It happened so quickly. The door to the hackney opened and a big man with a black hat lowered over his face leaped out and grabbed her, hefting her up and almost throwing her into the conveyance.
Before Katie could even retrieve the foil from her parasol, he ripped the parasol from her hand and tossed it into the carriage. She screamed and tried to push her way out, but he shoved her back with such force she hit her head on the corner of the seat.
“Stop! Help! They have Katie!” Paula shrieked, trying to pull her friend away from the man’s grip. “Somebody, help her!”
Dazed from the hit to the head, Katie blinked furiously and saw the horrible man forcefully kick Paula to the ground, where she crumpled in a heap.
“Help—” Katie’s scream was cut off as the kidnapper shoved a foul-tasting rag into her mouth and shoved her mouth.
“Let’s go, Gummy!” he called out.
A cold ripple of shock moved through Katie. She hadn’t heard that voice in a year. But she would never forget it.
The driver cracked his whip, and the carriage hackney lurched forward.
Her vision swam, and she struggled to stay focused and calm as the big man tied her hands and feet.
“Stop! Stop the hackney!” she heard Jason shout.
The carriage careened to a stop so suddenly, she would have fallen off the seat if the kidnapper hadn’t grabbed her and kept her firmly in place.
She heard Gummy yelling and the sound of a whip cracking and an earsplitting scream of pain before the carriage jerked forward and began to hurtle down the street.
“Mmm…mmm…” Over and over, Katie tried to spit the foul rag from her mouth. It was him—the man who killed Wendel. Her worst nightmare was happening. The man drew her close to him and she could feel his sour breath on her face as he spoke.
“I finally have you,” he said with a grin. “And I will make you pay for what you did to her. I will finish what I left undone.”
Terror gripped her heart as Katie realized what he meant. She struggled against the bindings and screamed behind the gag, but all to no avail. She had no idea if Paula, Jason, or Millie were hurt. And she would likely never find out. She would never see her family again.
Sebastian! If only she had waited at the townhouse for Sebastian to arrive.
The kidnapper suddenly forced another cloth over her face and panic overwhelmed her as she fought like a wild horse to escape. Holding her in a vice-like grip, he pressed the cloth to her face. She heard a cork pop from a bottle. Unable to move her head, she screamed behind the gag as she watched him pour several drops of a pungent, sweet-smelling liquid onto the rag and hold it over her mouth and nose.
Oh, my God! He’s going to kill me…like he killed Wendel. She shook her head wildly and her eyes filled with tears. Her last thought was of Sebastian before blackness descended.
Sebastian leaned against the squabs of his friend’s coach as he and Nelson traveled from White’s. Nelson and his brother were planning to expand their successful fencing school to other cities. Sebastian was interested in investing, and the three of them met a fourth potential investor at White’s. He hated to skip their morning fencing lesson, but he had promised to take her on a carriage ride to Hyde Park later that afternoon.
He and Nelson had also promised a full report on their investigation so far. They were on their way to the dowager’s now, where he would be able to see Katie. As his mind often did these days, he thought about Katie.
Sebastian could no longer deny having feelings for Katie. His relationships had always offered a diverting romp with delightful mistresses who, like he, had no desire to marry and were quite happy with a brief but pleasurable liaison.
But with Katie, everything was different. From the first moment he laid eyes on her he was drawn to her beauty, the vulnerability in her eyes, and yet he admired her inner strength and her determination to learn to fence. He’d seen the changes in her in the short time he’d been teaching her. But more than that he could feel a change in him. He who had declared had no desire to marry had begun to think about just that. The brunette beauty with the mesmerizing blue eyes had mesmerized his heart.
They arrived at the townhouse in time to see Paula and Millie in hysterics, running up the steps with a footman in tow. Cold dread gripped his heart as Sebastian threw open the door and leaped out, with Nelson on his heels. “Where’s Miss Latham?” he roared.
“Someone took her,” Jason answered.
Sebastian eyed the footman and noticed the bloodied red welt across his face and the rips in his jacket. “What happened?” he thundered.
“My lord, Millie and I were crossing the street to Gunter’s, just behind Miss Latham and Miss Gowans. A hackney suddenly barreled in behind the ladies, blocking us off. We heard Miss Gowans scream. But by the time we got to them, the kidnappers had thrown Miss Latham in the carriage, and they were getting away.
“Jason tried to stop the horses and that horrid man cracked a whip across his face and kicked him away from the carriage. It was awful,” Millie cried.
“The horrible man in black was huge. I’ve never been more afraid in my life. I—I tried to stop him, but I couldn’t,” Paula cried. “Dear God! They’ve taken Katie. They’ve taken her.”
“Miss Paula tried to stop that brute, but he kicked her so hard she fell to the ground,” Millie said. “I saw it happen just as Jason and I ran to the carriage.”
Nelson wrapped his arms around Paula. “Are you all right?”
