Page 42 of Enchanted By the Lyon
Clara nodded. “And I’ve only heard good things about Mrs. Vaughn. Why, if the Duchess of Montague can vouch for her character, then I won’t certainly disagree as to Mrs. Vaughn’s respectability.” She nodded. “Apparently, she was the daughter of a baron.”
Mentally Lucius made a note to send Saxton’s mother a bouquet of flowers to offer his thanks. He was certain the duchess’s recommendation went a long way for Cassandra to be accepted among Society. In fact, Cassandra had blossomed overthe last couple of months. Now, no one would have ever known his lady had once been an outcast.
His butler came to the parlor entrance. “This was just delivered for you, my lord.”
“Thank you, Merrit. Who brought this to me?” he asked, holding out his hand for the vellum.
“A small boy. I’ve never seen him before.”
Lucius broke the wax seal and tore open the letter before his anger erupted at what he read. He cursed. “That bloody whoreson. I’ll kill him,” Lucius bellowed, turning toward his brother. “I need you to send word to Constable Jones along with Saxon, Wickes, and Asher. Have them get ready to ride with me to the country. I know where Cassandra’s been taken.”
Clara appeared worried. “Is that wise, son? Perhaps you should let the authorities handle the situation. I don’t want you to be hurt.”
“He may kill her if he finds out I haven’t come alone. My friends and the constable can hang back in the woods until I confront the bastard.”
Leopold stood and went toward him. “Who took her?”
“Just as I suspected. My old nemesis, Viscount Hollingsworth, and Barlow Vaughn, Cassandra’s dead husband’s brother. They plan to blackmail me into giving them an exorbitant sum of money to keep their mouths shut about Cassandra’s past or they’ll tell everything to theTeatime Tattleror anyone else who will listen.”
“They won’t get away with that,” Clara replied with a huff. “How dare they try to blackmail my son!”
“Desperate times will bring out the worst of people, Mother, but I’ll be damned if I’ll allow them to harm Cassandra’s reputation, especially considering how hard she has worked to restore it,” Lucius said before leaving the room and heading upstairs to pack a small bag.
His mind flooded with images of Cassandra harmed, afraid, alone. There was so much to do before he could rush off to find her. He would need to get to the bank to withdraw the huge sum to satisfy Hollingsworth and Vaughn’s demand. But if he hurried, he could be at his country estate by the end of the day if the weather held. The letter said for him to wait there for further instructions. How long he would be kept in the dark he had no idea. He could only pray that Cassandra would stay safe until his arrival without coming to any harm.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Cassandra shivered inthe cold downpour of rain. The weather had turned nasty for the past week, making the roads a mucky mess. The fact that she was standing in the woods near a small clearing waiting to be rescued by Lucius lightened her spirits although she was worried about the upcoming altercation with the men who held her captive. She didn’t know what to expect from them, but the whole situation didn’t bode well for her or Lucius.
The fact that Barlow held a knife to her throat didn’t help matters. Where did he think she would run to that they couldn’t easily catch her? He and Forbes had already had a verbal war between them this morning about how their flintlock pistols would be useless in this kind of weather since the gunpowder would never light during the torrential rain.
She had sat quietly in her chair while Barlow continued cleaning his weapon, saying he would take it with him anyway and hope for the best by keeping it dry and hiding it in his coat. Forbes had cursed him as he sharpened several knives. He put one inside his boot, another at his back in his belt, and the third he put in a leather holder near his waist. The fourth was now ather throat. Apparently Barlow wasn’t as stupid as she’d thought and had decided that even a knife as a weapon could benefit him.
She had spent the morning worrying about Lucius’s safety which was more important than her own. Luckily, she had remained untouched so if they had any plans to take advantage of her person, they would have done so by now, or so she surmised. Instead, she was left unharmed with the exception of a few muttered curses thrown in her direction. Cassandra was being used as only a means to extract a handsome amount of money from Lucius. How these two fools thought they would get away with this whole scheme was beyond her reasoning. Clearly, they didn’t know Lucius well.
Since Barlow and Forbes had made no effort to hide their discussions and plans, Cassandra had heard everything they planned. They may have ordered Lucius to come alone, but she knew he would take the necessary precautions to ensure that witnesses would be close by to hear their exchange. Maybe the reason they didn’t care that she overheard their plans was because she wouldn’t live to see the end of the day. She gulped in fear, knowing her fate rested in the hands of two men who cared little for anyone but themselves. After all, it was clear to her now that Barlow had the capacity to kill his own brother and make it look like an accident, just for money’s sake.
Now, here she was. Standing near a tree about to freeze to death since they hadn’t bothered to give her a coat or anything else to protect her from the elements. The dress they had given her to wear was molded to her body, and she gulped when she noticed Forbes leering at her. It was the first time since they’d taken her that she truly worried about her safety. She remembered such a look from her past association with the viscount and another shiver overcame her that had nothing to do with the pouring rain. She caught his smirk and she quicklymasked her face, not wishing to give the scoundrel any further satisfaction that he had affected her.
She raised her chin in indifference, but she couldn’t stop the smile that spread across her face when she heard the unmistakable sound of hoofbeats in the distance. Her rescue was at last imminent.
Barlow tightened his hold upon her arm and nicked her neck with the blade still held at her throat, drawing her attention. “Be quiet or I’ll have no problem slicing your throat just to finally be rid of you,” he sneered, causing Cassandra to try to pull her arm from his grasp.
“You always were a coward and low life scum. No wonder Rupert never wanted anything to do with you,” she prodded him.
“You know nothing about my past with my brother or the hatred I bore him,” Barlow snarled even as his head swiveled in the direction of the horse somewhere in the distance. He lowered the knife as he became lost in thought. “He had everything and I had nothing.”
Cassandra frowned. “You were the older son. Whatever wealth your parents had would have gone to you as the first born. It was Rupert who had to find his way in the world and he made a success of his life.” She watched her brother-in-law carefully while a range of emotions flitted across his face. It was then that she knew that Rupert’s declaration in the letter and will she had found was true. “You killed him, didn’t you?”
Barlow gave her a shove and she stumbled back against the bark of the tree. His hand went to her throat. “And my parents too,” he shouted.
“But why?” Cassandra managed to ask, as he squeezed her throat.
“Because I was my father’s bastard, that’s why. They were about to leave everything they had to Rupert. I couldn’t let that happen,” he confessed loudly while Forbes let out a curse.
“You fool! Shut your mouth,” Forbes ordered him, coming closer. “You’ll ruin everything and we still need her alive.”
Barlow let go of her neck and turned to his partner. “What does it matter if we kill her now or later?”
