Page 94 of Wedded to the Cruel Duke
But then, the carriage began to set off. Her heart sank when she realized whoever was in there hadn’t heard her pleas. She had to move faster. She had to reach it…
Suddenly, tendril-like arms wrapped around her from behind and she let out a shriek before they covered her mouth too.
“Let me go!” she yelled, her legs kicking at the air as she was forcefully yanked off the ground.
She could not stay here. She absolutely refused to!
But as her glistening eyes scanned the faraway horizon, she realized the carriage had already unknowingly ambled away from her and her heart sank into despair.
No,she thought to herself.This cannot be the end.
“Oh, Phoebe,” she heard the Baron croon from behind her, as if he was merely talking to a child with a tantrum. “What am I ever going to do with you? Why do you insist on hurting yourself, my dear?”
“Shut up!” she muffled beneath his firm hand.
The gentleness in his eyes faded, replaced by a coldness that seeped into her very bones.
“Take her away!” he ordered his men. “And this time, for God’s sake, make sure she does not get away!”
This is not over yet, she told herself, twisting in his grasp.As long as I have strength left in me, I will try to escape. I will try to make my way back to Charles!
He might have won now, but the Baron was soon going to find out just how stubborn she could be.
She glared at him beneath livid brows as one of the men brought out a rough-looking, brown sack and threw it over her head. She struggled once more as darkness fell over her vision.
She could only hope that whoever Charles had sent to follow her would lead him to the Baron’s hideout.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Charles had known beforehand that Phoebe would try to escape him.
There was simply no telling her what to do. She was stubborn to a fault and she would never understand the things he had gone through, the cruelty he had witnessed firsthand—and he wished she would never have to.
As much as it frustrated him sometimes, he wanted to preserve her innocence for as long as he was able. To let her believe in the goodness of the world and its people for as long as she could.
For Charles, that innocence had long disappeared after the reality of the cruel nature of this world was made known to him.
It was why, without her knowledge, he had some of his trusted men follow her. Even if she should leave the estate—something he was certainly aware she was intending to do despite his heedings, there would always be someone watching out for her.
She would most certainly be far from pleased if she learned of this, but it would at least help allay his fears. London had never been a friendly place to him. Charles was well aware of the darkness that lurked in the city and in the hearts of men underneath the glittering glamor of Mayfair…
At least, to him, it felt that way. No one else ever seemed to share in his view in that regard, or if they did, they were far less obvious about it.
…Perhaps Phoebe is right. Perhaps I am merely looking too much into this, he thought to himself, raking his hand through his hair as he stared at the documents before him, forcing himself to focus on the things that needed his attention.
Later, when he was finished with all of these formalities, he would take Phoebe back to Wentworth Park. And they would go on another picnic. He seemed to recall how she enjoyed the last one so much.
He would also make sure that they would be undisturbed for a greater length of time.
He started smiling to himself when the door to his study burst open. Exhaling in irritation, he turned and glared at the intruders when he realized that it was the butler of Cheshire, Mosley, and behind him, was the ashen face of one of the coachmen from the stables.
“Your Grace!” Mosley called out in a voice that was so far removed from his usual decorum. “There has been an incident!”
Immediately, his thoughts shifted to Phoebe and he stood up quickly, knocking over the documents and an inkstand with it. His heart pounded in his chest.
“What happened?”
“The Duchess took the carriage and told me to head for Bond Street, Your Grace. Said she was meetin’ with one of Her Grace’s sisters,” the coachman explained. “We were almost to the shop when the wheel broke down. She insisted on walking the rest of the way, but then we lost Her Grace.”