A smile, and then he left. Rebecca made her way slowly further into the room, unsteady, but unwilling to succumb to her weakness. Her feet would carry her, for they must. She would not falter. She would bathe, and dress, and eat dinner, and make conversation, and endure whatever came with grace, and courage, and above all, dignity.
For she had loved, and for a brief, inimitable moment, had felt loved by the best of men.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Liam never made it back from the magistrate’s.
He remembered arriving in the village, riding through it to Ford’s house, which lay up the hill by the church. Laying out Rebecca’s tale, and Mellors’s role. He remembered Ford’s assurances thatsomethingcould be done. That he would ensure protection for Rebecca if she went to him, and gave a formal statement. From there, they would need to get more advice, and likely they would need resources, and time, to bring charges against Mellors, and ensure they stuck.
He had thanked Ford and rushed back towards Thornhallow, to prepare for his pursuit of Rebecca, but then...
There was nothing but sharp pain and darkness.
Liam’s eyes fluttered open at that memory, then shut again almost immediately. The pain which had been but a memory was now very real. His head ached, clouding his mind as he slowly regained full consciousness.
Someone had hit him at the back of the head; he could feel it throbbing.
What the Devil has happened and where the hell am I...? Lying on a floor somewhere...
Somewhere warm and comfortable, that much was true. He may be on the floor, but he was on what felt like a rich rug.
Liam forced his eyes open and found that he was still surrounded by darkness. Suffocating darkness.
A sack.
Someone had covered his head with a putrid-smelling Hessian sack. And tied his hands—he could feel the burn of rope against his wrists as he tried to move. That hurt, too. In fact, his whole body ached, as though he’d been thrown about like a sack of potatoes. Which he suspected was not far from the truth.
What the hell is this...?
Liam made the mistake of taking a deep breath, in an effort to keep calm and clear his mind, so that he could get himself out of whatever mess he was in. The thin and rancid air caught the back of his throat, and Liam coughed and groaned, gasping desperately for air.
There was a hollow laugh, footsteps, and then the sack was ripped from his head.
Blinking furiously, as the now overwhelming brightness blinded him, Liam welcomed the sweet breaths of fresh air.
‘Finally, you’re awake,’ drawled a familiar voice. ‘I was growing bored, and was about to have Rupert here fetch smelling salts.’
‘You,’ Liam growled, his eyes adjusting and recognising Mellors sitting in the chair before him.
My chair. My library. My house...
So he’d arrived back at Thornhallow after all—only not quite how he’d planned.
‘Do you have any idea how grave a mistake you’ve made? Untie me at once, you disgusting invertebrate.’
‘I don’t think I will,’ Mellors laughed. ‘Rupert, go and see that everything is ready.’
Liam heard heavy footsteps lumbering away, out of the library and through the hall.
Good—one less to deal with. Think, man, you need to get out of this...
‘You see, Reid, I don’t particularly enjoy people meddling in my affairs, and you’ve been doing just that.’
‘Whatever you’re planning, I can assure you, you won’t get away with it. I’ve already spoken to Ford. He knows everything.’
‘Won’t I?’ the Viscount asked, his eyes glinting dangerously and his mouth curling into a sardonic smile. ‘But I already have. Here you are, at my feet, powerless. Rupert’s knots are quite remarkable. As for your ratherpathetichousehold, they’ve been rounded up and secured. Soon you, they and this house will be nothing more than a tragic memory.’
‘They aren’t a part of this,’ Liam snarled, trying with little success to loosen his restraints. ‘Let them go.’
