"Do not hesitate." His voice was a blade. "You know what awaits you if you do not."
She stepped inside. Tears blurred her vision as she settled onto the seat. Lord Pennington climbed in after her, shutting the door firmly and rapping on the roof. The smile on his face sickened her.
He set the knife down beside him on the seat so that her eyes were continually drawn to it and sat back against the squabs. "You may as well try to rest, my love. The drive ahead will be long and arduous."
"Where are we going?" Her voice was strangled, though she already knew.
"To Scotland," he said, calmly. "You and I will be married without delay."
Christina turned her face away from him and pressed her forehead against the cold glass of the carriage window. Sobs broke from her lips — partly terror, partly fury. She was afraid, yes, but rage burned beneath the fear like embers beneath ash. She was not broken. She would not break.
The maid escaped. Coventry will know. Someone will come.
But if no one comes, I will find my own way out.
The carriage lurched forward, carrying her into the gathering dusk. Lord Pennington closed his eyes and folded his hands in his lap, as composed as if they were going to a dinner party. Christina kept her forehead against the glass, watching the last streets of London slide away, and beneath the tears and the terror, a small, fierce flame of defiance refused to be extinguished.
18
Throwing open the carriage door, Isaac leapt out and took the stone steps to the house two at a time. The butler was already waiting for him, taking the hat that Isaac practically threw in his direction.
“They are in the drawing room, my lord.”
Isaac did not wait to be directed. The note from Lady Wickton had been urgent, telling him that Christina was in danger and could he please attend the house at once – and fear had licked up the sides of his mind ever since that moment.
“Lady Wickton.” Pushing open the door, Isaac inclined his head. “Lord Wickton, Lady Bedford.”
“Thank goodness you are here.” Lady Wickton pressed a handkerchief to her eyes. “We do not know what to do and – ”
“I cannot believe it was Lord Pennington.” Lady Bedford shook her head, her brow furrowing. “It seems quite preposterous to me that the gentleman would do any such thing as this.”
Isaac planted his feet and took in a steady breath to calm himself. “Might someone explain what has happened?”
Lady Wickton nodded but gestured to her husband, who was pacing up and down the room in front of the fireplace. “Only a short time ago, Christina was returning from her visit with you in town. She had her maid with her. This maid burst into the house and told us all that Lord Pennington took Christina into his own carriage and told her that they were going to be wed.”
Blinking, Isaac tried to take in what was being said, the room growing suddenly too warm, the air thick with tension. “You mean to say that Lord Pennington took her without her consent?” His voice was sharp, and he could feel his own pulse quickening in his throat. “She would not have gone willingly.”
Lady Wickton wrung the handkerchief between her fingers as she looked up at him, her eyes glassy. “The maid was quite clear on that. There was a knife. She said… ” Her eyes closed, and another tear fell to her cheek. “Lord Pennington threatened her most dreadfully. She said that Christina tried to make it plain that she was to escape, that Christina clasped her hands and urged her to the door in her own, quiet way, but that she was afraid to.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “Lord Pennington said he would thrust the knife into Christina’s shoulder, should the maid disappear or alert someone to what had happened.”
“But she did it anyway?” Isaac closed his eyes and shuddered, fearful now that Christina had been injured by the maid’s actions.
“Christina wanted her to go. She had to have someone to tell us what had occurred. The maid was afraid she had done something wrong, but I believe that she acted rightly.” Lord Wickton stopped pacing and went to pour a brandy, handing the first, small measure to Lady Wickton as silence rang through the room.
Isaac’s breathing was shallow, his eyes closing as he fought against a wave of dizziness. Christina was gone, then. Taken by Lord Pennington.
I cannot lose her.
“Did the maid know where he intended to take her?” His body grew tight, his hands curling into fists as his foot tapped heavily on the floor. “We cannot leave her with him.”
Lady Bedford shook her head and looked at him, her eyes filled with disbelief, as though all of this was still too outlandish to be true. “He did not say, according to the maid. But I cannot understand it. What possible reason would Lord Pennington have for this? He’s a respectable gentleman with good standing, and he is related to our family! Surely he cannot – ”
It was Lady Wickton who cut her off, her voice taut with urgency. “Mama, you must understand. It is because Lord Pennington is related to us that he has taken Christina. He wants her inheritance, the fortune she is to gain upon her marriage. She in herself is not valuable. It is only what she will bring him.”
Lady Bedford’s breath caught, as if the realization of what Lord Pennington was truly like had come upon her all at once. Isaac’s chest was painful as he dragged in air, trying to keep a hold of his emotions so that he could think clearly and without inhibition.
“We must go after her.” Isaac's voice was firm, the words echoing around the room and garnering momentum as they went. “This cannot be permitted. Lord Pennington has no right to her, and his cruelty, if allowed to stand, will result in nothing but pain and sorrow for Christina.” He glanced briefly at Lady Wickton, who was wiping tears from her eyes, then to Lady Bedford, who had gone very pale indeed. Lord Wickton, seeing this, went to press a brandy into the lady’s hand, but then looked to Isaac in return.
“I quite agree.” Drawing himself up, he held Isaac’s gaze. “But my friend, you must know what society will say if they discover this. To be a young lady alone with a gentleman, takenin a carriage and driven to some place or other… she will be ruined. Utterly.”
