“Maddie?”
No answer. He bent low, groping blindly along the floor. His hands grazed the edge of his bookshelf and then something else.
A foot?
“Maddie?”
He fell to his knees, forcing his eyes to open in the smoke, to peer more closely. “Oh, God.”
MADDIE HAD GIVEN UP fighting.
In the library, Bleven’s lackeys had bound her hands, gagged her, and thrown her in the canvas sack. Then they’d opened the library window and handed her out of the house.
At least she thought that was what they’d done. She couldn’t see anything through the thick canvas, and the heat inside was stifling. Better to remain still, she thought. Fighting made it hard to breathe.
Now she was inside a carriage, tossed on one of the seats as the conveyance wound its way leisurely through London’s streets. Someone was across from her—Bleven, she supposed—and he didn’t appear to be in a hurry or even to be worried that his treachery would be discovered.
Jack would come after him. Of that, Maddie had no doubt. She only hoped it wouldn’t be too late.
Jiminy! What was wrong with her? If ever there was a time to think positively, now was it.
Concentrating hard, she felt the edge of the letter opener prick her thigh. All she had to do was convince Bleven to untie her and then get close enough. She knew the letter opener would slide cleanly into Bleven’s pale skin.
She only needed the opportunity. And the courage.
“You’re awfully quiet over there, Lady Blackthorne.” Bleven’s high-pitched voice floated across the carriage. “I hope you haven’t tired yourself out. I have big plans for you, and I shall find my games so much more enjoyable if you have a bit of spirit left.”
If she hadn’t been gagged, she would have cursed him.
And then, as though he had read her mind and was granting her wish, the bottom of the sack was loosened and removed. As it whooshed over her head, cool air rushed over her. Maddie took deep breaths.
When she’d had her fill, her gaze found Bleven. He was seated across from her, and even in the dimness of the carriage she could see he was smiling. But she took solace in the knowledge that he’d taken the precaution of closing the coach’s drapes. He wasn’t as confident as he appeared if he showed some measure of concern at being caught.
“Oh, I won’t be caught,” Bleven said.
Maddie could only blink at him. Did the man read minds, too?
“I don’t imagine you’re much of a card player, are you, Lady Blackthorne? Your face gives all away.”
Maddie glared at him, hoping he could read exactly what she was thinking at that moment. Bleven chuckled. “There’s the spirit I was hoping for.”
And that was as much as he was going to see of it. Jack would find them any moment, and then Bleven was going to be very, very sorry.
“Your husband won’t be coming after us,” Bleven told her, his tone blasé. “Not right away, at any rate. By the time he realizes you’re gone, it will be too late. He’ll never find where I’ve taken you.”
Maddie shook her head. Let Bleven believe what he would. She knew Jack would come for her.
“Oh, you think so, do you? Do you not agree that a fire can be a powerful distraction? Surely, your husband will have to deal with that small inconvenience before coming after you. If he’s even realized you’re gone.”
Maddie stared hard at Bleven. Hating him, yet needing the drips of information he gave.
Fire? What on earth was he talking about?
Bleven grinned. His teeth were small and even. He reminded her of a small spaniel that growled and barked to make a show but ran away at the first sign of danger.
“Oh, that’s right,” Bleven said, baring his puppy teeth. “You didn’t see us start the fire in the library, did you?” His face was overcome with mock sadness. “I do hope none of your guests was injured in the blaze.”
Maddie didn’t want to believe what she was hearing, but looking at the duke’s face, she knew it was true. How dare he? How dare he come into her home and—
