But this wasn’t about attacking Mr. Ramsay. Sebastian’s eyes flicked to the carriage, wondering if Helena was inside.
No, he would not be nearly that stupid. Surely not.
Mr. Ramsay would likely suspect Sebastian of bringing support. If he had done so, he would be a fool for having brought Helena with him.
So far, the only evidence Sebastian possessed of Mr. Ramsay’s crimes was the single note. And it was not signed, thus impossible to link to the publisher. All of this was a shake-down, with the added threat to Helena’s safety to ensure that Sebastian didn’t do anything stupid.
So, he stayed put and watched, knowing that grabbing the little man now and beating him to within an inch of his life would solve nothing.
“Unbelievable,” he heard Mr. Ramsay curse as he started to pace. “This is… The nerve! Who does he think—” He cursed again and kicked at the ground.
Sebastian watched, noting how angry Mr. Ramsay was becoming. He saw clearly the fury overtaking him the longer he waited. Mr. Ramsay knew him well enough that he might have suspected Sebastian would abandon his wife to save face.
In that way, he does not know me nearly as well as he thinks.
“That’s it!” Mr. Ramsay cried and threw his hands up in the air. “If he thinks…”
He cursed again, turned on his heel, and stormed back to his carriage. He climbed in, slammed the door shut, and the carriage took off in the direction it had come.
And Sebastian, grinning to himself, rose from the bushes and hurried to where his horse was hidden.
So far, his plan had worked exactly as he had predicted. Hopefully, that would not change. Helena’s life depended on it.
CHAPTER 36
Helena was lying on the bed, staring up at the ceiling, when she heard the door downstairs swing open and then slam shut. Following that came footsteps, thumping up the stairs and then down the hallway toward her. They were heavy and rushed. Worse than that, they sounded angry.
Oh no.
She swung herself off the bed and sat up, hands folded on her lap, doing her best to look nonconfrontational. As she had come to learn during her short imprisonment, Mr. Ramsay did not appreciate being spoken back to or being shown even a hint of dissent.
It was all she could do to appear calm and in control. Moments ago, she had been that.
Having been locked in this tiny room for the better part of a full day, she had long since moved on from gut-wrenching terror, because it seemed to her that Mr. Ramsay did not wish her any physical harm.
Rather, he was using her to get what he wanted.
She still did not know exactly what he wanted, just as she did not know exactly what had happened to cause all of this. Something to do with Sebastian, his lying to Mr. Ramsay about…
She had no idea. Not that she was surprised.
Her husband was a renowned liar, and she should have expected that his lies would catch up with him. As well as her, for that matter.
Still, that did not stop her from hoping. From praying that he would find and save her.
Despite everything that happened, Helena could not bring herself to hate Sebastian. If anything, this past day made her realize just how much she missed him. And she knew that if anyone could rescue her, it would be him.
More than that, Mr. Ramsay’s deranged rantings implied that there was something bigger at play here.
Was it possible that she was wrong about Sebastian? And if so, to what end?
She hoped these questions might be answered because, deep down, she wanted to forgive Sebastian. Just as she wanted to believe that she was wrong about him.
Not that it mattered, because from the sound of those footsteps, she doubted her husband was the one who was making them.
Indeed, she heard the lock on the other side of the door click, and when it swung open, her heart sank because it seemed that the worst had happened.
Her husband, wherever he was, was not coming to save her.
