She yanked open the drawer.
Empty.
“Looking for your weapon, miss?” The tall man waved the pistol as he moved toward her.
Heart pounding, Madeline slid a glance toward the bell cord. Even if she could reach it, would someone arrive in time? But she had to at least try. She backed toward the wall, lunged, and pulled.
The tall man yanked her free of the bell cord and pushed her to the ground. She scrambled away from him in the direction of the window. Gray threads of dawn spread over the horizon. Would anyone be awake at this hour? If she screamed for help would anyone hear?
He towered over her, his eyes darting toward the window as though guessing her plan, then narrowing in anger. “No one is coming to save you.”
“Why are you doing this?”
“Money. ’Tis always about…”
He stopped mid-sentence. A confused expression clouded his face. Eyes wide, the pistol slid from his grasp as he held his belly with both hands. A dark stain blossomed over his jacket. Blood seeped through his fingers as his eyes rose to hers in panic and pain.
His mouth opened and he babbled incoherently as he staggered away from her in the direction of the bedroom’s double doors. He only made it a few steps before collapsing to the floor face down. His body went still.
The duke stood nearby, holding a sword dripping with blood. “Why is everyone trying to kill me?”
He swayed on his feet as the sword slid to the carpet.
She pushed to her feet and lunged toward him in an attempt to prevent him from falling, but her rush toward him as he pitched forward took them both to the floor.
Pinned under the duke, Madeline struggled to move out from under him. He was unconscious, with his head nestled against hers. She pushed against him, to no avail. He did not budge.
She had thought the man who attacked her was tall, but Lord Robert had towered over him. That was the least of it. She felt as though a wardrobe had fallen on her, not a flesh-and-blood man.
In the far corner of the room slept Mrs. Kenworthy, unaware that they had been in mortal danger. How had the woman slept through everything? She sucked in a breath, ready to scream for help, and then paused.
A scandalous thought pierced through her thoughts. How would Mrs. Kenworthy react? The duke lay on top of her. True, the man wore breeches, but his chest, except for the bandages around his shoulder, was bare.
From the moment Madeline had stepped on English soil, her mother had schooled her on the rules that governed a woman’s actions and behavior. The number one rule was that a single woman must not ever be alone with a man, much less pinned under him.
She would be ruined and sent packing. And all because she was trying to protect the duke from attack.
What was she supposed to have done? Let the tall man kill the duke? If she hadn’t awoken when she had, the tall man would have smothered the duke in his sleep and most likely killed both her and the snoring Mrs. Kenworthy to assure there weren’t any witnesses. So, because she had prevented the duke’s death, her reputation would be in tatters.
Frustrated and angry, she pushed against him again. “Get off me.”
He mumbled, heaved a sigh, and started to snore.
She heard a sound over the snoring.
“Did you hear something?” Madeline paused. “Footsteps! Blazes… Someone is coming!” Trying to move him had not worked. She did the only other thing she could think of doing.
Madeline grabbed hold of his hair and yanked as hard as she could.
“Ow!” He lifted his head, then paused, focusing on her lips, and gave her a wicked grin. “I like you under me.”
“Men,” she ground out. “I just saved your life and that’s all you can say?”
He winked. “I think it was I who saved you, fair maiden.”
“People are coming. You must get off me.” Mindful of his chest wound, she seized her opportunity and shoved him the rest of the way off. She scrambled to her feet. Taking a deep breath to compose herself, she smoothed her dress, tucked strands of hair behind her ear, and—side-stepping around the tall man’s body—ran to open the door.
It opened just as she reached for the handle. Winfield entered. It took only seconds for him to ascertain that Madeline and the duke had been attacked…again.
