Trapped with the Forbidden Duke (Forbidden Lords #5)

Chapter 1

Chapter One

“ N icholas?” Edwina Vaughan called out to her brother, rising to her feet in the parlor of Montgomery Manor, the London townhouse where she and Nicholas lived.

Her heart lurched at the sound of his unsteady footsteps, which had become a way to brace herself for the worst whenever he came home.

She hurried down the hall and into the entrance hall, where Nicholas barely gave her a moment to assess his state. She did not even get a chance to slow down, for he grabbed her by the shoulders, stilling her.

“Nich—”

“We must pack.” His voice was urgent, his eyes wide and bloodshot.

Heavens, he smells bad tonight.

Unsteady on his feet, Nicholas Vaughan didn’t let go of Edwina, and she didn’t know whether it was to steady himself or to make sure she didn’t run away from him.

His eyes gleamed frantically. Though identical to hers in color, they were not in clarity. His pupils were dilated, and Edwina’s stomach sank.

You knew this would be the case . As has been the case for the last couple of years. This is nothing new.

“Pack?” Edwina asked, her voice tight. “Whatever do you mean, pack ?”

“Just pack, Edwina!” Nicholas hissed.

His overgrown dark hair, like hers—yet hers was perfectly styled, as a lady’s hair should be—fell into his eyes, but he did not shove it back.

She reached out to brush the long strands from his face tenderly, almost pained for the state he was in.

Nicholas pulled away, releasing her, and started pacing in the entrance hall.

“We shall go to the country. Yes, yes, that is exactly what we shall do! It is a clever idea, is it not, Winnie?”

“Do not call me that.” Edwina grimaced. “You have not called me that since we were children. Nicholas, please , come into the parlor. Sit with me for a moment. Why do you need to plan a trip to the country?”

“Do not question me!” he shouted, his voice tinged with more than the paranoia she was accustomed to. “Simply pack. Do as I tell you, and we shall be safe!”

“Safe from what? Nick, what are we not safe from?”

But her brother was too busy pacing—a man unraveled.

A man who had been abusing laudanum for the last three years, and it had reached a point where Edwina feared she did not know how to manage him.

Even when she attempted to get into his face, he only brushed past her, as if making for his chambers. But she ran after him, putting herself before him, so he could barely step into the hallway.

“I am doing nothing until you tell me what is going on,” she said firmly, looking him right in the eyes, even though he could not keep his gaze straight.

Nicholas swallowed, looking around as if expecting to find someone or something. Distressed, he raked a hand through his hair, mussing it further.

“Just—it is only—he is coming to get me , Edwina.”

“ Who ?” Edwina asked, growing nervous.

Her brother had suffered more than enough delusions. He had spoken often of their late father, who returned in his hallucinations. Nicholas often rambled about how their father told him what a poor job of managing the earldom he was doing, berating him, leaving him a simpering mess of apologies and reclusiveness for days, only for the cycle to begin anew.

“It does not matter!” Nicholas cried, pulling at his hair.

He was trying to storm past Edwina, but his lack of balance and her stubbornness not to let him pass made it easy for her to hold him back.

“Just leave with me. Please , Winnie, I cannot go without you.”

“We are going nowhere, Nick,” she told him quietly, her eyes pleading.

She cradled his face, trying to steady him, hoping that her voice alone was enough to snap him out of his delusions. It never was, but she hoped every time, nonetheless.

“Let me see you to your chambers, alright? I shall prepare you some hot milk. How does that sound? You can lie down, gather your thoughts, and if you wish to go to the countryside, we shall talk?—”

“You do not understand!” Nicholas cried. “I do not have time for milk! I do not have time to lie down and wait, for he will get me .”

In the next moment, the door to Montgomery Manor burst open, and Edwina’s stomach dropped as she realized that her brother—her brother with his paranoia and lack of coherence—had been right, as the eyes of Lord Stockton landed on him.

“You thieving, squandering fool!” Lord Stockton boomed, pointing an accusatory finger at Nicholas as he stormed into the entrance hall.

Edwina froze in shock as she looked at the Earl of Stockton. He was an older gentleman in his fifties, whom she had seen around London enough times.

Only not enough to know why he called her brother a thief.

Nicholas stepped back, shoving her behind him. “ Leave, Stockton.”

But the Earl was not deterred. He laughed cruelly. “Look at you, Lord Montgomery. The renowned earldom your father ruled falls dishonorably beneath your control. If he could only see his son, addicted to laudanum, intoxicated so often that he does not know how much danger he brings to his front door. To his sister.”

His eyes landed on Edwina, and she clenched her fists, repulsed as she looked away.

“You owe me a great deal of money, Montgomery, and I have let your debts go unchecked for a good while now. However, my patience runs thin.”

Through the open door, several men approached, the looks in their eyes ominous, and Edwina’s pulse spiked as she watched them spread out behind Lord Stockton.

“What shall it be?” Lord Stockton asked, cocking his head. “My money, or a blow for each pound you owe me?”

“Please, My Lord, do not resort to violence!” Edwina shouted, unable to stand back. She stepped in front of her brother and put her hand on his shoulder as if to keep him away from the Earl. “If it is money you need, I am sure we can arrange something. You have my word?—”

“Oh no.” Lord Stockton laughed. “See, it is my money, but your brother has made many false promises already. What use do I have of your word? I need action , Lady Edwina.”

“Winnie, go upstairs,” Nicholas whispered urgently. When Edwina did not move, he took her hand and pried it off his shoulder. “Winnie, please .”

She turned back to him to find his face pale and his eyes growing heavy, as if it was taking him every scrap of effort he had to stay upright. He swayed slightly.

“See how easily he will go down,” Lord Stockton noted, cocking his head. He stepped forward, and his men advanced with him, their crowbars and bats raised.

Edwina’s breaths came fast and quick, panic rising inside her with an edge she could not control.

Nicholas tugged on her hand, squeezing it. “Ed-Edwina, there is a box beneath my bed in my chamber. Will you retrieve it for me? I believe I can give Lord Stockton what he asks for.”

His eyes flashed, and she realized that he was trying to get her out of the entrance hall and out of the house.

She nodded shakily, but Lord Stockton laughed and reached out to snag her wrist.

Edwina screamed; bruises were already forming on her fair skin. She tried to yank her arm back to no avail.

“Not so fast. I am no fool. If Montgomery had what I wanted, he would have given it long before his sister came to any harm,” Lord Stockton snarled.

“Let me go!” Edwina hissed, her voice hoarse.

Lord Stockton’s fingers dug into her flesh. “Now, now, you are a reasonable girl. A smart one, from what I hear. If you cause a commotion, then I will make sure that all of Mayfair finds out about your precious brother’s addiction. Imagine the havoc it would wreak, finding out that the respectable Earl of Montgomery has disgraced his father’s legacy because he was not strong enough to overcome a war injury.”

Condescension and judgment dripped from his voice, the insult aimed at both Nicholas and Edwina.

She struggled, pulling her hand back.

“Johnson,” Lord Stockton called to one of the men. “Have your messengers?—”

“Stop!” Edwina gasped. “Fine, fine. Please, just… do not humiliate my brother.”

Lord Stockton’s eyes glinted. “And what will I get if I do not do that?”

“In exchange, I will give you whatever you desire to repay his debts. I have jewels and dresses. Furniture—we have plenty of expensive pieces you can take. Ornaments, trinkets, heirlooms. Whatever gets my brother out of your debt, it shall be yours.”

“ Edwina .” Nicholas sounded pained, but she could not bring herself to look back at him, feeling angry, heartbroken, and empathetic all at once. “Do not?—”

“You,” Lord Stockton drawled, leaning towards Edwina, making her stomach churn, “are much cleverer than your brother.”

His leering eyes ran up and down her body, a smile curving onto his face in a manner that made her feel the urge to bathe.

“I have another use for you, Lady Edwina. There is a duke. The Duke of Stormhold, to be exact. He is a wealthy man with powerful connections. I wish to do business with him. But he is a mysterious man, stubborn. Hard to approach, and even harder to request a meeting with. He is rather selfish in this regard.”

Dread coiled in Edwina’s stomach as she began to put the pieces together.

Lord Stockton grinned widely, as though he knew she understood him. “Seduce His Grace, secure me a spot in his inner circle that I could use to my advantage, and I shall write off some of your brother’s debt. Some of it , Lady Edwina, for I have an inkling that you do not know the full extent of his troubles.”

At that, Edwina shuddered, knowing that it was bad enough from what she had heard so far. If her brother’s troubles were worse than they already were… if the states she had seen him in were any indication… She dreaded to think harder.

“And you,” Lord Stockton snapped at Nicholas. “I hope you can sleep well at night, knowing that your habits have caused your sister to help me out in such ways. Lady Edwina, I shall come to fetch you tomorrow night. If you wish to keep this pretty, falsely perfect life, then I suggest you be ready, and do not try anything funny.”

His old, beady eyes pinned her in place, and she nodded.

“I will be ready,” she affirmed, relieved that her voice remained steady.

Lord Stockton gave a jerky nod before he left with his men, leaving the manor into the darkness of the night.

He gave her one last look at the gate—a warning to follow his orders.