Page 29 of Enchanted by the Lyon (The Lyon’s Den Connected World #93)

C assandra slowly opened her eyes. It felt as though they were being held closed by heavy weights.

Her head spun and she swiftly shut her eyes again until her world began to right itself.

It took her several deep breaths before she made a second attempt to open her eyes and when she did, she was in unfamiliar surroundings.

It appeared as if she were inside a cottage made from logs, but it was completely unknown to her.

She tried to stand and discovered that her legs and arms were tied to a chair. What was going on?

Shaking her head to try and clear the cobwebs and force her brain to start working again, she finally remembered Barlow’s face in front of her own before he put something over her mouth and nose.

But there was more wasn’t there? Her brow furrowed as she tried to make her mind wake up from her drugged state.

Her eyes suddenly widened as the realization of what happened became clear.

Risley! Risley had been hurt and had been lying on the floor!

A door on the far side of the room opened and she gasped as she witnessed who had been here with her.

“You!” she shouted as Viscount Hollingsworth came into her vision.

“Ahh… you’re finally awake. I told Barlow to not use so much of that liquid to knock you out.

Thought you were a goner hours ago,” Forbes sneered while he came to stand in front of her.

He crossed his arms over his chest. “I’ll untie you to go see to your needs in the other room but just so you know, you won’t be crawling out a window to make your escape, they’ve been nailed shut. ”

“What is the meaning of this, Forbes? How dare you abduct me from my home!” she snarled in outrage.

“ Tsk, tsk , my pet. Is that any way to talk to someone who holds the little bit of freedom I’m willing to grant you? I don’t give a damn if you relieve yourself or not, so you best sweeten your tone.”

“You bastard,” she snapped while squirming in her chair to attempt to loosen the rope tying her in place.

A snort left him as he went behind her and began to work at the knots in the rope. “I’m certain my parentage is the least of your concerns, Cassandra. You have better things to worry about than that.”

When she was free, she quickly stood and put as much distance between them as she could. It wasn’t much, given the smallness of the cottage. “What do you plan to do with me?”

A low evil chuckle left him. “First, I’m going to let Blackthorn worry over you for a few days. Afterwards, the rest of your fate will be determined by how he handles the ransom note that will be delivered.”

“Money? This is all about getting money out of Lucius?” she said, wincing as she rubbed at her bruised wrists.

“He owes me,” he snarled.

A short laugh escaped her when she recalled how Lucius had warned Forbes about not investing in an enterprise that was set to fail. “He owes you nothing. It’s not his fault if you were too stubborn to listen to his advice.”

“He owes me!” he repeated shaking his fist towards her. “Now, go to the other room and take care of your business or, if you are not inclined to do so, I’ll put you back in this chair.”

Cassandra didn’t have to be told a second time and she rushed to the door he had come through and slammed the barrier between them shut.

There was nothing to bolt the door and she shouldn’t have been surprised.

Still… she raced to the windows to see for herself that Forbes was correct. They had been nailed shut.

“Your time is running out, Cassandra,” she heard him yell through the door giving evidence that he was well aware that she was checking for an escape route.

She noticed a chamber pot in the corner of the room and took advantage of her few moments of privacy. She had barely put her gown back into place when the door burst open. Forbes and Barlow stood staring at her as if they were stripping her of her clothes.

“Move,” Barlow ordered. Cassandra rushed past him and back into the main room. There was some bread and cheese on a table and her stomach growled when she realized it had been some time since she’d eaten.

She went to the table to pick up a small wedge of cheese and bread then began to eat her fill. Going back to the chair, she tried to appear indifferent to the two men who had kidnapped her.

“I have the note all ready to deliver to Blackthorn,” Barlow began as though she wasn’t even in the room and would overhear their conversation. He threw a log on the fire. “Should I go to the village and find a messenger now?”

“Take it yourself and don’t get caught,” Forbes ordered as he took a seat at the table and began to eat.

“Why me? I can’t be caught any more than you can. We should send someone from the village who can deliver the ransom.” Barlow came over and also began to eat his fill.

“The more people who see us, the more we put ourselves in jeopardy of being caught. The point of this whole enterprise is to see both of us well-settled so that neither of us will have to associate with the other ever again,” Forbes muttered.

“I’ve made it clear I’m done with you once this is over. ”

“If I’m caught, I’ll never even see a farthing,” Barlow grumbled.

“Then you best not get caught. I can’t be seen in the village either, or did you forget we are in a cottage near my country home.

People are well aware of who I am and I can’t be seen in the area.

Now get going. It will take you at least a day to return to London and maybe even more if the weather turns bad,” Forbes declared, tossing Barlow a look that told the other man he was in charge.

Barlow swore, took his coat hanging from a peg at the door, and left.

Cassandra could only cower in her chair in an attempt to make herself invisible.

One thing was certain, however. She at least now knew she was somewhere in the country.

She would need a horse to make it back to London it seemed, and that outcome was clearly not a possibility.