Familiar sounds, that of a bell ringing, distant voices, and water splashing against the pier hinted that she was somewhere near the docks. The pungent scent of tar, fish, and filth made it all but a certainty.
The memory came rushing back to her—finding Ollie and his brother in the warehouse courtyard, being grabbed from behind and?—
Lydia winced, feeling where the blindfold pulled across bruised skin. She licked her lips and was thankful to find that at least she wasn’t gagged.
A sensation of motion, of rocking softly, gave away that she must be on some sort of vessel, perhaps one of the abandoned ships. It had to be where the gang bosses were hiding.
How long had she been here? Hours? A day?
Had only one night passed since she’d been sitting down to a lovely dinner with Mayfair’s elite?
“Hello?” She tested her voice, even though she was fairly certain she was alone. It came out little more than a croak. “CanI have some water, please?” She waited, half afraid someone would answer her, but also half afraid that no one would.
She was a woman who had been captured by unscrupulous individuals. Never had she been so aware of her own powerlessness. Never had she felt so vulnerable.
A few minutes later, she heard a door open, and light filtered through the fabric covering her eyes. Footsteps approached, and then…
“’Ere.” A cup was pressed to her lips, and she had no choice but to tilt her head and swallow, spilling a good deal of the water in the process.
It dribbled down her chin, onto her chest and gown. She was no longer wearing her coat. Someone had taken it off of her while she’d been unconscious.
She shivered, not daring to allow herself to think about that.
“Are you Ollie’s brother, Buck?” She lifted her chin, trying to sense where this person was so she could “look” at him. There had to be some goodness in him if he was Ollie’s brother.
“What’s it to ya?”
“Where’s Ollie, is he all right?” She hadn’t been able to save him. In fact, she’d made matters worse. But she couldn’t focus on that right now.
“He needs to learn ‘is place,” the boy grunted. He sounded so cold. Did he really not care for Ollie at all?
Lydia struggled to gather herself again. “Why are you keeping me here? You should let me go before you end up in even more trouble than you’re already in.”
“Ha,” he scoffed, but then lifted the drink to her mouth again. A breeze landed on her face as the door opened once more, and Buck turned away before she could attempt another sip.
“She’s the one, ain’t she?” Ollie’s brother asked whoever had entered.
“So pretty. Maybe we won’t have to off her.” Cold, rough hands grabbed ahold of hers. “We need to untie her though, so she can sign the note. Won’t do any good if Tempest doesn’t believe we have her.” The loosening around her wrists brought relief, but as she realized their intentions, fear shot through her like a knife.
They were going to ransom her. But for what?
“You gonna kill the Earl o’Tempest, Farley? He right deserves it, for all the trouble he’s makin’.”
And then something hard and cold pressed against her forehead. Not having seen it, nor ever having held one, she knew instinctively that this despicable person was threatening her with a pistol. But he’d just said that he didn’t want to kill her!
“When that meddling nob shows up, Buck, I’m gonna shoot him—” He jammed the barrel into her head with even more force. “Right.” He pushed harder. “Between. The eyes.” He made a shooting sound with his mouth and then chuckled.
Lydia stopped breathing. They meant to kill Jeremy!
She couldn’t allow that to happen. She’d rather die herself.
She’d been so stupid to go outside alone!
The person named Farley removed the gun from her head. But this only provided temporary relief. Buck was laughing as he moved behind her. He loosened the blindfold and then allowed it to drop.
The light coming through the open door beat onto her pupils almost as though she was staring into the sun. She blinked and forced herself to stare down at the floor, but the fact that she could see daylight meant freedom couldn’t be too far away. With the door open, she could hear the usual din of the dock more clearly.
With watering eyes, she focused on her hands, unbound now, and flexed them in her lap.
