Protection (19 page)

The carriage lurched to a halt, and Copeland hauled her against his side, clasping
a hand over her mouth.

“I considered drugging you,” he murmured close to her ear, “or a blindfold, but you’ve
no possible chance of escape, and I rather like the idea of you observing every single
step along the path to your humiliation. Now be a good girl and don’t struggle. We
wouldn’t want to bruise the merchandise . . . not yet,
anyway.”

With no chance of overpowering him, Lisa pretended submission born of abject terror,
a charade that took little effort on her part. Loosening her fingers, she dropped
a couple of pearls as they alighted from the carriage and heard them skitter away.
Lord Copeland took no notice of the faint sound, hurrying her towards the entrance
of the building opposite. Before she could catch sight of more than brick walls in
another dark alleyway, Lisa was forced through a narrow doorway and up a flight of
stairs. Pretending to stumble, she placed another pearl in a crevice next to the wall,
accomplishing a similar feat at the top of the landing.

Cursing her clumsiness, Lord Copeland gripped her tightly around the middle, preventing
her from leaving any more of a trail until they had made another turn. Taking a risk,
she dropped a pearl, glancing over her shoulder to see it roll against the wall. After
yet another turn, he stopped outside a doorway, and she quickly placed a pearl on
the nearby windowsill, slumping against it while he unlocked the door. Once it was
open, he shoved Lisa inside, and she landed on the floor beside the large bed that
dominated the cheerless room. No longer focused on attempting to leave a trail, she
clutched the remaining pearls in her hand, her fear returning with a vengeance.

“Don’t worry. I’m not planning on robbing you of your virtue . . . just yet.” Her
captor walked over and hauled her to her feet. “I’ll await the doctor’s verdict before
making my final decision. Virgins collect the highest price, so if you’re intact,
the honour of your deflowering will be granted to your new master. He’ll pay handsomely
for the privilege, I assure you. But if, as is rumoured, your Lord Marsden has already
had the pleasure”—he chuckled evilly—“you can expect to spend the time from now until
your sale pandering to
my
every desire. Actually, I think that’s going to happen regardless, as there are ways
around every obstacle.”

Tears stung her eyes, but Lisa refused to cry in front of him, raising her chin in
what defiance she could muster.

“You will regret your actions this day, Lord Copeland.”

The sound of his mocking laughter stayed with her after he had exited the room. Before
Lisa could attempt an escape, the door opened again and Maggie entered, her features
twisted with contempt.

“Yer to undress for the doctor,” she ordered.

Lisa refused, but her resistance was limited by her desire to keep her fist full of
pearls in case they could be of use. Holding onto her dignity as best she could, she
was left quivering with both cold and outrage, dressed only in her thin chemise.

“His Lordship wants me to leave ye in ’ere, but I don’t see why ye should get a room
to yerself.” Maggie scowled. “Ye can wait with the other girls. Maybe ye can stop
their bloomin’ caterwaulin’ . . . wot wiv ye bein’ an angel of mercy an’ all.”

Lisa went willingly, dropping a couple more pearls along the way. By the pitiful sounds
of weeping, she knew when they had arrived at the room where the girls Lord Copeland
had “collected” were being held, a burly-looking man standing guard outside.

“Ye sure the master wants ’er in wiv this lot?” he asked Maggie while eyeing Lisa’s
barely clothed form.

“I’m ’is woman, regardless of all the others, and ye better remember that.” Maggie
clenched her fist at the guard who raised his hands.

“ ’Or, right, ’or, right,” he muttered, unlocking the door.

While they were distracted, Lisa took the opportunity to drop a pearl, which landed
a couple of inches from the edge of the door frame. Nudging it with her bare toes,
she pushed it against the wall where it would hopefully be visible to a searching
eye but not easily spotted. Once inside the room, she stumbled to a halt. A dozen
or so girls, some little more than infants, sat huddled together on the floor of the
cold, bare room. Uniformly pretty, they were all fair with varying shades of blond
or red hair, some wearing clean dresses, while others were clothed in little more
than rags.

“What sort of people are you?” Lisa turned on her captors. “They’re just little girls.
Don’t you know what’s going to happen to them?”

The man shrugged and returned to his place outside the door, while Maggie laughed.

“Oh, I know all right. Same as wot ’appened to me when I was their age, and same as
wot’s goin’ to ’appen to ye, miss ’igh and mighty. Now keep ’em quiet, or I’ll send
someone in to shut yers all up.”

The door slammed behind her, leaving the shuttered room in semidarkness.

“Don’t be afraid.” Lisa cautiously approached the weeping girls. “I’m not going to
hurt you.”

One of the older girls, though she was surely no more than eight or nine, stepped
forward.

“Can ye get us out of ’ere, miss?” She wiped her cheeks with the back of her hands.
“Me mam’s goin’ to be so cross wiv me for gettin’ took, but the man offered me and
me sister a whole bag full of toffees.”

Lisa’s mind reeled at the depths of Lord Copeland’s depravity, but she tried to keep
her horror from showing.

“I’m going to do my best to get us all out of here,” she said. “But I need you to
be very brave, and you must be ready to run at a moment’s notice.”

“How ye gonna do that, miss? Get us out?”

Crouching down so she was at their eye level, Lisa whispered, “Can you keep a secret?”

The girls nodded, their eyes like saucers.

“I hope to be rescued shortly by my betrothed, the Marquis of Marsden. He’s a good
man and will stop at nothing to find me.”

Lisa stifled a sob, the possibility he wouldn’t arrive in time almost robbing her
of breath.

“Does he know yer ’ere?” the first girl asked.

“No.” Lisa shivered. “But a young friend of mine followed me when I was taken, and
I’m sure he’s on his way to alert the authorities at this very moment. As soon as
I’m rescued, I promise to come for you.”

“Couldn’t ye just stay wiv us?” A little urchin of not more than five or six stepped
forward. “I don’t feel so scared wiv ye ’ere, miss.”

“I’d love to stay with you, but I fear the men will come to collect me soon. Whatever
happens, I want you to be brave and take care of one another. I’ll be back for you
as quickly as I can. In the meantime, I have a special gift for you.”

Smiling to mask her fear, Lisa showed the girls the remaining pearls, passing out
one apiece to the frightened but now curious girls.

“If Lord Marsden or his friend, Lord McGivern, should come looking for me, you can
show them the pearls and they’ll know I was here.” To the older girl, Lisa added in
a quiet aside, “If someone comes to rescue me, let them know I’ve left a trail of
pearls in the corridor. It will help them know where to find me.”

“Ye
will
come back for us?” Tears welled in the girl’s eyes.

“I’ll do my very best.” She gathered them all close for a quick hug, her heart sinking
when she heard the door open.

“How touching,” Lord Copeland drawled. “Now get over here, Anneliese.”

Not wanting him to harm the girls, she obeyed without hesitation.

“What the hell was Maggie thinking bringing you here?” He grabbed hold of her arm.
“With that hair, you’re far too recognisable. I’ll have to take you the back way.”

Lisa had hoped to drop her few remaining pearls where they might be spotted, but Lord
Copeland took her through a different door at the back of the room. Locking it behind
him, he dragged her with him down a narrow corridor that led to the room where Maggie
had stripped her of her coat and gown. Two men were waiting inside, one short and
balding, dressed in an ill-fitting suit, and the other . . . Lord Edgeley.

“You!” Lisa recoiled in horror.

Without preamble, Edgeley walked up and slapped her across the face.

“That’s for costing me Lady Rebecca’s dowry,” he snarled while Lisa cradled her stinging
cheek. “A damned maid, and Marsden valued your virtue
over the wishes of a friend. I bet he knew all along who you were, though why he wants
to marry you after you behaved like a trollop is beyond me.”

“I’d say that’s exactly why.” Copeland laughed.

“The fool shouldn’t have threatened me,” Edgeley continued. “And he should have kept
paying. If your
protector
wasn’t such an arrogant sod, thinking he could get the better of me because he’s a
marquis while I’m only a baron, I would have left the arrangement in place. It was
a nice little earner, but he had to rock the boat, and now I’ll be exacting payment
out of your
pretty hide instead.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Lisa said, her heart in her throat. “But
if it’s money you’re after, Nathaniel would pay a king’s ransom for my return, as
would my father.”

“She has a point.” Edgeley turned to Copeland, his eyes shining with greed.

“We’ve been over this,” the older man snapped. “The risk is too great.
You
might not value your neck, but I’ve no desire to have mine stretched. Don’t worry.
We’ll make a fortune on her
sale as well as having some fun beforehand, whatever the verdict. You’ve given me
all sorts of ideas with that slap.”

Picking Lisa up, Copeland threw her onto the bed. As soon as she landed, she scrambled
to the far side, but Edgeley grabbed hold of her ankle and wrenched her back, holding
her legs while Copeland stretched her arms above her head and tied her wrists to the
headboard, pulling the rope tight.

“Leave me alone!” she yelled, earning another slap.

With tears blinding her eyes, Lisa watched the doctor approach, her breath coming
in harsh pants. She’d intended to be brave, to endure whatever they did to her with
stoicism while focusing on being rescued, on being reunited with Nathaniel. But with
the feel of her attackers’ hands on her body, fear and revulsion overwhelmed her.

“Please, don’t do this” she heard herself beg, knowing her words were futile.

“Silence!” Edgeley squeezed Lisa’s leg so tightly she cried out in pain.

“Don’t bruise her too badly,” Copeland ordered. “And as for her making noise, I’m
rather looking forward to the sound of her screams.”

The doctor, who’d made no comment and done naught to help her, caught hold of the
hem of her chemise and began to lift it higher. With the two lords leering down at
her, Lisa closed her eyes and tried to picture Nathaniel’s face.

Chapter 18

Missing

“What do you mean, Lisa is missing?” Nathaniel broke away from greeting his cousin
and strode towards his weeping sister.

“I’m sorry, Nathaniel, so sorry. I shouldn’t have left her alone, and all for a silly
parasol, but I thought she was safe enough in a bookstore. A bookstore!”

Rebecca dissolved into hysterics, and Nathaniel handed her over to Hugh before turning
to his stepmother, who was standing just inside the door, tearless but ashen-faced.

“We only left her for a few minutes, and not completely alone.” Margaret wrung her
hands together. “Young Sam was right beside her, but when we returned from visiting
the haberdashery a few doors down, they were both gone.”

“Gone where?”

Lisa had promised
him she would be careful, but he should have told her not to leave the house without
her father or himself as escort. Shaking his head, he focused on Margaret’s words.

“The owner of the bookstore said she and Sam went with a young woman into the alleyway
behind, something about rescuing an injured girl. But when we looked, the lane was
empty.”

“A trap,” Hugh said, and Nathaniel shuddered at the implication. A firm hand gripped
his shoulder, and he looked into Michael’s determined gaze.

“Don’t worry. We’ll bring her home.”

Nathaniel nodded, his fear replaced by an icy resolve.