The Curious Life of the Unfortunate Duchess: A Historical Regency Romance Novel

by Emma Linfield

  However, it is cruel to keep David and the others in the dark when they have assumed the worst.

  Perhaps Percival had entertained the same notion for he turned to David and sighed heavily, handing his son the note before Leonard could stop him.

  “What is this?” the young man demanded, his eyes falling to the page. His face paled in shock and then relief.

  “She is alive!”

  “Indeed,” Leonard confirmed, grateful that David had not reacted as his father had.

  The boy may have better sense than Lord Gordon.

  “It matters not!” Percival said again. “We haven’t the funds for her release.”

  “But he must!” David cried, pointing toward Leonard. “You do, do you not?”

  Leonard pursed his lips together, considering how he would accumulate such a sum in a pressing time frame.

  “Well? Do you or do you not?”

  “David, that is quite enough! It is not the Duke’s duty to pay this atrocious amount. Perhaps there is a way I can meet and explain to them that I haven’t the money…”

  “Why is it not his duty, too?” David demanded. “The letter is addressed to you both! Anyone with eyes can see how he feels about Liza. Perhaps that was why she was targeted at all!”

  Leonard reached for the page again and turned it over. As David had said, it was, indeed, addressed to both him and the Viscount. The realization made his blood run cold for he had not seen it before but suddenly it was very clear.

  Whoever has Elizabeth knows of my affection for her. Why else would the ransom letter come here unless Elizabeth herself told them where to send it? Why would it be addressed to me, as well as her father?

  Leonard could not reconcile that Elizabeth would volunteer personal information about herself to her captors. She was much too shrewd.

  This was no random kidnapping by highwaymen. She was taken by someone who knows this household and knows it well.

  A chill coursed through him as he thought about the list of suspects. The house staffed three hundred servants, many of whom were in contact with himself or Elizabeth daily.

  “Beatrice!” he yelled as heat surged through him. At once she appeared.

  “Yes, Your Grace.”

  “Bring my sister to me immediately.”

  “At once, Your Grace.”

  When she disappeared from the study, David did not miss one beat and he spun back to confront Leonard.

  “You have not answered the question,” David said pointedly. “Have you the funds for her release?”

  “I do,” Leonard conceded. “And I will have them readied at once.”

  David’s face melted into the expression of gratitude Leonard expected to see but he only nodded without speaking.

  “Duke, you need not make such a grand gesture,” Percival called. “She is my daughter and I will find a way—”

  “Gesture? It is not a token of his adoration for Elizabeth, Father! This money ensures her life!”

  “We cannot know that for certain. I will find a way—” Percival tried to say again but David had turned his wrath onto the Viscount.

  “How, Father?” David demanded. “How will you find a way? Will you beg them? Strike a business deal, perhaps? They have set their demands and Liza’s life is at stake! There is no other way! For God’s sake, why are you fighting him?”

  Percival looked helplessly from his son to the Duke.

  “I will repay you every cent,” he vowed.

  “Nonsense,” Leonard barked. “It is not a loan. It is insurance.”

  Catherine appeared with Beatrice in tow.

  “Beatrice, send for Herbert.”

  “Yes, Your Grace.”

  “Catherine, you must repeat to me with every detail you can about the highwaymen,” Leonard told her, gesturing for her to sit as he, too, moved toward his chair.

  “I have already told you all that I know, Leo. I saw very little of them in the dark, behind their disguises. I had drunk some champagne and—”

  “I do not wish to hear your excuses,” Leonard interjected, dipping the nib of his pen into a bottle of ink. “I wish for you to recall what you will.”

  Catherine blinked and slowly sank into the chair across from him.

  “I do not see how this helps,” she told him quietly.

  “I concur!” Percival piped in. “We have been over this several times and it will only distress Lady Catherine further.”

  “I am certain that Catherine will endure a few more moments of distress when she realizes that it does not hold a candle to the fear Elizabeth is experiencing. What say you, Catherine?”

  His sister nodded in agreement, her face contorting in anguish as she thought about Elizabeth alone and afraid.

  “If you believe it will help in some way—”

  “Your Grace?” Herbert appeared in the doorway, looking about the room with nervous eyes. “You summoned me?”

  “Yes, Herbert. I require you to do whatever is necessary to access fifty thousand pounds, as quickly as possible.”

  The consternation on the barrister’s face was apparent but before he could sprout forth a protest, Leonard continued.

  “I do not need to hear of your concerns. Nor do I wish to be told of the difficulties. I would ask that you do as ordered. Time is of the essence. I cannot stress that enough. Am I clear?”

  Herbert, who had yet to understand the reason behind such a ludicrous request, simply clamped his mouth closed and nodded slowly.

  “As you wish, Your Grace,” he managed to mumble, although how, Leonard could not guess. His mouth was nothing more than a nearly invisible line.

  “You are dismissed.”

  The Duke turned his attention back to his sister.

  “Now,” he said. “Tell me again what happened last night and leave out not one detail.”

  Catherine sighed and nodded.

  “I will see to Frances,” David muttered. “Excuse me.”

  Leonard watched the boy leave the room, a pang of sadness touching him. It was a huge burden upon his small shoulders, tending to his sister who was no longer sedated but in such a state that she would not leave her room.

  He turned his head slightly toward the Viscount who remained rooted in place.

  “Lord Gordon, you may consider getting proper rest. It has been a harrowing day and you will need all your strength.”

  “Indeed…”

  Leonard met his gaze expectantly, sensing that the man wished to say more.

  “Is there an issue, Lord Gordon?”

  “I only wanted to express my gratitude for your generosity, Your Grace. I swear, it will not be forgotten.”

  “Think nothing of it,” Leonard assured him. “If David had not so boldly aroused the discussion, it would have been my own suggestion.”

  Percival gave him a tentative smile and wearily left the room, his shoulders sunken.

  “What have you given him?” Catherine wanted to know. Leonard knew he had to tell her also. It was unfair to keep her ignorant of the matter.

  “Elizabeth has been kidnapped. We received a ransom note not long ago.”

  Catherine’s face was a fusion of elation and grief.

  “Oh…that is…”

  “It is good news,” Leonard supplied, knowing she was conflicted on how to feel. “We still have hope.”

  “Oh, praise God,” Catherine breathed. “We will get her back.”

  Leonard nodded.

  “Indeed we will,” he replied grimly. “And the men who took her will pay dearly for what they have done.”

  “Leo, they are criminals, ruffians! You cannot think to confront them!”

  “I believe whoever is responsible for this is already quite close to us,” Leonard told her quietly, his eyes darting toward the door. He did not wish to be overheard. Catherine shook her head, her blonde hair in an uncharacteristic disarray. She had not bothered to make herself presentable, not that Leonard faulted her. They all had much more on their minds
than their appearances.

  “No, Leo, that is impossible,” Catherine insisted. “I have thought long and hard over the men and there was not one modicum of resemblance to anyone we know.”

  Disappointment filled his chest. No matter what Catherine said, he was certain there was more to the kidnapping than it appeared.

  “They may have been hired by someone close to us,” Leonard insisted. “Someone who knows us well.”

  “Then why did they not take me? I am worth more than Elizabeth,” Catherine reminded him. “No, I cannot imagine anyone would want to take her over me for such a venture.”

  She stopped speaking and their eyes met, widening in unison. The answer had struck them simultaneously.

  “Unless they only wanted Elizabeth,” Leonard mumbled, jumping to his feet as Catherine slowly rose.

  “The House of Argonshire,” she whispered. “Oh, I do hope that I was wrong about Priscilla, Leo.”

  His jaw locked.

  “How is that, Catherine?”

  “I hope she is not as imbecilic as I imagined.”

  Chapter 21

  Elizabeth managed to rest after Cooper left but her sleep was generated by exhaustion and she tried to fight it as long as possible. Bound to a chair, despite having her blindfold removed, was hardly a comfortable environment in which to claim slumber.

  The blood on her wrists had caked and she had lost feeling in her feet and hands but that did not stop her from constantly attempting to free herself. She recognized the futility of her efforts but Elizabeth had the voice of Leonard driving her through the dark, encouraging her not to lose hope, reminding that he would be waiting for her when she managed to get free.

  The moment she succumbed to the fatigue, however, she fell instantly into a dream about the Duke, one which countered everything she had believed in her heart. In her mind’s eye, she saw Leonard and his sister in his study, their heads bent together in as they spoke in hushed voices.

  “Leonard! Catherine!” she called, rushing toward them but they did not hear her nor look up from where their eyes were fixed.

  “It is a shame we cannot save her,” Catherine sighed. “Her father has not enough to spare her life.”

  “Indeed, it is a pity,” Leonard concurred, sighing heavily. “I did rather enjoy her company.”

  “Shall we arrange for her funeral?”

  “I suppose it is the least we can do,” Leonard agreed.

  “No!” Elizabeth cried. “No, I am here! Look at me!”

  But her words had no effect on the siblings who continued to speak about her impending death. Consternation filled her yet when she ran toward them for they managed to get further away, her steps bringing her no closer.

  Her brother appeared then, his eyes dull and accusing.

  “How could you leave me here with Frances?” he demanded. “Have you no shame?”

  “David! David, I will not leave you,” she breathed. “I will find my way back to you.”

  He shook his head.

  “How? How will you accomplish such an impossible task?”

  Elizabeth had no answer for him, a deep sense of loss consuming her.

  “How is Franny? Tell her I love her, David.”

  “You may tell her yourself if you manage to fulfill your promise,” he growled, whirling to leave her in the empty study alone. She looked about helplessly, seeking an answer to her conundrum. There, she found her father, staring through her.

  “Father?” she whispered, her heart sick at the look of devastation on his face. “Father, can you hear me?”

  He looked up slowly, blinking.

  “Elizabeth? What are you doing here? Have you been released?”

  “No, Father. But I will find a way back to you, I swear it!”

  “No!” his voice was firm. “You must do as they say and give them no cause to hurt you.”

  She shook her head vehemently.

  “Father, I must try to escape—”

  “You will not, Liza! You will do as you are told.”

  “But Father, you cannot produce such a sum of money!”

  “There is always a way, child. Promise me you will do nothing to escape.”

  She could not say the words, even though she knew she spoke only in a dream.

  “Liza! Promise me you will cause no trouble!”

  Her eyes flew open at the sound of the door lifting and Cooper appeared at the top of the steps.

  “Good morning, Miss Elizabeth,” he purred, sauntering down to greet her. He reeked of moonshine although he had bathed recently. A dark shadow of stubbly hair covered his lean face and his blue eyes pierced into her.

  “Is it morning?” she asked flatly. “I have no conception of time.”

  Whatever fire she had clung to had been extinguished with the disheartening dream. Her throat was again parched and her eyes moved toward his hands, hoping to see a canteen but he was empty-palmed. Cooper was proving to be a much more difficult ally than Mark had been and Elizabeth wished the first man would return, although at this point, she was losing her desire to fight.

  What is the point if everyone has already given up hope?

  Cooper chuckled and nodded.

  “I suppose that is so. It must be difficult to live in the dark, Miss Elizabeth. But your life in the blackness is either just beginning or just ending.”

  The words gave Elizabeth chills of apprehension, particularly when he smiled so cruelly.

  “Has my father come up with the money?”

  Cooper grinned and flopped onto the last step unceremoniously, sitting back to study her with impassive eyes.

  “You do not seem convinced that he will.”

  “I have already explained to you, Mr. Cooper, he hasn’t the funds to pay you.”

  “Yes. But you have special friends in better financial positions, do you not?”

  Elizabeth’s spine stiffened and her yellow eyes narrowed suspiciously.

  “I have many friends,” she retorted. “But none who would easily part with fifty thousand pounds.”

  “No? I had heard that you have a rather close relationship with the Duke of Pembroke.”

  Elizabeth’s skin prickled with gooseflesh.

  “You do seem to know quite a lot about me for someone who found me in the middle of a highway robbery,” she commented, hoping that the tremor did not sound in her voice. Cooper’s smile faded away.

  “You are more brazen than I anticipated. Had I known…”

  She held his gaze defiantly.

  “Had you known, you would have reconsidered snatching a woman away from her family?” she challenged. “Do you realize I have a sister who cries for me? A father who is sick with worry? A—”

  “A wealthy Duke who will pay for your release?”

  Clarity struck Elizabeth for the first time and while she had suspected that she had not been taken at random, it was blindingly obvious that her capture had been carefully calculated by someone other than Cooper or Mark. There was another, who had driven these men to perform such a terrible act. The question remained; was there someone else behind the kidnapping or had they simply been fed information by an unwitting soul?

  “How could you know such a thing?” she demanded. “For whom do you work?”

  Cooper snickered and rose lazily.

  “I work for no one,” he replied. Elizabeth had no doubt in her mind that he would kill her if he did not get what he wanted.

  “Then the Duke has agreed to fund my release?” Elizabeth asked dully, her heart sinking as she recalled her dream. It was a vile request to make of Leonard and she could only imagine the pride her father must have swallowed to bring forth such a question.

  But will Leonard pay?

  With a sudden burst of anger, Elizabeth hoped he did not even if it might cost her life. These men deserved nothing and there was no guarantee that she would be kept alive following the money exchange. Cooper had been free about showing his face which meant he did not feel fear that she migh
t identify him later.

  “I have not yet asked,” Cooper replied smoothly. “But I have been assured that he is quite taken with you. I suspect there will be no issue in claiming our monies.”