by Fanny Finch
“I think we have no doubt that he will have you.” Camilla leaned over and began to untie her boots. Prompted by this, Emma did the same thing. “I was thinking, however, how funny it was that Lady Christian did not come back with us. Surely she rode with the Duke of Rabney. He is her cousin and she is staying at Brisbourne. It would only make sense for her to ride with us.”
“It is strange,” Emma said, sitting up straight again and watching her cousin as she took off her boots. “And neither of the dukes knew they were coming back here until the last minute. Oh, Camilla! Do you suppose the Duke of Lox made another arrangement for her previously? I saw her looking at us as we danced tonight and she did not look displeased. It made me wonder for a few moments but then I forgot about her. What do you suppose happened to her?”
Camilla grinned. “Perhaps she had Lord Carne escort her home.”
Emma had to laugh at the notion. “I can only dream of such a thing!”
“I am not really worried about Lady Christian, though,” Camilla said as she pulled off first one boot and then the other. She flexed her toes in her stockings and glanced at her cousin. “Look, my stockings have no mud on them.”
Both young women burst out laughing. Emma pulled off her boots and smiled. “None on mine either.”
“Do you think we should stay up and wait for the men to be finished talking to your father?”
Emma thought about it for a moment. It was already very late. She was very tired from the dance. She lifted one foot and rubbed it with her hands. “I do not think it would be wise. We will see them again very soon. Tomorrow, in fact, I am quite sure. My father is surely giving his blessing to the Duke of Lox and the duchess will not be able to change that.”
“We can only hope she does not try.”
“I agree.” Emma stood up, grimacing from the ache in her feet. “I should have sat down more often during the ball tonight. It was an eventful night, was it not?”
“It was.” Camilla stood up too, moving to the dresser. She pulled out two nightgowns and nightcaps. “It is so fortunate that we are the same size, Emma. I do not have to have my own clothes here. I can just borrow yours.”
“As long as you leave me with some, you can borrow all you want.” Emma’s smile was teasing.
“You do the same when you come to Cooksey Castle.” Camilla chuckled, shaking her head. “Oh Emma, I do not know if I will even be able to sleep. I am surprised you can! You have finally overcome your desire to avoid believing in the Duke of Lox’s honest intentions and affections. I suppose we can say it was a good thing that your step-mother has been trying to pair you with Lord Carne. You may never have given the Duke of Lox a chance otherwise.”
Emma sighed. “I should not have behaved the way I have. I have been so suspicious. It seems I only hear the negative when he speaks. That is something I will work on.”
“He is a good man. My Rabney always speaks so highly of him.”
Emma turned to look at her cousin. “Have the two of you discussed me?”
Camilla raised her eyebrows. “Of course we have discussed you. Rabney wondered why you would not give the Duke of Lox a chance. I suppose the Duke of Lox has been speaking about you to him. In highly favorable ways, as well. That is what Rabney has said. The Duke of Lox has never spoken ill of you. I do believe he was intrigued by you from the beginning.” She grinned. “Your behavior toward him may have been what intrigued him. He is used to being fawned over like a god. When you did not show him that kind of attention, he wondered why. That is just my thoughts. I do not speak for him. But it is a good possibility.”
Emma thought about it for a moment. “It may be the truth, Camilla, but I cannot continue to treat him that way.”
Camilla shook her head. “No, you do not want to do that. Now that you have established you are interested in him, you should not treat him with disdain any longer.”
It made Emma’s heart hurt to think that she had ever treated the Duke of Lox with disdain, even though she knew she had. “I am ashamed of the way I acted.”
“No, do not be ashamed. Keep in mind that he never lost interest and is speaking to your father about you right now. We both know that must be what they are talking about.”
Emma nodded.
“He is yours now, Emma,” Camilla grinned. “You must get used to it.”
They laughed softly as they finished dressing for bed. Both were exhausted. Camilla gave Emma a long hug and left the room with a smile.
Emma pulled back the covers to her bed and slid in between them, enjoying the feel of the cool sheets against her bare toes. She wondered if the dukes were still talking to her father. She closed her eyes and pictured her wedding to the Duke of Lox in her mind. What would it be like? How would she dress? Who would attend?
She fell asleep with a smile on her face.
Emma woke to the sound of movement in her room. She turned over in bed but saw nothing in the darkness.
“Is someone there?” she tried to focus but her drapes were pulled closed and the moon provided no light. She could only see the shadows of still objects in her room. She looked around for a moment before turning back to lay her head down on the pillow. Her eyes were open. She was wide awake.
Another sound behind her reached her ears but before she could turn, a hand covered her mouth with a cloth. She tried to scream but the cloth stunk of a chemical that made it hard for her to breathe. She struggled, kicking her legs for a moment when the weight of someone’s body came down hard on her, trapping her arms.
She moved her head from side to side to try to get away from the cloth over her mouth and nose. She felt fog cover her brain and fell unconscious.
Chapter 33
Emma woke with a headache. She lifted one hand and pressed it against her forehead, moaning. The bed she was in felt foreign and alerted her that she was not in Corning Manor any longer. She was not in her bedroom.
Fear split through her. She was afraid to open her eyes. There might be someone in the room. What had been done to her? Where was she?
She took note of each of her limbs. Her wrists and ankles were free of binds and she was resting in a comfortable bed. It just was not her bed. The only part of her that hurt was her head. Otherwise, she was unharmed.
She opened her eyelids just enough to peek through her lashes. She was facing a window with the drapes pulled open halfway. Her mind whirled with terror. She wanted to turn over and look around the room but what if someone was there waiting for her to awaken? What would they do to her when they found out she was awake?
She thought frantically for a moment before deciding that she would have to take that chance. If there was someone there and they meant her harm, surely she would already be hurt, possibly not even alive.
She braced herself, turned over and sat up, looking around the room. It was empty other than the furnishings. She breathed a sigh of relief. Her relief was short-lived as she realized she did not recall ever having been in the room before. She had been taken to a strange place for unknown reasons.
She looked under the blanket and saw that she was still dressed in her nightgown. She lowered the covers and slid her legs out so she was sitting on the side of the bed.
Fear struck her again when the doorknob turned and the door was pushed open. Her eyes opened wide in shock when the Duchess of Corning came through the door. She glared at Emma. She was carrying a tray, which she set down on the dressing table near the door.
“You are awake, I see.”
“What is going on, Mother? Why have you brought me here? Where am I?”
The duchess came toward her, an angry look on her face. Emma was caught off guard. She would never have expected the duchess to do something like this. “You will behave while you are here, Emma, or you will be punished.”
Emma’s eyebrows drew together in confusion. “Mother, what is going on?”
“I saw the Duke of Lox and the Duke of Rabney last night as they were speaking to your father. He has ag
reed to let the Duke of Lox marry you.”
A pleasant thrill moved through Emma and she could not help smiling. “I suspected as much. But what has that to do with you? You cannot possibly be so upset about the arrangement you tried to make with Lord Carne. The Duke of Lox is much better equipped to take on the duties my father will leave behind when he passes.”
A cold chill lit up Emma’s skin. Was her father still alive? Her step-mother’s behavior made no sense to her. She was beginning to think Camilla was right. Lord Carne had something on the Duchess of Corning that was causing this irrational behavior.
“You will do as I say, Emma. Your father will die soon and Lord Carne will take over Corning Manor after you are married to him.”
Emma frowned. “I do not wish to marry Lord Carne. I wish to marry the Duke of Lox.”
“What you wish is not important.” The duchess approached the bed. Emma shrank from her, staring up at the woman’s furious eyes. She did not understand what had made the duchess so angry with her. “What is important is that you obey me, just as you will obey Lord Carne when you are wed to him.”
Emma shook her head. “I will never marry Lord Carne. You may be able to create a wedding for us but I do not have to go through with it. My father has given the Duke of Lox his blessing, I am sure of it.”
“But you do not know for sure,” the duchess replied. “And I will not give the Duke of Lox the satisfaction of having his way.”
“What do you have against the Duke of Lox? Why do you hate him so?”
“I do not hate him. Quite the contrary. I am doing what is best for our family.”
Emma was confused. She struggled to find the right words to say, the right questions to ask. But it was difficult when she could not fathom how the duchess could think she would get away with kidnapping Emma long enough for her father to die. The thought hit Emma like a ton of stones.
“Mother, do you plan to keep me here until Father dies? Surely, no! You would not deprive me or my father of each other in these last days. You cannot do that! Please tell me that is not your intention.”
The Duchess of Corning grinned in an evil way. Emma felt tears rise up in her throat. She knew she would not be able to hold them in. She pictured her father in her mind, lifted her hands up and covered her face, unwilling to let the duchess see what kind of pain she had leveled upon her step-daughter.
“It was obvious to me last night that I could waste no more time.”
“But it is daylight! I will be missed!”
The Duchess shook her head. “You will not be missed. I told Gertrude to inform Camilla and your father and anyone else who inquired that we have gone to do some shopping in the London district. I did not specify where. They would need to search all over London for us. Also, we are not in London, we are in the country and no one will ever find you here.”
“Where am I? Do I at least get the courtesy of being told where I am?”
The Duchess of Corning shook her head. “There is no need for me to tell you where you are. I believe you will find out soon enough.” She gestured to the tray. “I have brought you some breakfast. Eat to keep up your strength. There are clothes for you in this trunk. Get dressed. Someone will be back for the tray later.”
She went toward the door.
“Mother, why are you doing this? I do not understand!” Emma hopped off the bed and moved toward the duchess but stopped when the older woman gave her a hard look.
“You will come to understand in time. For now, you will do as I say. Eat your breakfast. Get dressed. We will talk later.”
“Please do not do this to me! I wish to marry the Duke of Lox, not Lord Carne. Surely, you would not deprive me of a lifetime of happiness to please Lord Carne.”
The Duchess of Corning threw back her head and laughed. Emma did not like the sound of her laughter. It made her miss the pleasant sound of Camilla’s. Camilla was going to be curious about this turn of events. She might even be suspicious that something else was going on besides shopping in London. She was fully aware that Emma did not often go shopping with the Duchess of Corning and certainly not without Katherine.
Katherine. Emma wondered if her little sister knew what was going on. Surely she was not in on the plot, as well. Emma’s heart ached. She hoped not.
“Dear sweet innocent Emma. Your happiness means nothing to me. Do as I say.” The older woman flicked her fingers in Emma’s direction as if she were a fly to dispose of. She turned on her heel and swept out the door quickly, turning back to pull it closed before Emma could even think of trying to get out.
Emma heard the lock turn as the duchess locked her in. She ran to the door and hit it with her fists. “Mother! Mother, do not lock me in!”
She did not keep up the pounding on the door or calling out to her step-mother. She knew there was no use. The Duchess of Corning had made up her mind and nothing would stop her now. It was too late to stop now anyway. If Emma was given a chance to run away, she would. And she would tell everyone what the duchess had done.
With that thought, Emma looked at the tray of eggs, ham, and biscuits. It looked and smelled delicious. She went to it and picked up the fork, pushing the food around on the plate before taking a few small bites. She had no appetite, as her fear had run it out of her. But she knew the duchess was right. She had to keep up her strength so she could fight against this travesty.
There was no way the Duchess of Corning would get away with what she was doing. Emma would tell everything before or after her father passed on. It did not matter who she was married to. And if she knew the Duke of Lox at all, he would figure out what had happened. He would rescue her.
She continued to eat, taking the tray to the bed and sitting on it. She concluded her step-mother had truly gone over the edge and lost her mind. She could not keep Emma away from everyone she loved forever.
Could she?
Thoughts began whirling through Emma’s mind, scaring her. If the Duchess of Corning wanted to tell everyone she had “run away,” she would. And she might be believed. Even the Duke of Lox knew that Emma would run away if she was forced to marry Lord Carne.
Still, the chances of Emma leaving when she was on the brink of marrying the Duke of Lox were slim to none. It had taken her half a season to relax around the man and now that she was ready to commit to him, her step-mother interfered.
She sighed.
A thought came to her mind. Her eyes darted to the window. If she had been in this home before, she would recognize the outside. She would recognize something.
She stood up and went around the bed to the window, gazing down at the landscape with dismay. She did not recognize anything around her. She shook her head. How could this be? Where was she?
The words she and Camilla had spoken before rang in her ears. Lord Carne would take her to a high tower and leave her there with only his company for comfort. He would hide her away from the world. Looking down from where she was, Emma realized that was exactly what had happened. She had to be at least six stories up. The room she was in had only two corners on the side where the door was. The window was placed strategically in the middle of a rounded wall. She was reminded of a fairy tale she had recently discovered in her father’s library. It was called Rapunzel. The girl in the book was placed in a high tower and raised there by a witch.
The Duchess of Corning was not a witch. But she had taken Emma hostage and was planning to hold her there until her father died.
Emma lifted her hand and pressed it against the window ledge, leaning over to look down at the ground below. It made her slightly dizzy and she pulled back into the room.
“Father,” she whispered softly. “Wait for me, Father. Please wait for me. I will return soon.”
Chapter 34
The Duke of Lox woke to the sound of knocking on his bedroom door. He frowned and sat up in bed, running his hands through his hair. The knocking came again, more frantically and he heard Helga’s voice come through the door.
; “Your grace!” she called out.
“What is it?” he called back.
“May I come in, sir?” Helga asked through the door.
The Duke of Lox sighed. If it had not been the first time Helga had ever done such a thing, he would have been less forgiving. “Yes! Come in!”
Helga pushed open the door and took one step in the room. “I am so sorry to wake you, sir. There is a young woman downstairs who wishes to speak with you.”
The Duke of Lox gave her a confused look. What young lady would dare to come to his home and wake him in the early hours of the morning?
“What time is it?” he asked. Judging by the sun, he would have said it was about seven in the morning.
“It is half-past six, sir. She is in distress. Do you care to speak with her?”
