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“He took away the only thing I ever wanted,” the man replied, “and that killed me. Guildford left me poor and disgraced! Now, he will watch me take away the only thing he has ever loved.”
“What?” Elizabeth shook her head, blinking when it suddenly felt light and odd. “No, I am not what he loves. I—”
“Do you not know?” He was circling her chair like an animal on the prowl. “I thought his wealth was his greatest treasure until he married you.”
Feeling her chin quiver and tears brim her eyes, she caught her lip between her teeth to keep from crying. Rhys loved her, and he might not be able to tell her or hear her tell him. How had she not seen what he felt? “You will get nothing from revenge,” she said in an effort to reason with him.
“I know,” he agreed blithely. “Guildford is not the first man I took something precious from. I know the emptiness that will continue to follow me, but I will find peace in knowing that justice has been given.”
Elizabeth shuddered and clenched her jaw. If Rhys was coming, he might be walking into a trap, and she did not know how to save him. Another look around the room showed her a broken window, and she immediately recognized where she was. She was in an abandoned farmhouse; she had walked here several times with Brutus. Now, she only needed to find a way to untie her hands and get away from this beast.
* * *
Rhys was able to explain most of what had been happening, and although Winston was shocked by it, he remained calm while Rhys’ cousin, on the other hand, talked excessively about Rhys not telling him anything or asking him for help.
The hounds led them several miles away from the Castle, and Rhys was beginning to doubt the rightness of their course when he saw the farmhouse in the distance that had been abandoned years ago after a fire. A light in one of the windows told him Elizabeth was there.
He stopped and made the gamekeeper hold his hounds then he dismounted and walked the rest of the distance to the house with Winston and Mayton.
Rhys crept up the window where the light was coming from, and the instant he saw Elizabeth on a chair, an amalgamation of rage, longing, and hope rushed through his veins. She appeared to be alone in the room, and Rhys thought now was the best time to get to her. He moved away from the window and went around the house to find a door.
When he found it, he walked in as quietly as he could with Winston and his cousin behind him. He motioned for them to search the other parts of the house for the man while he went to the room he saw Elizabeth in. Her head was bowed in the dimly lit room when he entered, and with his pistol aimed, he looked around. When he was sure she was alone, he lowered the pistol and went to her.
“Elizabeth,” he whispered desperately, taking her face between his hands and raising her head. A cloth had been stuffed into her mouth, and the instant she recognized him, she began to shake her head and mumble.
Rhys began to remove the cloth, but a chuckle behind him gave him pause, and he raised his pistol again, turning around. A man stepped out from a dark corner, and Rhys thought his frame and gait looked familiar.
“Who are you?” he demanded.
The man laughed again and removed the black cloth that covered his face. Rhys froze. Of all the people he had suspected, this man was the last he thought he would see.
“Faraday,” he muttered, shocked.
