Against the Wind (Agents of the Crown #2)

Chapter 21

Kit paced before the fireplace in the sitting room. The crackling fire wasn’t soothing her as it often did. Martin had been gone all afternoon, and though she did not expect him to return until late that evening she was worried. He had not discussed with her further the events of yesterday, but she was nonetheless having second thoughts about attending the rally at Hunt’s barn. If Martin was there and caught her, she wasn’t certain how he’d react to a third flaunting of his instructions. Then, too, she’d have to walk to the town of South Wingfield.

He had asked her to trust him. Could you love someone you didn’t trust? Yes. But she not only loved him, she also had faith in his goodness. He was a man to be trusted, no matter that she did not understand all he was about. He was one of the Crown’s own knights. Could he, even now, be working for the Crown?

She had watched John speak with Martin, following him around like a devoted puppy. That young man, ever her husband’s eager pupil, had nothing save respect for him. So how could she, Martin’s wife, doubt him?

No, she decided, the answer was clear. She would not doubt him. She would trust him and stay as he’d asked. She would not go to Hunt’s barn.

A knock sounded at the door. Likely it was Mrs. Weightman.

As she opened the door, her blood ran cold. Rutledge stood before her, a sardonic smile on his face.

“Ah, Katherine, do not look so shocked. Did you think I would not pursue you? ”

Fear coursed through her, setting her every nerve on end as she realized he blocked the doorway. She was trapped. Just like the first time.

Backing away, she reached for the right words to hold him off. “I…I am married now.” Surely he would honor her vows and cry off. He had refrained from assaulting her while married to her sister.

“Ah, yes, the Frenchman,” he said with a smirk, looking down at the simple gold ring on her finger. “So I’ve been told. Not to worry, m’dear. Soon he will be a matter of the past. I told you once that you have always belonged to me. And, so it is. You will be my wife.”

“You are mad!” Kit stared at him in stark terror. More frightening than his statement of possession was his calm, evil smile. She had to get away and warn Martin. She didn’t know what Rutledge planned, but it could not be good.

Before she could move, the earl reached out and grabbed her arm. She twisted desperately in his grip, all to no avail. “Let me go!”

Without warning, he backhanded her, hard. Kit felt a jarring wrench in her neck, and her body slumped to the ground. The room faded into blackness.

Rutledge considered the woman lying on the floor at his feet. He regretted having to temporarily damage her face. After all, he took care of his property. But, even with threats, she would not have come willingly. This way was better.

Once he had her in his bed she would change her mind, of course. Or he would hide her away in one of his country estates until he got her with child. Though a marriage to his sister-in-law could be voided if someone were to object, he doubted anyone would dare challenge the union. And once Katherine delivered his child, she would do nothing to jeopardize the legitimacy of her babe. She might be willing to live with her own shame, but he knew her well enough to know the daughter of an earl would never bring shame on a child.

Lifting her into his arms, he carried her out the door and to the top of the stairs. Looking into the entry below, he waited for his guard to wave him down before descending. Once outside, he laid Katherine on the seat of the waiting carriage, climbed in beside her and shut the door. The trap was sprung.

Kit slowly opened her eyes to find herself lying atop a strange bed in a darkened room. Dread gripped her. Casting a quick glance around, she recognized nothing. It was not her room at the inn, of that she was certain, for she could see opulent furnishings far exceeding the simple accommodations of the White Horse.

Where am I?

A violent pounding in her temple reminded her she’d been struck. Gently touching the lump on the side of her head, she winced at the pain that extended to her cheek. Rising up on one elbow, she felt the room shift and her stomach lurch. She froze. Gradually the room righted, and the memory of her altercation with Rutledge flashed in her mind. She could still see his sickening smirk as he informed her she belonged to him. Truly, the man was unhinged. What made him believe he could take whatever he wanted? That he could take her?

You have always belonged to me .

All this time, had he never cared for her sister? She could well believe it. He had never been kind to Anne.

Another thought came to her. Had Rutledge something to do with the baron’s death? She considered it might be true. Baron Egerton was older, yes, but he had not been unhealthy until the day of his death. The Earl of Rutledge, she now believed, was not above murder.

Sitting up, Kit slid her legs over the side of the bed and was relieved to find herself still dressed in the blue muslin gown she’d been wearing when Rutledge abducted her. With trepidation she carefully stood. Yet, even keeping her movements small, the room swam before her and a nauseated feeling crept into her stomach. Reaching for the bedpost, she hung on until the room stopped moving and her unsteady stomach calmed.

At the door, she tried the handle and was unsurprised to find it locked. Crossing the room to the window, she opened the shutters and peered out. The room where she was confined was on the second story. Green lawn stretched away from the house. The clouds lying low and heavy in the sky rendered the ambient light a dim gray. She could not be certain but thought it might be early evening. The branches of the ash trees just outside swayed in the rising wind. A storm was on the way.

Dropping her eyes, she noticed the nails pounded into the window frame on the outside, and her heart sank. She was well and truly trapped. Did Martin even know she’d been taken? Where was her fierce protector? He would be mad with worry when he discovered her missing. Was she even still in Pentridge? She had no idea how far Rutledge had traveled to bring her to this lavish prison. On this side of the house she could see no stable, horses or men, but she was certain such a fine house would have a stable of some sort. And she was certain Rutledge would have posted a guard.

The door behind her suddenly opened. Kit started and stepped back, pressing her body into the wall next to the window. Rutledge stepped inside, shutting the door behind him as a loathsome grin spread across his harsh face .

“M’dear, how nice to see you are awake. I trust you are no worse for my having to…ah, render you more amenable to transport.”

A deep anger rose within her. She stiffened her back and raised her head in defiance. “Where am I? Where have you brought me?”

“You are still in the Midlands if that is what concerns you. I have a bit of business tonight that requires my presence, but you can be sure I will return so we can become…better acquainted.” His eyes raked her body, coming to rest on her full breasts.

He walked slowly toward her as if approaching a wild animal. She felt like a caged one. Reaching out his hand, he ran the backs of his knuckles over her temple. She jerked her head away, repulsed by his touch, and he withdrew his hand.

“The bruise is unfortunate. I would not have marred you, but it seemed required at the time. It will, of course, heal. But then the mark you left on me was much more…evident,” he added coldly, touching briefly the scar on the left side of his face. “Perhaps we are even now.”

He stepped closer and took a strand of her hair in his hands. “Your hair has always fascinated me. Most unusual.”

“Don’t touch me!” Kit stepped to her right, pressing her back to the shutters. He stared at her as if perusing a piece of porcelain for his collection.

“Oh, I intend to touch you, Katherine. I most definitely intend to touch you.”

He reached toward her again. Kit recoiled, drawing as far away as she could. His hand stilled in midair and dropped to his side. “But unfortunately having my pleasure of you will have to await my return. I am needed elsewhere this evening. ”

Relief washed over Kit like a wave, but her heart still pounded out a fast rhythm. She knew it was only a brief reprieve. She had to escape before he returned. Could Martin find her here?

“You cannot keep me imprisoned in this room,” she announced.

“Why, yes, m’dear, I can. Do not think to escape. There are guards. Of course you will be fed. I would not want you hungry for ought but me.”

“That will never happen!”

“I assure you, it will.”

“Why me? I belong to another,” she tried again.

“I do not recognize the Frenchman’s claim,” Rutledge said, waving his hand dismissively. “As I have mentioned, you have always belonged to me. It was not your sister I asked for. It was you.”

Kit stared, stung. Me ?

Rutledge’s eyes narrowed, and his face froze in a scowl. “That bumbling guardian made a grave error when he drew up the papers to give you to the baron. You were intended for me, but they were signed before I discovered his mistake.”

Kit wondered if the baron hadn’t tried to save her from this man. Perhaps, if he had been fond of her, as the solicitor said, he might have done so. She owed him so much more than she’d realized.

A smug smile spread across Rutledge’s face. “You need not look so surprised. Why do you think I invited you into my home when the baron so conveniently died soon after you were wed? For charity’s sake? Hardly.”

“My sister suffered so—”

“Needlessly. Ah, but at least she had the good grace to die along with the baron. ”

“You are insufferable and cruel. I only came to your house to help my sister—”

“Perhaps you did, no matter your motive. I intended you come to me and you did. I am not a patient man, Katherine. I have waited long to have what is mine. You shall be my wife.”

Then he turned, dismissing her, and as he closed the door behind him Kit heard a key turn in the lock.

Crushed by despair, she sank onto the edge of the bed. As much as she hated her brother-in-law, she would have become his wife if that had been the only way to spare her sister a horrible marriage. Anne was not as strong as she was. Perhaps that is why Anne grew ill, even content to die like their father. Kit would have survived.

Her mind raced for ideas to escape before he returned. Surely it could not end like this! And what of her husband? The words Rutledge had spoken earlier came back to her. Soon he will be a matter of the past. He planned to kill Martin! She must find a way to get to him, to warn him. He had been terrified for her, but he was the one truly in danger. She could not lose him, not now.