Improperly Enticed By The Rascal Earl (Steamy Historical Regency Romance)

by Olivia Bennet

  He liked red hair.

  Sadly, it was the only feature this unfortunate woman shared with Miss Walters.

  It would have to be enough for the evening.

  He had come to this brothel, one he frequented often, to get away from his house and the girl he had kidnapped in a fit of madness. Standing, he sauntered to the bed, taking a deep drink of his scotch. The woman sat up with a coy smile, and the sheet fell around her hips.

  He did not remember her name.

  It did not matter.

  “What would please you tonight, My Lord?” she purred.

  He tilted his head and studied her for several moments before answering, “To forget.”

  Her brow furrowed slightly, but she quickly hid her confusion with a sultry expression.

  “What is it I can help you forget?”

  Setting his glass down, he rested his hands on the bed and leaned down so his face was level with hers.

  “I went to the house of the lady I love to ask for her hand, only to find out she has been stolen away from me,” he hissed.

  He had arrived at the Walters’s house and gone through the garden, hoping to run into Miss Walters. He knew she often enjoyed reading out there, but instead of the eldest Walters sister, he encountered the youngest. Miss Sophia had been pacing in the garden, her face flushed. With slow steps he had approached her, putting on a wide smile to convince her he meant her no harm.

  Miss Sophia was too trusting for her own good. Victor had always thought so. She was silly and bothersome, always sticking her nose where it did not belong. He would rather avoid her all together, but she was often the most willing of the sisters to speak with him. She would give him information about Miss Walters that he could use to get closer to her.

  It had been obvious the girl was upset. He had gently questioned her until she had admitted to him that she had fought with Miss Walters. The horrible truth had flowed from her immediately after. She had discovered her sister had become engaged, but not to him.

  No.

  To Morrington.

  The memory filled him with the same rage he had felt the moment Miss Sophia had told him the unfortunate news. Then, he had lost all reason and taken the girl, knowing it would hurt Miss Walters to not know where her sister had gone. Now, as he stared into the eyes of the red-haired woman who was not his Miss Walters, he felt reason slipping away from him again.

  “You must be so heartbroken,” the woman murmured seductively, completely unaware of the threat bearing down on her. “Shall I kiss it better?”

  Filth. This woman is filth.

  She is not Miss Walters.

  He raised his hand and wrapped his fingers around her throat.

  Her smile widened, until he squeezed, and fear entered her gaze.

  “Do not speak another word,” he snarled. “You cannot heal what is broken inside me, but you can bear the brunt of my frustrations.”

  He pushed her down, pinning her in place. She struggled and tried to scream, but he muffled her cries with his hand and fell on her in a fury.

  Chapter 34

  “Lord Burrows was indeed seen entering his townhouse with a young lady in his company. This was two days ago.”

  Edwin released a breath he had been holding for some time and nodded to the detective he and Habtage had hired to assist them in their efforts to locate Miss Sophia. They stood in Edwin’s study in his townhouse, the detective having arrived not long before to report his findings thus far.

  “Do you know if the lady is unharmed?” Edwin asked, his heart thumping at the possibility that she was not.

  The detective, a grizzled looking fellow with a permanently furrowed brow, shook his head.

  “I am not certain, My Lord. She was seen entering the residence, but she has not been seen leaving it. Lord Burrows, on the other hand, has come and gone on several occasions within the past few days.”

  Edwin shot a look toward Habtage, who stood next to him. They had both been thinking the same thing since it had become clear that Lord Burrows was the one who had abducted Miss Sophia. Neither of them had ever liked the gentleman. They both had had concerns about his character, but this?

  Why would he take the girl?

  “Do you know if Lord Burrows is at his residence now?” Habtage asked.

  The detective shrugged. “I cannot say for sure, My Lord, but it is unlikely. I have a man of mine posted who is to send word to me whenever Lord Burrows returns, and I have not heard from him since the gentleman departed last night.”

  Edwin’s mind began to race as a plan formed.

  “We would like you to continue to investigate Lord Burrows,” he said quickly. “We want to know why he has done this. Whatever information you can uncover about him, please pass it on.”

  The detective nodded. “Yes, My Lord.”

  Turning to Habtage, Edwin continued, “You and I will go to his residence immediately and retrieve Miss Sophia if she is there, and he is truly away.”

  Determination flashed in his friend’s eyes. “I will have word sent to the Walters upon our return that we have secured her. They will want to come to London as soon as possible to see for themselves whether she is well or not.”

  As the detective left and Edwin and Habtage prepared to depart as well, Edwin prayed that they were not too late and Miss Sophia was all right.

  Please let Burrows not be the monster I believe him to be.

  * * *

  Lord Burrows’s butler appeared surprised when he answered the door barely twenty minutes later. He appeared a feeble old man who was well past the point of retirement, but he greeted them with a steady bow.

  “My Lords, how may I be of assistance?”

  “Is your master about?” Habtage questioned.

  The old butler shook his head. “I am afraid not. Lord Burrows has been away since last evening, though he should be due back any moment if you wish to wait for him.”

  “That will not be necessary,” Edwin said with a shake of his head. “We are actually not here for him. We are here for a young lady he may have brought home with him.”

  “You mean the poor child sick with fever?”

  Edwin felt the air rush from his lungs. “Fever? Miss Sophia is ill?”

  The butler nodded. “Yes, My Lord. Quite ill, in fact…”

  Edwin did not wait a moment longer. He pushed past the butler into the house, ignoring the man’s startled cries. Habtage was right behind him and they dashed for the stairs and up to the second floor. One by one, they threw open every door they came upon in search of her, calling out her name frantically.

  By the time they reached the end of the hall, the old butler had made his way up after them.

  “My Lords, I must insist that you depart from here at once!” he huffed.

  Edwin ignored him as he opened the final door. Inside was a bedroom, and he gazed around until his eyes found the bed. To his great relief, Miss Sophia was tucked beneath the covers. His long strides ate up the length of the room between them. She appeared to be asleep, but she was flushed and warm to the touch when he laid his hand against her forehead.

  Whirling, Edwin barked at the butler who had entered the room after him, “What has happened to her?”

  The old man appeared startled by his tone. “As I said, My Lord, the young lady is quite ill. Lord Burrows found her collapsed in the street and carried her here. He had gone to fetch a physician and her chaperone had already left to inform her family of her location and state, but neither has returned from doing so as of yet.”

  “And I very much doubt either will,” Habtage growled. “Especially considering that there was never any chaperone to speak of.”

  He moved to the side of the bed to study Miss Sophia’s sleeping form himself.

  Edwin turned his attention back to the butler. “I am afraid I must inform you that Lord Burrows has deceived you. He did not find this young lady on the street. He has in fact kidnapped her from her home and brought her here against her w
ill.”

  The butler’s eyes widened with horror. “Are you certain, My Lord?”

  Edwin nodded. “Yes. We are here on behalf of her family to retrieve her.”

  The butler began wringing his hands and muttering, “Oh, dear …”

  Habtage turned to face him as well. “Do you know where your master is at this moment?”

  Shaking his head, the old man replied, “I swear to you, My Lord, I do not. Lord Burrows often comes and goes without informing us where to and when to expect him back. He is…he is not an easy man to work for.”

  Edwin suspected that was a grave understatement.

  “We are taking the lady with us,” he stated. “Please, would you send word the moment Lord Burrows arrives home? He must face the consequences for his actions.”

  To his surprise, the butler nodded quickly. “Yes, My Lord. Of course, My Lord. I will inform you the moment he steps through the door.”

  It did not appear Lord Burrows had won over the stalwart loyalty of his staff. It was yet another fact that did not surprise Edwin in the least.

  Habtage bent down over Miss Sophia and gently took her into his arms, picking her up and cradling her against his chest. She murmured and whimpered, but did not wake.

  How severe could her condition be?

  Edwin worried anew at her state of wellbeing, but knew they had no time to waste. If Lord Burrows came home now and caught them, he was not sure exactly what the gentleman might be capable of.

  But I do not believe we would leave here unscathed.

  “Let us hurry along. The sooner we get her away and to safety, the sooner we can fetch her a physician,” Edwin declared.

  He and Habtage hurried past the butler, who stepped aside to let them pass, and made their way back out of the house to Edwin’s waiting carriage. He helped Habtage load Miss Sophia inside, and then was just about to climb into the vehicle himself when a strange feeling overwhelmed him. He paused and turned to look around.

  It felt as though someone were watching him.

  Yet, there was no one in sight.

  I am simply imagining things. Lord Burrows’s behavior has me spooked.

  Still, he could not shake the sensation that eyes were on him even as the carriage drove down the drive and away from Lord Burrows’s residence.

  * * *

  They have taken my only leverage.

  Victor watched Lord Morrington’s carriage rumble away from his house, his captive Miss Sophia securely inside. He cursed silently from his hiding place among the trees surrounding his property. Without Miss Sophia, he had no bargaining chip. No way to persuade the authorities or her family to let him go.

  He had planned to trade her for his freedom, knowing they would be coming for him eventually. Unfortunately, he had not expected them so soon.

  When the carriage was completely out of sight, he almost stepped out into the open to go into his house, but then he paused.

  They have discovered her in my home. They have likely set some kind of trap for me.

  Perhaps he should not return to the house after all. He could imagine how easily his staff might have turned on him, promising to spy or report his movements should he come back.

  No, I should not return to the house.

  Turning, he slipped away from the property and reemerged out on the street. Ducking his head, he hurried to his way. He avoided making eye-contact with anyone as he went. He needed to be invisible. He was good at becoming invisible.

  Victor was a survivor, and did whatever he had to in order to make it from one day to the next. Sometimes, he did horrible things to people, but it was all justified. So long as he continued on, no one else mattered.

  He made his way to an inn he often frequented when he was not welcome at the brothel. Slipping inside, he rented a room and went up to it, shutting and locking the door behind him. Alone and safe for the time being, he sunk down on the bed and dropped his face into his hands.

  How has everything gone so wrong?

  It was not supposed to be this way.

  Miss Walters was supposed to be his. Everything else he owned, he had first coveted, then taken for his own. Some might call him greedy, even sinful, but he knew better. The world owed him a great debt for the way he had grown up, abandoned by a mother who did not want him and left for dead in the streets. He was simply collecting on it when the opportunities arose.

  He sat for some time and thought back to try and determine the moment things had started to go astray for him.

  At what point did my fortunes take a turn for the worst?

  The answer came to him like lightning striking a tree.

  Morrington.

  It had all started going badly when Lord Morrington had arrived in Laurelborough. He came into Victor’s world and began unraveling everything he had worked so hard to build at the seams. He had distracted Miss Walters from Victor, turning her gaze away from the person she was truly supposed to be with.

  Lord Morrington had taken her. Stolen her.

  “He should pay,” he spoke out loud into the empty room. “He should pay for what he has done. For how he has wronged me.”

  He would hurt Lord Morrington as thoroughly as he had been hurt. Lord Morrington had taken something he loved from him, and he would do the same in turn.

  But what does Lord Morrington love?

  Victor had gone to great lengths to find out as much information about Lord Morrington as he could. He knew he was the godson of the Duchess of Cantham, and an orphan. It was too risky to target a lady of such a lofty station as the Duchess, however, so he knew he could not use her for his revenge.

  The next person he thought of was Miss Walters herself, but he was not about to attack her. He loved her far too much to put her in harm’s way.

  No, there must be someone else.

  He focused his thoughts and tried to remember everything he had learned about Lord Morrington. As he recalled, there had been mention of a close friend. A childhood companion who he had gone to great lengths to protect…

  The Countess of Pimperton.

  Victor nearly laughed as the strings of fate spun around him. She had lovely red hair as well, and a much more passing resemblance to Miss Walters than the woman he had nearly killed.

  The Countess it is then.

  Chapter 35

  Tabitha tried to keep her heartbeat steady as she, Unity, and their Papa hurried up the front steps of Edwin’s townhome. He had found Sophia, and she was unharmed, though ill according to Edwin’s message. She could hardly believe it, however. Deep in the darkest part of her soul, Tabitha had begun to think the worst.

  I had been warned Lord Burrows was dangerous…I should have listened.

  This no doubt had something to do with her. Lord Burrows had made no secret of his obsession with Tabitha, and she felt certain he had taken Sophia in order to hurt her. What she could not determine was why, however. She had recalled their last interactions together, and could not think of a reason he would go to such lengths in order to punish her.

  None of that mattered right now, however. She would deal with Lord Burrows later. Sophia’s wellbeing was the only thing she cared about at present.

  Reaching the front door, she knocked, somewhat harder than what would be considered polite, but she did not care. She did not think Edwin would particularly care either.

  The door was quickly opened by a dark eyed butler.

  “Miss Walters, I presume?”

  She nodded. “Yes, as well as Miss Unity and the Baron of Narnwood. We are here for my sister.”

  Without hesitation, the butler stepped aside to allow them to enter. Once the three had gathered in the foyer, the butler stepped around them.

  “If you will follow me, Lord Morrington left instructions that you are all to be taken immediately to Miss Sophia’s room upon your arrival.”

  “Thank you,” Tabitha said. She glanced toward her sister and Papa, who both appeared as strained and exhausted as she felt. None of them
had been able to rest one bit the last few days as they had worried for Sophia’s safety.

  The butler led them up the grand staircase of the house to the second floor, then down the hall before stopping in front of an ornate wooden door. He opened it for them and ushered them inside. The curtains were all drawn over the windows, so the light inside was dim, but Tabitha’s eyes fell on the bed and her sister almost immediately.