“So that’s it? Ballantyne is no longer a threat?” Amelia asked in astonishment, feeling somewhat deflated. She was vastly relieved for the maids that Ballantyne’s days of debauchery and murder were over.
“That’s it,” Peter replied, with a smile of satisfaction. “Now we can all resume our normal lives, and hopefully they will be peaceful ones for a while.”
“Amen to that,” Edward muttered, pushing to his feet. “I don’t know about you, Peter, but after all of this talk of murder and death I feel like a game of billiards, and some of Sebastian’s finest brandy. If I spend much more time in the saddle, I will start to walk bow-legged. Care to join us, Eastleigh?” At Eastleigh’s ready agreement the three men left, leaving silence in their wake.
“Well, I am going to take a long bath, and put my dress back on. These long trousers chafe something terrible.” Isobel rose, tugging at the knees of the dark brown material ruefully. As she passed, she tugged on her husband’s jacket, dragging him with her.
“You have been cooped up in this house for days, Amelia. Would you care to take a turn around the gardens with me?” Sebastian stood and held out his arm to her.
Now Ballantyne was safely behind bars, he wanted to settle their future together.
“That would be lovely,” Amelia smiled, taking his arm and following him outside.
As they strolled, she took a deep breath of the refreshing afternoon air. There was a slight breeze that took the heat off the sunshine and it felt wonderful against her face. It was blissful to be outside and feel the sunshine once more. She hadn’t realised just how much she had missed being able to walk wherever she chose, when she chose.
“It seems like a chapter is closing.” Amelia glanced at him as they walked.
“I know. It is time to make some decisions on what we are going to do next,” Sebastian sighed, walking her slowly towards the pavilion.
“My father will want to return to Eastleigh Hall as soon as possible.” Amelia felt her stomach tighten nervously.
“He will wait for the wedding though, won’t he?” Sebastian murmured softly, drawing her to a halt just inside the doorway of the wooden structure at the end of the gardens.
“Wedding?” Amelia felt her heart stop as she turned towards him.
“You have to marry me, Amelia, you know that.” Sebastian tried to keep the frustration out of his voice. Did he really have to spell it out to her again?
“I don’t have to do anything. My father has informed me that I am independently wealthy and can do as I please. He did tell me you had already asked for my hand in marriage, but has also said that he will support and assist me in whatever I decide.”
Amelia wanted to move into his arms, but the story of her parents’ fate and the effect it had on everyone, including her, held her firm.
“You could be carrying my child.” Sebastian eyed her small waist. “I want no child of mine being born a bastard.” He immediately regretted his choice of words when Amelia flinched.
“What is stopping you from saying yes? You know I am not after your wealth. We enjoy a healthy relationship in bed, and out of it,” he added, when she made to protest. “Although we still have a lot to learn about each other, we get on very well indeed. Our marriage will be a happy and fulfilling one.”
With each word she heard, Amelia felt her heart break a little bit more. He was completely right in everything he had said. He just hadn’t mentioned loving her, and she could accept nothing less.
“I don’t want to end up with a marriage like my parents’,” Amelia confessed, staring at her feet with a frown.
“But we won’t, Amelia. Not only are we different people, but we have faced adversity and come out stronger. We work. There is really no reason other than your foibles that is keeping us apart.”
“Foibles?” Amelia felt her temper rise as she stared at him. “Foibles? You just don’t understand do you? What I want isn’t a foible. I don’t want to be married to a man who realises he cannot love me as I love him, and takes a mistress. That isn’t a marriage. It is an alliance, and I know firsthand how such alliances can destroy people.”
Sebastian tried to hold her hands, but she pulled away swiftly, needing to put some distance between them. Whenever she stood close to him, she was distracted by his blatant masculinity and had to fight the urge to give in to whatever he demanded from her.
“You really have no choice. You are a lady, and there are certain expectations on you to behave in such a way. Having a child out of wedlock would bring scandal upon your father and his new bride that neither would be able to live down.”
“I don’t know if I am with child yet,” Amelia snapped, feeling cornered. She made for the doorway, holding her hand up when he moved to follow her. “I need time to think.”
She paused, staring blankly out at the gardens below for several moments before taking a deep breath.
“Tell me something, Sebastian. Do you love me?” Her voice was quiet and calm as she asked the most important question of her life. She turned to look at him.
Her heart sank at his look of stunned surprised. She knew the truth. He had never even contemplated the possibility. His shocked silence and the look of wariness on his face was all she needed to know.
“When my father leaves in a few days, I shall be leaving with him.” She didn’t look back as she left the pavilion, and was quietly relieved when he made no move to follow her as she crossed the garden.
At the far side of the house, she spied the hedged wall leading to the rose garden and headed in that direction. She needed somewhere away from prying eyes to just be by herself, and gather the pieces of her torn and bleeding heart. In the morning, she would talk to her father about leaving as soon as possible.
She wasn’t certain how long she sat in the garden listening to the buzzing of the bees, and the chirping of the birds in the trees. Slowly, she became aware of being chilled and reluctantly eyed the dark clouds roiling ahead. Drawing her shawl around her shoulders with a shiver, she began to walk the outer path towards the entrance of the garden.
She didn’t see the menacing bulk lurking in the darkest shadows of the hedgerow until she was suddenly caught from behind. She didn’t have time to scream. A foul-smelling cloth was placed over her mouth, and immediately the world went black.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Sebastian was steadily downing his finest brandy when Isobel wandered into the study several house later.
“Not now, Isobel, I am really not in the mood.” He scowled at her when she entered anyway.
“Do you know where Amelia is?” Isobel eyed him with concern. “She isn’t in her room, and nobody has seen her.”
“She is probably hiding somewhere so I don’t ask her to marry me again.” He took another swig of the amber liquid, and felt his stomach churn in revolt against the copious amount it was being asked to deal with. He hoped oblivion came first. Anything to take away the fierce ache in his chest that had blossomed when Amelia had left the pavilion.
“Why do women always have to make things so complicated?” he grumbled, shoving to his feet, and tugging on the bell pull until Hodgkiss arrived.
“Search for Amelia please, Hodgkiss, for my lady here.” He lifted his glass again and filled it, glaring at Isobel sternly before resuming his seat. “If you don’t mind.”
As she left, Sebastian ran his hand down his face wearily and waited. True to form, Dominic, Peter and Edward arrived minutes later.
“What’s wrong?” Dominic snatched the goblet away from his half-drunk brother, and tossed the expensive amber liquid casually into the fire.
“That’s my finest brandy,” Sebastian snarled, staring at the smoke billowing out of his hearth in resignation.
“Where’s Amelia?” Peter asked, eyeing the highly sullen expression on Sebastian’s face with alarm. Usually Sebastian was about as even tempered as anyone he had ever met. Something must be seriously wrong for him to be so surly.
“How in the
hell should I know?” Sebastian snapped, rising to get another goblet. “I’m not her keeper.”
“You are usually near her, or know exactly where she is.” Edward argued as he shared a knowing glance with Dominic.
“Not any more. She is leaving in the next few days to go home to Eastleigh.” Sebastian rested a hand on the mantle and watched the flames burning fiercely in the grate. It resembled his aspirations for future happiness. Going up in smoke.
“She refused to marry you?” Dominic queried with a frown. “But she loves you, any fool can see that.”
Sebastian raised his head to look sadly at his brother. “Does she? I have asked her to marry me. She doesn’t seem to be really all that bothered about becoming my wife. She’ll sleep with me. Run the risk of carrying my child. But wear my name, and commit her life to me?” Sebastian shook his head once for emphasis. “Not a chance.”
“Where was she the last time you saw her?” Dominic queried sympathetically, wondering if Amelia was still sitting in the pavilion.
Hodgkiss returned moments later. “We have searched everywhere, sir. She isn’t in the house.”
Dominic looked at the darkening skies outside. The winds had begun to pick up and despite the darkness, storm clouds were clearly gathering.
“Get the grounds staff to search everywhere outside. Now. Amelia is out there somewhere. Find her.”
Sebastian picked up on the urgency in his brother’s voice, and glanced at him with growing alarm.
“What?”
“Something isn’t right. This isn’t like Amelia, is it?” His worried gaze locked with Sebastian’s.
“Get yourself sobered up,” Dominic spat, motioning to Peter and Edward to follow him.
Half an hour later, they all met in the hallway. Sebastian ran down the stairs two at a time to find his head gardener standing, cap in hand, at the bottom of the stairs.
“We’ve checked everywhere, sir, nobody has seen her.”
“You’ve checked the outbuildings and pavilion?” Sebastian sheathed his sword and scabbard, unsurprised when his head gardener nodded his head.
“Everywhere, my lord. Nobody has seen any ladies outside.”
Sebastian’s heart hammered. “Do we know if Ballantyne was actually arrested today?”
“We know Montague was sending men out, but we don’t know if they found him.”
Sebastian swore roundly. “Does he have anywhere to stay around here?”
“He isn’t at the inn in the village. As far as I know, he doesn’t have any acquaintances in the area,” Peter replied. “I don’t think he has any decent acquaintances anywhere. Certainly nobody who would put him up while he arranged someone’s kidnap.”
“Where do you think he has taken her? It’s too far back to his house.” Edward sheathed his own scabbard beneath his cloak with a sigh. The scent of battle hovered in the air between them. Unlike Isobel’s skirmish though, he knew instinctively that this one could prove deadly.
“The horses are ready, sir,” Hodgkiss reported from beside the front door.
“Edenvale Manor.” Sebastian’s voice was deadly. “I am fairly certain he took me there when I was kidnapped. Ballantyne seems to have a liking for the house, and clearly has no compunction against helping himself. It would appeal to his warped mentality to take her there.”
“It is nearly a two hour ride away. A carriage will take even longer than that,” Peter argued with a scowl.
“Yes, but she went sometime this afternoon. They could already be at Edenvale.” Dominic tugged his cloak on and followed his brothers out of the front door.
“It is me he wants to draw out. Whatever he wants, this is my battle.” Sebastian glared at each man in turn. With the afternoon he had just had, a fight was just the thing he needed. He wanted to pound something, or someone, relentlessly.
“It’s our battle,” Dominic replied, with a glare at his younger brother. “We have all been involved in this from the start, and we are all going to finish it.”
“You need to stay here to look after your wife.” Sebastian stalked towards his horse.
“I’ll look after her,” Eastleigh replied, moving to stand beside the door. “I could come with you, but it has been years since I used my sword and would be more of a hindrance than a help. Please, Sebastian? Please find my daughter and bring her home.”
Sebastian nodded briskly. “Believe me, we will get her back,” he promised coldly, wheeling his horse around with a firm kick before disappearing into the night.
Amelia slowly became aware of voices through the thick fog of consciousness. She could distinctly make out two different men who were close. Without opening her eyes, she knew neithr of them was Sebastian.
It took several moments before she could recall the events of the afternoon, and the horrible realisation of her fate dawned on her.
She had been kidnapped.
Unless she was much mistaken, she had been kidnapped by Ballantyne.
It took every ounce of her fortitude she possessed to remain still, and calm while she thought. She was so very cold. She wanted to shiver but daren’t move.
“You had better open your eyes, my dear. I know you are awake.” A rough masculine voice sing-songed so close to her ear that she instinctively cringed in fear.
Immediately her eyes snapped open, and she looked into the iciest blue eyes she had ever seen in her life. So pale, they were almost white.
She swallowed the scream that rose in her throat and stared back blankly.
“Well hello there. Amelia, isn’t it? I don’t believe we have met,” Ballantyne whispered, running his eyes down her lasciviously.
Amelia knew without looking that they had removed her clothing, leaving her in nothing but a whisper-thin shift. A slow blush stole through her cheeks at the masculine interest in his gaze as he eyed the dark circles of her breasts for several moments before moving down the rest of her slowly.
“We will have fun with this one.” He glanced slyly at his companion standing on the opposite side of the bed.
Amelia looked at the tall, gaunt man standing beside the bed, and knew instinctively this was the man Sebastian had called Rat.
He was almost as gaunt as Ballantyne. Tallish but thin, his face was heavily pockmarked from lack of washing and a lifetime of dissolution. Amelia felt bile rise in her throat as the thought of Martha’s fate rose in her mind.
“We will see if your lord wants you when you have serviced us.” Ballantyne drew a long knife from the bedside table, and ran it slowly down the middle of her chest between the soft mounds of her breasts.
“You can do what you want to me, but you will never get away with it,” Amelia snapped, refusing to allow either man to see how terrified she was. “Sebastian will hunt you down and make you die slowly.”
Ballantyne spat an epithet. “Cavendish isn’t going to bother with the likes of you.” He flicked a finger across her nipple, watching her closely for her reaction. She did nothing but blink.
“My father will hunt you down if you harm so much as a hair on my head,” she whispered, hatred filling her eyes.
“Your father? Do you even know who he is?” Ballantyne scoffed, sliding a hand down across her belly. He laughed when she squirmed against the bonds tying her hands to the bed head.
“Yes, I do know who my father is. He is the Earl of Eastleigh, and has some acquaintances in very high places.” Amelia’s voice was cold contempt. “He will use every one at his disposal to ensure you die painfully.”
Ballantyne paused and stared suspiciously at her. “Eastleigh?”
“Yes, why do you think he is at Tingdale?” Amelia glared at both men in disgust. She knew Ballantyne was thrown when he glanced at Rat.
“Do you know of this?” he spat, glaring at the older man spitefully.
“Nothing, sir,” Rat replied hesitantly, suddenly not so emboldened now he was facing his master’s wrath.
Shaking his head absently, Ballantyne turned back towards h
er.
“It doesn’t matter who sired you, my dear. Even if they do find you, when we have finished, no man will want you.
Amelia screamed as Rat grabbed hold of one knee, yanking it high and wide, while Ballantyne used his body to force open her other leg. Her stomach heaved as she realised what they intended to do to her, and she knew what Martha must have felt in the hours before death.
Her thoughts immediately turned towards Sebastian, and she mentally pleaded with him to find her.
“Boss!”
Ballantyne paused, opening the placket of his breeches at the sudden shout.
“Go and see what they want,” he snarled, watching as Rat disappeared through the door. It was enough of a distraction for Amelia to lift her leg, and kick Ballantyne hard on the side of his head.
He flew off the end of the bed, and landed on the floor with a thump.
Amelia was still squirming against the bonds, trying to loosen them enough to slip her arm free, when her head was suddenly yanked back as Ballantyne grabbed a fistful of hair, and shoved his face close to hers.
“You’ll pay for that, bitch,” he snarled, a small trickle of saliva dripping from the side of his mouth.
“Boss!” Rat’s voice came from somewhere downstairs.
“What?” Ballantyne snapped, shoving away from Amelia and moving towards the door.
“Company.” Although Rat’s voice was significantly quieter, his words were enough to make Amelia’s heart thump crazily in her chest.
Sebastian.
It was all she needed to look at the bonds. As Ballantyne disappeared downstairs, she bent her fingers down enough to loosen the thick rope and within seconds had one hand free.
Seconds later she jumped from the bed, quickly glancing around the room for her clothes, but couldn’t see them.
Downstairs, raised voices became louder as Ballantyne shouted his orders. Amelia knew he would be back at any moment, and felt her stomach heave at the thought of what they would do to her if they came back. The possibilities gave her the courage to do what she needed to.
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