being away for so long. At her side would be Mr. Barlough, stoic but happy to see her.
David would pretend to be brave but there would be water in his eyes also. And of course, her father would be the first to embrace her, declaring his relief loudly and with his usual dramatic flair.
Yet in her vision, she saw Leonard, his sparkling irises alight with gratitude that she had not only returned but saved him from giving his money to Cooper and Mark.
The sky was lightening before Elizabeth made her way out of the wood, her face scratched, dark hair entangled with twigs and leaves. She could imagine what a fright she was and wondered if any passerby would stop if anyone chanced along the seemingly remote road at that hour of the early morning.
She did not slow her pace but her head turned often, looking back for any sign of movement, partially with hope, and partially with fear that Cooper might still be about, searching for her.
Mark must know I have escaped by now. Will he join in the search or has he simply forsaken the idea that I will be captured?
She would not know unless she was again faced with the criminal duo.
And I will not escape a third time. They will see to that without a doubt.
Elizabeth rounded the slow bend of the dirt road, her bearings askew. Her lips were badly chaffed and she desperately needed water but she could not stop, not until she found help.
Suddenly, she stopped, her breath catching with excitement as her eyes fell upon a vast field. Three horses grazed just a couple of yards away. Elizabeth looked about with mounting elation, her heart thumping. If there were horses, then a farm must be nearby, but where?
Her eyes scanned the horizon, seeking a structure of some sort but her gaze found nothing. Tentatively, Elizabeth walked toward the majestic beasts and they did not move as she neared. They were not wild and when she laid her hand upon one brown mare, the equine dipped her black mane low for more affection. Elizabeth looked about again and bit on her cracked lower lip.
She did not see a single soul nor indication of a farm and yet the horses clearly belonged to someone.
“Where do you live, girl?” she murmured to the beast. “Are you close by?”
The mare snorted softly and nuzzled her hand. The sun chose that moment to break through the horizon, splaying golden rays across the field and Elizabeth’s breath was stolen.
That is a sign from God, she decided, pushing aside the inappropriateness of what she was about to do. He is telling me to do this.
“Come along, girl,” Elizabeth said gently, falling alongside the mare. She had not ridden bareback since she was a young girl, being mischievous. She was a noblewoman, after all. Viscount’s daughters did not ride horses in such a scandalous fashion.
Elizabeth mounted the horse with surprising ease, buried her face into the soft mane, and urged her forward. She reminded herself that she was not a Viscount’s daughter in that moment—she was a lady on the run for her life.
And if I must sin to save myself, so be it.
Elizabeth felt no guilt. She was going home.
Chapter 26
Herbert found the Duke in his mother’s gardens, staring aimlessly at the vivid colors as though he did not see them. The Duchess had not tended to the gardens once since Elizabeth had been taken and it troubled Leonard greatly to know that his mother remained in a laudanum induced sleep at all hours of the day and night.
“Your Grace,” the barrister murmured. “We have word as to where the ransom is to be paid.”
Leonard whirled quickly.
“From where?”
Herbert waved the page in his hand and Leonard grunted in frustration.
“Another letter?” he demanded. “How is this possible? Are the guards asleep? What have they been doing?”
Herbert shook his head mournfully but did shuffle forward to place the page in the Duke’s hands.
“What are the guards doing if not guarding?” Leonard roared. “How can three letters have slipped by their posts?”
“I do not know, Your Grace. But God willing, this will be the last.”
Leonard eyed the words on the page and again, he was consumed by a peculiar feeling of consternation.
How did I not suspect earlier that it was not merely highwaymen responsible for this atrocity? What criminal knows how to write, after all?
He read the instructions, his back rigid with tension.
“You will bring the monies at midnight. Come unarmed or the lady dies,” Leonard read aloud. Each syllable rolled about in his mouth, laced with bile.
“Where?” Herbert demanded. “Where is it to be brought?”
“The old mill,” Leonard sighed. “It is bound to be another moonless night. That is undoubtedly why they chose such a spot. It is dark and holds many places to hide.”
He froze.
Could that be where they have been keeping Elizabeth all along?
He was furious he had not considered it before.
“Whatever the reason, Your Grace, we are much closer to having Miss Elizabeth returned to us.”
The relief in Herbert’s voice surprised him. The barrister appeared to have more at stake in Elizabeth’s return than Leonard understood. The Duke studied his face curiously and Herbert sighed deeply.
“Miss Follett is at her wits’ end now. I have assured her that tonight her sister will be back in the safety of Brookside. I do hope I am not made a liar by my words. I do not know how much longer she can be placated, Your Grace.”
“You will not be made a liar,” Leonard told him firmly. “The nightmare ends this night.”
“I have faith in you, Your Grace.”
The Duke wished he had the same faith in himself yet there was little conviction in his voice. There were still so many queries which plagued his mind.
“I must relieve David from his posting,” Leonard told Herbert. “At eleven o’clock, you and Lord Gordon will travel toward the old mill where I will meet you at midnight.”
“That is a harebrained scheme,” Catherine announced. “You must leave David where he stands and travel with Lord Gordon.”
The Duke scowled at his sister and shook his head.
“I will not leave an emotional boy to follow Lord Cooke,” Leonard growled. “I never intended for him to confront Lord Cooke. I only returned for word on where the ransom is to be left. Now that I have it—”
“And what if Lord Cooke does go for Elizabeth?” Catherine sighed. “Surely you cannot believe he will be the one to collect the ransom. It will appear suspicious if you are not with Lord Gordon when the money is exchanged for Elizabeth.”
“Why would he go for Elizabeth if not to exchange her for the money” Herbert demanded. A heavy silence fell between them. Leonard knew precisely why such a thing might occur—the Earl may have no interest in returning Elizabeth whatsoever. It was one of the many issues which troubled him—why would Lord Cooke demand money if his intention was to harm keep Elizabeth? It certainly did not make sense that he would call attention to himself in such a manner. Which was the true matter here—Elizabeth or the ransom? Not for the first time, Leonard considered that the
ransom was merely a distraction so that no one would think Elizabeth was being held for more terrifying purposes. The idea filled him with shivers.
“I should confront the man,” Leonard muttered aloud although he was not speaking to his sister nor Herbert. “Perhaps a good walloping—”
“You must stop with this nonsense!” Lord Gordon snapped, stalking toward them. “We will pay the ransom and Elizabeth will be safely returned. No more poking about manor houses, no more confronting noblewomen in their parlors.”
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