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.The rumbling of horses, iron wheels, and creaking wood vibrated the ground.Alexandra could scarcely breathe, but she could feel the razor-sharp edge of the knife pressed to her skin, could almost taste its metallic blade.Nathaniel thought she was Lady Anne.By his own admittance, she was a pawn he planned to use against the Duke of Greystone.Certainly, he wouldn’t be foolish enough to kill her and lose his advantage.Or would he?The glimmer of a lantern appeared outside whilst the horses beat their quick tattoo in the dirt.Whoever traveled the lonely road wasn’t slowing down.In a few seconds, her only hope of rescue might be gone.Twisting slightly, Alexandra sank her teeth deep into the hand that held the knife, then she screamed with an abandon she had never known.Nathaniel cursed and lunged on top of her.She fully expected the blade to slice her throat.Instead, he threw it away, letting it clatter to the floor as he shifted his grip on her.Scarcely had her voice risen on the night air than Nathaniel used the only thing available to him to silence her: his mouth.The salty taste of his blood, still on her lips, filled her mind as his tongue forced its way between her teeth, stifling her cry for help.Somehow reluctant to bite again, Alexandra writhed, attempting to free herself, to gasp for air, to scream again.But without the use of her hands or feet, she could do little.Nathaniel was too strong, too big.He stretched out, lying on top of her, until she couldn’t move at all.Spent, she listened to the receding sounds of the passing carriage until only an echo remained.She was helpless.Nathaniel’s breath warmed Alexandra’s ear.His heart thumped, almost audibly, above her own, but he didn’t move for what seemed like a long time.When finally he rolled off, she gasped at the anger in his face.“You’re lucky you didn’t do this to Garth,” he told her, looking at her teeth marks in his hand.“Some of my men are not so long-suffering as I.Next time, you’ll wear a gag and a hood.” He ripped a piece of silk from the hem of her dress with his teeth, then wound it around his wound.Alexandra swallowed hard, knowing he meant every word.She had gambled on the brougham, but her wager hadn’t paid off.And now Nathaniel held all the cards.* * *They reached Liverpool late in the night.Alexandra was exhausted.The ropes around her hands cut deep into her wrists, but she dared not complain, not while the bandage around Nathaniel’s hand was stained red with his blood.“Get me a room,” Nathaniel told Tiny when they stopped outside an inn called the Turnbull Tavern.“I’ll stay here with our fair captive while the rest of you head back to the ship.If I haven’t heard anything from my father in three days, I’ll meet you on board.”“An’ what will ye do with ‘er in that case? Turn ‘er loose?” Tiny asked hopefully.“I’ll turn her loose when Greystone releases Richard, and no sooner,” Nathaniel replied as the rest of them climbed out, “just like our message said.”“But—”“Tiny, now isn’t the time to develop a conscience,” Trenton piped up.“None of us likes capturing defenseless females any more than you do, least of all Nathaniel.Just follow orders and everything will work out all right.”“Aye, sir.” Tiny glanced at Alexandra.“But she may be nothin’ like the duke.”“And she might be a lot like him.” Nathaniel saluted Alexandra where she sat, still on the floor of the carriage, with his injured hand.“She’s certainly not as defenseless as one might suppose.”Alexandra didn’t respond.She felt as though she’d been dragged for miles, and she couldn’t wait to sleep on something softer than the floor of the old carriage.The last thing she wanted right now was an argument.She watched Tiny’s broad back disappear into the inn, a Tudor-style building on one of the wider streets in town, before it occurred to her that her situation might not have improved.Where was she going to sleep? Nathaniel had told Tiny to rent only one room, and she doubted whether he’d be kind enough to give her the bed.The only thing in her favor was their supposed close relation.It precluded the possibility of her being raped as well as kidnapped, especially now that the others were returning to their ship.“What if Greystone wants to exchange? Will you send for us first?” Trenton asked.“I’ll not arrange a meeting with him, if that’s what you mean.It would be a trap.When I have proof that Richard is free, I’ll leave Anne with money enough to get home, and we’ll be far away by the time she makes it.”Alexandra sighed in despair at this revelation.She could languish as their captive for an eternity before the Duke of Greystone released Nathaniel’s man.He’d surely not act on her account, not when his own daughter was safe and sound in Manchester, or Scotland, or wherever it was Lady Anne’s mother lived.“Good enough,” Trenton said.“We’ll be ready to sail when you arrive.”Tiny returned with a key for Nathaniel [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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