Lucas sighed at the silence. “Emma, we must discuss this.”
Emma turned away and left him standing there, continuing to the bedroom. She closed the door but knew it wouldn’t stop him. There wasn’t anything to discuss in her mind. He was determined she go. She was positive she wouldn’t. Stalemate.
But in this time period, as in so many yet to come, a female had little say in much of anything.
“You’re determined to behave like a child about this,” Lucas said when he entered the bedroom, firmly closing the door behind him.
Emma stared out the open balcony doors toward the sea. She used to sit for hours and just imagine being below the water and never having to leave it.
“You’re just like my father.”
“The bloody hell…”
“I’m nothing but property to you. Just as I am to him. Just throw her into the middle of the card table, winner take all,” she said bitterly.
“You are not my property,” he bit out between his teeth.
“If that were true, then my saying I will not leave tomorrow would matter.” She continued to stare into the waning sunlight. She didn’t need to see him to know he was furious. She could almost feel the air around them change. She swiped angrily at the tear on her cheek when the tapping came on the door.
Lucas spun on the door, crossing to it and pulling it sharply inward.
“I…I brought a plate for Miss Emma,” Nancy stammered out, swallowing. Her hands shook a little under his glare.
“I’m not hungry, Nancy but thank you.”
“Emma, you missed lunch…” Lucas said flatly. That came out all wrong, he decided, the fury at her behavior and his concern crashing into one another.
“I am not hungry. Or isn’t that my choice, either?” She demanded.
“Take it to the kitchen, Nancy. And you’re dismissed for the night. Be prepared to leave at ten in the morning.” Lucas accepted the quick, polite nod and closed the door firmly.
“I know you mean well, but I’m not going to London.”
Lucas was around the large chair in three steps, his hands out and on her shoulders. He watched her eyes widen when he pulled her to her feet in front of him, his hands leaving her shoulders and reaching for the sides of her dress.
Emma smacked at his hands when he pulled her dress up.
“Remove it or I’ll rip it from your body, Emma.” Lucas kept his face neutral, lashes narrowed when she didn’t move. Without waiting for another comment, he grabbed the front of her dress, made a fist and pulled. He caught her against him with his other hand when the fabric rent with a loud tearing sound and she stumbled forward.
“What is wrong with you?” Emma gaped at him in disbelief, standing there in one of the light camisoles and nothing else.
“That, too,” Lucas reached for the front, only stopping when her hands came up to quickly open the tiny buttons down the front. She had it open in seconds, leaving it like that for a long minute before shrugging it off and letting it fall to the chair.
“What’s the point of this, Lucas? Without clothing I can’t run away?”
“I don’t want clothing in the way when I give you the punishment you’ve been collecting,” he answered tonelessly, looking around and quickly grabbing her wrist.
“I haven’t done anything to be punished for!” She squirmed in his hold, her body slamming to stiffness when he turned her to face the arched trunk.
“I made a few changes while you were pouting this afternoon,” Lucas told her, watching the mixture of trepidation and confusion on her face. She looked up at him quickly before glancing down at the floor. “You will go to London in the morning.”
“I won’t,” she tried digging in her heels but he propelled her forward, lifting her effortlessly at the waist and laying her over the arch of the trunk that he had covered with a soft blanket. “Lucas! Let me up!”
With one hand at the middle of her back, he moved quickly, fastening the thick leather cuffs to her wrists before moving behind her and securing her ankles.
He only stared a moment at the pale, full globes before raising his arm and bringing his palm down hard and flat against her arse. She jumped and it was silent as she gulped in a breath. The silence wasn’t long lasting.
“You…you…”
“You will enter the carriage with the dignity and grace of my valued and precious lady wife and you will travel to London with Nancy until I deem it safe enough for your return,” he informed her with another sharp swat to her arse.
“I won’t!” She yelled out angrily. “I don’t belong there! Mrs. Harper needs me to help with the children and no one makes fun of my clothing or hair here! I fit and I won’t, I won’t, I won’t!”
Lucas ground his teeth and delivered several more swats in quick, sharp succession. Each one turned the pretty globes a tiny bit more rose colored; each one brought a new, desperate gulp for air from Emma when she held her breath and wiggled.
“Oww! Damn it, Lucas…stop…stop now!” Emma demanded, though it was slowly turning into a plea.
He continued, switching hands and sides until she was sobbing, no longer making demands; no longer defiant.
“The coach tomorrow, Emma. What is your answer?”
“Yes,” she whispered in between breaths. “Yes…if that’s what you want. I’ll go.”
“Sweet Emma,” Lucas dropped to his heels at her head, his palm stroking lightly over the tears streaking her face. He opened the cuffs at her wrists and quickly undid the ones on her ankles before lifting her and wrapping her in a light sheet. He settled into the chair with her on his lap. “It isn’t what I want. Why can I not make you see that? But I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to you because I was too selfish to act.”
Emma didn’t answer him. She lay quietly against him, her eyes closed. A shuddering breath slipped between her lips now and then, sending the rent in his heart further apart knowing he’d hurt her far more than a pinkened behind.
He listened to her breathing gradually slow until he knew she was asleep. He wasn’t sure how long he sat and just stroked his palm over her head, his lips brushing her temple now and then. It stung that she thought he wanted to send her away but another part of him didn’t know the memories that seemed to fill her at times.
He settled her on the bed sometime later, the blankets pulled over her, his finger grazing along her throat one last time before preparing for bed. His mind was caught up with ending this as quickly as possible and getting his wife back to her happy, cheerful self.
Chapter Twenty
Emma was alone when she stirred, the sun up and streaming in the eastern portion of her room. A little wince crossed her features as she slipped from the bed and stretched, one palm rubbing her sore behind as she went into the bathroom.
She brushed her teeth and found a light dress after finding her underwear. It promised to be cooler today with clouds rolling in with the fog and mist over the ocean. She was not going to leave him to deal with a problem that came to him because of her. No matter how many spankings she had to endure for disobeying.
Emma carried the small bag she had prepared and crept down the back stairs to her workroom. She opened the windows, one much wider than the others and dropped the bag outside before going to the trunk that was there.
Lucas paced the library. The balcony doors were wide, as well as the windows.
Fury was too mild a word for what he was feeling. He’d thrown his jacket off an hour ago after scouring the surrounding woods and beach for three hours. It was after noon already and still, no one had been able to find Emma. Lucas glared at the small carry bag that had been left outside her workroom window with a few pieces of clothing inside and some money.
Wherever she’d gone, she had left her bag behind.
None of the workers had seen her since the day before. Before their argument. None of the staff as far out as the stables and small homes he had dotting his estate. Not a single sign of her.
/> “I have the horses ready,” Harris announced, coming swiftly into the room. His head shook at the inquiring, piercing and anxious look from Lucas. “Nothing. No one has seen her, I’m sorry. Are you positive she left voluntarily?”
“The bag tells me she did,” Lucas answered, collecting his composure and sweeping past Harris toward the front entrance.
It wasn’t until he had spent an hour skirting the edge of the estate that he realized what they had missed and spurred the horse back toward the house.
He jumped off at the main entrance, the surprised look on Harris’s face as he followed.
“She never left the house. There were no foot prints leading from beneath the window. Nothing in the dirt at all,” Lucas shouted over his shoulder as he raced through the halls to her workroom.
His heart fell to the floor.
The trunk she’d been using at a small table was gone.
****
She thought it had been a perfect plan. A brilliant idea. There were just enough small gaps in the lid of the trunk that air came in without a problem.
She’d heard voices. This was something she expected. Hard, really angry voices and knew Lucas was one of them. Then it went silent for a long time. She breathed a deep sigh and closed her eyes. She realized later that it had been a big mistake on her part.
When the first thump startled her awake, the harsh voices were far from familiar. The following thumps jostled her and made her press her hands and knees firmly against the sides of the large trunk. Emma tried pushing against the lid but nothing happened. She shoved harder and still, nothing.
She wasn’t stupid. But she was quickly coming to the conclusion that this was most certainly not one of the brightest things she’d ever done. First, defying Lucas and then hiding in the trunk. The same trunk that had been filled with obviously stolen money that people wanted back. How it got into her trunk, she still didn’t know.
And what the people now absconding with the trunk and her were unaware of was there was no money inside any longer.
Her stomach growled and she groaned. Another lack of judgment call, she thought with a sigh. She tried again to shove on the lid and this time it lifted, making her think someone had been leaning on it before. The bumping and thumping had stopped but now she felt the steady movement that said she was in a wagon or carriage.
Emma lifted the lid a scarce inch, going up on her side and peering out. She saw the road disappearing behind her. From the direction they were traveling, she knew they were headed to London.
Ironic, she growled to herself. Whether she wanted to go to London or not, she was headed in that direction.
She pushed a long puff of air quietly between her lips and eased the lid a little higher. Somehow the trunk was latched to the end of the carriage and the lid bounced and remained up. Another bright idea, she thought, easing her leg over the side and balancing on the edge of the rocking, jolting and definitely moving carriage.
She quietly lowered the lid and gazed around from her crotched position.
Oh, this was not one of her better days.
The beach was spread out on her left, low sloping hills that rolled down to the ocean. And the softest and easiest way to get away and hide. Hopefully.
Taking in a great gulp of air, Emma held her breath and leaped to the side, struggling to remember the bounce and roll thing from way to far back in her lifetime. She hit the soft, giving sand and immediately dropped to her side and rolled. A lot.
When she finally came to a stop, she remained still until the sky stopped moving. Other than some seriously aching muscles, she hadn’t heard anything snap and there wasn’t any honest to goodness pain inside her. She lay there with her eyes closed for several minutes, just breathing before finally sitting up and looking around. She had no idea where she was, but knew walking back along the road would eventually put her at the estate.
And a very angry Lucas. She sighed. Really no winning this one, she thought, hitching her dress a little and climbing the loose sand to the hard packed dirt road. The large dust trail told her the carriage had just kept going and that made her heart slow down a bit in relief.
But as she walked slowly along the side of the road, she kept peeking over her shoulder. Just in case they changed their mind or thought…she sighed. She had no idea what they might think but she knew if they pulled over and checked the trunk and found the money missing, they’re surely turn around and come back.
Another mistake for the day, she thought. If all the people hadn’t been out searching for her, they never would have been able to get into the house and steal the trunk. Of course…there were simply too many variables and she sent her mind to working out some kind of explanation that would keep her able to sit for the next week. If not for the misdirection she’d done by tossing her bag out the window, she might have been able to lie and say she hid when she heard noises.
Emma laughed out loud. There was no way Lucas was going to believe that one. More importantly, she realized, there was no way she was going to lie to him. Argue with him, yes, but no lies, on that point she was adamant. She really wanted to see more of his dominant side and hoped he didn’t want to send her away permanently after this. She was in the middle of another sigh when the sounds broke through.
She quickly pulled her shoes off. Bare feet moved much better on sand than shoes did and she grabbed up the edges of her dress as she slid over the side and down the sloping banks of loose sand. She made it around one large mound and tried her best to flatten herself against it. Beach grasses swayed slightly in the breeze, the rustling sound gradually being overtaken by the pounding of hooves.
Lucas pulled the horse up sharply, his hands tight and muscles clenched in his arms. He was positive he glimpsed a color that did not belong near the sand.
“Emma! Emma!” He shouted loudly, pale lashes blinking at the bits of dust clinging to them from their dash along the road. He felt the oxygen in his lungs abruptly vanish when the dark head peeked around one of the large mounds of sand.
Lucas tossed the reins to Harris and was off the horse in an instant, his long legs carrying him down the loose sand. He slid and stumbled, his footing uneven but his gaze focused and locked on his target.
Carrying her shoes, Emma ran toward him, launching herself into the arms that opened for her and then closed with a security and safety freely given.
“Emma!” Lucas buried his face in the hollow of her throat, one arm around her middle, the other palm up and holding her head against his shoulder.
“I’m sorry! I’m really, really sorry, Lucas!” She cried anxiously.
“You’re alright, Emma,” he murmured in a voice that said he was convincing himself and for a few minutes, every muscle he had threatened to abandon him in his relief.
Emma shuddered in his arms, clinging and not caring. So much for the independent spirit. Finally she leaned back just a little since his arm really wouldn’t allow her much space. Her feet weren’t on the floor and her arms rested along his shoulders, one palm coming from the back of his head and stroking over his face. The faintest sheen of sweat and dust coated her palm. She offered a weak grin.
“Your glasses are dusty,” she murmured before kissing him softly. “I am sorry. I never meant to…I was afraid, Lucas. I was afraid you’d not want me back,” she admitted, the tiniest of sobs breaking free before she could control things.
“We’ll discuss just how you came to that conclusion later, my love, now, I want you safely at home,” Lucas fought the urge tighten his arms and slowly settled her back on the sand.
“They stole the trunk,” she said in a breathless rush.
Lucas saw the hesitation when she peeked up at him as they maneuvered the loose sand and stood on the solid road a few minutes later.
“We discovered that when I realized the bag of things you’d left had been a ruse,” he said flatly, impressed at her plan even if he still wanted to thrash her so she was unable to sit for a month. He couldn’t reca
ll being as cold when he thought of her in the hands of thieves who would not hesitate to murder her. “Why do you believe we were running the poor horses ragged to get to you?”
“I’m sorry,” she whispered again, unable to stop the tears. “You won’t forgive me for a long time.”
“Take heart, Miss Emma, he merely hides his forgiveness well,” Harris said with a laugh.
Emma peeked up hopefully, his strong hands on her waist as he lifted her to sit on the horse who stood patiently waiting for the humans to decide what they were doing. Her eyes shot wide.
“Oh…Lucas…I’ve never…” she looked around frantically for something to hold, finally falling forward and clinging to the thick, warm neck of the horse. “Oh, god…”
“I don’t believe she’s ever been on a horse before, Lucas,” Harris held the reins out to him when he’d mounted behind his wife. “He was very worried for you, Miss Emma. Don’t doubt that at all.”
“What happened, Emma?” Lucas gently pried her arms from his horse’s neck before the animal revolted. “Let go, sweet…lean into me. Diablo is accustomed to me and he’ll move gently.”
“You named him Diablo and I’m supposed to feel comfortable?” Emma groaned, her arms quickly around Lucas’ middle, her breathing ragged.
“He’s grown out of the behavior that earned him the name,” Lucas laughed. And it felt good, his lips down on the soft dark hair. “You were hiding in the trunk.”
“I fell asleep,” she said with a sigh. “It was warm and comfortable and the next thing I knew, the trunk was bumping and thumping and then on a wagon. They didn’t say much, they just carried it out and then it was on the back of…a carriage or wagon, I don’t know. And I know, that’s my fault too, and I’m really, seriously sorry.”
Red Crystal Romance: #1 Emma Page 21
