Maria left Eva’s house, feeling sick about what she was to do. This is for her own good – the Earl loves her! He will protect her from Lord Allandale. And I know that Madelene loves the Earl as well, she is merely misguided at the moment. Maria could feel a pair of eyes watching her as she travelled further away from Eva’s house. She shook the feeling off – who could be watching her at this time of the night?
“Do not be silly, Maria.”
She did not have time to lose, she needed to get to Scarborough House as soon as she possibly could – her Mistress’s life depended on it.
*****
Pringle stepped into the light as he watched Maria walk away.
“Well, what do we have here? If you are here, my dear, then that little chit must be here too. That means his lordship’s plan did not go well.”
Pringle crept to the house that the woman had just left and peeked in through the windows. It was still dark, but there was light enough to see the golden head of the young woman that had become a source of trouble for him.
He laughed, hissing when the pain in his ribs increased. The beating he had received at the Viscount’s orders had been severe, but his life had been spared.
“Lord Allandale will be pleased to hear that I know of his bride’s whereabouts. Should bring me into his good graces once more.”
If the woman were here, then Lord Allandale would be on his way back. Pringle decided that the docks were his safest bet to meet the Viscount.
“The man is sure to go there and check on his live merchandise.”
With his mind made up, Pringle slipped back into the darkness.
*****
Hugh arrived back at Scarborough House, his heart light at the prospect of seeing Madelene. The midday sun was hot on his back, and he was glad to find some shade under the massive tree that shadowed the gate. He noticed a horse tethered to the tree and looked around for its rider. Who would leave a horse unattended? However, it didn’t seem to mind its tied state as it was eating at the grass surrounding it. He saw Prescott leave the house and come rushing towards him. As he drew nearer, he saw the concern on his face.
“My Lord, did you not find her?”
Hugh’s heart stopped. “What do you mean? Is she not here?”
“No, My Lord. She is not here, but Maria is.”
Hugh put his fingers through his hair and groaned. He was so sure that Madelene would have been here! Perhaps Maria knew of her whereabouts?
“Have Gavin take my horse, as well as this one tethered to the tree. I will be in my study – send Maria to me once you have entered the house.”
Prescott nodded and immediately set to the task of taking the horses while Hugh strode up the pathway. If he did not find Madelene soon, he was afraid that Lord Allandale would, and he could not live with himself if that happened. He entered the coolness of the house and went straight to his study where he poured himself a brandy. He drank it in one gulp, appreciating the burn that travelled down his throat. He was not a man who often drank, but this situation was a stressful one that called for a heavier beverage. It was not long before he heard a knock on the door.
“Come in!”
Maria entered, looking as worried as he was.
“I am glad that you’re back, My Lord. I’m afraid I have some disturbing news for you.”
“Speak, Maria. Do you know of Madelene’s whereabouts?”
She nodded. “Yes. I’m afraid that my Mistress has put the notion in her head of leaving for America soon. However, my instincts tell me that she will not reach America, not if Lord Allandale has anything to do about it. He has set his sights on my Madelene, and I am afraid that he will find her once again.”
Maria was right. Hugh knew enough of Lord Allandale to know that he would stop at nothing to get what he wanted.
“Tell me where she is, Maria, and I will go and fetch her and bring her back to where she belongs.”
Madelene’s place was here with him, and she would know it soon enough.
*****
Madelene woke up to a man standing at her feet. She squinted, trying to make out who the figure was. Her eyes widened when the man’s face came into focus. Lord Allandale! He had found her! But how? Madelene quickly sat up and looked around her, finding Giles gagged and tied up, and Eva and her children held at gunpoint in the corner by another man. Madelene peered closer. The man looked familiar ... Mr Facet! She got up to strike the man, not caring that he held a gun. Lord Allandale would never allow him to shoot her anyway.
“Why you conniving –”
“Now, now, my dear. Pringle is only doing his job. It’s best you leave him alone.”
Madelene frowned. Pringle? But she was sure that this was Mr Facet.
“I’m sure that you remember him? Not as Mr Facet – that was a more recent disguise. Think back further.”
Madelene’s blood began to boil. She knew it! Mr Facet was indeed the bandit!
“Yes, I see that you recognise him. Now, do not worry about him. If you come with me without a fight, I promise that your friends will remain safe.”
Madelene turned to face the man her own father had tried to protect her from. Oh Father, if only you knew.
“How do I know that you will keep your word?”
Lord Allandale laughed. “You do not, but I am a man of my word – most of the time. Leave with me, and I’ll have Pringle leave them alone. We’ll have to, of course, keep this big man tied up – wouldn’t want him coming after us, would we? But I’m sure that this lovely woman and her children will not try any stunts.”
Eva nodded, tears streaming down her face. She hugged her children closer to her.
“I will come with you, Lord Allandale, but I want you to release them first.”
“And have your man send word to Lord Scarborough? I think not. Come, my dear. We are wasting valuable time.”
Lord Allandale took her arm and dragged her to him, holding her close to his side.
“We leave for North Africa in a matter of hours, my dear, we must be going. We will just have to be married upon the ship.”
He moved to the door, taking Madelene with him.
“Watch them, Pringle. When we are safely away, well, do with them as you will.”
“But you said that you would not hurt them!” Madelene cried.
She struggled to free herself. Better to fight to the death than helplessly watch her friends killed by this man. But Lord Allandale firmly gripped her arms and brought a handkerchief to her face. It was a matter of seconds before everything went dark.
Chapter 14
Maria pointed at Eva’s house, and Hugh rushed forward, but he stopped when he saw a startling image through the windows. Mr Facet was sitting at a table with his booted feet resting on top, twirling a knife in his hand while a pistol sat on the table beside him.
“Facet? What is he doing here?” Hugh muttered.
Hugh suddenly felt sick to his stomach. Is he helping Allandale? I should have trusted my gut from the beginning instead of bringing him into my home! Hugh realised that it may have just been Facet who had hit him over the head with the rock. Doing so had gained him entry into Scarborough, which probably was his intention all along.
“Never again will I go against my own instincts. This may have been avoided!”
But he doubted that. Lord Allandale would have stopped at nothing to have Madelene; that much was certain. The man loved beautiful things, and Madelene was a beautiful woman. Hugh came closer and peered into the windows, horrified at the scene before him. Giles was tied up and gagged, but he appeared knocked out because his head was sitting at an uncomfortable angle. For a second he believed the man dead, but the steady rise and fall of his chest said otherwise. Hugh breathed a sigh of relief. He investigated the rest of the room, finding a woman huddled with her children. This must be Eva. They did not look hurt, but their fear was palpable. This is definitely Lord Allandale’s doing, it has his style written all over it. But where was Madelene?
He quickly turned away and held up his palm, stopping Maria from coming any closer. Hugh walked to her, making sure to keep out of sight of the window.
“Maria, I need you to go and fetch Gavin and Prescott. Tell them to bring their weapons along and stay at the house. Do not return.”
The woman’s eyes were concerned as she tried to look around him, but Hugh blocked her.
“What has happened? Are Madelene and Giles hurt? Is Eva okay?”
“You cannot worry about that now, Maria. Just do as I have told you. Now!”
But Maria did not budge. The woman appeared paralysed.
“Something has happened! Why won’t you tell me?”
Hugh turned her away and walked her a few paces from the house.
“You need to trust me, Maria. I need backup now. What good can it bring you to argue with me? Go back, find a stagecoach if you must, and fetch Gavin and Prescott. Tell them where to meet me – I’ll be waiting for them.”
Hugh took out a few coins and placed them into her palm.
“If you manage to catch a ride back to Scarborough House. I know that it is somewhat a stretch, but please move as quickly as you can.”
Maria nodded and hurried up the street, moving faster than Hugh had ever seen her. Hugh returned to the house. He needed to surprise Facet into dropping his guard and giving Hugh the upper hand. Once he had Facet tied up, it was all a matter of finding Madelene. Hugh hoped that he would find her on time, or he would never forgive himself. Hugh spotted movement from Giles and saw the man waking up. He willed the bigger man to look at him, needing to let him know that help was on the way. Giles slowly blinked and looked around the room. When his gaze rested on Facet, Hugh could almost see the hatred radiating off of him. Do not let your anger affect your composure, Giles. I need you to have a clear head if we are to overcome this man. Giles’ gaze left Facet to rest on the woman and children huddled in the corner before coming to look out the window. When he saw Hugh, he started. Hugh quickly placed a finger on the lips, and Giles nodded. Giles used his head to point at Facet and then made himself fall, alerting Facet to leave his seat, carrying his pistol. Hugh took that chance and ran to the door, flinging it open while Giles head-butted Facet in the legs and made the man stumble. A shot was fired and Hugh, believing that Giles had been shot, rushed over and kicked the pistol out of Facet’s hand and aimed his own pistol at him while he checked Giles. Hugh pushed Giles back to a sitting position and removed his gag.
“Giles, are you okay?”
“Yes, My Lord. I will probably have a headache, but I’m otherwise good.”
Hugh caught movement, and he fixed his attention on Facet. The man was sprawled on the ground and was attempting to inch towards his pistol.
“One move and you’re dead, Facet, or is that even your real name?”
The man laughed. “The name’s Pringle, My Lord. If you think that by killing me you’ll find your precious woman, you’re in for a surprise. Lord Allandale will never let her go.”
“And I suppose that I have you to blame for that?”
Pringle shook his head. “You underestimate the Viscount, My Lord. I was just a small part in this plan. Although I will be honest and say that I wanted to sell the chit to him, earn me some money, but it turned out that the Viscount has some obsession with the girl. Been more trouble than she’s worth.”
“You picked the wrong man to double cross, Pringle.” He looked at the woman. “Eva, please untie Giles. I need to keep an eye on this criminal.”
Eva shushed her children before walking over to Giles, stopping to spit at Pringle.
“Filthy man,” she spat.
Pringle laughed and made as though to grab the woman, earning him a high-pitched scream. Hugh cocked his pistol, and Pringle quickly raised his palms.
“No harm done, My Lord. Just giving the woman a fright.”
Eva untied Giles as fast as she could, and when he was free, he lunged forward, his hands outstretched to grab Pringle. Hugh held his hand out, nearly falling over at the force that hit him.
“Stand back, Giles! You will have your revenge, but we must help Madelene right now. Eva, you must take your children and go.”
Giles growled and stepped back as Eva collected her children and rushed out of their house.
“Very well, but I want to know what they did with my wife! They have refused to tell me of her whereabouts.”
“Maria is safe, Giles. She is on her way to alert Prescott and Gavin. It is merely a matter of time before they arrive.”
Giles looked up. “Thank heavens! I was scared that they had hurt her, or worse.”
“Rest assured, Giles. Your wife is a smart woman. She was the one to inform me of Madelene’s plan to go to America. I am just angry that Lord Allandale arrived here first.”
Giles turned a fierce gaze on Pringle. “We need to tie him up. There is no knowing what a criminal like him can do.”
“Yes, you’re right. Tie him up, Giles, good and proper. I wouldn’t want him to slither away like the snake he is.”
Giles used the same rope that he had been tied with to bind the man up tightly. So tightly that he protested.
“You will cut my blood off doing that, and then you’ll never know where your woman was taken.”
Giles hit him on the side of the head. “Quiet, fool. You will speak when spoken to.”
Hugh knelt before him. “Where has Lord Allandale taken Madelene?”
“Does it matter? They are probably on the ship by now.”
Both Hugh and Giles spoke in unison. “The docks!”
Dismay travelled over Pringle’s face. “Lord Allandale will most certainly do away with me now. You might as well shoot me.”
“Oh no,” Hugh said. “You will not get off that easily. Giles, watch this man. Once Prescott and Gavin arrive, have Gavin come to the docks – he will know where to go. Prescott will remain with you.”
“You cannot go alone, My Lord! That man is dangerous!”
Hugh smiled. “So am I, Giles.”
He left Giles then and headed for London Dock. He knew exactly where to find Lord Allandale, or should he say the Silver Wolf?
The Viscount thrust Madelene into a sparsely furnished room. It had the bare necessities of a bed and table, but not much else.
“You will stay here, my dear bride, until you learn to behave yourself.”
“I will never behave myself! I will never become your wife, you filthy–”
Lord Allandale silenced her with a strike across her cheek. Madelene spun away with force and grabbed her cheek. She looked at the Viscount with every ounce of hatred she could muster.
“You speak to me like that again, and I will forget that you are to be my wife. I will not accept disrespect from anyone, do you hear me?”
Madelene slowly lowered her hands from her burning cheek and balled her hands into fists at her side.
“Perfectly.”
“And do not think to escape, either. I have men watching every corner of this room. One little movement out of place, and they will inform me of it. I wish to spoil you, Madelene, not hurt you. Do not start this marriage on a bad foot.”
A Lady for the Forsaken Earl: A Historical Regency Romance Book Page 27
