Page 93 of Taken By the Beastly Duke

If they stopped at an inn, it might provide an opening for her to escape or at the very least slow them down long enough to be found, assuming that Anthony was looking to find her.

The icy silence that followed her plea, filled her with hopelessness because it seemed appealing to even the man's heart was not working

She was slowly going into panic when the carriage abruptly stopped causing her to jerk slightly forward, hitting her forehead on the panel before her. She winced slightly rubbing the abused area.

" Damn it" Theodore cursed beside her and pulled the carriage door open, slamming it closed behind him. " Why did you stop man? " She heard his angry voice muffled by the closed carriage doors. " I told you we have to make haste...." His words trailed off as he probably saw the cause of the disturbance.

Whatever or whoever had caused the disturbance deserved her silent thanks because she was sure going to make sure that she escaped, even if she had to crawl her way all the way back home.

* * *

Anthony had ridden for the past half day at top speed chasing after the blackguard who had made the irrevocable error of kidnapping his wife.

When his mother had drawn attention to the fact that it was out of character for Victoria to leave, especially while all her belongings remained intact in her chambers. He had felt so stupid for allowing his self pity and self loathing to blind him from seeing the true situation. Because in his stupidity he had subjected sweet Victoria to staying longer in the hands of her captor than she should have.

That very minute he had left the castle at top speed, not waiting for the constables to arrive. Whenever he imagined his sweet beautiful Victoria suffering in the hands of whomever had kidnapped her, he got more enraged. He spurred the horse even harder. Now he even had an idea who the captor must be, he moved even faster, eager to catch the culprit.

A stable hand had reported seeing a man with features matching that of Viscount Seton driving off a carriage from the estate at an odd hour of the morning.

He should have known and trusted his instincts when it told him that the man held feelings other than just platonic ones for Victoria. He had known in some part of him, that the man held regards of a romantic nature for Victoria but he had never guessed that the man was unhinged enough to go the route of kidnapping a married woman from her own home.

Perhaps he might have admired the man's audacity if the woman in question was not his wife.

For the next half hour, he pushed his horse to it's limit, stopping at an inn, only to change horses and enquire if anyone had seen a couple matching the description of Seton and Victoria.

When he got no positive answer, he became even more worried. A carriage carrying a female was usually slower, since they had to stop at inns along the way for the lady to attend to her toilette or rest. The fact that it appeared that they had not stopped meant they could be farther away and that Seton was most likely torturing his wife with no thought for her needs.

The thought caused his vision to be hazed with red as he imagined twining his hands around the man's neck and squeezing until the light went out in his eyes. The thought of his revenge seemed to do the work of fuel propelling him to push his horse to eat up miles in a few moments.

When he had gotten a glimpse of a carriage ahead, he had hastened his ride, his heart lurching in his chest. When he made out the Seton coat of arms on the carriage identifying it as belonging to the mad man.

He felt relief that quickly transformed into anger as he spurred his horse, fairly flying after the carriage. He drove past it to stop ahead of the carriage, guiding his horse to face the oncoming vehicle.

The carriage driver's eyes widened with surprise, when he spotted him barely a yard away, but Anthony would praise the man on how quickly he was able to bring the team of horses to a stop just barely a breath away from where he sat on his horse.

It was also a testament to the stoic temperament of his horse that it didn't try to rear or bolt in the event of that possible collision. Anthony patted the animal in thanks, rubbing the mane of the magnificent horse while he waited for the occupant to step down.

Just as he expected, he heard the man curse as he alighted from the vehicle.

" Damn it, man. I told you to make haste....." His voice trailed off when he noticed Anthony's presence.

His eyes widened slightly in surprise before he schooled his expression into an unreadable one.

" What the devil, Devlin?" He said in a slightly annoyed tone.

It was obvious that the man was trying to affect an expression of innocence but his previous expression of shock and guilt had already giving him away.

Anthony jumped down smoothly from the stallion, whipped out a pistol from its place in the hidden pocket of his jacket, he trained it at him, stepping towards the viscount until he stood right in front of him. Loving the way the man's eyes shifted uncomfortably, clearly intimidated by the difference in height and bulk.

Anthony had never been more grateful for his tough body honed in the fires of battle than in that moment, he appreciated it and the effect it was having on the pompous brat.

" I came to collect my wife" he said in the quietest voice possible.

" I would have thought that the appropriate place for that would be at home, not here in the middle of no where" Theodore said in defense.

Anthony allowed his lips to curl in the sinister smirk that had made the blood of many soldiers run cold on the battlefield. It was satisfying to see Theo shudder in fear. Seemed he hadn't completely lost his touch.

Seton's eyes darted away from his face and around, possibly looking for a way to escape.

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