Complications (18 page)

“DO NOT overwhelm me with gratitude,” Mrs Gallerton said
at the prolonged silence that followed her suggestion.

“Forgive me for not expressing my
appreciation immediately. I know the money and work involved in a coming out in
London and never expected such immense generosity,” Amelia said. Her aunt
looked mollified and pleased with this answer, giving Amelia a chance to
consider what to do. She could hardly say that she had every intention of going
to London with Mr Brightford and had no need of a coming out ball. She could
suggest that she believed he was about to ask her to marry him but she had been
wrong before and had been humiliated when she told Lottie and her family that Mr
Wrackley was about to propose, then he did not do so, or at least not for
several months. She did not doubt Mr Brightford - not exactly - but he might
still change his mind or be delayed in asking or any number of things.

No, the only thing she could do was prepare
to go to London and hope Mr Brightford truly did love her and would propose
before she had to go.

“Where would we stay in London, aunt?”

* * *

Lottie and her husband had luncheon with Mr
Brightford the next day.

“It will be pleasant to get home again,” Mr
Alexander Fenbridge said to his cousin. “We have decided to leave at the end of
the week.”

“It is a shame that Amelia will be leaving
so soon and will not be free to stay with us,” Lottie commented to her husband,
ignoring the sharp glance from Mr Brightford, then addressing him, “Perhaps you
would care to stay with us instead, sir. I am sure Mr Nathaniel Fenbridge and
my brother would be happy to see you.”

“Where is Miss Daventry going?” Mr
Brightford demanded, uncivilly ignoring the rest of her words.

Lottie buttered a scone. “Perhaps I should
not say. The matter is really just Amelia’s concern, although it is exciting
for her.”

“Where is she going?” he repeated while her
husband watched the two of them with amusement.

Lottie deliberately took a bite of her
scone and ate it, while he waited with increasing impatience. “I am surprised
that her aunt considers it necessary now that Amelia has received a second
offer of marriage.”

“What?” Mr Brightford jumped to his feet.

Lottie looked up at him with an expression
of innocent enquiry.

Glaring, he sat down again and turned to
Alex: “Perhaps you would be willing to tell me what is going on here.”

“It is my wife’s news.”

As two pairs of eyes turned to her again,
Lottie took another bite of her scone.

* * *

Six months ago there was nothing Amelia
wanted more than a proper coming out in London. She had dreamed of having
lovely new outfits for every occasion, of meeting famous people and going to
balls every night.

So much had changed since then. Her father
had still been alive, Lottie was still living in Edinburgh, and Amelia had not
known Mr Brightford at all. She thought now of his intelligence and wit and of
his perceptive appreciation of her intelligence and wit. Mr Brightford was
perfect for her and surely he had indicated that he felt the same? She
remembered in England Lottie saying that she could not wait to begin married
life and that was how Amelia felt now: she wanted to kiss Mr Brightford and
talk to him every day and live in his house with him.

Six months ago she would have been thrilled
to be going to London. Now she only dreaded the thought of being parted from Mr
Brightford.

* * *

“Please would you request that I be allowed
a private interview with Miss Daventry,” Mr Brightford said to her butler. He
was not taking another chance of losing her. Elborough of all people. London,
he could imagine, would hold far more appeal.

“I am afraid Miss Daventry is not in, sir.”

So much for the two hours he had spent this
morning trying to think of the best words to convey his desire to marry her. “Are
you expecting her back imminently?”

“I fear I do not know of her plans, sir. Do
you wish to speak to Mrs Daventry and Mrs Gallerton?”

If Mrs Daventry had been alone he might
have chanced making small talk and hoping Miss Daventry would be back soon, but
he had no intention of subjecting himself to Mrs Gallerton’s curiosity. “No. I
will return in an hour or two.”

“Yes, sir.”

He turned away from the house with a
grimace. Now he would have to try and remember his eloquent marriage proposal
for another two hours - he was bound to mess it up and it would be just like Miss
Daventry to laugh at him.

He smiled to himself at the prospect: as
long as she accepted him she could laugh as much as she wished.

* * *

Amelia and her maid emerged from one of
Edinburgh’s largest milliners then Walker gave a shriek at the same time as
Amelia felt herself grabbed. She struggled in the grip of two strange men and
tried to tell them that they had made a calamitous error and would suffer the
consequences with a jail sentence if not a hanging. Walker was pushing at the
men, trying to reach Amelia, but the men shoved her back, knocking her over.

“How dare you!” Amelia exclaimed, fearing
Walker had been hurt, then she was thrown inside a carriage in so rough a
manner that she nearly fell to the floor. A man’s hands reached for her and she
tried to pull away, but found herself assisted into a seat, the hands not
letting go until she stilled. The vehicle began to move, hurtling down the roads
away from the familiar streets and safety.

The carriage curtains had been closed so
she could not immediately see anything beyond a figure in the darkness opposite
her. He barely looked human and the danger of her situation hit her hard,
making it difficult to breathe. It must be a mistake, though: her family had no
wealth; no one could have anything to gain in taking her.

She swallowed her fear, glared at the
apparition and said, “My name is Miss Daventry and I demand that you return me
immediately to where your henchmen found me.”

“I know who you are.” The man leaned
forward and she went cold as she recognised him, the threat ten times worse
than she had feared. This was not, after all, a mistake and there was no one
she was more afraid to be alone with. “You are the future Duchess of Elborough.”

MR BRIGHTFORD knocked on the door of the Daventry
household and once again informed the butler that he wished to speak to Miss
Daventry.

“Er, yes… Would you wait inside, sir?”

He barely noticed the butler’s unusual
hesitancy, still trying to keep the words of his marriage proposal in some kind
of order in his head. He did, however, notice when he was left standing in the
entrance hall instead of being taken into the drawing room. The butler opened
the door to another room and Brightford could hear the sounds of hysterical
voices and… was a woman in there crying?

He took a step forward then stopped
himself. If someone was ill or some other misfortune had taken place then it
was up to the family if they wanted his assistance. It hit him with a lurching
sensation in his stomach that it might well be Miss Daventry who was ill or
hurt.

He was left with these disturbing thoughts
for only a moment before the butler reappeared and led him into what looked
like an informal family living room. It was a maid who was crying and trying to
talk at the same time, although she halted, wide-eyed when she saw him.

Mrs Daventry had a haggard look of distress
to her but managed to sound composed as she said to him, “Sir, can we rely upon
your absolute discretion for the sake of helping Amelia?”

His fear was proven correct. “Of course. What
has happened? What can I do?”

“She has been abducted.”

“I beg your pardon?” This was one danger he
had not imagined and he could scarcely believe it.

Mrs Daventry turned back to the maid: “You
were saying that you recognised the carriage, Walker?”

“Aye, Ma’am.” She visibly gulped down a
sob. “It was that man who proposed to Miss Amy.”

Wrackley?
He
thought.
No, impossible…
Realisation hit him and it all made sense in
the worst way. “The Duke of Elborough.”

The maid nodded vigorously. “Aye, him.”

“I believe he was angry when Amelia turned
down his marriage proposal,” Mrs Daventry said in a dead tone and Brightford
remembered she had no one left except Miss Daventry.

“You said he was evil but I never would
have believed a gentleman could do such a thing,” Mrs Gallerton interjected and
for once he was grateful she was here and Mrs Daventry would not be alone to
cope with this.

“I would believe anything of Elborough.” He
turned to Mrs Daventry. “I will find your daughter and return her safely to you.
You have my word.”

* * *

“I have no wish to marry you, sir, and
insist on being returned home,” Amelia told The Duke of Elborough, as his
carriage continued to drive her away from her friends and family and the
further away it got the more afraid she became.

“No,” he said. Just that. He did not even
try to justify his behaviour.

“You have clearly not considered what you
are doing: marriages have to be planned. They do not take place on one man’s
whim.”

“You have not taken the time to know me as
I know you. I have planned this in detail: I have a special licence and a vicar
is ready to perform the ceremony.”

“He cannot do so if the would-be bride
refuses to say
I do
.”

“You will say it,” he told her, but she was
not swayed by the iron in his tone, only dismayed at the detail in his plot.

“No.”

“You will say it,” he repeated, “because
after spending a night alone with me you will only be accepted by any member of
polite society as my wife.”

Amelia clasped her gloved hands together so
he would not see how badly they were shaking. By now Walker would be home and
would have told her family what had happened. Amelia did not know if Walker had
seen who took her, but they must be able to guess that only Elborough had the
power and lack of morality necessary to do so. She had no intention of marrying
him no matter what the consequences but there was no point in angering him now.
Her mother would turn to Mr Brightford and, if she could gain time, he would
find her.

“You are right,” she said, attempting to
sound calm. “It did not occur to me that you had thought this through so
thoroughly.”

“Indeed,” he agreed smugly.

She glanced away from him and the sight
that greeted her made her lean against the carriage window, staring out. “This
cannot be the way to your home - we are leaving Edinburgh.”

“That is right,” he said. “After all, we
would not want anyone to interrupt our time together, would we?”

How could anyone find her now? Fear rose up
in her again, threatening to overwhelm her, as she thought of what the Duke had
planned for her.

* * *

“So, have you finally asked Miss Daventry
to marry you?” Alex asked when Brightford arrived at the home of Mrs Fenbridge’s
parents.

“She is gone.”

His tone clearly conveyed his worry as Mrs
Fenbridge went still and stared at him with large eyes. “Gone where? What has
happened?”

“I know Miss Daventry is your friend, Ma’am,
but the only way to save her is for your husband to help me and for you to
remain calm, despite what I am going to tell you.” When Lottie nodded
Brightford said, “The Duke of Elborough has kidnapped Miss Daventry, presumably
to force her into marriage.”

Lottie put a hand over her mouth, the
colour draining from her face, but she did not speak.

Brightford turned to Alex: “I need you to
help me find her. Every moment she is alone with him, she is in danger.”

Alex nodded then said to Lottie: “Stay with
your parents.” He touched her cheek. “We will find her.”

“The Duke will not behave honourably, to
Amelia or to you,” Lottie said. “If he gets his hands on a weapon then be very
careful. Do whatever you have to do to get her away from him.”

It was sensible advice and Alex followed
it, collecting his pistol before leaving the house. They headed first to the
Duke’s home and, not taking the word of the staff that no one was there,
Brightford and Alex searched every room.

“Any clue?” Brightford asked as Alex
re-joined him downstairs.

“There are signs that Elborough packed a
trunk,” Alex said in a grim tone.

Brightford heard these words with a
tightening around his heart: if Elborough had taken Miss Daventry out of
Edinburgh then he had no idea where to look for her. “One of the staff must
know something,” he said. They had to. Otherwise their task would be an
impossible one.

They assembled the household servants in
the hall downstairs and Brightford said, “We urgently need to find Miss
Daventry, a young lady The Duke of Elborough has abducted. Her reputation and
perhaps even her life are at stake.”

The group of sixty or more servants looked
blankly at him, not one of them showing the least concern or inclination to
help him.

He exchanged helpless glances with Alex
then a different method of persuasion came to him. He emptied out all the money
he had with him. “I will pay for information.”

Suddenly everyone had something to say. It
seemed that the Duke had managed to hire an entire staff as greedy and
heartless as him.

* * *

When the carriage pulled up at a private
residence Amelia’s last hope of help died. She had been counting on them
staying at an inn where she might beg for help. The duke could not have planned
this more thoroughly.

As the carriage halted Amelia threw open
the door and ran towards a nearby wood. She knew this could be the only chance
she got and moved as quickly as she was able but after less than a dozen steps
Elborough caught her. He held her in a painful over-familiar grip as he forced
her back the way she had come and into the house. Once inside he let her go.

A woman - presumably a housekeeper - had
opened the door for them but had not reacted to the rough way Amelia was being
treated.

“We will have dinner in two hours,”
Elborough said to her and she curtsied and left. He turned back to Amelia: “I
will show you to a room where you may compose yourself. I expect you to behave
in a more ladylike manner from now on.”

He sounded angry about her escape attempt
and for a moment her own temper rose up and blotted out her fear: did he think
she would meekly accept being forced into marriage to him? She remained silent
as he gestured for her to ascend the staircase and as she began walking she
could hear him right behind her, like some predator stalking her. She imagined
having to live the rest of her life with him and knew she would be better off
dead than enduring his attentions.

* * *

Mr Brightford strode from Elborough’s home,
Alex beside him. They had the name of the house the Duke had rented under an
alias. Now, since it was in the countryside far beyond the city, they had to
find it. Time was running out for Miss Daventry: every moment she was alone
with Elborough he could be hurting her in a way she might never recover from.

Brightford had once seen Elborough shoot a
horse for not winning him a race. He remembered the expression on Elborough’s
face and the thought of his having Miss Daventry at his mercy became even worse.
The Duke had no conscience to stop him taking what he wanted from her.

“We must hurry,” he said as he reached his
horse and mounted the gelding. “We have to find them before nightfall.”

“Indeed,” Alex responded, jumping into the
saddle on his own horse. “Her reputation would be destroyed if she spent a
night alone with him. That is clearly what he is counting on.”

“I do not care about her reputation - I
will marry her the moment she agrees to it - but I cannot allow him to harm
her.”

They galloped off into the waning day.