Page 45 of The Truth about the Viscount
Patience shook her head.
“I will not.” Whatever it was that Lord Newforth intended to do, Patience did not know, but she was certainly not about to go with him willingly. “Might you explain to me what it is that you are doing, Lord Newforth? Last I heard, you were in Bath.”
He chuckled, leaning forward into the space of the hackney door as Patience tried to stay exactly where she was, in an attempt to convey strength though, inwardly, fear was screaming through her.
“Ah, Lady Patience, I see that the rumors I circulated have spread and spread well! Society has its uses, does it not?” He tilted his head, watching her with hawk-like eyes, making her feel as though she was the unwilling prey, waiting for the moment he would sink his claws into her skin. “Now, you will come out of the hackney and–”
“What is it that you intend?”
Patience interrupted him, her voice shaking, only for the wicked smile to fade from Lord Newforth’s face. Instead of answering, he reached out one hand, grabbed her arm, and hauled her out of the hackney. The scream stuck in her throat, her hands flailing only for pain to strike through her as Lord Newforth slammed her back bodily against the carriage, his face now close to hers, his face pulled into an ugly expression.
“I warned you to stay away from Lord Hastings, did I not?” he hissed, his eyes like sharp knives. “Lady Winters spoke to you, and yet you persisted! You have no one to blame for this but yourself, Lady Patience. This supposed betrothal is nothing but a pretense, set in place to prevent me from doing what I had to, to punish Lord Hastings. Before that, you insisted that you had been in company with him, so that the Baron’s accusations fell to the dirt! You appear to be quite determined to persist with assisting Lord Hastings in this matter and thus, unfortunately, I have decided to make certain thatyouare the one who will cause Lord Hastings the greatest suffering… and the heaviest weight of shame.”
Patience could not breathe, her chest painful as her lungs screamed for air. Her eyes were filled with nothing but Lord Newforth, hardly daring to imagine what it was he might be intending for her.
“You have much too great a strength in you, Lady Patience,” Lord Newforth finished, finally stepping back and releasing her just a little, though not enough for her to step away. “But that does not mean that it cannot be broken.”
Closing her eyes, Patience finally dragged in a breath, trying to find some of the strength that Lord Newforth had just spoken of. Whatever it was that he intended, it was clear to her that her entire future, her entire life, might well be completely and utterly ruined. She was without a chaperone, without family or anyone who could assist her, and with Lord Newforth’s evil determination pulling her in whatever direction he wanted, she felt completely helpless.
“This way, Lady Patience.” Stepping away, Lord Newforth pulled her with him, the streets seeming to close in around her. This was, to her, an unfamiliar part of London, a place where no one would come to look for her, where no one would recognize her, but that did not bring her any relief. Lord Newforth coulddo any number of things, and her reputation would be gone in a moment – and Lord Hastings’ world be turned upside down. Lord Milthorpe and Miss Spearton’s happiness would be shattered. It was the same sort of situation that Lord Newforth had tried to push upon Miss Spearton, where he had attempted to use society and its inclination toward gossip to get what he wanted. Now, he would do the same to her, though this time there did not appear to be any way to escape. “This little room will do,” Lord Newforth muttered, pushing her through a front door and then into a room to her left. “I am afraid that this will be your home for the next few days, Lady Patience.”
“My home?” Patience wrenched her arm away from him, turning to face him as he blocked the door. “What do you mean?”
Lord Newforth shrugged.
“It is just as I have said. You will not go anywhere, Lady Patience, until the rumors about your absence have washed through all of society. They will say a great many things about you, I am sure, for you areverywell known now, given your drawings in The London Chronicle, as well as your betrothal to Lord Hastings.”
Patience said nothing, though her heart was pounding furiously in her chest, and her mind fighting to find some way out of her current predicament, though she could think of none. It was not as though she could merely demand that he release her, and expect him to comply, for he would do nothing of the sort!
“I should like to say that I am sorry for what will happen to your reputation but, truth be told, I have no regret in this whatsoever.” He shrugged. “I did warn you, Lady Patience, did I not?”
“You expect that I will stay here, simply because you have asked it of me?” Aware that her voice was still shaking, Patiencelifted her chin and tried to look at him with a steadiness in her gaze that she did not truly feel. “I will do nothing of the sort.”
Lord Newforth let out a mirthless laugh.
“You do not have a choice, Lady Patience! You are to be kept in this room for as long as I deem it necessary. You can see how simple it was for me to have that note sent to you, how the hackney driver waited for you. It will not be difficult in the least to keep you in this room, while I return to London… or mayhap I shall make my way to Bath now, given that everyone now believes that it is where I am.”
Closing her eyes, Patience shuddered violently, only to hear Lord Newforth laugh again, this time, the sound coming as a response to her fear. Tears began to burn behind her eyes, but she did not let them fall, knowing that they would do no good. She still had hope, she reminded herself. Her maid had escaped, had run from the hackney, and gone, she trusted, directly to Lord Hastings’ townhouse.
“There is no reason for you to behave in this way,” she said, her voice rasping. “The only reason you are doing so is because of some misplaced anger over Lord Hastings’ refusal to permit you to wed his sister.”
“How dare you?” Patience’s eyes flew open just as Lord Newforth strode across the room towards her, his eyes narrowed, his face growing hot. “You speak of something you know nothing about,” he continued, one hand reaching out for her, grabbing her arm and squeezing it painfully as he shook her, hard. “There was no reason for him to refuse me. No reason at all! I am a gentleman of honor, with enough of a fortune to keep her contented.”
“No, you are not.” Despite his actions, and despite the fear which ran through her as she spoke, Patience did not hold herself back. “A gentleman of honor would not do such a thing as this. I know of your reputation, and I can well understandwhy Lord Hastings would refuse you.” As Lord Newforth went very still, Patience took another breath and then shook her head, forcing herself to speak without hesitation. “And I think it was right for him to do so. I am glad that your plans for Isabella were foiled. Is it not so that everything you have done thus far has failed completely and utterly?” She tried to smile, despite the pain his tight grip was causing her. “What gives you any confidence that this dark intention of yours will not fail also? I have every confidence that your plan will bring you nothing but mortification and shame; the very opposite of what it is that you desire.”
Lord Newforth reeled back, his eyes wide as though she had stabbed him with a sharp, pointed implement, only to reach one hand back and then strike it hard across her face. Patience let out a cry of pain and fright and pressed one hand to her cheek as Lord Newforth began to roar at her, his words so loud and furious, she could not make them out. Her ears were ringing, her heart thumping frantically as the furious figure of Lord Newforth filled her vision.
Run.
Her eyes strayed to the door behind Lord Newforth. He had pushed her into the room and followed in after her, blocking her escape, but now, in his upset and anger, he had moved closer to her and was further away from the door. Patience stepped back from him all the more, her eyes darting from one place to the next in the room, wondering what she might use to prevent Lord Newforth from following her. If she ran, then he would very quickly catch her, would very easily grab hold of her again, and throw her back into this room. Then, would he not seek to make her even more secure within this place, knowing that she had already once tried to escape?
There.
Her heart skipped in her chest as her gaze fell upon the poker by the fireplace. Dare she do such a thing? Dare she be bold enough to reach for it, to use it to defend herself before making her escape?
It might be the only way.
Her maid could have gone to Lord Hastings’ townhouse and found him absent if, that was, she had even managed to reach the townhouse yet. She might now be searching for him, knowing that every minute that passed left Patience in more danger. Even if he was now on his way towards her, Lord Hastings would not be easily able to find where she was, for the street was filled with the entrances to alleyways, with doors that opened to different places – and she might be in any one of them! Patience backed away a little more, making for the fireplace as best she could while Lord Newforth followed her, continuing to scream words of fury at her, his face now purple with anger.
