Was he taking her somewhere? A ride beyond the estate?
A thrill ran through her. Without thinking, she stepped toward the carriage and reached for the door.
Her excited smile slipped the moment she met the man’s gaze.
She froze.
Inside, seated proudly, was not Sebastian.
“Paisley,” she breathed. “My apologies. I thought—”
“No,” Paisley said. “You thought right.”
Her brows furrowed. “I beg your pardon?”
“I said, you thought right.”
The sharp clip of hooves echoed oddly in the still lane—too muffled, too timed. Maddie’s slipper paused mid-step.
Something was wrong.
Her foot eased back to the ground, the gravel biting her heel. She turned, just a fraction too late.
A man stepped from the shadow of the carriage, his face half-hidden by the brim of his hat, the edge of a smirk tilting one corner of his mouth. His gloved hand reached for her—not with violence, but with terrifying certainty.
Her breath caught. Her throat tightened.
Before she could scream, his fingers wrapped around her wrist—firm and smooth—and he tugged her forward. Not roughly, but decisively. Possessively.
“What—” she managed, but the word died as the carriage door yawned open and darkness waited inside.
She didn’t move. Not yet. Her mind was too stunned to instruct her limbs.
He didn’t wait.
She stumbled as he pulled her in. The velvet interior swallowed her whole, and her bonnet knocked askew as the door slammed shut behind them with a sound far louder than it should have been. Final.
She blinked. Tried to see him in the dim light.
The carriage jerked into motion.
She blinked again, her wits returning full force. “What are you doing? Let me out right now!”
“Calm down,” Paisley drawled. “If I wished to harm you, it would already be done.”
“Oh, forgive me if being kidnapped puts me in a dramatic mood!” she snapped. “How is this not harming me?”
He merely raised an infuriating brow.
“You will not get away with this,” Maddie warned. “You must be daft if you think you would.”
“I already have.”
“You forged a note from Sebastian. That is vile, you mad—”
“Oh, Miss Madeleine,” he said her name like a sigh. “Do you really believe he’s good enough for you?”
She glared at him. “Yes. I do.” How could he not be?
