Page 26 of The Seductive Temptress (Fate of the Worthingtons 2)

Noel cringed at his tone, but everyone else found amusement in his frustration. He snarled and held out his hand. After Lady L nodded her acceptance, the guard handed over his knife.

“Keep still. I am going to cut off your restraints.” Ravencroft’s voice softened into a gentle tone.

Noel’s heart rate slowed at Ravencroft’s touch. Even though he expressed his fury at her treatment, his nearness calmed her. Her body might shake from the uncertainty, but she wasn’t as frightened as she had been on the carriage ride. When the noise from the city lessened and the stillness of the countryside drifted through the window, Noel had feared for her life. With each rut the carriage traveled over, it had tossed Noel from one side of the seat to the other since she couldn’t hold on. Her body ached from the uncomfortable ride.

Ravencroft undid the blindfold and drew her into his arms, protecting her from the evilness surrounding them. He tucked her head under his chin and rubbed her back with calming strokes. Noel released a breath she didn’t realize she had held. She trembled with a need to cry, but she refused to allow Lady L to see her as a defenseless victim. She pulled away from Ravencroft, denying herself the comfort he offered. In all honesty, she didn’t trust Ravencroft any more than she did her captor.

She stepped away from Ravencroft and rubbed her hands up and down her arms, trying to wipe away the chill encasing her body. She glanced around her new holdings and noticed the familiar surroundings. Noel had only visited the cottage on a few occasions, but she remembered the furniture. The only difference was the bed resting in the corner. There was a clue near the window that would reveal if it was the same cottage. However, she wouldn’t risk looking until she was alone.

The distance separating him from Noel was but a step away, yet her rejection made it seem far apart. He saw the uncertainty in her eyes change from one emotion to another as she took in her surroundings. Ravencroft wanted to ease her worries, but he couldn’t when he didn’t understand the reason they were here. He didn’t want to show Noel his own fear. As furious as he was at how they had treated her, he also worried over their fate. By driving them to the countryside in what appeared to be a lover’s hideaway, it provided Lady L with many options to destroy them. He only hoped their lives remained intact.

“Why are we here?” Ravencroft demanded. “I followed your rules.”

“Yes you did, Lord Ravencroft. However, you deviated from them with the dinner party you attended last night.” Lady L strolled around the cottage, inspecting it to her satisfaction.

“I only followed your orders. You cannot hold me accountable for the guests the Worthingtons invited to dine with,” Ravencroft objected.

“Yet you did more than dine, did you not?” Lady L asked.

Ravencroft sighed. “It does not matter how I answer. You have reached your own conclusion. Now, will you please inform us why you have delivered us to the middle of nowhere?”

Lady L’s shrill laughter filled the cottage. “So demanding, but still polite.” She moved behind Noel and trailed her fingers across her back. “Do you not find that an attractive trait about our Lord Ravencroft?”

Noel pressed her tongue to the roof of her mouth to keep from biting out an answer, but her resistance failed. “Lord Ravencroft is not ours, but mine.”

Her comment only amused Lady Langdale. “So feisty. Mmm, perhaps if you have no use for her after we conclude our business, Ravencroft, I will take her for myself.”

A look of horror crossed Noel’s face at Lady L’s suggestion. Noel’s innocence was refreshing, but it hindered her knowledge of the alternative lifestyles other people led. However, in Lady L’s case, it was a depraved one she forced others to live while under the influence of drugs. Usually, opium was her preference. He had watched her ruin many lives over the years with her twisted afflictions. Men and women alike, she held no preference for who she destroyed.

Ravencroft closed the step between him and Noel, grabbing her hand. He squeezed it, silently asking her to stay quiet. Lady L only baited them to see how much they meant to each other. While Noel’s comment flattered him, it gave Lady L ammunition to know how much he meant to Noel. His holding Noel’s hand was a contradiction in itself. He only showed Lady L how he protected his fiancée.

Noel understood Ravencroft’s message, but she found it hard to stay silent. She wanted to rant and rave about the injustice of her kidnapping. Lady L infuriated her with her comments about Ravencroft, implying they held a personal intimacy, while she sensed Ravencroft held only contempt for the lady. His tone and mannerism showed how he reined in his temper around Lady Langdale. His actions alone showed how she should proceed with caution. If Ravencroft held himself back, then she should too.

After neither of them spoke anymore, Lady L grew bored. She motioned for her guards to leave before she issued her demands and warning. She waved her arm toward the kitchen area of the cottage. “You have enough provisions to last you for a week. Ravencroft, you will find a drawing pad and pencils to accomplish your task. Lady Noel, your presence here alone will help me achieve part of my revenge. I shall return in a week’s time to collect your task”—she pointed at Ravencroft and then at Noel—“and seal your fate. Until then, my lovebirds.”

However, before she closed the door, she popped back inside. “Oh, and I have positioned men to guard the cottage. So try not to cause too much trouble for them.”

With that, Lady L sauntered to her carriage and left them alone.

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