Page 88 of A Marquess' Season of Secrets
“What is the matter, my dear?” Ralph asked, taking a step closer. “Has your employer not treated you well? Look at the clothes you are wearing! Is this what you wished for when you ran away from me?”
“Do not come closer,” she begged, still fighting the darkness that wished to take her under. “Let me live my life in peace.”
“You will live your life in peace as my wife, dear Juliana. You cannot get away from me now.”
A weakened Juliana slumped to her side, knowing that the battle was lost. The last thing she thought about before she succumbed to darkness was the duke would never rescue her on time.
***
The swaying of her body and the rattling sound of wheels confused Juliana as she awakened. If she didn’t know any better, she would think she was in a carriage, but that did not make any sense to her. She should be in a bed, and it shouldn’t be moving.
Slowly opening her eyes, Juliana found she was indeed in a carriage she did not recognise. Its interior was lavish, but it didn’t belong to her parents or anyone else she knew.
She turned her head to the side, her heart stopping when her eyes fell on the smiling form of her relentless fiancé. Scrambling into a sitting position, Juliana immediately looked for a way to get out, bringing forth a laugh from Ralph.
“Are you still thinking of running away from me?” he asked.
“Let me out, Ralph. You have no right to keep me here against my will.”
“Against your will? But I saved you.”
“What utter nonsense!” she spat out.
“You fainted, so like any good husband, I put you in my carriage. We’re on our way home if you were wondering about that.”
“You are not my husband, and I demand to be let out of this carriage right now. I shall find my own way home.”
“Tsk, tsk, this is not any way to treat the man who adores you so much.”
Juliana growled her frustration. “Stop with this foolish chatter and tell me what you think you are doing. You cannot take a person against their will, and I have certainly not given my consent to leave this town.”
“Why would I need your consent when your parents gave your hand to me in marriage?” he asked, his eyebrows raised in amusement. “We would have been married by now if not for your cold feet. Fortunately, I am a forgiving man.”
“I do not need you to forgive me,” Juliana half-yelled. “Simply let me out, and I shall forget this moment ever happened.”
“Come, come, now, my dear. We are on our way to be married— why would I let you go?”
“But I do not wish to marry you!” Juliana protested. “Why do you not understand this?”
The earl shook his head and spoke slowly as though she were a child. “The decision is out of your hands, my sweet. Your parents gave you to me, and I intend to make you my wife. You need to accept that now or later— it is solely up to you.”
Juliana shook her head in disbelief. Ralph wasn’t listening to a word she said! Panicked by his behaviour, her eyes looked to the doors on either side of the carriage, gauging whether she could make it.
The carriage was not travelling too fast, but she could still stand to injure herself by jumping out. A significant drop lay between the carriage and the ground, and she did not want to hurt herself.
“Do not even think about it, my dear,” Ralph warned.
Juliana flashed her eyes at him and settled back into her seat. She may not be able to get away now, but she fully intended to try again at the first opportunity.
“I am so glad I have found you again, you know,” the earl said after a few moments had passed. “I was so distraught for months trying to locate your whereabouts. I managed to find Lilibet, but not you. I imagined the worst.”
Her horse! “Did you do anything to hurt her?” Juliana demanded.
“Why would I wish to hurt your horse?” Ralph asked, confused. “She is a prized creature, a thoroughbred. I have no desire to harm anything I find beautiful.”
Juliana shivered at the look in Ralph’s eyes. He was referring to her as well, reducing her to an object to be possessed and not a woman to be cherished. Marrying him would become hell on earth.
“Did you take her home?” she asked.
