Chapter 19
Nineteen
The carriage lurched to a stop. Hammerton grabbed Alex by the arm and shoved her roughly through the door that his cousin had opened.
Her foot caught on one of the steps and she fell to the ground.
A flash of anger roared through her, as raw as the scrapes on her palms. Rising slowly, she scooped up a handful of dirt and flung it in Hammerton’s face as he was dismounting.
“Ahhhggg,” he cried, his hands clawing at his eyes, which were momentarily blinded by the grit.
Alex turned to run towards a copse of trees she had spotted from the carriage window—and collided smack into a male chest.
“Hold her, you bloody idiot!” roared Hammerton
Standish threw his arms around her. Scratching and kicking proved ineffective, but a well-placed knee to the groin had the desired effect.
Free once more, Alex bolted for the shelter of the woods.
Though she hadn’t seen any signs of habitation for miles, perhaps she could lose her captors and find some way of intercepting her brother.
However, her cursed skirts entangled her legs, making it easy for Hammerton to catch up.
Shaking her hard enough to rattle her teeth, he kept a viscous hold on her arm and marched her back to where his cousin lay writhing in pain.
“The bitch,” moaned Standish, still curled in a fetal position. “I’ll make her pay for this. I’ll …”
“Later,” snarled Hammerton. “We need her untouched until we have her damnable brother in hand.” He gave Alex a nasty leer before adding, “It won’t be long. Then you may do whatever you like with her.”
Leaving Standish to recover on his own, he propelled Alex toward a small, rustic lodge made of thick timber and masonry.
It was surrounded on three sides by a tall, crumbling stone wall.
To the left sat a neglected orchard whose unpruned branches dangled over its mossy top.
The rutted drive snaked to the right, past the wall, down to a small outbuilding that served as the stable.
Hammerton lit a taper as he entered the dank center hall, then pushed her through an open door on one side of a narrow corridor.
The meager rays of sunlight that managed to penetrate into the room did little to relieve the oppressive feeling of the place.
Hammerton paused to light the fire in the hearth, but even its flames seemed unable to ward off the chill.
“Sit down,” ordered Hammerton as he pushed her towards a simple wooden chair. “If you try to escape again, I promise you I will make it very unpleasant for your brother.”
Alex lifted her chin. “Do with me what you wish. Justin will not be fool enough to fall into your trap, I assure you.”
Hammerton gave a nasty laugh. “Of course he will, my dear. Family loyalty runs deep in the branches of this family, doesn’t it?” The laugh trailed off into a nasty sneer. “And you can’t expect your erstwhile friend Branford to rush to your rescue this time, can you?”
Alex’s face must have betrayed a flash of emotion for he laughed again. “Oh yes, that was rather clever of me, wasn’t it? .” He perched a hip on the rough oak table and regarded his well-manicured nails.
“What do you mean?” said Alex in a hoarse whisper.
His look of satisfaction clearly showed how disappointed he would have been had she not asked.
“Accidents are so much easier to contrive in a rural setting, I came up with a plan to ensure your family would be forced to return to the country,” he explained.
“Knowing the earl’s reputation with the ladies, I took advantage of finding him foxed one night at our club and bet him that he couldn’t mount you.
” An ugly laugh. “That would have been one bet I wouldn’t have minded losing to him. ”
Hammerton shook his head in disgust. “It would have worked perfectly. Once he had succeeded, I would have oh-so carefully seen to it that word spread throughout the ton. You would have been ruined—and the rest of your family with you. Your aunt would have had no choice but to take the two of you back to the country—assuming she didn’t simply toss you out onto the street. ”
He looked down at his nails once again. “I can’t fathom why he called the bet off. Apparently, it was quite a scene when he stormed in and scratched the wager out of the betting book, announcing that he didn’t toy with innocents.”
Alex closed her eyes for a moment, feeling slightly sick.
“Ha!” Hammerton’s voice was becoming more agitated. “Who is he to flaunt a code of honor? Everyone knows he murdered his cousin for the title and got away with it.
Why should he be treated with such respect and awe? He isn’t nearly as clever as I am!”
“You are quite mad,” remarked Alex calmly.
“Am I?” Hammerton calmly tapped his forefinger to his right temple.
“The mark of a superior mind is flexibility. When that first plan didn’t work, I bided my time, waiting for another opportunity.
You, with your meddlesome ways, provided another way to get at your brother—and deal with Branford as well. ”
His eyes narrowed. “Have you any idea what I had planned for you the night you came running in response to my note?”
Alex decided it was wise to keep him talking. “I imagine that you intended to shoot me dead.”
“Good heavens, no! That would have been a waste of gunpowder.” He chuckled.
“I had an expert forger break into your house and copy a sample of your handwriting. He then created a suicide note—trust me, your family would never had guessed it was a fraud. I would have knocked you unconscious and thrown you into the Thames. The beau monde would have heard the sad tale of how Branford seduced and deserted you. Your aunt and brother would have been forced to return to the country and Branford would have finally been shunned by Polite Society.”
Hammerton savored the thought for a moment before adding, “Of course, after a short time, your brother would also have met with a fatal accident.”
Alex sucked in her breath at the sheer horror of the plan. “Why do you hate Branford? What has he ever done to you?”
“People bow and scrape before him. They fear him, but they respect him, just because of his war record,” he said angrily. “Yet I am the one who is truly the clever one. They should look up to me!”
“They respect Lord Branford because he has shown courage and honor on the field of battle,” retorted Alex. “Despite what you say, he is a true gentleman, while you are no better than a toad who has crawled out from under a rock.”
He laughed, a malevolent sound that sent a chill through her.
“But in the end, you see, I’ve beaten you all.
” There was a note of triumph in his voice.
“With my careful planning I’ve outmaneuvered even the hero soldier—it was a stroke of genius, was it not, to become your confidant after turning you against Branford? ”
When she didn’t speak, he narrowed his eyes. “Well? Answer me!”
“You are a loathsome creature,” she said. “And not half so clever as you think. You’ll see.” Alex wished she believed the last part of her words.
Hammerton’s expression turned ugly. “Shut your mouth! With such a shrewish tongue it is no wonder Branford couldn’t stomach the idea of taking you to his bed—you have none of the charms that a real lady should have.”
“And you have none of the qualities a real gentleman should have. You are not fit to be a part of respectable society.”
Hammerton raised a hand as if to strike her, then appeared to think better of it.
“Later,” he said, half to himself. Instead, he contented himself with rummaging in a cabinet until he extracted a length of rope.
He jerked her to her feet, tied her hands together in front of her and then shoved her back down in the chair.
“Make yourself comfortable,” he sneered. “We have a while before it is time to fetch you dear brother.” He turned on his heel and left the room.
The door slammed with a thud and the key turned in the lock.
Now that she was alone, Alex allowed her chin to sink in despair.
Simms slowed the carriage. “Looks like we’re coming to our destination, Cap’n.”
“Keep a steady pace,” called Branford in a low voice.
Through the window he studied the entrance to the grounds of Hammerton’s hunting box.
The drive was narrow and overgrown, lined on both sides with gnarled elms whose branches intertwined to cast a gloomy shadow over the rutted surface.
No building was visible from the road. In fact, there hadn’t been any sign of habitation since passing through a small village some miles back.
A perfect retreat for someone who was elementally evil, he observed. But that was about to change.
After traveling for perhaps another quarter mile, Branford signaled for the carriage to pull over. Simms guided the horses into a small clearing where a copse of tall bushes would screen them from any other travelers.
The earl got out rather stiffly, followed by Justin.
“Keep a sharp eye out,” said Branford tersely to Simms as he thrust his pistols into the pockets of his coat. “Make sure your weapons are primed.”
“Aye, they’re ready.” Simms cast a glance at Justin, who stood in the earl’s shadow, nervously shifting his weight from foot to foot. “Are ye sure that ye don’t want me to go with ye?” He shot a dubious look at Justin. “The lad could stay here and watch the horses.”
The earl allowed a small pause. “No need. I’m confident that Chilton can handle things well enough.”
Justin swallowed hard, trying to hide both his gratitude—and his apprehension.
“Keep watch on the drive,” he added to Simms. “Though I don’t expect trouble, I’d prefer not to have any unwanted visitors.”
Simms nodded in agreement.
Branford turned to Justin. “Ready?”
“Aye.”