Tenacious Trents 01 - A Misguided Lord (28 page)

He yanked on his boots and strode out
the door, but not before removing the pistol from his robe pocket
and putting it inside his coat and taking a knife from the dresser
drawer. He didn’t know what he faced with Wilkes but he wasn’t
taking any chances, even if it meant he had to kill the bloody
bastard.

They traveled for another fifteen
minutes before Wilkes knocked on the roof of the carriage. It
stopped at the side of the road and the driver jumped down and
opened the door. “Miss Westin and I wish to take a
walk.”

The door opened further and Wilkes
stepped out, offering his hand to Eleanor. Her heart raced and
pulse pounded. There was no reason to stop so soon. They had barely
traveled a few hours, if that.

“
Hold the horses,” he
instructed the driver before he reached in and withdrew a
blanket.

Fear mounted. He had no intention of
taking her for a walk and he did warn that she would be his before
noon. Eleanor stepped away from him. Could she run? Of course, but
she wouldn’t get far. She had to keep him from touching
her.

Wilkes reached out and grabbed her
elbow. “Be a good girl and come with me.”

She tried to yank her arm back but his
hold was too tight, and she suspected it would bruise by the way
his fingers bit into the bone. To avoid further injury, she
capitulated and followed him down a grassy hillside until they
reached the relative privacy of trees. Wilkes dropped the blanket
and turned toward her. “I intend to have you now.”

Eleanor took a step back.

“
I am no fool. I knew who
owned that mill and before long word will be sent back to Acker,
who will come after you. I will see you ruined before
that.”

Elle swallowed the panic. She would be
found, but it would be too late. But she would fight before he laid
another finger on her.

“
Come here.”

“
No.”

A grin pulled at his lips. “I hoped it
would be like this.”

Elle stilled. “Like what.”

His grin grew vicious. “There is no
fun if the woman doesn’t scream and fight back.”

He intended to rape her. The bulge in
his breeches was evidence the man needed no further
encouragement.

If she grew complacent, would he lose
interest? “It is simply the timing is poor, Lord
Wilkes.”

He lifted a brow in
question.

“
My courses. In a few
days—,” She was cut off by his laughter.

“
You think a little blood
is going to disturb me, Eleanor?” He lunged for her.

“
You’re sick,” she yelled
back.

“
I’ve made women bleed.
Sometimes my passion becomes too much.” He continued to stalk
toward her. “Besides, where is the sport in simple lovemaking? Once
you’ve tried it my way, you may appreciate it all the
more.”

“
Over my dead
body.”

“
Only if necessary, my
dear.”

Terror rose in her breast and she
screamed. Elle turned, barely avoiding his hand.

“
That is more like it.” He
lunged again. Elle pivoted and ran. No matter how much this may
increase his desire, she could not be the lamb to lie down and
sacrifice her body for him. Her slippered feet carried her through
the woods. She had no idea where she was going, only that it was in
the direction of Bentley’s mill. If she could make it there, she
might be safe.’

The thought was dismissed as soon as
it occurred to her. There were innocent children at the mill and
nobody there who could stop Wilkes from getting what he was after.
He was a lord and if the orphans went against him, they could be
arrested or worse. Besides, Tobias was there and he would fight for
her. She didn’t trust Wilkes not to do grave harm to the
boy.

She altered her route and ran toward
the road. If she could keep going maybe she would come upon a
carriage and someone to help her.

“
You won’t get away from me
Eleanor, but keep running. It makes me want you more.”

His words only made her run faster. He
was close behind but she didn’t dare glance back to see how close.
No, she must concentrate on going forward and away, watching her
steps and running as fast as she could.

The road was in view. If she could
break from the trees and make it up the slight incline, she would
have a flat road and could move faster. There was already a stitch
in her side, but she couldn’t stop now. She had to run until she
collapsed and hopefully that didn’t happen before she found
help.

Wilkes grasped her shoulder hard,
pulling at Elle roughly. She lost her footing and fell to the
ground. The momentum sent them tumbling down the incline until they
came to rest at the bottom next to a dry creek bed. Elle was on top
of Wilkes and he seemed a bit dazed.

She pushed against his chest and rose,
scampering off of him and back up the hill.

His hand clamped around her ankle and
she fell forward. “Not yet, my love,” he crooned.

Her head hit the ground and a sharp
pain shot through her wrist as she tried to save herself. Tears
blinded her for a moment. Elle ignored the pain and tried to push
herself up, but Wilkes yanked on her ankle again and dragged her
back toward him.

Elle flipped on her back and struck
out at him with her free foot, connecting with his midsection. He
laughed. She should have aimed lower but her blasted skirts were
tangled.

He caught hold of both ankles and
pulled her through the dirt toward him, widening her legs with each
inch, her skirts lifting higher and higher. He was between her legs
and if she didn’t get away from him now it would be too
late.

Elle struggled and tried to shake him
loose by kicking her legs but his fingers tips dug harder into her
skin. How could this man be so strong?

When he was over her, he grabbed her
thighs and yanked them apart. Pure terror ran through her veins. He
reached and grabbed her drawers and began to rip them.

This would not happen to
her.

Elle raised her right hand formed a
fist and connected with his jaw. Wilkes head flung back and she
pushed against his chest.

He lost his balance and rolled to his
side.

Elle pulled one leg free and tried to
yank the other, but he was on top of it. She drew her knee back and
kicked with all of her might, striking him at the side of the head.
He rolled off her, grabbing his eyes.

Elle yanked her foot free and rolled
away, her dress tearing in the process. She was on her feet in
moments and running toward the road. She didn’t make it past the
tree line before his hands bite into her waist, his breath a rough
pant in her ears.

“
This is much more than I
ever dreamed. Having you for a wife is going to be more than I
dared hope for.”

She opened her mouth and screamed as
loud as she possibly could as he lifted her in the air before
tossing her to the ground. The air left her lungs and her head
connected with something hard. She tried to cry out and tried to
push Wilkes away but darkness invaded.

*

Clay came across the carriage at the
side of the road and recognized Wilkes’ crest on the side of the
door immediately. He pulled the gun from his pocket and aimed it at
the driver. “Where are they?”

The man’s eyes about bugged out of his
head and he pointed toward the woods. “Down there.”

He glanced down at the ground and
could make out the path they took by the disturbance in the long
ago dried leaves and foliage. He walked carefully but quickly. He
didn’t want to risk stepping on a twig and alerting Wilkes to his
presence. The man was vicious and Clay intended to surprise him.
The urgency was getting to Elle in time however.

A red blanket had been tossed on the
ground but there was no sign of Elle.

He scanned the area further until he
noticed footprints and more grass disturbed and a few purple
wildflowers broken from their stems.

A scream rent through the air.
Eleanor’s scream. Clay took off at a dead run toward the sound. If
Wilkes harmed one hair on her head, he was a dead man.

He could hear thrashing but he
couldn’t see anything. Leaves rustled up ahead. Elle must have
gotten away. He increased his pace, determined to get to her before
Wilkes caught her and did the unthinkable.

A terrifying scream filled the air and
Clay’s heart about stopped. He raced onward, up the slope, his
breaths coming hard. As he reached the tree line he found Wilkes
bending over Elle. She lay unmoving on the ground. She didn’t make
a sound.

Clay pulled the pistol from his pocket
and aimed the barrel toward Wilkes. Was he a good enough shot to
hit the man and avoid hitting Elle? His hand trembled slightly. He
could not miss. He would not miss.

Her gown had been shoved to her thighs
and Wilkes was messing with the front of his breeches. Thank
goodness he had arrived in time. The thought that Wilkes had not
been successful but still determined to rape Eleanor steadied
Clay’s hand. “Move away from Miss Westin, Wilkes.”

The man looked at Bentley and
blanched.

Instead of doing what he asked, he
frantically tore at his pants. “I will have her.”

“
Like hell you will.” Clay
didn’t wait for any further argument and pulled the
trigger.

Wilkes head snapped to the side and he
fell way from Eleanor.

Clay tossed the spent gun and raced
forward. He barely glanced at Wilkes and concentrated on Elle. He
tapped her face lightly, trying to rouse her, but she didn’t move.
What was wrong?

He carefully searched her body for
injury. There were bruises on her ankles, finger prints. If he had
any more bullets, he would shoot Wilkes again.

Her right wrist was discolored,
swollen and laying at an odd angle. Most likely broken and his rage
reached new proportions.

He turned and kicked Wilkes in the
gut. It moved the man off of Eleanor’s skirts and further away. He
wished to keep kicking but the man was most likely dead. Still, it
wasn’t satisfaction enough.

Clay returned his attention to
Eleanor. None of these injuries should have caused her to lose
consciousness, unless it was fear and shock of what was about to
happen. If that were the case, what would bring her out of
it?”

Wilkes groaned and his eyes
opened.

How the hell was that man not
dead?

Blood streamed down his face, but he
was very much alive and lurched to his feet.

Clay moved away from Eleanor and put
himself in the path between her and Wilkes. The man’s eyes gleamed
with evil and it chilled Clay to the bone. He reached into his
front pocket and Clay grabbed his knife. A pistol appeared in
Wilkes’ hand and Clay didn’t hesitate. Before Wilkes took aim, Clay
lifted the blade and let it fly. It struck Wilkes in the center of
his chest.

The man’s eyes widened with shock and
he brought a hand to his chest. Crimson spread across the white
linen. Blood trickled from the corner of Wilkes mouth and he
dropped to his knees. The life faded from his eyes as he fell back
on the forest floor.

Clay didn’t give a second thought to
the man, satisfied for sending him to hell where he belonged and
returned his attention to Elle. Carefully he slid an arm beneath
her legs and another under her shoulders and lifted her from the
ground. He was almost standing when he spied the blood on the rock
that had lain beneath her. Gently he lay her back down and felt
behind her head. There was a deep gash and swelling. When he
brought his hand away it was covered in blood.

If Wilkes wasn’t already dead, he
would gladly kill him all over again.

This time Clay scooped Elle up and
carried her toward the road, cradling her gently in his arms. His
phaeton and Wilkes’ carriage were not far away. Wilkes’ driver
dashed forward.

“
Tie my horses to the back
of your carriage,” Clay barked before opening the carriage door.
Eleanor needed to lie comfortably and the phaeton was not the
place. He lay her down on the seat and stepped back outside. “Drive
me back to the Acker Hall and then you can come and collect your
dead master.”

The man did as ordered then hastened
to the box and set the horses in motion. They turned slowly in the
road until they were moving at a brisk pace toward the
mill.

Clay lifted Eleanor and cradled her in
his lap. Her head continued to bleed, soaking the arm of his
coat.

She had to live. She had to come out
of this. He couldn’t live without her.

Eleanor’s eyes fluttered open, her
vision a blur. Every part of her body ached and the pain in her
head made her stomach roll. Or it was the movement. Was she in a
carriage? Where was she going and what had happened to
her?

She closed her eyes and clenched her
jaw to ward off the pain and nausea and tried to recall what
happened. Wilkes’ face swam through her mind with his hard eyes,
cold hands and evil smile. He’d intended to rape her. Had he? She
couldn’t recall.