Page 111 of Enslaved
The women began to undress her. She eyed the canvass jacket with its straps and buckles and began to tremble. “Please don’t put that thing on me, please. I’ll behave myself. I won’t give you any more trouble.” Diana might as well have been talking to the walls for all the effect her pleas had on the hospital attendants.
Within minutes she was naked, save for the gold half-coin about her neck. In a flash she covered it with her hand and backed away from them. She knew she hadn’t a hope in hell of keeping it, but a desperate idea came to her.
“Listen to me, both of you. This half-coin is solid gold. It is a priceless antique. It’s Julius Caesar from Roman times. Don’t give it to the doctor. Nobody knows I have it!”
The women looked at each other with meaning. Diana could see they were tempted to keep it for themselves. “If you pawn it, they’ll give you a few pounds; if you sell it to an antique shop in Bath, they’ll give you maybe a hundred guineas. But its value is absolutely priceless. The Earl of Bath once offered me half a million pounds for it.”
The women exchanged a look of disbelief that said they knew they were dealing with a lunatic. Diana’s heart sank. She’d priced it too high. They couldn’t comprehend that kind of money. One of the women forced open her hand and took her most beloved possession from her. Each of them looked at it without saying a word, then one of them slipped it into her pocket.
The women then forced her arms into the canvass sleeves, crossed them about her body, and buckled the straps at the back. Another strap went between her legs and fastened at the back onto the others.
Diana talked quickly, trying not to babble. “How much money do they pay you here? A pound a week, two? If you sold that gold coin to the Earl of Bath, you’d never have to work again!”
They went out and locked the door. There was no bed to lie on, no chair even to sit upon. Diana slid down the wall until she touched the floor. Why hadn’t she gone to London with Mark? Why had she allowed herself to become a victim again? It was because once she was back in her own Georgian times, she thought she was safe. But evil was the same in any age. Evil was timeless. Since the world began, there were certain people who would do anything for gain.
She closed her eyes to try to prevent the tears from rolling down her cheeks.DonVgive up hope, or they have won.Love, too, was timeless. “Mark,” she whispered, “find me … help me.” Diana was terrified to escape into sleep, for sleep might bring worse nightmares.Mark will come.The thought was the only thing she had to sustain her and help her hang on to her sanity.
The Earl of Bath made the rounds of every fashionable gentlemen’s club in London, buying back his brother’s markers. After only one day he realized he did not wish to be there. Without Diana, London held no appeal for him.
It was the early hours of the morning before he sought his bed, yet still he could not sleep. Memory of her filled his senses. He felt almost bereft without her. His bed was too empty, as was his heart. It was brought home to him that for the first time in his life he needed someone. Another thought nagged at him relentlessly. What if she needed him? If Diana had a nightmare during the long, dark hours, she would not be able to seek the sanctuary of his arms.
Mark arose early. Dawn had not completely dispelled his vague apprehension about Diana. He decided to return to Bath immediately, and to that end paid a visit to the chambers of his barristers, Chesterton and Barlow. He instructed them to pay off his brother’s debts and asked them to start an inquiry into Lady Diana Davenport’s inheritance from her late father.
“Your lordship, this is a delicate matter. For the record, our hands are tied while the lady in question is still a minor. Off the record, we can begin an investigation on the QT,” Johnathon Barlow explained.
“She comes of age in less than two months,” Mark Hardwick provided.
“Good. What we need is a deposition, signed by the complainant, and also one signed by you as a witness. We’ll do the preliminary investigation so that the day she comes of age we can legally proceed.”
Armed with the proper papers for a deposition, Mark was on his way home by midmorning, and rather than stop at a posting inn, he decided to drive straight through. He knew he could not possibly arrive before midnight, but the anticipation of surprising Diana and rousing her from sleep spurred him on mile after mile.
When he turned into the long driveway of Hardwick Hall, he saw that the lights were still blazing and he sensed immediately that something was wrong. He drove directly to the stables, left explicit instructions regarding his lathered team of horses, then raced to the house.
Mr. Burke had not yet retired. “Lord Bath, I’ve been consumed with worry and didn’t quite know how to proceed.”
“It’s Diana, isn’t it?” Mark demanded, throwing off his greatcoat and heading for the stairs.
“Lady Diana isn’t here, sir.” “Where is she, Mr. Burke?”
“That’s just it, sir. We have no idea. The coachman drove her into town, ostensibly to do some shopping. She told him to wait for her at the Abbey, but she never returned to the carriage.”
“Did Peter come back?” Mark demanded suspiciously.
“No, sir. I haven’t seen hide or hair of him.”
“Her aunt and uncle are staying here in Bath. In all likelihood that’s where she will be.” Mark cursed himself for leaving her behind.
“I took the liberty of calling round to Queen Square this morning, my lord. There was no answer.”
A cold suspicion took hold of him. Diana had left Hardwick Hall for propriety’s sake. He took the stairs three at a time. His bedchamber was immaculate. The red lace corset was no longer on the carpet where she had dropped it. He was about to curse again when his eye fell on her earrings, which she had left on his bedside table. He picked them up and slipped them into his pocket.
Next he went down the hall to the peach-colored chamber. He was relieved when he opened the wardrobe and saw her dresses hanging there. She hadn’t packed and left him after all. His relief was short-lived. Obviously she’d had every intention of returning. A woman did not leave her clothes and her earrings behind unless she intended to return.
He ran his hand over her pillow. Tucked beneath it was her nightgown. He lifted it to his cheek absently, and her unique scent stole to him. All his senses told him that Diana was as attracted to him as he was to her. She would not remain apart from him voluntarily. Prudence and Richard must have forbidden her to return to Hardwick Hall. His mouth curved grimly. Diana was willful as ten strong men. What Prudence forbade would have little effect on her.They must be constraining her forcefully!
“Mr. Burke, get me a dry coat,” he called as he came running down the staircase. “I’m going to Queen Square. After all, I am a justice of Bath; if necessary I’ll swear out a search warrant.”
Mr. Burke knew it was useless to point out to the earl that it was three in the morning. Mark Hardwick was a man who made his own rules.
