Conquering a Viscount

by Macy Barnes

  Juliet felt a small shrug against her shoulders and opened her eyes. She had fallen asleep! No wonder, with all the madness she had gone through. Thomas was standing over her; he had already lifted Olivia from the hack and was attempting to wake her. They were home. Juliet felt a rush of excitement and relief. Her sister was home unharmed, now maybe everything would go back to normal.

  After she spoke with her mother, she planned on taking a bath and sleeping straight through the next twenty-four hours. There were tears of joy aplenty as all the women in the house coddled Olivia. Juliet made her way upstairs after letting her maid know she would like a bath. Once she bathed and swaddled herself in nightclothes, she pulled the covers over her head and fell into a deep sleep.

  ~~~*****~~~

  “I have a bad feeling about this, Clinton.” Jonathan told him anxiously. They had just proceeded to search the men’s club and to no avail. Albert was not there. Evelyn Turner proclaimed her innocence, and Jonathan knew she lied. Someone had to be caring for Olivia in the attic room. If Albert had not been there, it only left her. Clinton promptly threw her out on the streets, heedless of her wailing and pleading. Jonathan did not fault his friend at all in his decision of throwing the woman out. He had concerns, however regarding the uncle’s whereabouts. He was worried Albert could have followed the hack to the estates in which Juliet, Olivia, and Thomas had traveled. He had hired help before and he could hire it again. Jonathan put nothing past a man in his desperation.

  Within minutes of contacting the bow street runners and searching the club, Clinton and Jonathan were en route back to the estates. Traveling by horse was quicker and would put them only a little behind the hackney arriving home. Jonathan could not shake an impending feeling of dread. Something was not right. He could feel it. Rescuing Olivia had been easy. Almost, too easy for one’s comfort.

  They rode swiftly in silence. Jonathan knew he would not relax until he was sure Juliet and the rest of the ladies were safe. Thomas was with them he knew, but he was only one man, and he had no idea the extremes a mad man could take to exact his revenge. He also knew that mercenaries would do anything for the right amount of coin, even kidnap or kill. He felt panic rising in his chest at the thought of Thomas being outnumbered and harm falling to anyone.

  It was almost as if Clinton were having the same thoughts. They both simultaneously kicked their horses up to a greater speed, and thundered through the dark. Jonathan had no idea how correct his feelings would turn out to be.

  ~~~*****~~~

  She had not been able to put up much of a fight. Caught unaware in her deep sleep, a smelly hand had covered her mouth with a cloth with a peculiar odor to which blackness quickly followed. Juliet woke up to discover her hands and feet bound behind her and a gag tied tightly around her mouth. Damnation. Would this nightmare ever end? She cracked her eyes trying to feign unconsciousness and took in her surroundings. She had no idea where she was. She also was unsure of how long she had been out, so they could have traveled for hours with her blissfully unaware.

  Her teeth clenched in anger. She was not a ten-year-old helpless child, and God help the man who finally showed himself as her offender. As soon as she was free, she would scratch his eyes out. She shut her eyes quickly at the sound of a door opening. She could discern by the sound that her back was facing the door; her face was towards the wall. Someone was whistling a tune. A chair scrubbed against the floor and creaked as the whistler plopped upon it.

  A loud barking laugh came from across the room, and caused her to jump. “I know you are not asleep girl; I can see how stiff you are.” He took a long swig of something and slammed it upon a surface. “Uncle Albert isn’t going to hurt you, so long as I get my due. Highhanded bastard thinks he can march in somewhere and ruin what I built! He has another thing coming; I’ll take every member of his snotty family if I have too, even my good for nothing whore of a niece.” Albert belched loudly. Juliet wrinkled her nose in disgust. Uncle Albert had her.

  She let her anger build to a boiling point. This man was responsible for her near rape at the hands of Joe. He was behind the torment, fear, and desperation her family had sustained over the last couple of days. He wanted his due did he? She would give him what he deserved. She let out a loud moan.

  “What’s wrong with you girl?” Albert asked. She answered by moaning even louder. “Well, hell isn’t any cause for you to go and be unwell; I didn’t even hit you on your head.” He said irritably. She moaned again for good measure.

  Her ploy to bring him closer to her was diverted by the creaking of the door opening. A hostile female voice that was a near screech pierced her ears. Evelyn was in on the ordeal. She was blistering Albert’s ears with tales of her treatment by the duke and his holier than thou friends. She barely escaped with her life she told her husband and plopped down with a huff. Juliet heard the chair moan in protest against her weight.

  “Now what the hell are we supposed to do with this chit?” she asked Albert after a moment.

  “We start our ploy over my dear; we must have funds to make it to the continent.” Albert belched loudly.

  “I know that you dim wit, if this ploy did not work the last time, what makes you think it will work this time? We are going to end up in bloody prison. If the men you hired could break in and steal both girls so easily, then why is it you did not have them steal something of value we could have sold for sea fare?”

  Juliet stifled a laugh at Albert’s silence. Clearly Evelyn was the brains of the outfit. “What would you have me do dear?” Albert asked sheepishly.

  “I would have you bloody well follow through with what you have started now, we would not even leave the port if we let this little bitch go free now, she would tell them who held her!”

  Juliet barely stopped herself from nodding in agreement. She needed to roll over so that her arms were behind her and out of their view so she could work on her bindings. She moaned again.

  “Albert, what is wrong with that chit? I thought you said they did her no harm.” Evelyn snapped.

  “We didn’t!” Albert protested. Juliet felt hands on her as she was rolled around to face her assailants.

  “Out with it girl, what ails you?” Evelyn asked hatefully after Albert removed her gag.

  “My head.” Juliet replied weakly, “May I have some water?” Evelyn shot her a look of pure disgust before pouring her a cup of water and handing it to Albert. She drank it greedily to abate her thirst. Now she was in a position to unravel the rope. She started slowly wiggling her hands back in forth trying to keep a grimace off her face as the rope cut into her tender wrists.

  She said a silent prayer for Jonathan to find her quickly once she freed herself, her chances were better when she only had one assailant to fight, now she had two.

  Chapter 7

  Jonathan pounded his fist in frustration as well as fear. They were too late. Juliet was gone. He knew it! His gut warned him, and he knew it deep down. He should have accompanied her back. He would have more than likely been in her bed when the kidnappers struck. He chose to let Thomas take her home as a way to try and put distance between them, what a fool he was. He loved her! His heart was aching with fear for her, and she could die before she ever knew what he really felt.

  He was tired of denying it. He was hopelessly and madly in love with Juliet Wells. He tried to focus on what Thomas was telling Clinton. Images of Juliet lying hurt somewhere kept flowing in and out of his head.

  He started as Elisabeth touched his arm. “Jonathan allow me to fetch you and Clinton something to eat, you must be starving.” She asked him kindly. Jonathan ran his fingers through his hair in frustration.

  “I appreciate the offer, Elisabeth, but I am afraid I could not eat anything.”

  “We will find her, Jonathan.” She told him firmly. He nodded his head in agreement, but could not get past the sinking feeling in his stomach.

  Elisabeth shifted uncomfortably as she turned to Thomas and asked him if he would car
e for anything to eat. He promptly told her that what he would like would be for her to stay safe and out the way, which caused Elisabeth to abruptly leave the room.

  Jonathan shot him an icy glare, in response to his rudeness but Thomas painstakingly ignored him. Clinton was organizing search parties and was barking orders in every direction. Jonathan listened to his detailed instructions and hurried out to begin searching his designated area.

  After riding for a half hour he still had not found any sign that would indicate a trail to lead him to Juliet. He was just about to signal his party in another direction when he noticed a piece of fabric blowing in the wind from a tree branch.

  He leapt from his horse to examine the fabric. It looked to be fine white linen that could be used in a woman’s night rail. He quickly sent a runner to find Clinton’s party and shift them in this direction. Upon further inspection, he could see foot prints in the soft dirt leading deep into the forest.

  Like a blood hound on a scent, he followed the trail until it lead him to another run down log house in the woods. Clinton really needs to check into who was poaching on his land, he thought angrily. Make shift cabins were a certain give away to poaching. It infuriated him to know someone had scouted out the land before hand and secured places to hide.

  He spread his men out in every direction and waited impatiently on Clinton to join him. He fought down the urge to storm the house, guns blazing, and rescue Juliet. By God, someone would pay for this he promised himself.

  After what seemed like hours but in actuality were only minutes, Clinton and Thomas both crouched down beside him.

  “Have you been able to get close to see how many are in there?” Thomas asked.

  Jonathan shook his head. “I haven’t gotten close, I was afraid I would not be able to control myself.” Thomas nodded his understanding and quietly crawled towards the run down shack. Within minutes he was back, with a smile upon his face.

  “Unless they are waiting on someone else, the aunt and uncle are the only two inside with Juliet. She is bound in the far left corner away from the door, there is a gun sitting on the table between them.”

  Clinton looked to Jonathan for his thoughts. Before he could say anything, his attention was diverted by the sound of a rider approaching rapidly. A burly man with a nap sack stopped in front of the house and hurried inside.

  “Damn!” Jonathan muttered. How many men did Albert have in his employ? He could only imagine the riches that Albert had promised them from the ransom money. “Shit!” he looked at Clinton as the realization dawned on him that the man was probably returning from the main home after delivering the ransom note. Their absence at the home would no doubt be noticed.

  Clinton seemed to understand his thoughts at the exact same moment. They would have no other option but to storm the house to try to catch them off guard. Pistols drawn they slowly made their way upon the house.

  They were within feet of the home when the front door flew open and Juliet ran from inside. Jonathan started to run towards her and saw the man who had just arrived raise his gun in Juliet’s direction. Gun blast blared from all directions as Clinton’s men shot the man in an attempt to keep Juliet from harm.

  Just as Jonathan made it to her and he thought she had escaped harm she slowly crumpled to the ground. The front of her night dress was starting to stain a bright scarlet. “No!” he roared and picked her limp body up into his arms. She was pale and unconscious. He could feel her warm blood soaking him as he raced to his horse. He quickly mounted his horse and sped back towards the manor.

  He looked down in confusion at the wetness upon Juliet’s cheeks, wondering how she could be crying while unconscious and lifted his fingers at the warmness on his cheeks. They were not Juliet’s tears upon her face, they were his own.

  Chapter 8

  Jonathan watched Juliet weakly scream out in pain as the doctor dug around in her shoulder for the bullet. It had entered from the back and lodged itself in the front just above her breastbone. He held her arms down as she cried out in agony and thrashed violently. Elisabeth sniffled back a sob at witnessing her friend’s pain. Unable to stand it anymore she fled from the room.

  “Surely there must be something else you can give her for the pain?” Jonathan asked the doctor.

  The doctor leaned back and wiped the perspiration from his brow. He was covered in Juliet’s blood. “I need her awake. She has lost too much blood. Once I remove the bullet and stop the bleeding, I will give her something.”

  Juliet’s mother held her daughters hand and with trembling lips kissed her brow. She whispered words in her ears to try and calm her child. Jonathan watched her with a lump in his throat. He looked back down at Juliet’s face. A world where she did not exist would be no world he could live in. He squeezed her hand and tried to transfer his strength to her.

  The doctor leaned back and gave an exasperated sigh. He faced the duchess with sympathy in his eyes. “I am sorry. I am afraid there is nothing more I can do. The bullet has lodged itself too deep. To go any further I’m afraid I might kill her. If she survives she will have limited use of this arm.”

  Juliet’s mother quietly sobbed and buried her face next to her daughter. “There is nothing else you can do?” Jonathan asked the doctor desperately.

  The doctor shook his head. “Her fate is in God’s hands now; the only thing you can do is pray.”

  Jonathan was in a daze. He held Juliet down so the doctor could cauterize the wound close. She was so weak that she fainted when the heat was applied to her shoulder. Long after the doctor left and Juliet’s mother retired to her room, Jonathan still sat at Juliet’s side, stroking her hair. He watched every movement of her chest to make sure she still breathed. It was shallow, but she was still breathing.

  He said nothing as Clinton came in and sat at his sister’s side, crying and begging her to fight for her life. Emily came in soon after and she fell to the floor beside the bed begging Juliet to forgive her. She had no idea her family was capable of such horror. Juliet remained motionless.

  Thomas came in and tried to get him to leave the room and get some sleep, to which he refused. He would not leave her side. She could wake up at any moment and he didn’t want her to be alone. God forbid she should be alone if she drew her last breath.

  Clinton came back in the room and sat across from him. He finally looked up at his friend. Clinton looked like hell. He was sure he looked no better. He felt as if he were in his own personal hell, watching the woman he loved fight for her life.

  “You know it’s not really proper for you to be the one in Juliet’s room with her.” Clinton said after a moment.

  “I intend to marry her, once she has recovered. Surely, a fiancé should be allowed to sit at his loved ones bedside?” Jonathan asked him.

  “So you finally realized what the rest of us have known all along.” Clinton stood up and leaned down and placed a soft kiss upon her head. “Let’s just pray she lives to hear those words from your lips.”

  Jonathan continued stroking her hair and leaned over to kiss her. Tears pooled in his eyes as he took in her frailness. If fever set in, she would more than likely die. “I love you.” He whispered brokenly into her ear. He brought his chair closer to her bed and laid his head next to hers. “Please don’t leave me.” He begged before succumbing to sleep.

  ~~~*****~~~

  Jonathan was awoken by Juliet thrashing violently in the bed. Her cheeks were flushed and her skin was hot to the touch. He rushed to the door and yelled for the maid to get help. Fever had set in sometime during the night.

  “Jonathan!” she yelled out. “Help me please.” She whimpered in her delirium.

  He rushed back to her side. “Shush, love, I am here. I would never leave you.”

  She seemed to hear his words and calmed down. He quickly checked her wound to see if her movement had reopened it and let out a sigh in relief that it was still closed. Clinton came running into the room still in his night clothes. “Fetch the
doctor.” Jonathan told him. “Fever has set in.”

  Several maids hurried in with pails of water and rags. He allowed them to push him from the room as they made haste in wiping down her heated body with the cool water. He slid down to the floor in the hallway and buried his head in his knees. She had to survive. He could not live without her. If the man who shot her was not already dead he would shoot him again.

  Someone sat down next to him, but he did not look up. When a small hand grasped his he looked up to see Elisabeth looking at him. “She will live Jonathan.” She whispered. “Juliet loves you too much to leave you behind. You have no idea how much she loves you.” He squeezed her hand in gratitude.

  Hours later when the doctor came out of the room, Jonathan was still sitting with his head between his knees. The doctor cleared his throat to gain his attention and he jumped up with his heart racing.

  “The fever has broken. I believe Lady Juliet will live, although she will do so without the use of a limb, she will be alive none the less.” The doctor shifted uncomfortably. “She is awake and asking for you.”

  Jonathan ran into the room and let out a huge sigh of relief as Juliet’s beautiful green eyes focused on his face. She smiled weakly at him and lifted her hand for him to come to her. He dropped to his knees at her bedside and kissed her hand tenderly.

  “Why Jonathan Radcliffe, are those tears in your eyes for me?” her voice came out a hoarse whisper.

  He kissed her lips forcefully full of emotion. “Don’t ever scare me like that again.” He told her sternly.

  She tried to laugh but the movement caused her pain and she let out a gasp.