Invitation to Ruin (33 page)

The girl began to whimper and tried to hide her nakedness. Her body was still prepubescent, and Melissa felt like she was going to be sick.

“Stop.” Melissa fell to her knees sobbing. “Please don’t touch her.”

Lord Rothsay stilled his hands and moved to stand over her. “Do you agree to my terms, Lady Wickham? You will come to my bed willingly?”

“Yes,” she whispered.

Lord Rothsay bent lower. “What did you say? I cannot hear you.”

Melissa turned her face upward and glared at him. “Yes,” she yelled into his cruel face.

Lord Rothsay smiled. A smile that was almost humanlike. “Too easy. Just like Anthony, your heart is too soft.”

Melissa frowned. Anthony’s heart was anything but soft. It was a stone fortress, impenetrable.

Rothsay laughed. “Anthony hasn’t told you. He hasn’t begged your forgiveness. I thought he would seek his redemption through you.” He bent and whispered in her ear. “He raped a young Negro girl not much older than the child who’s just left this room.”

“No,” Melissa cried out. She shook her head. “He’d never do—he’d never hurt—no. He just wouldn’t. I’ll not listen to your lies.”

“Ask him. When you next see him, ask him why he’s so consumed with guilt. Why he thinks he’s so evil.”

Melissa brushed her tears off her cheeks.
When she sees him
. The Baron was not going to kill her then. She cradled her stomach. She could bare anything as long as her baby survived.

“Now don’t sulk. Over the coming days I will teach you how to enjoy making love in many different ways. A few new tricks in your repertoire to impress your husband.”

Melissa’s elation suddenly came to an end when he uttered that one word—days. In a trembling voice she asked, “How long do you intend to keep me here?”

He turned at the door. “Rest now. You’ll need your strength. We have a long night ahead of us.”

“You did not answer my question.”

His smile chilled her to the bone. “Until I can send you back pregnant with my child. I know your husband does not share your bed, and I know why.” He hesitated, and for a minute she feared he wasn’t leaving. “I will send someone along to see to your bath and provide you with food. You need to eat. You’ll need plenty of stamina for what I have planned this evening.”

Melissa dropped her eyes from his knowing gaze. She instinctively knew she had to keep her face blank. What would he do if he found out she was already with child?

Once he left the room, she leaned over the bunk and was violently sick in the chamber pot.

Weak and scared, she lay on the rocking bunk and looked at the mirrors above her on the ceiling. She did not recognize the woman staring back. She looked empty, like there was nobody living inside her.

Her hand moved to cradle her stomach. She had to escape and soon. Rothsay was a monster, only God knew what he’d do if he found out she was already with child.

Anthony’s child.

A
nthony returned to Craven House early in the afternoon.

He sent a runner with a note for Rufus, asking him to attend him immediately. He wanted to explain his absence for the next few weeks and hand over the latest intelligence on the search for Rothsay’s boat,
The Master
, before setting out for Bressington.

Rufus’s men had lost track of Rothsay. They believed he was no longer in Norfolk. The fact their enemy continued to elude them was frustrating to say the least. Anthony was restless, impatient, and he wanted Rothsay’s white slavery ring destroyed, along with the man running it.

He’d only just settled behind his desk to tidy up the last pieces of correspondence when the study door burst open and panic—in the shape of Richard and Rufus—rushed in.

“Melissa!” Richard’s chest heaved. “She’s been taken.”

Anthony bolted to his feet. “Taken! What do you mean taken? Who? How …?” But he knew. His body chilled as his eyes locked on Rufus and saw his confirmation.

Richard rushed, “I was passing Bressington and stopped in to visit with her. The house was in an uproar. I came to find you as quickly as I could. I met Rufus, just now, on your front steps. He seems to know who would want to take her.”

Anthony swore, clenched his fists at his side, and stormed around the desk heading for the door.

“Who? Who would take her?” Richard asked.

“Rothsay.” He saw his brother’s face drain of color.

Rufus put his arm out, halting his departure. “This is not the time for rash actions. We need to think this through. Where would he take her?”

Anthony ignored his friend and opened the door, calling for Stevens. He appeared immediately. “Saddle Dark Knight—now!”

Richard put his hand on his brother’s shoulder. “It’s not certain Rothsay’s the one who kidnapped Melissa. Even if he has, you don’t know where he will have taken her.”

Anthony closed his eyes, and for once in his life, prayed. “He’ll have taken her to his ship,
The Master
. He’ll want to sell her. I should have known. A perfect way to get revenge on me—taking my wife and leaving me to live with the knowledge she is in some Arabian brothel …” He punched the door frame. “If only we knew where the ship was docked.”

Anthony had not noticed Stevens’ entry, but the butler’s gasp drew his gaze. “My lord,
The Master
is docked at Tower Hill.” Three sets of eyes drilled into Stevens. “Lady Sudbury has just returned from a visit to the schooner.”

Anthony stilled. “Rothsay’s in London—with Lady Sudbury?” If Cassandra had any part to play in this, he’d wring her pretty neck.

“Yes, my lord.”

Before he could ask another question, Rufus uttered in amazement, “How do you know this?”

Stevens’ face reddened. “I’m not one for gossip, sir, but some of the staff do talk.”

“Go on,” Anthony encouraged.

“The cook’s cousin, Tom—he’s downstairs eating some of Cook’s famous pork pie—is Lady Sudbury’s driver. Has been for years.” Stevens appeared to get more nervous.

“Come on, out with it, man,” Rufus urged.

“Lady Sudbury and Lord Rothsay have an unusual relationship. They have a common—interest.” Stevens closed his eyes and in a rush uttered, “They are both members of Spare the Rod.”

The stunned silence was shattered with Anthony’s curse. “Christ.” He turned to Richard. “Did you know?”

“Absolutely not. I know of the establishment, but it’s never been my cup of tea.”

Rufus uttered, “I’ve been there.” Richard let out a low whistle. “In the line of duty. It is not a place I’d wish to return to—ever.”

Anthony dragged in a deep breath, held it for a second while he thought. “Rufus, go and get Cassandra and bring her here. We’ll talk with Tom. Stevens, send him up in ten minutes. Richard, I want to know every detail of Melissa’s abduction.”

Rufus curtly nodded and left the study with Stevens close behind. Anthony, too wound up to sit, stalked back and forth before the windows. Richard took a chair and began.

“I was in Kent visiting Miss Thornton—”

“Do get on. I don’t want a catalog of your social life.”

“Do you want to know about Melissa or not?” Richard huffed, his face turning slightly pink. “I thought I’d drop in and have dinner with Melissa. She’s been miserable since you banished her to Bressington.” Richard’s voice was filled with condemnation. “Well, anyway, I arrived to find Theresa in tears and Mr. Dutton and the grooms running around saddling horses, swearing and cursing at each other. Each blaming themselves that they hadn’t accompanied her on her ride.

“One of your tenant farmers had seen her being chased on horseback by a group of men. He tried to follow, but when he caught up with them at Blackwood Forest, he saw them bundle a limp and lifeless Melissa across the back of one of the horses and gallop off.”

Anthony swallowed down his fear. “She is not dead. He wants her alive.” The anguish swamping him at the thought of losing Melissa filled him with such searing pain. It hurt to simply breathe.
This was why you didn’t love
. He closed his eyes and prayed he’d get her back. Scarcely when he realized he didn’t want to live his life without Melissa, he might lose her.

“We’ll get her back, Anthony. I promise.”

Richard’s words sounded hollow. Anthony ran his hand through his hair and cursed, fighting back tears of frustration. “God, I hope we do. It’s all my fault she’s been taken. If I hadn’t forced her to marry me. If I hadn’t left her alone at Bressington. If I,”—he swallowed—”had not been such a coward and faced my feelings for her …”

He slammed his fist against the wall. “I couldn’t bear to think of Melissa being sold off—ending up—a slave … I’d never stop searching for her. Never!”

Richard came to stand next to him and rested a hand on his shoulder. “You love her?” Anthony nodded. “We will get her back.”

Anthony turned and strode back to his desk. “Not without a plan we won’t. Where’s Tom?”

   Cassandra knew she should worry.

When Viscount Strathmore called for her, she’d been flattered. He was almost as handsome as Anthony and just as rich. Aside from an alternative husband, his presence could not be dismissed.

Rufus suggested a turn in the park with a quick stop at Craven House to drop a note off to Lord Wickham. Since getting in his carriage, however, Rufus’s demeanor had cooled slightly. When they pulled up outside Craven House, she should have trusted her instincts, but when he invited her to accompany him inside, she had agreed.

He’d been a trifle rough escorting her into Anthony’s study. She sensed she was in trouble.

She rubbed her elbow and studied Anthony’s face as he stared at her in a manner that had the hairs on her arms lifting. He made no attempt to stand when she entered the small study.

The first thing she noticed, other than the anger evident in Anthony’s taut jaw, were the maps strewn over the desk. “Going somewhere?” she asked, trying to smother the fear rapidly assailing her body.

“Once we have the destination from you, Lady Sudbury.” Anthony rose and leaned forward, both hands planted flat on the desk, his eyes glinting like hard steel. “Where has Rothsay taken Melissa?”

Her throat constricted. She moved calmly into the room and took a seat. “I do not think I have had the pleasure of making Lord Rothsay’s acquaintance, although I have heard the name.”

Anthony’s hand thumped the table, and his voice so low she almost couldn’t hear him, said, “Don’t play games with me, Cassandra, or I’ll …”

“What? Hit me?” She couldn’t withhold a smile. She thought she’d very much like being hit by Lord Wickham.

Anthony stood and fisted his hands at his side. “Does the club, Spare the Rod, jog your memory? Or perhaps being an accessory to kidnapping, likely rape, and murder? How about hanging by the neck until dead?”

Cassandra clutched her hands together. “What on earth are you talking about?” There was no way she was admitting any part in Rothsay’s plan. If they caught him, hopefully they’d kill the bastard and no one would know the small part she’d played, plus she’d be debt-free. Her markers would die with Rothsay.

“Rothsay has taken Melissa.”

She feigned horror, her hand rising to cover her mouth. “I had no idea.”

“Then why lie to us?”

She didn’t have to pretend her anger. “I am embarrassed. Society does not look favorably on my exotic tastes. I saw no reason to publish them.” She leaned forward in her chair. “But if he has taken Melissa against her will—”

“Of course it’s against her will.”

She didn’t deign to answer.

Rufus loomed over her. “Anthony and Richard, if you’d like to leave the room, I’m sure I can make Lady Sudbury provide us with the details we require.”

She watched with amusement as Rufus’s lips firmed. “Not very persuasive, Lord Strathmore. You’ve just learned I enjoy pain.”

He bent low and stroked a finger down her face. “Such a beautiful face, it seems such a pity to mark it.”

Her bravado dimmed. Not her face, not her meal ticket. She gathered her thoughts. There was no point in being difficult. It would make her look as if she’d had something to do with Rothsay’s diabolic plot.

“I can see you are not playing a game. If my cousin really is in trouble, I want to help.” She spread her hands wide. “What information do you need?”

She saw the relief in Anthony’s stance.

“We need to know exactly where his schooner is or where else he might possibly take Melissa. How many men does he have? Was he planning on setting sail anytime soon?”

“His boat’s docked at Tower Hill, berth nine. I have no idea what his plans are other than I was invited to a party on Wednesday night at his country house in Richmond.” She smiled at Anthony. “Not a party you’d likely enjoy, a bit rough for you.” She frowned and chewed her bottom lip, acting for all she was worth. “Now you mention it, Rothsay did say he had a new member for our little group. One of his new toys, as he likes to call them. Do you think he meant Melissa?”

Anthony growled.

“Oh, dear. I thought he simply meant one of his slaves. You remember the slaves, don’t you, Anthony? Rothsay manages to find such exquisite female creatures—”

Rufus slapped a hand over her mouth. “Shall I gag her?” His voice betrayed his anger. She saw Anthony shake his head. “Get up. You’re coming with us.”

As the men marched her to Strathmore’s curricle, she spied Tom sitting up top. “Why do you need me if you have Tom?”

Anthony pushed her into the carriage, his grip hard and painful. She liked it. “You’ll guarantee our entry onto the
boat. Besides, if anything has happened to Melissa, I’ll need something to take my anger out on.”

He slammed the door behind her, calling for his horse. But she was not alone. Rufus sat in the shadows across from her.

“I wouldn’t want to be in your shoes should anything happen to Melissa. Anthony is not a forgiving man.”

   Every time Anthony thought of Melissa at the mercy of Rothsay, his heart lurched, his body chilled, and his mind filled with images of what Rothsay could be doing to her—with her.
Hold on, my darling, I’m coming
. Shutting off such thoughts, he concentrated on getting to
The Master
as fast as Dark Knight could gallop, heedless of the others following.