Tenacious Trents 01 - A Misguided Lord (27 page)

Lord Wilkes shrugged. “Actually, I
don’t.” He too tossed his cigar out and the two men walked back
into the house. Neither Elle or Leigh breathed until they heard the
door shut. They still did not move until they heard the men’s
voices below them on the stairs in the foyer. Quietly Elle closed
the window.

Fear of being found out held them
silent and they listened as the men mounted the stairs. The
footsteps could be heard as they walked to their rooms. Still,
neither spoke for a quarter of an hour, waiting for the men to
retire. Elle was thankful they were at the other end of the hall
with rooms facing the front of the house.

“
What are we going to do?
Surely you can’t mean to marry Lord Wilkes?”

“
No. We have to leave.
Tonight. I am afraid if I claim a change of heart on the morrow
they will force us apart. I cannot let that happen.”

Quietly they made plans. After an hour
and praying the men were finally asleep, Leigh and Elle woke the
boys, except Jamie. “Carry your shoes and put them on outside. You
have got to be very, very quiet,” she whispered to him. “We are
running away.”

The boy’s eyes widened with fear but
she didn’t have time to reassure them at the moment. Besides, she
wasn’t sure they could get away.

“
Don’t speak, whisper or
even breathe loudly. Do you understand?”

They each nodded.

Leigh opened the door, which moved
silently. Elle bent to pick Jamie up. He curled into her, resting
his head on her shoulder, thumb back in his mouth. She prayed he
remained asleep until they made it far enough away from the
house.

Each of the children knew the weak
spots in the boards and avoided stepping on them as they descended
to the foyer. They paused and waited. Eleanor pointed to the
kitchen and they made their way quietly to the house and into the
back yard.

The children had just disappeared into
the woods when Elle took one last look back. A candle was lit on
the ground floor. Who was awake? The silhouette of a man passed by
a window. It was Wilkes and he was moving to the back of the house.
If he didn’t find her soon then he would search. He might even wake
her grandfather. She had to delay so the children could get away.
Leigh saw the light as well and gasped.

“
Go to Drake. He will help
you. I’ll keep Lord Wilkes from following.”

“
No, Elle. He is
evil.”

“
If he comes after us he
will surely catch us. You’ve already heard his plans. Our only
chance is in you all reaching Acker tonight. Tell him
everything
we
heard.”

With fearful eyes and a quick huff,
Leigh disappeared into the woods. Elle turned and wandered back to
the house, hoping to control her anxiety. If ever she needed to be
an actress it was now.

She had made it to the bench beneath
the tree when Lord Wilkes opened the back door and spotted her. He
casually walked toward her, but looked around, as if he didn’t
expect her to be alone. Had he looked in the children’s rooms? Did
he know they escaped? She stood when he reached her.

“
I went to check on you and
you were gone.” He pulled her into an embrace. “I was
worried.”

Gently Elle disengaged herself. “I was
unable to sleep and thought a stroll in the night air would help me
sleep.”

“
I could not sleep either.”
He pulled her to him once again. His grip firmer this time. “I know
what we could do to help us relax.”

No. She would never give herself to
this man. “The children.”

“
Are sound asleep.” He
countered.

At least that answered her question.
He didn’t know they were gone. “I would not feel right.”

For a moment Lord Wilkes seemed
resolved. “Since neither one of us can sleep, I see no need to
delay our journey.”

“
Leave now?” Elle fought
back her panic.

“
We would be leaving in but
a few hours anyway?”

“
The children. I would hate
to leave without saying goodbye.”

“
You said goodbye last
night. It will be easier for them this way,” he offered though she
could hear an angry edge to his tone.

“
I suppose you are right.”
She sighed.

“
Come.” He took her arm.
“Let’s rouse your grandfather’s valet to load the carriage and be
one our way, then I will wake my driver.”

Elle allowed him to pull her into the
house. “Please, we need to be quiet. I don’t wish to wake the
children.”

Wilkes grinned down at her. “Trust me.
The last thing I want is them disturbing my plans any
further.”

A chill ran up her spine and she
rushed to her room, where she dressed in her traveling gown. A
moment later the valet was removing her trunk to take it downstairs
to be loaded. She tried to take her time leaving, but could think
of nothing that would stall him. As she allowed him to lead her to
the open door of the conveyance, she spotted a shadow rush behind
Wilkes and climb into the boot of the carriage. What did Tobias
think he was doing and why wasn’t he on his way to
Drake?

She didn’t dare alert Wilkes to his
presence and prayed her brother wasn’t found.

“
Shall we, Eleanor.” Wilkes
waited by the door and she had no choice but to allow him to help
her enter and be seated. She had hoped he would sit across from
her, but he settled in at her side. His lean thigh pressed against
hers and an arm thrown around her shoulder. “Our adventure begins,”
he murmured.

Elle fought all desire to move away.
She had to play the part of a willing fiancé until Drake found
her.

“
I can’t wait until we are
away from here.” He grasped her chin and turned her face toward
his. “And, I have no intention of waiting until we stop for the
evening. Before noon, you will be mine.”

Elle fought the revulsion and turned
her head away. No, not now. Not with Tobias riding on the outside
of the back of the carriage. Not before Drake rescued her. If Drake
could rescue her. She was still under the control of her
grandfather, until she turned five and twenty. It wasn’t that far
away. Maybe she could hide until that time. Then she would be free
of him, free of Wilkes and have money for her family.

Tears stung her eyes. Why had she
turned Bentley away? If she had let him come inside to speak with
her, maybe things would be different. Maybe Wilkes wouldn’t have
wanted her knowing she was already Bentley’s mistress.

No, that wouldn’t have mattered. He
was already glad she wasn’t a virgin. Would Bentley have let her go
without a fight if he knew?

Probably
. She’d turned him away so many times and he hadn’t returned
in two days. He had probably given up on her. So many poor
decisions when it came to Bentley. If only she could go back and
change some of them. First, she would tell him the truth about
Jamie. Would he have offered marriage? Would he have courted her?
Elle liked to think so. Could she have been married to him by now
and have not been caught in this nightmare?

She swiped a tear from her cheek. She
would never know and it only ached to think about what was lost and
what could have been. All she could hope for was that she got out
of this mess somehow.

“
Shed your tears and rest,”
Wilkes whispered in her ear. “Your family will miss you and you
them but it will get easier.” He kissed her cheek and moved
away.

Elle closed her eyes. Perhaps she
could feign sleep for the next hour, day or week. Until she was
free of this man. But, what of Tobias?

A little over an hour into the trip
the carriage pulled to a halt. Elle bolted forward and looked
outside. The sun was just beginning to rise, though it was more
dark than light outside. They were at Bentley’s mill. What were
they doing here?

The carriage door was yanked open. The
driver stood, holding Tobias up off the ground by the collar of his
jacket. His eyes were wide with fear. “I am sorry,
Elle.”

She gasped.

Wilkes leered at her. “You didn’t
think I noticed him jump onto the back?”

Elle opened her mouth to speak but
could not find the words.

He turned toward the driver. “Leave
him here. They’ll give him work or send him off to
London.”

Was Bentley here? Would he remember
Tobias? Would he come to help? “Wait!”

“
You didn’t really think
your grandfather was going to take the boys in and actually raise
them as his own blood relations, did you?”

Elle brought a hand to her tight
throat. She had believed exactly that, until last night. What a
fool she had been.

“
He has plans for them, but
not ones you would approve. The boys will be in mills and your
sister, spreading her thighs for clientele.”

She was going to vomit and if her aim
was good, it would be all over his expensive pants and polished
Hessians.

The door slammed shut and she leaned
over Wilkes and called out. “I love you, Tobias.”

The boy was tossed to the side of the
road and the driver climbed back upon the box and drove the team
away. This was not where she wanted her brother to end up, but he
was safe. Hopefully Mrs. Nevil or Peter would get word to Bentley
or Drake. One of them had to help her. Besides, she knew what plans
Wilkes had for her and she couldn’t bear it if her brother knew
what would happen to her. Yes, she inwardly sighed, this was for
the best.

*

Clayton opened his eyes and stared at
the ceiling. What had awoken him? He looked outside. It was just
beginning to lighten outside.

A knock sounded on the front door. At
least he thought it was a knock, but who would be here at this time
of the morning? Did the house often get people on their doorstep at
odd hours?

Clay pulled on his robe and stuffed
his feet into slippers. Before opening the door he grabbed his
pistol and put it into his pocket. The first people he was going to
employ were strong men to watch guard during the day and night. He
hadn’t realized how vulnerable the children and Mrs. Nevil were
until now. The mill and home was in such a remote part of the
country and only those in town knew it was here. Still, they were
unprotected. Why hadn’t he considered that before?

Of course, he had Thomason on staff
until a short time ago, though he now doubted the man would have
done anything to protect the precious lives inside.

He grabbed a candle and lit it when he
got to the bottom of the stairs. Whoever was on the other side was
pounding and not letting up and Clay seriously doubted that it was
someone who would do them harm, but it was better to be
safe.

He yanked the door open, held up the
candle and looked out. There wasn’t anyone there.

“
Lord Bentley?” a young
voice asked in surprise.

Clay glanced down at the lad and
brought the candle low. “Tobias?” What was Eleanor’s brother doing
here?

“
You’ve got save her.”
Tears welled in the young man’s eyes and spilled over his
cheeks.

Clay pulled him inside.
“Who?”

“
Elle.”

A chill ran up his spine.

“
What happened?”

The boy spilled out everything, though
having to stop several times when emotions overcame him. Clay tried
the best to sooth and calm the lad, but he was at a loss at how to
go about it. It took Tobias near fifteen minutes to tell him
everything and it was a jumbled mess, but Clay caught the pertinent
facts. “Elle thought I was asleep, but I heard everything. She was
very scared.”

Blood froze in his veins at the
thought of Eleanor, his Eleanor, at the mercy of the likes of
Wilkes. The man was a sadist and the more a woman fought or feared
the more he enjoyed raping them. Wilkes’ friends were no different
and Clay, as well as his brothers, had avoided their ilk in Society
once they learned of the man’s unnatural desires. He had to get
Eleanor away from him before it was too late and Wilkes harmed her
with his cruelty.

Clay moved Tobias into the parlor,
guided him to a chair and lit a lamp. “Stay right here.” He turned
and rushed from the room, calling as he took the stairs two at a
time. “Peter, Mrs. Nevil.” Doors opened on opposite ends of the
hall and the two employees stuck out their heads. He stopped before
Mrs. Nevil first. “Have some boys ready my horse.” He thrust his
fingers through his hair. He couldn’t bring Eleanor back on his
horse especially if she were injured. The carriage would be too
slow. “The phaeton. Have it ready it with my two fastest
horses.”

He turned and strode toward Peter who
was coming down the hall, hastily belting his robe. Clay rushed
into the room and began to dress as Peter waited for instruction.
Clay quickly explained the situation. “I need you to take Tobias
back to Acker. Explain to him that I have gone after Eleanor.
Hopefully her siblings have arrived by now and are safe.” Clay
pulled on his jacket and turned toward the young man. “I will bring
her back to Acker’s property as soon as I can.”