Page 70 of Choosing Her Earl at Last
Emmeline shivered at the sound of the bar dropping into place as if it were a prison door clicking shut. Closing her eyes, tears streamed down her cheeks. Norman picked her back up and carried her over to the bed. Setting her down upon it. He first removed her cloak, then knelt down and removed her shoes, before he laid her down on the mattress, covering her with the available blanket.
Turning, he placed her shoes on the floor by the fire and laid her cloak over a chair. Had it been anyone else who had performed the task, it would have almost seemed tender in nature, but Emmeline knew all too well that it was about control, not care.
He came to stand beside the bed, looking down at her. “You will remain here until my return. You will not move from this bed. If I find anything amiss upon my return, I will strip you naked, and you will remain in that state until the morning. If you obey me and remain where you are, I will bring you supper. Do you understand? Nod if you do.”
Emmeline wished that she could refuse his commands and launch herself out of the nearest window, but she knew that he meant what he said, and she had no desire to spend any time at all with him sans clothing. Mustering all of her inner strength, she nodded.
“Good.” Norman nodded in approval, then turned to leave the room, lifting the bar from the door. “My man will be standing guard over you in my absence. No one will be allowed to enter or leave this room. If you do manage to escape by some divine miracle, I will hunt you down and have your sister killed,” he warned her, then shut the door behind himself.
Emmeline’s blood ran cold.Will I never be free of his threats on my sister’s life?Knowing that she had no other choice, she lay there upon the bed and cried herself to sleep.
Chapter 28
Michael and Colin followed Louisa to the place where Emmeline had marked the treasure’s location.
“She was already here,” Louisa breathed as she saw the hole in the ground where the marking had once been. “We are too late.”
“Search the grounds,” Michael commanded the Bow Street Runners who had accompanied them. “She must be here somewhere. Interview the staff of both estates, perhaps someone saw or heard something.”
His heart felt as if it were going to thunder out of his chest. Fear gripped him as he frantically searched the surrounding area for any sign of Emmeline’s presence.
“There was a struggle,” one of the Runners announced, several meters away from the hole.
Michael ran toward the spot and stared down at the bit of black lace that was embedded in the dirt at the Runner’s feet. Bending down, he picked it up and held it up to the sun’s waning light. It was clear that it had been ripped away with force.
“That is Emmeline’s,” Rebecca confirmed. “It is the lace trim from one of her dresses.”
“She was here,” Michael breathed, clutching the lace in his fist. “If anyone has harmed her in any way…” He let the threat hang in the air with such intensity that Rebecaa stepped forward and laid her hand on his arm.
“We will find her. Norman could have killed her here, but he did not. He may need her for something else, and that will keep her safe,” Rebecca reassured him in spite of her own fears.
“Over here!” another Runner shouted from the trees beyond where they stood.
Michael raced toward the voice and found an elderly man lying on the ground, blood on his head.
“John,” he said in surprise. “Is he alive?”
The Runner nodded. “He is.”
“He is my head groundskeeper,” Michael explained. Kneeling beside the older man, Michael examined his wound. “Please have the physician that you brought with us come and tend to this man,” he told the head Runner.
“Of course.” The head Runner nodded and barked a command for the physician to be brought forward.
“How did this happen, John?” Michael asked as the man came around to consciousness.
“The marchioness has been taken,” John croaked out.
“Who took her, John? Where did they take her?” Michael asked, his heart racing with a fresh burst of energy.
“He said that he was her husband, but that cannot be, my lord. Is her husband not dead?” He looked up at Michael with confusion.
“He was, but he is not now,” Michael answered, not bothering to clarify his meaning, given the fact that they had limited time. “Where did he take her?”
“Dover, then France,” the groundkeeper answered. “I am sorry, my lord, that I was not able to save her. There were too many men. I could not fight them all.”
“I understand, John. You have nothing to be sorry for. Because of you, we may still be able to save her, “Michael reassured him. “How long ago was this?”
“I do not know, my lord.” He looked at the waning light and the position of the sun on the horizon. “It could have been hours ago.”
