Chapter Eighteen
Fear turned Caroline’s blood to ice the longer the ride in the hired hack continued. From her position on the floor with her hands tied in front of her—the baron had done that shortly after tossing her into the carriage—she couldn’t see the baron’s face, but her other senses were on high alert. The pungent odor of horse excrement seeped into the interior of the vehicle. Stale smells of tobacco and wine also proved noxious to her nose. The steady rhythm of the wheels and the slight swaying motion of the carriage provided a bit of a calming effect, but with each clip clop of the horse’s hooves, the distance between her and John widened.
Would he even know she’d been taken?
The pain in her head and her cheek provided grounding, so she concentrated on that in an effort to prevent succumbing to a faint, but she remained curled on her side, facing the front wall of the cab while the storm inside brewed once more into a frenzy. This man, this baron, thought to kidnap her, hold her for ransom. What did that even mean?
Eventually, curiosity won out over the need to protect herself from further harm. “What want you me from?” She pulled at her bonds, but he’d done his job too well. The length of cloth—was that an old cravat?—remained firmly around her wrists.
“Oh, so the frost queen has decided to speak… if you can call what you do speaking.” Heavy sarcasm threaded through the baron’s voice. “For a moment there I wondered if you’d decided to sleep through the whole thing.”
Frost meant cold. Winter. She frowned. Or standoffish. He assumed she was that due to her reticence for speaking. “I don’t like you.”
He snorted. “Then we’re even, for I don’t care for you either.” The baron dug the toe of his shoe into her side, laughing when she whimpered. “Either face me when I’m talking to you or shut the hell up. I have little patience for half-wits.”
That is not what I am.No, John was nothing like this horrible excuse for a man. With anger churning inside her, Caroline pushed herself into a sitting position on the floorboards. She half-turned toward the baron, and with the movement, the pain in her head intensified. Concentrating on her words, she asked again, “What do you want from me?” Again, she tugged at the bonds, but there were two large knots, and they were tight.
“Since my son has made the egregious error of marrying you, I may as well use that to my full advantage. He’ll give me the funds I so desperately need.”
She frowned. “John has no coin.” At least, she didn’t think he did. From the way he’d talked about his life in Ipswich, she’d ascertained he wasn’t well off. At least not yet, but he was a good man and a hard worker. They would have a good life.
Ifshe could get away from the baron.
“Dear stupid woman, I don’t expect my son to pay your ransom. I’m after your cousin’s coin. His coffers are quite full.” He gazed upon her as if she were the scum one found at the bottom of a pond. “John is useless and a disappointment. He cares naught for my title, a fate which will be his someday. Didn’t even have the decency to marry an heiress to bring the lands out of disrepair.”
Marry an heiress.What did her husband have use for in that? He put no stock in matters of the ton. She shifted her gaze to the window, but it was too dark to guess at their destination. “John likes me as I am.”
“Which proves he’s as daft as you.” The baron spat as if to rid himself of the words, and she jerked aside to avoid the expectoration. “Making him a widower is accomplished easily enough. It’s not as if you’ll know enough of what’s happening to stop it.”
Well, she wasn’t the village idiot! Caroline gasped. “You will kill me?” Did he truly intend that?
“Not perhaps immediately, for I might wish to exploit Hadleigh one time more before I finally do away with you.” His grin sent chills down her spine. “Eventually, John will have no choice but to do as I ask, for his honesty and his sickening wish for family will compel him to take care of everything.”
“Has a family he.” She was beyond caring about putting her words in the correct order. The longer they were in this stinky carriage, the more her heart pounded with fear. John would come after her, of that she had no doubts, but at what cost? Would this man harm his own son?
“Bah!” The baron shoved at her shoulder with a foot. He laughed when she sprawled over the floorboards due to her tied hands. “He gave his family up for lost years ago. Wanted nothing else to do with either me or his brother. Now he’s sacrificed his future to be a part of the Storme family, with an insane wife to boot.” He shook his head. “What a shame.”
No, the shame lay squarely with this man, this worthless excuse for a baron. John deserved so much better than him. Caroline remained silent for long moments. If the conveyance were to slow long enough, could she manage to open the nearest door and jump out? She had no idea where she was or where they were going, but she would run until she felt safe, despite her immobile hands.
It wouldn’t hurt to inquire though. “Where are you taking me?”
“Hyde Park.”
Good.She was slightly familiar with the area. “Why? Could have asked Cousin Andrew for blunt at the ball.”
“God, you’re an idiot.” The baron shifted on his bench. “If I’d have done that, his brothers and your husband would have attacked me right there. And making threats against an earl in public would land me in greater trouble. At least this way, you’ve been separated from the herd, so to speak. They’ll give anything to have their precious cousin back, and John… Well, I intend to put a bug in his ear that I can, at any time, threaten your life. For a while he’ll dance attendance on me like he should have for the rest of mine, had he been a devoted son.”
She frowned. “Devotion is earned. As is respect.” The carriage slowed as it prepared to take a turn. Her heartbeat increased. Now was her chance!
“Tradition demands it no matter what, and John broke with that.” When Caroline reached for the door handle, the baron pulled a pistol from an interior pocket of his evening jacket. “I would think long and hard about doing something foolish if I were you.”
Never in her life had she seen a pistol let alone had one pointed directly at her head. Her pulse rushed so hard through her veins that it echoed in her ears. Chill bumps raced over her arms as she lowered them and rested her hands in her lap. Would it hurt much if he shot her? Would John mourn if she were to perish? She lifted her gaze to his, but the darkness hid whatever emotions were reflected there. “I am no good to yams if I am drunk.” Oh, botheration. That wasn’t close to what she’d wished to say. After a tiny sigh, she tried again. “If you kill me, you won’t receive payment.”
Above all, he was a greedy man.
He relaxed his finger from the trigger. “True, however, it is not the only thing I want this night.”
“What then?” She didn’t much care. Her first concern was escape.