Chapter 19
CHAPTER 19
A delaide would have been much more forgiving had she been the only one in danger.
But this man – a man who called himself her brother – had threatened her baby.
She was going to kill him herself if she found a way to do so.
They had been driving for a couple of hours, she and Mabel in the carriage itself while Jack drove, which didn’t give her a chance to reason with him.
Not that he was an overly reasonable man. This entire situation proved that for sure.
She had to find her way out of this. She didn’t know Jack’s plan for her and Mabel, but she refused to be a part of it. She had not spent the last few years working to escape him only to be forced to be even closer to him.
She closed her eyes, thinking of the life that had been available to her with Michael, a life that she had foolishly turned down.
He had offered her everything he had to give, and she had said no. He had even offered to leave behind all the comforts he enjoyed in life so that she could live out her dream, and she had declined, insulting him by telling him that it wasn’t a life for him, not allowing him to decide for himself.
She still partially believed in her words, but should she not have given him a chance, even if it would mean allowing too much hope into her heart that it could become a life together?
She looked down at Mabel, who she had mercifully lulled to sleep upon the drive despite her own growing fears. From what she could see out the window, they were heading south, but any direction was wrong when it took her away from Michael.
What would he think when he read the note that Jack had forced her to write? When Jack had come upon them in the woods, he had everything prepared. Somehow, he had already entered the house and had packed her few belongings. It wasn’t because he had their best interests in mind, however. He only wanted it to look like she had left of her own free will.
She had tried to think of a way to disguise a message to Michael in that note, but Jack was looking over her shoulder, reading every word.
Her only hope was that Michael would realize she would never leave without a goodbye, nor would she have accompanied him to Mandrake Hall if her plan was to depart without a word.
But she knew well enough not to rely on a man to come rescue her. Look at where that had gotten her mother.
She glanced down at Mabel, hating to wake a sleeping baby, but they were getting too far now.
She reached a hand through the window and rapped as hard as she could on the wood above her.
“We need to stop!” she called out, causing Mabel to turn her head from side to side, seeking comfort, which Adelaide provided her. It took a few minutes until Jack pulled to a stop and wrenched the door open.
“We were making good time,” he muttered. “What is it?”
“I need to relieve myself,” she lied as she stepped out of the carriage, Mabel in her arms. “Where are we?”
“Not where we should be,” he said, sneering at her with his arms crossed over his chest. “You do understand what it cost me to come to you?”
“First, we all would have been much better off had you left me alone. Second, it seems to me that Lord Gregory covered that cost, so I’m not sure what it matters,” she said, shrugging her shoulders. “You know this is folly, Jack. You cannot abduct me and expect no one to care.”
“Your lord will think you left him.”
“You do not know nearly as much about my relationship with him as you think you do.”
“And you, Adelaide, are a fool if you think he actually cares about you,” Jack scoffed. “Do you not recall your mother also believing that a lord was in love with her? How did that turn out for her?”
“That was an entirely different situation,” she said, lifting her chin, realizing that she, shockingly, meant what she said. That she was not just defending herself from Jack but speaking her truth. Somewhere along the way, she had begun to believe in Michael’s words and had trusted that he was the man he said he was, that he cared for her in the way he had promised.
That he loved her.
“Let me think about that for a moment,” Jack said, tapping a finger against his lips mockingly. “Your mother became pregnant by a lord. Once he found out, he decided he wanted nothing to do with her. Eventually, she agreed to marry my father, and she was with him until she nagged him to death.”
Rage grew within Adelaide at his every word, and if she didn’t have her baby in her arms, she would have planted her fist in his nose.
“Your father was cruel, just as you are,” she lashed out, and it only made things worse when Jack laughed at her.
“Your words mean nothing, Adelaide. I’ve made something of myself while you are the unwed mother of a bastard child. It could have still ended fine for you, but you screwed something up along the way. You could have been kept as his mistress, you know that?”
“I could have been his wife ,” she bit out, wishing the words back the moment she said them, for she noted the instant gleam in his eye.
“He asked you to marry him?”
“He, ah, suggested it,” she said, and she could see Jack’s mind turning as he tried to determine just how he could use this information in his favor.
“Well, if he does happen to appear, at least we know that he might actually care for you more than I would have thought,” he said, rubbing his chin. “How shocking.”
“You mean to insult me, but you have brought me here with you, so it appears that you have reason to want me as well,” she said. “When you try to cut me down with your words, be sure not to lie, Jack, for I can see right through them.”
“So smart, are we?” he sneered. “Don’t flatter yourself. I need you for what you can do for me. Not because I want you around. I thought you needed to relieve yourself.”
“I do.”
She began for a small thicket of trees, stopping when she heard his footsteps behind her.
“I would like some privacy,” she attempted, to which he laughed.
“Do you think I am that stupid?” he said. “If I give you privacy, you are sure to run.”
“I am also not a fool, Jack,” she said, rolling her eyes. “I have a baby with no way of transport nor any sustenance. I would prefer not to be with you at the moment, but I am also aware that you are not going to hurt me. If you wanted to, you would have done so by now.”
“Perhaps you are more clever than I give you credit for,” he said, some surprise in his tone, and she wished she could turn around and kick him.
That would have to come later.
Fortunately, he did give her a few moments to herself before she rejoined him. If Michael was following her, then perhaps she had given him some time to make up ground. He would not, however, have the skills to track them, although if by some grace he had managed to discover their direction, perhaps he could have just kept on the same road.
“I have one question, Jack,” she said, trying to stall him further.
“Just one? It seems to me you’ve had many.”
She ignored him. “Why go to all this trouble? From the counterfeit money scheme to leaving it all to making me come with you. Why?”
“Why not?” he said, crossing his arms over his chest as he stared at her. “I’ve worked my whole life and got damn near nothing to show for it. One night, Gregory was at the tavern, and I caught him trying to pass off a counterfeit bill. Told him to hand over a real note instead, and the bastard just laughed in my face. But when he saw I wasn’t messing around, he made me a different offer — said instead of paying me back, he could cut me in. Needed someone in the middle to move the counterfeit and stash it for a while. I already had plenty of goods coming and going, so I was the perfect man for the job.
“I said fine, but we needed a better printer. Lucky for him, I knew a guy who knew a guy, and that’s how Rawlins got involved. Worked like a charm for a while—until months went by, and Gregory just vanished. That’s when I came to you about that note.”
“You never asked me, for I would have declined you. If only you had never involved me,” she lamented. “So much could have been avoided.”
“But it brought Lord Gregory back to the table, which is what we needed,” he argued. “So, it all worked out in the end. Now, I have enough to do what I want.”
“Which is?”
“You know that little inn you grew up in, the one where our parents met?”
“Yes,” she said, dread going in her stomach.
“I’m going to buy it.”
“You are not,” she said, her spine straightening.
“I am,” he said with a self-satisfied grin. “And you are going to run it.”
“Why would you want that, Jack?” she protested, desperation growing within her. It had been her dream to own the inn, to run it for herself. Running it for Jack would be even worse than not being involved in it at all, for he would cut every corner trying to save money and would destroy both the current inn and her memory of it.
“I heard you talking about it time and again, and it sounded like a good idea. Leave London for a quieter place where I could make a name for myself. You know what you’re doing. You’ll have a place to live with your baby. I can relax and enjoy life. It’s actually a good deal for a woman like you.”
She knew that was not exactly a compliment.
“I hate you,” she bit out, the anger rising in her chest.
“I do not overly care,” he shrugged. “Now, get in the carriage. We have to get moving as the sun will be setting, and we do not want to travel after dark.”
“How awful that would be,” she said sarcastically, but truthfully, she was getting rather hungry and wanted to get this over with. Perhaps she could talk Mr. Dale into not selling it to Jack when they arrived. If she explained what had happened, maybe he would wait just a little longer for her to be able to buy it from him and would help her out of this situation.
She felt that Jack’s offer of money was not legitimate anyway, so it would only put Mr. Dale in a bad position.
She climbed into the carriage with a now wide-awake Mabel, although the baby wasn’t crying as her eyes were wide, taking in the scene around her.
Adelaide took one last look down the road behind them for any sign of a person approaching, but it was as it had been.
Empty.
Perhaps Jack was right. Maybe there was no chance of Michael coming for her.
It had been fun when she was conveniently present, but now that she had left, would he even miss her?
She couldn’t rely on him but could not fend for herself on the road.
When they were closer to Tunbridge Wells, she would have to find a way to escape Jack, to make it to the inn before him. Maybe Mr. Dale could help her.
There had to be a way through this, one way or another.
She would protect Mabel at all costs.
Even if she lost her heart along the way.