When she returned, Charles had passed out, and Jeffrey was pacing, keeping his eye on the hands of the grandfather clock. He rounded on her with a sharp look. “You took long enough. Come, wife. Let us be off.”
“Stop calling me that! It gives me hives.”
“It didn’t used to.” He held out his arm with a venomous smile. “Come along, Clary. It’s high time we settled things between us.”
This whole plan was unwise in the extreme, but she had to fix things. David would not suffer for her former folly. Gritting her teeth, she took Jeffrey’s arm, letting him propel her out to his carriage, taking her through the servants’ entrance to avoid prying eyes.
As she stepped into his carriage, a cold shiver ran down her spine. She shouldn’t have been doing this. David might have been wondering where she was at that very moment. She prayed he stayed asleep until she had resolved this nightmare.
Jeffery climbed in, and the carriage lurched into motion, bumping along the cobblestones. As she took in his smug expression, her hope began to flag. Evenheroptimism couldn’t stand up to such a horrible turn of events.
She couldn’t be stuck with Jeffrey forever. She simply couldn’t. Somehow, she had to find a way to escape this false marriage, and she had to do it quickly. It was imperative that she return before dawn.
What would David think of all of this if he found out? Would he be devastated to wake and find her gone? Would he worry that history was repeating itself? She had only just started to gain David’s trust, and if he thought he had been betrayed, he might never speak to her again, let alone show her the same affection he had that very night.
The memory of his caresses seemed distant and precious. She might have dismissed it as a magnificent dream but for the sweet ache that lingered and reminded her where she truly belonged. It certainly wasn’t here with this rapscallion.
“You owe me, Clarissa.” Her name on Jeffrey’s lips made her shiver and shrink back. “You humiliated me in front of the entire ton.”
“You humiliated yourself, my lord.” She refused to use his name. It was too familiar and repugnant. “Not to mention how you humiliated me. Your actions proved you had no care for my feelings or my reputation and I’m ashamed I ever considered marrying you, you…you…you stinking pile of horse manure!”
It was the least lady-like thing she could bring herself to say aloud, though it was far from the worst insult she could think of. Arthur had called him something much worse when he learned of Jeffrey’s betrayal, but she was too well-bred to let such a vulgar oath pass her lips. After all, it would hardly do to sink to Jeffrey’s level. All she had left to cling to was her personal sense of dignity, and that was dwindling by the minute.
Jeffrey—no,Effingham—laughed. “You’re a feisty little filly, aren’t you? I’m going to have such fun breaking you.”
What? How dare he! “I’m not your horse, and if you attempt to treat me as such, I’ll scratch your eyes out.”
That only made him laugh even harder, the cur. “Bonne chance, mon amie! I’ve tamed feistier fillies than you, and if you know what’s good for you, you’ll fall in line like a good little girl soon enough.”
“What do you mean by ‘soon enough’? I’m here to negotiate an end to this sham marriage you’ve invented. I’m not staying as your bride.”
He gave her a cryptic look that set off clanging alarm bells in her gut. “We shall see, my dear.”
No. This couldn’t possibly be happening. He wanted to negotiate. That was all. Wasn’t it?
The carriage stopped moving. Could she make a dash for it when the carriage door opened? It was unwise to run through the streets of London in the wee hours of the morning, but staying another moment with Effingham was unthinkable.
Just as she was about to run for it, he grabbed her arm in an iron grip and propelled her from the carriage, up thesteps, and through the door of his townhouse without relenting for a moment. He didn’t release her until he threw her into a bedchamber decorated like a bordello, or at least how she imagined a bordello would appear. She’d never actually seen one.
“What are you doing? I thought we were here to negotiate!”
Jeffrey laughed. “I just said that to get you to come along. You belong to me, Lady Effingham. We’ll soon have all the legalities straightened out.”
One of Arthur’s most piquant oaths came to mind as she examined the room, looking for anything that might help her escape or defend herself. The gilt-framed mirrors and scandalous paintings would be no help, nor would that scarlet-draped bed that dominated the room.
He rifled through a drawer beside the bed and pulled out a length of silken cloth, then grabbed her arms, pushing her back on the bed. She screamed and kicked, thinking he meant to impose himself on her, but he dodged and shifted behind her, grabbing her wrists.
“Shut your trap, or I’ll gag you.” He tied her hands to the bedpost and stepped back. “There. That should keep you out of trouble for now.” With brisk strides, he headed for the door. By God, he was going to leave her here, trussed up like a Christmas goose!
“Where are you going?” She yanked at her bonds, hoping they would give, but they only tightened.
“None of your affair. Sleep while you can. We have a long day ahead of us.” He left, taking the oil lamp with him. The room was shrouded in darkness, and an ominous click told her he’d locked the door.
Clarissa slumped down on the bed. This was all her fault. She should never have let her temper get the better of her. If onlyshe’d stayed hidden upstairs with David, none of this would have happened. It never occurred to her that Effingham would be evil or foolish enough to try to steal her away right under David’s nose. But here she was, trapped in her worst nightmare. It was like something out of a gothic novel. And to think she used to laugh at heroines in such dramatic predicaments!
Her luck had failed her at last. But if she couldn’t rely on good fortune, she would simply have to take her fate into her own hands. Effingham might have trapped her for the moment, but she would spend every moment of every day searching for a way to escape until she succeeded.
“I’m coming back, David. Don’t despair,” she murmured to the darkness, willing it to be true. She would not spend the rest of her life with Effingham, no matter how he threatened her.
