Page 104 of Foes, Friends and Lovers
Had those been stone steps? She wasn’t sure.
At that point, she’d stopped fighting and, instead, had tried to think of what to do. All she’d come up with was easing her handkerchief from inside her sleeve—something she could just manage with her bound hands—then letting it flutter and fall free. A clue to her whereabouts that might prove helpful if—when!—people came searching for her.
Ecton had come to the end of his climb and walked a few paces on and around, then paused and juggled her while he’d opened a door. Then—and she was sure of this—he’d carried her down seven stone steps. Then he’d walked farther—perhaps ten paces—before halting and lowering her, reasonably gently, to the ground.
The hard ground on which she still lay.
Immediately he’d set her down, he’d swung around and walked swiftly away.
She’d heard him go, literally running up the steps. He’d definitely been in a hurry to be gone.
He’d shut the door, not with a bang but firmly.
A short silence had followed, then had come the horrible, loud grating noise, followed by several—she thought three—solidthumps.
Thumps so heavy, the ground beneath her had juddered.
Those thumps were not a good sign.
If Ecton had put her in some cellar, what did those thumps mean?
Reluctantly, she accepted that she had no real idea where she was. Even if she freed herself of the hood and her bindings, she didn’t know whether she could get out.
And if Gregory was injured…
Beneath the hood, her eyes narrowed.
Ten to one, Ecton’s story was a ruse. He’s captured you to force Gregory to sell the Hall to him.
The important part in that was that there was no reason to suppose Gregory was incapacitated. And if he wasn’t, he would come for her.
Once he realized she was missing.
Daniel and several others knew she’d gone to see Mrs. Poole. When she didn’t return for afternoon tea, they would search and…
There’d been no witnesses to Ecton’s attack. How would Gregory know Ecton had taken her?
Doubt seeped into her mind. Cold dread followed. How long would she have to wait in this cold darkness? Would they even find her?
Obviously, at some point, Ecton would taunt Gregory with her whereabouts, but how long would he drag the matter out? If Ecton was wise, he would wait until Gregory grew frantic before hinting that he might know where she was.
How long before Ecton spoke? Before he renewed his twice-rejected offer for Bellamy Hall?
For several long moments, she dwelled on those questions before thrusting them to the back of her mind.
Instead, she thought of Gregory—of his hazel eyes and smiling lips. Of the warmth of his arms and the passion in his kiss.
Resolutely, she fixed his image in her mind and reminded herself of the shared future he and she were determined to build at Bellamy Hall.
A future rich with promise and with love and affection of so many different stripes.
She clung to the gilded vision and a no-matter-how-irrational certainty that Gregory would come for her.
She held both in the forefront of her mind to keep the darkness at bay.
Chapter 15
With Caitlin’s cousins and her uncle at his back, Gregory rode up the curving drive of Ecton Hall.
