Page 81 of Unbound Duchess

So she writhed, twisting her body so that she could face him, and his fingers slid into her mouth. She bit. Hard. At the same time, she drew her knee up and connected it with his groin.

A low snarl of pain erupted from Benedict as he stumbled away from her, and Ellen drew a deep breath into her lungs as she opened her mouth to scream⁠—

Then, pain—sharp and cruel—erupted in her temple, and she fell into blackness.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

“Laurence! Laurence?”

The sound of Madalene’s panicked tone had him turning away at once from the boring, older earl who had held his attention captive for the last few minutes. Forgetting pleasantries, Laurence walked away from the man who was so intent on discussing investments, and hurried toward his sister.

“Where is Ellen?” he demanded, noticing at once that Madalene was alone.

His sister’s eyes filled with regret and tears as she shook her head.

“She is gone,” she rasped. “I swear, I just turned away for a moment, then she was gone.”

Laurence snarled out a curse as he stalked for the terrace, hating himself for agreeing to allow the two of them to go off on their own in the first place.

“What can I do?” Madalene asked, hurrying behind him.

“Find Solomon,” he snapped, not bothering to look back at her. “Now.”

He did not check to see if she obeyed or not, but kept walking toward the green lawn where most of the guests were still enjoying the party. He scanned his eyes over the clusters of people from atop the stairs, looking for Ellen or Benedict, and cursed under his breath again when he saw neither.

Taking the stone steps two at a time, he strode onto the lawn and stood in the center, turning in a circle to look for anything out of place. His first turn proved nothing, only furthering his annoyance, but as he made a second sweep, forcing his tense body to move more slowly that time, he noticed the bush. The host was throwing a party for the London elite, and surely would have tasked their gardeners to ensure that those leafy bushes were well trimmed and identical. One, however, had a speckling of broken branches near the stairs.

Laurence moved toward it, and as he peered into the break in foliage, he saw evidence of a struggle. Snapped branches, fallen leaves, grooves in the dirt that indicated two people were at odds with one another. He stepped into the large bush, not caring if people saw, and followed the small trail of broken branches and drag marks in the dirt until it came out on the back side of the manor.

Nausea lurched in his stomach as he studied the dirt where the signs of a struggle shifted to two drag marks, no doubt left by Ellen’s heeled shoes. Such a sign told him that Ellen did not leave on her own, but had been pulled limply away by Benedict.

“Laurence!” Madalene’s voice called loudly from around the house. He turned and saw his sister, Solomon, and Solomon’s trusted constable running toward them; Madalene clutched her skirts in her hands so she could keep up.

“He took her here,” he panted, pointing to the bushes he’d just left as his gaze scanned the back lawn of the house. He stopped when he saw the roof of the stables situated a little ways down the hill, and drew his pointed finger toward it.

“There,” he said.

As he said this, a carriage pulled away from the stables with surprising speed. His eyes narrowed as hatred boiled in his gut, and he suddenly knew, without any doubt, that Ellen was in the carriage.

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

“Wake up,” a deep, gentle voice whispered encouragingly in Ellen’s ear.

A hand, soft and caressing, moved down her cheek. Pain was throbbing in her temple, making it impossible to open her eyes. She opened her mouth instead, and let out a groan as she weakly reached for her aching head.

“There you are,” he said with relief. “My sweet Ellie. Oh, do you not understand how it pains me to hurt you this way?”

Even with the pain in her temple, Ellen’s eyes snapped open as she recognized Benedict’s voice. The word ‘no’ whimpered from her lips as she tried to push away from him, but his hold on her head was too firm; the arm wrapped around her shoulders, which had her forced to lie in the crook of his shoulder, was too strong.

“Shh, it will all be alright,” Benedict soothed, stroking another gentle hand down her face.

“Benedict, please,” she whimpered, disgust rising in her stomach with every touch of his fingertips.

“I realized something a moment ago,” Benedict went on, ignoring her plea completely. “I never took the time to explain myself to you. To tell you what lengths I have gone to, to ensure that we could be together. No wonder you are frightened.”

Ellen’s lips began to tremble as she heard the madness in her cousin’s calm voice. She regretted everything. Regretted leaving Laurence’s side despite his command. Regretted not instantly going to Madalene the moment she saw Benedict. Regretted not being more honest with herself about her growing feelings for Laurence. If she had done just one of those things, perhaps she would not be caught in such a terrifying position.

“I do not understand,” she sobbed, the ebbing pain in her head making her feel sick to her stomach.