Chapter Twenty-Four
Isabella’s eyes fluttered open. She didn’t even recall going to sleep,butshe wasawake now.It was still dark, but there was enough light in the room that when she turned her head she could see Ridge lying beside her, and memory resurfaced. Her chest ached at the sight of him, one arm thrown up beside his head and the other resting on his perfectly masculine chest. She would never tire of waking up next to him every morning for the rest of their days.
She brought to mind the special license that was in his desk,and her heart skipped a beat at the thought that he wanted to marry her. And while he hadn’t yet told her the three most important words she wanted to hear, he’d shown her with his body that she meant more to him than a brief liaison.
Isabella withheld a sigh as she got out of bed. Her face heated as she rose to her feet, embarrassed at the factthatshe was still naked. Yet,with a quick glance back at the covers hanging low on Ridge’s hips, she could tell he was the same.She bit her lip, wondering if perhapsshe couldn’t linger just a bit longer, maybe even wake him with a kiss…
Unfortunately, as much as she wanted toremain, nature was calling. But first, she rummaged around in her valise until she found her dressing robe and slipped it on. While the door was locked, ensuring their privacy, Isabella wasn’t quite used to walking about so carelessly.
After she walked over to the screen on the other side of the room and took care of her needs, she headed for the pitcher to wash her hands. Ridge was still blissfully asleep, and she was eager to return to his side, so many lascivious thoughts tumbling about in her head.
She glanced in the mirror as she gathered the soap to make a lather. Her hair was tousled, her dark eyes sparkling with radiance. Shesmiled;for this was the happiest she’d felt in days. Sheprayed that nothing dimmed thelight shining within her.
Isabella rinsed her hands, and then dried them on the linen hanging over the side of the stand. She closed her eyes in contentment and opened them—to find anotherimage had joined hers in the mirror.
She started to scream, but Simon had a knife to her throat before she could even react. “Hallo, Isabella,” he snarled next to her ear. “Did you miss me?”
Her mind was whirling, sure that he hadn’t been there a moment ago, but even then, how had he gotten inside?
She glanced at the closed door and he followed her gaze. “Wondering how I managed to get in?” He snorted. “You seem to forget that you aren’t theonlyone withresources. After a bit of charming persuasion with one of the ladies downstairs, she was more than willing to tell me which room belonged to Mr. Claymoore.” His lips twisted. “I don’t think she appreciated you absconding with her lover.”
Isabella gritted her teeth, thinking that the best way to get out of this situation was to keep him talking, preoccupied long enough that she could find some sort of weapon to use against him. Her eyes darted about to see what might beatarm’s length, andthenattempted to raise his ire, hoping that he might lose his concentration. “What do you plan on doing with me, Simon?” She said sweetly. “I doubt selling me to the French is an option any longer.”
The tip of the knife blade pierced her skin and she hissed in painas a trickle of blood ran down her neck. “No, you rather ruined my chances on that score,didn’t you? However,I fully intend to gain retribution for that.For now,I’vecome to collect the funds you stole from me.”
“That I stole fromyou?” She scoffed. “That’s rather amusing, considering it wasmydowry that you took—quite illegally,in fact.”
“Tsk, my dear. It’s not as if you are pining for me. After I broke you in, it certainly didn’t take you long to lift your skirts for Claymoore.”
His mouth quirked upward in a smirk and Isabella had to clench her fist at her side. The urge to strike out at the viscount made her palm itch, but she could do the most damage by lashing out with her words. “You taught me to have some taste in my selection,and trust me when I say you’re half the man he is, both inandout of the bedchamber.”
She winced as the knife dug in a bit deeper. “You enjoy trying my patience, don’t you? We’ll see how well you do when I slit your throat.” His put his mouth right next to her ear and enunciated each word carefully. “Now. Give. Me. My. Money.”
The click of a pistol was loud in the silence of the room, but it certainly got the viscount’s attention as he turned toward the sound.
If the steady grip on the weapon wasn’t enough of a deterrent for Simon to think twice, then the thunderous look on Ridge’s face as he stared down his opponent was enough to strike fear into the most hardened of men. He wore trousers and nothing else, and if Isabella hadn’t been held in the grip of a madman, she would have swooned at the sight of that firm chest on proud display. “Release the lady,and I’ll give you what you want, Wistenberry.”
Simon scoffed. “A bullet right between the eyes, no doubt.” He shook his head and his grip on her tightened. “I’m afraid I will have to pass.”
Ridge’s grin was pure malice. “Oh, make no mistake. I will gladly offer that regardless. It would be a mercy to end the life of a spineless creature like you.”
“As if you are any better,” Simon returned. “I suppose you intend to make an honorable woman out of her too?”
Ridge didn’t even hesitate, and Isabella loved him even more for it. “I do.”
“Indeed.” Simon withdrew a paper from his pocket and held it up. “And would you be speaking of this document?”
Ridge took a step forward, but SimondraggedIsabella over to the fireplaceand held the paper over the flames. “One more move and I toss it into thegratewhere it will be burnt to ash. No doubt it would be difficult to procure another one in such a short amount of time, leaving Isabella vulnerable in wedding another man.”
Ridge’s eyes narrowed. “What do you want?”
“First, how about you lower that gun?”
Ridge reluctantly did as he was told and set it on the floor.
“Now kick it away from you.” The pistol skidded across the hard wood as Simonreturned the special license to his pocket thenmotioned toward her valise with his knife. “There should be a packet in the bottom of her bag.Toss it to me.”
All the blood left Isabella’s face as Ridge bent down and withdrew the funds from her dowry, and it wasn’t because that was her ticket to the New World. There was one person who’d knownshe even had that money.She closed her eyes briefly, praying that she was wrong, but knowing in her heart that she wasn’t.
