Page 68 of Taken By the Broken Duke
“Stand aside, man. Your wife is not here and we all know thatsheis the true master of Wetherby House,” Hemsworth scoffed.
“We are here to see your niece Juliet,” Horatio snarled, stepping up beside Hemsworth.
“And as Lord of this house, I refuse. She is under the age of one-and-twenty, and as such is my ward. My responsibility.”
“I relieve you of that responsibility since I have evidence that you have abused your position and mistreated Juliet. Including forcibly drugging her to ensure her compliance in your wicked scheme,” Hemsworth countered.
“You have no right...” Godwin began.
“I am a magistrate of this county. Appointed by the King to uphold his laws and justice. I haveeveryright, and if you bar my way, I will see you in irons, sir!” Hemsworth roared.
Gilbert Godwin glanced over his shoulder as though looking for his formidable wife, then remembering that she was atRavenscourt. He paled, stammered, and was then pushed aside by Horatio. He raised his cane, pinning its end against Godwin's chest and propelling him against the nearest wall.
“Direct me to Juliet's room or I will beat the information out of you,” he grated.
“Her room is on the second floor. At the end of the corridor.”
“She is locked in with a nurse to guard her,” Edith added.
“Then this nurse will unlock the door or we will break it down,” Horatio replied, glaring at Godwin who swallowed nervously.
“Hear hear,” Hemsworth echoed, “lead the way, Your Grace.”
Summoning reserves of strength that were probably his last, Horatio strode through the entrance hall to the staircase, taking them two at a time. Hemsworth was close behind and Edith behind him. At the second floor, Horatio's legs almost gave way, only Hemsworth's quick reflexes saved Horatio from falling flat on his face.
“Are you quite well, Your Grace? You seem awfully pale.”
“A gift from the Godwins,” Horatio admitted, “they sought to keep me docile with a drug in the guise of medicine. They will stop at nothing.”
“And despite this weakness, you were prepared to fight me,” Hemsworth remarked with no little admiration in his tone.
“For Juliet, I would gladly lay down my life,” Horatio said, honestly.
“Well said,” Hemsworth replied.
Edith pushed past them and hurried along the corridor.
“And you, young lady, Juliet has often spoken of your intelligence, but now I see it is joined with courage too, to put yourself between two angry, stubborn men with blades drawn.”
Edith looked back at Hemsworth and smiled, blushing. “I thank you for the compliment, but I should like to free Juliet before hearing more.”
A door at the far end of the corridor opened and a woman in black stepped out. She had a severe expression on her face and strode down the corridor to meet them.
“What is all of this noise? I have a patient...”
“You have a prisoner, Mrs. Swift,” Edith challenged, “whom you have been keeping locked up and feeding some kind of concoction to make her doubt her own senses!”
Horatio strode past the woman without stopping, eyes on the door she had just left.
“You cannot go in there. I shall summon Lord Godwin...”
“His Lordship is currently detained by my good friend Sir Nathan of Hastings. He will not help you,” Hemsworth smirked.
Horatio stepped into the room, finding it to be an anteroom with a further closed door beyond. He saw a table with a large, brown glass bottle on it and a tea tray beside it. The bottle had been decanted into a small vial and he realized that the intention had been to apply it to the tea. Tea which was doubtless intended for Juliet to drink. He tried the inner door handle and found it to be locked.
“Juliet!” he called.
There was a moment's silence and then... “Horatio? Am I dreaming?”
