“Your Grace, where are we going?” Jane whimpered.
“You, Lady Jane, will be escorted home by my man and my sister,” Alex said in earshot of the both of them as he shoved Jane toward the carriage. He did not have time for arguments. The devil was upon him and this time his aggression was real.
He turned to Victor and Sebastian and said, “The two of you are coming with me.”
The nervous looks that passed between the brothers told Alex one thing; they would do exactly as he told them.
Chapter 27
The sack wasn’t removed from Emmaline’s head until she found herself in a dark dank room, the walls and floor made of stone but otherwise bare.
Standing over her was the unmistakable, imposing Tiny, arms crossed and expression unreadable. Someone else stood behind Emmaline, hand on her shoulder, but she did not dare to look away from Tiny.
“You can’t do this!” she snapped at him, determined not to show just how scared she was. She had learned from the club well enough, those that acted cowardly were always the first to be picked off in the violence. “You can’t just kidnap ladies out of their own gardens!”
Tiny remained unmoved, unspeaking, still as stone.
“Don’t waste your breath, sweetheart.”
The voice was all too familiar, but it was by far a relief to the one she had heard in the carriage. That was until she realized what hearing that voice down here meant.
“Papa!” Emmaline screamed.
She tried to get up from her chair and move toward the voice but the hand on her shoulder pinned her back down.
All she could do was turn her head to find her father cowering in the corner of the cellar. A dark crust of blood smeared his face.
“What did you do to him?” Emmaline demanded. Rage overwhelmed her then and she flung herself out from beneath the hand, rushing at Tiny. It was likely a feat never before seen in a lady of thetonand it only amused Tiny.
She had never seen him laugh before. The sound was grotesque, and it made her stumble back into her seat when he stepped towards her.
“You know, I can see why my nephew likes you.”
The voice was almost as gruesome as Tiny’s laughter. The sound of footsteps creaked on what she guessed was a wooden staircase behind her.
She tried to look around but the man behind her grabbed her head and forced her to look straight. Still, she knew who was coming down those stairs.
“Then you also know he is going to come for me!” Emmaline snapped, balling her hands into fists at her sides. She was lying through her teeth. If her father was right, Alex was just as much a part of this as Tiny and the man holding her down.
Frederick stepped into view then, his face a mask of pure delight. Emmaline fought nausea as he leaned down and gripped hold of her chin, forcing him to look at her. “You are a feisty, handsome little thing.”
Emmaline didn’t think. She just acted, lunging with bared teeth for the man’s hand. Somehow, she had to get herself and her father out of this.
Frederick snatched his hand out of the way before she could latch on, laughing haughtily. He turned to Tiny and commented, “The devil bitch has bite. Pity she is already soiled, or I might have made her my own duchess.”
Emmaline gagged at that.
He turned back to her then and added, “It’s such a shame you didn’t come along after I had taken everything from my nephew.”
Emmaline’s blood ran cold. The confusion was clear on her face as he added, “What, you didn’t think I’d let that little miscreant keep what should have always been mine, did you?”
“Yours?” Emmaline exclaimed. “How could it have been yours? Alex is the heir!”
It was in that moment that the realization came to her. Alex wasn’t a part of this. He was just as much a victim as she.
“It was you!” she accused. “You forged the letter!”
“Quick as well as feisty and handsome,” Frederick said, clucking his tongue against his teeth. “Such a terrible shame Tiny shall have to dispose of you once this is all over.”
