The man bellowed his rage while Lorelei tried to kick her own assailants but only hit the side of one boot. “Run, Fiona!”
“Nae without ye.”
Lorelei struggled and tried to bite one of the hands that held her, but it was too low.
“A right feisty one!” he said.
She kicked out again, this time connecting with the shin of the one who wasn’t wearing boots. He grunted and shook her until she felt her teeth rattle.
“Next time, I will slap ye senseless,” he growled.
Meanwhile, the wounded man was cursing as he tried to circle behind Fiona. She slashed once more, making him step back. The second man started toward her, a knife in his hand.
“Run, Fiona! You cannot fight them!” Lorelei yanked against her captors and then slammed her head back, which momentarily made her reel, but she heard a satisfying crack followed by a loud curse and something solid striking the side of her head.
The last thing she saw was Fiona’s silver blade flashing through the air before her world went black.
…
Alasdair had come back from the office to pick up some documents that he’d forgotten when he heard an incessant clanging of the brass knocker on the front door. He glanced at the mantel clock and frowned. It was one of the clock. Who would be coming to visit at this time? Ladies would either already be at brunch somewhere or preparing for afternoon outings. And, from the way the hammering was going on, it didn’t sound like someone paying a social call.
He walked down the hallway as the butler started to open the door. It flew back, pushing the man against the wall. It took Alasdair a moment to recognize that the bedraggled female hurtling through was his sister. He ran the rest of the way.
“Fiona! What’s wrong?”
She bent over, trying to catch her breath. “Ye werena at your office, ye oaf!”
Alasdair blinked. “I had to come back…” He stopped. “Why would ye go to the office—”
She straightened, although she was still panting. “Nae time to explain. They took Lorelei!”
A chill ran down his spine. “They? Who? Where?”
She shook her head. “Ruffians. We were in St. Giles, by the Seven Dials—”
“Good God! What were ye doing… Never mind.” He looked to the butler. “I will need a gun.”
“Right away, sir.”
He looked back at Fiona. “When I get back, ye are going to have some explaining to do.”
“I’m going with ye.”
“Ye are staying here.”
“Nae.”
“Aye.” He grabbed the pistol that the butler had quickly brought and strapped it to his hip. “I ken where the Dial is. I will find her.”
“I can show ye—”
But he was already running for his horse.
Chapter Twenty
A street with broken cobbles was the first thing Lorelei saw when she regained consciousness and opened her eyes. That and the heels of boots. She felt dizzy from being jostled. It took another moment for her to realize she was slung over someone’s shoulder and hanging upside down. Instinctively, she tried to kick the man’s groin but he had her legs gripped tight and she managed only to tap the side of his hip. She started pummeling his back with her fists, but all that earned her was a hard slap on her bottom that stung so much that tears sprang to her eyes.
“Looks like she’s a fighter,” a man she couldn’t see said. “We may have to tie her.”
