Page 29 of Captured By the Cold Duke
They moved deeper into the garden, until even the light from the moon seemed to have been blotted out by the thick trees and hedges. Lady Minerva and Cherie were now holding hands, and Thomas felt his own spine tingle with fear. Questions whirled through his head.Where are they? Did we choose wrong? Did they go upstairs? Is it too late for Lady Chastity?
And then Thomas heard something: the sound of a muffled cry, a man’s angry grunt, and then the rustling of bushes.
His heart began to race. Motioning at the ladies to be silent, he pointed to the thicket of bushes where the sound had come from. They all crept forward.
Then a voice hissed from inside the bushes: “Just be still! You know you want this.”
It was Lord Dawson’s voice.
Immediately, there was a muffled wail, then more sounds of someone thrashing around.
Thomas didn’t hesitate. Leaping forward, he tore back the bushes.
A terrible sight met his eyes: Lord Dawson was pushing Lady Chastity up against a hedge, using one of his hands to cover her mouth. With the other, he was pinning her against the hedge so that she couldn’t escape. Meanwhile, his mouth was fastened on her neck. He seemed to be mauling it savagely, with none of the tender passion with which a man should kiss his lover—and certainly not what anyone should do to a woman who looked as terrified and unwilling as Lady Chastity.
Even in the darkness, Thomas could make out her expression: her eyes were wild with fear, and from under Dawson's hand, she was crying out with muffled sobs. Tears poured down her cheeks. Her hair was in disarray, and there looked to be mud and leaves all over her dress.
She put up a fight, then.
Even now, she was struggling against her attacker, trying to push him off of her with her free hand, with the other trapped behind her back. But she was small and frail, while Dawson was much bigger, and she seemed to be weakening with every second.
“Get your filthy hands off of her!” Thomas shouted.
Sprinting forward, he grabbed the back of Dawson’s jacket, wrenching him backward with all his might.
Dawson let out a startled shout and stumbled back, almost falling to the ground. Thomas kept a firm grip on his jacket, which he used to throw the viscount to the ground.
Chastity, meanwhile, slumped down against the hedge, put her head in her hands, and began to sob.
“Chastity!” Lady Minerva shouted, and she ran to her sister, bending down and taking her in her arms.
“M-Minerva?” Chastity hiccupped, as her hands circled tentatively around her sister. “Y-you're here?”
“I'm here,” Lady Minerva said, clutching her sister even closer. “Everything's all right now. You're safe.”
Thomas, meanwhile, had turned to face her attacker.
Lord Dawson had managed to get back to his feet, and now he turned warily towards Thomas, his eyes flashing with fury.
“What are you doing here, meddling in my affairs?” He seethed at Thomas. “You have no right!”
“I have every right!” Thomas thundered, righteous fury burning through him. “Not only did I introduce you to this young lady, but she is a friend of my wife's! And any friend of the duchess has the full and unquestioning protection of the Duke of Wheaton!”
“If Lady Chastity is friends with the duchess, then the duchess should choose her friends more wisely,” Dawson sneered. “Or do you approve of your wife cavorting with loose, immoral women?”
Lady Chastity let out another sob, and Thomas's hands balled into fists.
“How dare you impugn Lady Chastity's honor?” he hissed. “When you are clearly the one who has taken advantage of an innocent girl.”
“Innocent?” Dawson laughed derisively and took a threatening step towards Lady Chastity. Before Thomas could move, his wife had dashed forward and put her body between Dawson and the Berrymoores. Her jaw was clenched, and she stood very straight and tall like she was ready to fight Dawson herself.
“Don’t you dare come near her again,” Cherie said, her voice surprisingly clear and loud, despite the fear Thomas knew she must be experiencing. “You will never lay hands on her again!”
“I will not be spoken to like that by a woman,” Dawson scoffed. He took another step forward, and Thomas drew himself up.
“Take one more step towards my wife and you die, Dawson,” he said in a low, deadly voice.
Dawson froze. The whole clearing seemed to freeze. Cherie’s eyes were wide, while behind her, even Lady Chastity had stopped crying.
