“Why did she nae cry out?” Adam Leslie wondered aloud.
“Because, Master Leslie, a small silk handkerchief was stuffed into her mouth, and tied with a bit of cord. Then they covered her head with her shawl so it would not be noticed,” David Kira said.
“Thank ye, Master Kira,” Lord Gordon said, rising with his companions. “We’ll ask out on the High Street to see if anyone noticed this party of men and a woman.”
Out on the High Street they eventually discovered a beggar who had indeed seen nine men and a woman. “Took the Leith Road, my good lords,” he said, his grimy hand outstretched.
The earl of BrocCairn dropped a silver piece into the upturned palm. “Dinna drink it all,” he advised, before riding on with his fellow travelers. He turned to Adam Leslie. “Go to Glenkirk House now and tell Jemmie we’re on the Leith Road. Tell Sir Robert as well. Villiers and I will continue on to the port, although why the hell he is headed there, I’ll never know.”
“Probably because it is the one place you wouldn’t think to look for him,” Viscount Villiers opined to Lord Gordon, as Adam Leslie turned back toward Glenkirk House. “He did not trust to go to Sir Robert, for he suspects the game is up. There is no place in Scotland where he will be safe with a kidnapped countess of Glenkirk. Most men in his position would head for the borders with Jasmine. He, however, is not most men. He will try and get on a ship for England, thereby avoiding anyone in pursuit, or so he thinks.” George Villiers chuckled. “He’ll have some time attempting to force Jasmine upon a vessel, if indeed he can do it at all.”
Alexander Gordon chortled. “Aye, she’s like her mother, and hae a verra hot temper; although Velvet claims her temper is more like Jasmine’s father’s, the Mughal’s. I’m afraid Piers St.Denis hae bitten off far more than he can chew, which he’ll shortly discover to his dismay.”
And, laughing, the two men continued on down the short distance that separated Edinburgh from its port town of Leith.
Chapter Nineteen
They had taken her completely unawares as she had stepped forth into Goldsmith Alley from David Kira’s house. A small cloth was stuffed into her mouth before she might scream or utter any sort of protest. A narrow string was tied about her head to prevent her from spitting out the gag. They boosted her onto her mount so quickly and lashed her hands to the pommel of the saddle that there was simply no opportunity to fight them. Her shawl was drawn down over her head and she was led away.
Jasmine knew instantly who her captor was, and if it had been possible to wreak havoc upon him, she would have gladly done so. She had been very careful as they were gagging and binding her not to glance back at Master Kira’s house. Maggie had been but a step behind her, but a quick surreptitious peep at the door from which she had just exited revealed that Maggie was no longer there. Clever girl, Jasmine thought, relieved. If they had both been captured, who would there be to tell Jemmie? But Maggie would have to hurry, or the trail would be lost!
They had ridden out onto the High Street. After a few moments they turned onto another road. Leith, the signpost had said, Jasmine noted. Leith? Of course! It was the port for Edinburgh, but where in the name of heaven was he taking her from Leith? Back to England? It couldn’t be England. Bynow Piers St.Denis’s deception was well-known at court, and the king would have put a stop to it. Where then? None of her questions would be answered until they stopped, and she got this damned gag out of her mouth. She pushed at it with her tongue. It wasn’t lodged too tightly, but her mouth was becoming exceedingly dry. Jasmine concentrated on her breathing in an attempt to calm herself. She wasn’t so much afraid as she was angry.
They had not traveled a great way down the Leith Road when they came to an inn and stopped. It was a rather disreputable-looking place. Jasmine could hear the drunken shouts from within the building. The men accompanying them dismounted, stretching and scratching. Tying their rather scruffy mounts to a hitching post, they looked to the marquis.
“We leave you here,” he said. “I give you your horses. Do what you will with them.”
“And our silver?” a tall ruffian demanded. “Ye promised us silver, too, for our services, m’lord. We ain’t letting ye and the lady go wi’out our silver,” he finished menacingly.
Piers St.Denis pulled a bag from his doublet, and tossed it scornfully to the man. “Here,” he said with a sneer.
“It ain’t enough!” the man complained, weighing it in his palm. “Ye’ve shorted us, Englishman. Why should we expect any less from one of old King Jamie’s pretty boys?” He moved forward threateningly.
The marquis of Hartsfield’s hand slid to his sword. Yanking it from its scabbard, he moved his horse slightly forward and ran the man through. As his victim pitched headfirst to the ground, he withdrew the sword from the surprised man’s chest, wiped it on his victim’s clothing, and returned it to its place. “Does anyone else wish to debate the point with me?” he demanded coldly. Then, turning his horse, he departed the inn yard, leading Jasmine’s mount behind him, as the seven remaining ruffiansflung themselves on the dead man, grasping for the money pouch and arguing over the disposition of his horse.
“Ummm! Mmmmm!” Jasmine noised to get his attention.
He turned back to her, smiling. “Would you like me to remove the gag from your mouth, my sweet?” he asked her solicitously.
She nodded eagerly.
“Do you promise me that you will not scream, cry out, or make any attempt to attract the attentions of anyone?”
Again she nodded. “Mmmmm! Mmmmmm!”
“No,” he said coldly. “This is your first lesson in obedience, my sweet. I do not like recalcitrant women. With me as your master you will finally learn your place. You really should have chosen me, Jasmine. Now I must punish you and James Leslie for the public insult you have done me. I could have you both hanged, you know, for I possess a royal warrant, but first I shall use you to draw the earl of Glenkirk to me. Tonight you shall write a letter telling him that you have made a mistake and that you wish to be with me. How he will suffer. He will, of course, come for you to see if it is true. Then I shall kill him, and you will belong to me forever! I told you that you would be mine one day, and you will.” His bright blue eyes glittered with his words.
He is totally mad,Jasmine thought. Completely and utterly insane, which made him even more dangerous, she considered. She must take the first opportunity to flee him. Certainly Jemmie knew by now what had happened to her, but how could he possibly know where to look for her? He couldn’t, and therefore it was up to her to escape Piers St.Denis, the marquis of Hartsfield, before he killed them both. She could smell the sea as they approached the port, but he did not go into the town. Instead, he turned off on an almost invisible dirt path that led up a small hillock. At the top was what appeared to be a deserted cottage. It was there that he stopped, dismounting from his ownhorse and lifting her down off her own mount. Below them was Leith, and beyond the Firth of Forth and the sea. He pulled her by her bonds into the cottage, even as she resisted him now, digging her heels into the earth, and struggling.
To her shock he slapped her. “I will have no defiance from you, madame!” he said. “You are here to learn obedience, and you will not leave this poor place until you do.” He yanked her into the small house.
Once inside, however, he undid the cord binding the gag and pulled the rag from her mouth.“Bastard!”Jasmine managed to gasp. “You have almost choked me with that thing!”
Piers St.Denis slapped her again. “Thank me for my generosity in removing it, you bitch, or I’ll stuff it back in your mouth again!” he snarled at her. “Only that I long to hear the sound of your voice once more overrules my common sense, but if you continue to speak to me with such disrespect, you will be gagged until you learn to speak to me with a gentle tongue.” His hand fastened itself into her dark hair, and he forced her face up to his. “Do you understand me, Jasmine?”
“You are hurting me, my lord,” she replied through gritted teeth.
“Do you understand?”he repeated.
