“He’s not denying it.” Mary looked smug.
“What is wrong with you people?” Monty demanded. “Not enough going on in your own lives?”
“Plenty, but we’re meddlesome, especially when it comes to people we care about,” Mary said.
He didn’t know how to answer that because he was one of the people they cared about, which humbled him, so he stayed silent and thought about Iris. Was this love? He had a feeling it was, and strangely it didn’t scare him as much as it should.
CHAPTERTHIRTY
Iris woke to a hand closing over her mouth. She tried to scream, but it pressed her down into the pillow. She swung with her fists, but the man simply laid his body over hers, forcing the air from her lungs.
“This time there will be no escaping me, Iris. This time you will be mine. And when I’m done with you, it will be Henry who is under my control.” The words were rasped into her ear.
She fought her former brother-in-law with everything she had, but he was too strong for Iris. Someone else bound her hands and feet. When Renton’s hand lifted off her mouth, she screamed.
“Shut her up,” someone hissed.
Something was jammed in her mouth, making her gag. Iris was then lifted off the bed and thrown over Renton’s shoulder.
“Check the hall.”
“It’s clear. Let’s go. Hurry.”
She bobbed up and down as he ran with her draped over his shoulder. Lifting her head as they reached the stairs, icy fear gripped her as she saw Henry crouched beside a large vase. He often came to her if he had a nightmare. He rose, but she shook her head, and he eased back into the shadows.
Henry would rouse Norman, and her old friend would look after him. Her boy would be terrified, but at least he was safe.
Only when they were outside did she slump against the shoulder that held her. No one had followed them.
And then she remembered. Theo had a man watching her house. Was he still here? Pushing her bound hands into the man’s back, she looked around her.Are you out there?
Lord, she hoped he was and alerted Theo. But how would they find her? No one would know where they were going.
Henry.Who would look after her son if she did not return? She had to return; he needed her.
A carriage rolled close, and the door was opened, and he threw her inside. A sack was lowered over her head again, and she was dropped on the cold floor.
The carriage then started moving at speed. The horses galloped through the dark streets of London. Iris had no idea in which direction.
Who else was in here with Renton? Lord Picton, Lord Heather, Mr. Clipper, or Mr. Buford? She had received no further direction from them about her husband’s papers. Had they decided simply to kill her so she was no longer an obstruction and her former brother-in-law could control Henry?
Thoughts whirled in her head as she struggled not to throw up. She felt dizzy, and her stomach roiled as she was thrown from side to side with the carriage’s movement.
Theo slipped into her head, and she clung to his image and fought back the fear.
She had not seen him again since they’d made love. That magical night where everything had changed between them—well, at least for her. Once, she’d worshipped him with the fervor of a ten-year-old, but what she felt for him now was a great deal more complex.
Did she love Lord Theodore Montgomery? Iris believed the answer to that was yes. She also knew that what happened between them had terrified him as much as it had her.
“He’ll be happy it went so easily,” Renton said from above her.
“You convinced him that her death was the best plan,” another voice said. “If she’s out of the way, you can control the son and find anything relating to us. It’s the best action to take.”
“She knows too much, and after someone rescued her at the White Swan, he doesn’t want any further risk of exposure. If only she’d done what I wanted.” A booted foot nudged Iris. “This could have been avoided.”
“She’s not innocent, but she’ll do,” the other man in the carriage said. “The gods will be appeased.”
Ice filled her veins. Those words were on the note she’d given to Monty. What did they mean?
