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His fingers were still at the base of her neck. She felt unclean from his touch, she wanted him gone, but he was not going anywhere.

“Please,” she whispered, “do not go any further. We can forget about all of this, I promise we can, and we can give you whatever you want later.”

“I want this necklace,” he growled.

She thought he might pull it sharply from her neck, breaking it, but instead, he looped a second hand gently around the back, unclasping it and peeling it away from her. Somehow, that was far worse.

“There,” he said gently, slipping it into his pocket. “Now, was that so difficult?”

Diana wanted to scream at him. She wanted to pull herself free and fight, even if she knew it was a losing battle. She wanted him to suffer, even the smallest amount, but she knew what was better for her. She had to find a way out to get to Samantha.

“No,” she whispered obediently.

“Right. Now, as you are going to be staying put here for a while, I ought to go and help my man with your sister. I assume she is more difficult.”

“Then perhaps you may need my aid?” she offered hopefully.

“Ah, yes. Why don’t I untie you and give you the chance to do something about it?”

That had, of course, been her true intention. Diana had simply hoped that he would not catch onto it.

Her footman, now attacker, walked away, but only reached the doorway before he was met by the other.

“She is subdued,” said the second. “She fainted the second I began to tie her up. She is lying in her bed now.”

Diana’s blood froze. Samantha was, for all she knew, lying unconscious in the other room, and nobody was there to care for her, and she was stuck in place with two men who clearly wanted something from her.

“Why are you doing this?” she asked once more, now that both men were nearby. “Surely you have not been simply waiting to attack?”

“Of course not, not with a duke residing there, at least.” One smirked.

“But when the darling younger sister of the Duchess demanded to leave, well, we could hardly say no to a face as sweet as that, could we?”

“Especially knowing that her protective older sister was far more likely to come to her aid than the absent Duke. Why have one when you can have two, as they say?”

“And if the Duke does come for us?” Diana asked. “What will you do then?”

“We shall never find out,” the first snarled. “You cannot honestly tell me that you believe that he cares that much for you. Look at you, you are tied to a bedpost, unable to do anything more thanpester the two of us instead of simply letting us do what needs to be done.”

“None of this needs to be done!” she exclaimed. “You could have simply left us alone, taken what you wanted whilst we slept, and we would have been none the wiser. In all honesty, this has been quite foolish of the two of you.”

“Terribly bold, isn’t she?” Samantha’s captor sighed.

“Yes, and it is quite a shame, as she might have been pretty without the scowl.”

“How can I do anything but scowl in a situation such as this?”

“By doing as you’re told,” Samantha’s captor said gently, crouching down in front of her. “Go on, Your Grace, smile for us.”

“No.”

“I thought you wanted to have this over without having to do anything other than what is needed. I need you to smile before we leave you.”

“You need to go now before someone comes to find us.”

“Nobody is coming for you,” her captor sighed. “When will you realize that? We are not stupid, and as I told you, servants talk.We know all about your father, who could not care less about you, and we know that the Duke cannot stand you. Simply put, nobody cares about the fate of two useless, little ladies who do not know their place.”

“Diana!” Samantha exclaimed, running into the room.