He nudged her toward the door. “Care?”
She nodded.
For a moment there was silence, and Lucy was left with no means to interpret it. She could not see her uncle’s face, could sense no change in his stance. She could do nothing but stare at the door, at his hand as he reached for the knob.
And then he said, “No.”
She had her answer, then.
“You were a duty,” he clarified. “One I fulfilled, and one I am pleased to discharge. Now come with me, and don’t say a word.”
Lucy nodded. His knife was pressing ever harder against her ribs and already she had heard a soft crunching sound as it poked through the stiff fabric of her bodice.
She let him move her along the corridor and down the stairs. Gregory was here, she kept telling herself. He was here, and he would find her. Fennsworth House was large, but it was not massive. There were only so many places her uncle could stash her.
And there were hundreds of guests on the ground floor.
And Lord Haselby—surely he would not consent to such a scheme.
The
re were at least a dozen reasons her uncle would not succeed in this.
A dozen. Twelve. Maybe more. And she needed only one—just one to foil his plot.
But this was of little comfort when he stopped and yanked a blindfold over her eyes.
And even less when he threw her into a room and tied her up.
“I will be back,” he bit off, leaving her on her bottom in a corner, bound hand and foot.
She heard his footsteps move across the room, and then it burst from her lips—a single word, the only word that mattered—
“Why?”
His footsteps stopped.
“Why, Uncle Robert?”
This couldn’t be just about the family honor. Hadn’t she already proved herself on that score? Shouldn’t he trust her for that?
“Why?” she asked again, praying he had a conscience. Surely he couldn’t have looked after her and Richard for so many years without some sense of right and wrong.
“You know why,” he finally said, but she knew that he was lying. He had waited far too long before answering.
“Go, then,” she said bitterly. There was no point in stalling him. It would be far better if Gregory found her alone.
But he didn’t move. And even through her blindfold she could feel his suspicion.
“What are you waiting for?” she cried out.
“I’m not sure,” he said slowly. And then she heard him turn.
His footsteps drew closer.
Slowly.
Slowly…