Page 48 of A Bluestocking’s Secret Courtship

“I promise, I don’t know where he is.” She slowly took another step back, widening the space between them a little more. “We believe something bad happened to him. He left all of his belongings behind.”

A flash of confusion clouded the man’s eyes. Evangeline seized the moment, shoving a passerby from behind. The servant, caught off guard, tripped and fell into her assailant with his arms spread wide.

She dashed into the crowd. “Sorry! Sorry!”

“Come back here, bitch!”

She didn’t look back to see how much of a lead she had. His grunts and curses weren’t far enough away.

Shoppers hurled angry words at her as she trampled feet and surged through openings, her drive to survive stronger than her desire to mind her manners. When she reached the edge of the marketplace, the crowd of men in the street had multiplied. They shouted in unison.

“Eleftheria i Thanatos! Eleftheria i Thanatos!”

She glanced over her shoulder. Her assailant was still following, but he swung his head side to side as if he’d lost sight of her. Hesitating only a moment, she rushed into the middle of the men to hide. Their raised voices drowned out all other noises.

“Eleftheria i Thanatos!”

The air vibrated and penetrated her skin. She trembled. Looking over her shoulder, she pushed further into the group. She couldn’t see her pursuer now, but she still sensed the danger.

Angry bodies surrounded her, pressing against her until she couldn’t move. Fear bubbled at the back of her throat as the crowd dictated her direction. They were traveling as one great beast along the road, away from her family and safety.

“Stop! Please, let me go.” She elbowed the men, but they were an immovable wall encircling her.

The tone of their chanting changed. A panic surged through the crowd. It shifted direction. The drum of horses’ hooves shook the earth, and a commanding voice shouted in Turkish.

An anguished cry rent the air. Chaos erupted. Everyone was shoving and darting in different directions, jostling and spinning her around. Someone dropped on her left, and another, then another. Bodies were felled like trees. She barely missed stepping on a man when she was spun to the right. A break in the crowd opened. She ran toward it with several others.

As she burst free, she stumbled forward before catching her balance. A Janissary on horseback flew past before charging into the crowd.

Her knees nearly buckled. Bending forward, she rested her hands on her thighs, gasping for air. The market was gone. She didn’t know where she was or how far she had traveled. Her vision blurred as shock began to recede and the horror of what was happening swept over her. She felt sick.

“Hellfire!”

A hand clamped around her wrist. She screamed, twirled toward her attacker, and punched him in the nose.

Sixteen

Pinpricks of light scattered in the haze of Jonathan’s vision. He stumbled back a step. A body slammed into him, spinning him farther from Evangeline. Nose throbbing, he lunged for her as the crowd shifted direction, surging toward them.

He gripped her arm above the elbow, pulling her close. A man crashed into her. She fell against Jonathan. His arm slipped around her waist as he swung his head, searching for an opening in the tide of bodies sweeping them down the lane.

“This way!” He caught her hand, and they darted for a recessed doorway. Shielding her with his body, he pressed her against the solid door. Voices roared like a storm behind him. He was jostled against her, but he held steadfast as she clung to him, her eyes large.

“I have you,” he said into her ear as she trembled. “I have you, love.”

Men screamed. Hoof beats thundered past.

It seemed like an eternity, but was more likely only a few minutes before the noise and chaos faded. When it was quiet, he glanced over his shoulder, his pulse hammering in his ears. The street was deserted. Clouds of dust lingered in the air.

Evangeline’s cheeks were flushed, and her chest rose and fell with labored breaths. She gripped his jacket, her fists frozen in terror.

“Mama,” she murmured.

She was in shock. He had seen seasoned soldiers call for their mothers in moments of great fear.

“You’re safe now,” he said gently, stroking the back of his hand along her hot cheek. “No one will hurt you.”

A wave of dizziness hit him as he realized it was a lie. She had already lost her parents. If he took her uncle from her, he could destroy her.