"Wretched, wretched girl!"
The small hill leaning against his right knee whined.
"Not you, of course, Balder." Theo scratched the hound behind his shaggy ears. "I mean my sister. 'Tis bad enough that we have to sneak around to meet. But now she's gotten herself carried into that house over there. What, pray, does she think she's up to?"
He glanced back over his shoulder to check on Martin and the horses. They all seemed to be more or less asleep. Earlier, he'd found a quiet corner of the park and had a good laugh at the tangle Flora had, quite truly, gotten herself into. He'd thought then that it would be more amusing to let her extricate herself. Once again his determination to live a sober, well-thought-out life had been instantly obliterated by his confounded frivolous nature.
"She cannot possibly have found what she's looking for. 'Tis unfortunately clear that we do not have Mama's marriage lines because they never existed. Wasn't it just like them to forego such a little, important thing? No doubt they meant to get to it - sometime." Theo smiled a little at the memory of his loving, impulsive parents.
"Uncle James is the new marquis and we manage quite well enough. Or did before Uncle James decreed that my sister should be under his guardianship. And if he can find a gentleman mad enough to put up with her starts and crazes I will be forever grate..."
At that, the front door of the house he was watching burst open and three masked men charged down the stairs. One of them supported his fellow. And one had a cloaked woman draped lifelessly over his shoulder. They clambered into a coach that had pulled up just as they reached the pavement, and the coachman whipped up his team and was gone.
"Martin! Martin, drat you, wake up!" Theo found himself once more racing across the small park, this time with Balder at his side barking enough to wake Martin and the horses.
"They've carried off Flora! Quick, after them!" Theo swung into the saddle and Morpheus was wide awake and ready for the chase. Balder settled into his place at the horse's side, and the rescue party thundered down the street.
Fortunately, it was too late in the day for sensible people to be setting out in traveling coaches, so the pursuers had no trouble following the trail. As they left the last of the London streets behind, Theo realized where they were headed.
"East! That treacherous... I'll have his head for this!" Theo slowed Morpheus to a walk and waited for Martin to catch up with him. "And as for her..."
"Mr. Theo? Did Morph pull up lame?" Martin began to dismount. "You take Slumbery, sir."
"Don't bother, Martin. I know who has her and where they're headed. Curse them both. I've told them and told them the match would not do. And just see what she arranges."
"You don't think Lord Daventry would..."
"I think Flora would! And David cannot or will not curb her impulses. Besides, she told me that my uncle does not approve any more than I do."
Even as anger roared through him, Theo hurt to remember the pain he had inflicted when he told his only sister and his closest friend that Flora was illegitimate and a match between her and an earl's heir was not to be thought of any longer.
"Come, we can cut across the fields and meet them at the Haydon Ford."
Anne became aware of voices floating in and out and a throbbing pain in her head.
"'ave to go an 'it 'er so 'ard for? 'E ain't gonna be 'appy 'bout dis."
"You saw 'er she tried to attack me. "'E said to bring 'er fast as can be an' we didn' 'ave time to waste."
"'ow much farth'r now?"
"We're almost to Haydon Ford, shouldn't be much farther."
Anne opened her eyes and the throbbing in her head became a stabbing pain accompanied by bright shooting stars. She quickly squeezed her eyes closed and held her breath, waiting for the pain to subside. As the pain eased, she slowly reopened her eyes and proceeded to take inventory. She seemed to be relatively unharmed but for a headache and several various and assorted bruises. She was propped in the corner of a coach wrapped in a cloak. Another pain shot through her head as the coach hit a rut in the road. She groaned, and brought her hand up to her head to gently feel along her temple.
Her movements brought three pairs of eyes to her face. As she slowly moved her head, three masked faces came into view and Anne's eyes widened as she recognized the three masked men who had invaded Brookfield House. Panic threatened to overwhelm her, but she swallowed it.
She took a deep breath while chaotic thoughts began racing through her mind. 'It can't be me they want, it has to be a mistake. I'm a lowly governess, no one would want to kidnap me. What is going on? Where are they taking me? What do they want?'
Anne felt as if she were on the verge of hysteria as she took another deep breath to calm herself. As she slowly released her breath, she remembered Flora fainting in the park, the huge blue sapphire Flora refused to take back, the mysterious Marquis, and the three masked men barging into Brookfield House.
'Ooh,' she thought, 'what has that wretched girl gotten me into. She is involved in this somehow. I just know I'm going to lose my position with Lady Brookfield over this.'
Anne, deciding she had nothing to lose, swallowed the lump in her throat and finally managed to croak out, "Wh--w-where are you taking me?"
The coach gave a sudden lurch and swerved. Anne gasped, closed her eyes and grabbed for the carriage strap. She heard a pistol discharge and a muffled grunt as if someone had been hit. Anne opened her eyes and glanced around the coach. Two of the masked men were cursing and yelling obscenities while trapped under the larger body of the third, who was covered in blood.
Anne started inching towards the carriage door while watching the masked men. She quietly reached over and unlatched the door of the coach. She risked a glance at the tangle of men on the floor, who were still involved in their war of obscenities, and quickly slipped outside.
Once on the road, she picked up her skirts and ran towards the woods. She glanced back to see if anyone were in pursuit and ran straight into arms of the fair haired young man she had seen hiding in the bushes.
| Chapter 1 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 3b | Chapter 3c | Chapter 3d | Chapter 3e | Chapter 4 | Chapter 4b | Chapter 4c | Chapter 5 | Chapter 5b | Chapter 5c |
| Novel 1 Notes | Novel 2 Notes | Novel 3 Notes |
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AUTHORS: Although changes to the story are not allowed, please email any grammatical corrections, punctuation errors, or typos related to your installment to Tonia Izu.
Changes last made on: Saturday, March 1, 2008
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