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Eleanor felt like her head was about to explode. It hurt so much. She had never had a headache like this before. If she could get up and go downstairs, maybe Cook would have something to help ease it a little. She couldn’t go about like this.
But when Eleanor managed to open her eyes, she realized that she wasn’t in her bed at home. The bed was too small and too lumpy for that. The room was much smaller. Darker, as well. Where on earth was she?
Then Eleanor remembered. She had gone to meet Lady Chapman in the park. Marion had been with her. They found Lady Chapman, and then…
Oh, God. Marion!
Eleanor tried to sit up, only to fall back with a groan as the pressure in her head tightened and the room spun. Taking slow breaths, Eleanor pushed up slowly, taking it inch by inch until she was sitting up. She had to get out of here. Marion could be still lying where she had been attacked.
But where was she? This room was made up for someone in society, but it was still sparse compared to what Eleanor knew of anyone in London. They liked lots of trinkets, lots of things to show off their wealth. This bedchamber had the basic furniture, and it was tastefully done, but that was pretty much it. No identity to the room at all.
Rising slowly to her feet, Eleanor stumbled to the door. The room was tilting a little, and Eleanor had to stop herself from falling to her knees. She managed to get to the door and tried it. But it was locked. Eleanor tugged on the handle, and it just wouldn’t budge. She began to panic, pounding her fists on the door.
“Help! Somebody! Let me out!”
She listened, but there was no sound. Eleanor shouted again, and nothing. Was she alone in the house? Eleanor made her way over to the window, only to find that it had bars across it. They didn’t shift no matter how much Eleanor tugged on them. Looking outside didn’t give her any indication where she was other than she was near the River Thames, which she could see through a gap in the houses across from her.
The windows of the house across from her were open, and Eleanor could see someone moving around inside. Maybe if she could get the window open, she could shout for help…
Eleanor froze when she heard a key turning in the lock. She turned, looking for somewhere to hide. But she couldn’t move too fast without swaying, and Eleanor ended up on her knees when she tried to hurry to the bed. She grabbed at the bedpost and pulled herself upright as the door opened and Leyton walked in, carrying a tray with a glass, a jug of water and a bowl of strawberries.
Leyton. Of course it would be him. Now Eleanor was really beginning to panic, barely tamping down her rage.
“What did you do, Leyton?” she demanded. “What have you done?”
“You were too stubborn, Eleanor.” Leyton put the tray on the dresser. “You weren’t going to entertain me, so you could listen, so I had to do something drastic.”
Eleanor could agree that this was certainly drastic. But to kidnap her? Leyton had been released from his confinement too early. Leyton gestured at the tray and settled into a chair beside it, crossing his legs. He was acting like this wasn’t a bizarre situation at all.
“Have something to drink, Eleanor, and some little thing to eat. It’s going to be a while before Cook is ready with dinner.”
Eleanor didn’t want to eat anything. She wanted to get out of there and back home. Once she let her father know what had happened, Leyton’s feet wouldn’t touch the ground. She glared at him.
“You hurt Marion back at the park. Did you kill her?”
“No, I didn’t.” Leyton sighed. “I wanted to, but I know how much she means to you.”
Eleanor didn’t know whether to be relieved or not at that statement. She looked at the door, weighing up her options. Should she run?
Leyton chuckled. “You took a knock to the head, Eleanor. You’re going to be a little disoriented. I wouldn’t recommend running with a headache.”
“One that you caused.” Eleanor rested her head against the bedpost, wishing everything would stop spinning. “People are going to be looking for me. Someone would have seen you taking me out of the park. They’ll know that you’ve done something.”
Leyton looked smug.
“They won’t know anything. I managed to get you out of the park with nobody seeing us except for my servants and they’re loyal to me. The only proof of any disappearance or the possibility of foul play is that letter Lady Chapman wrote. She’ll be under suspicion, not me, and not for very long. Nobody’s going to believe a woman would do something so awful.”
Lady Chapman. Eleanor wanted to get her hands on that woman. She had been involved. Marion had been right; Lady Chapman wasn’t looking just to talk.
“How did you get her involved in this? Lady Chapman is a lot of things, but she’s far too bright to believe this was just a simple intervention.”
“Lady Chapman and I are very forward-minded. We know what we want.” Leyton sat forward. “I wanted you, and she wanted Captain Reynolds. I can’t imagine why she would want that man, but to each their own.”
“So, you’ve done all this to get what each of you wanted.” Eleanor felt her stomach tighten, but she pushed the nausea aside. “Without consent of the other party. You didn’t think this through.”
“We thought it through enough.” Leyton’s expression softened, his eyes drifting over her face. “I love you, Eleanor. I’ve never stopped loving you. We were meant to be together, and you know it.”
He sounded so sure about that. Eleanor couldn’t believe she had passed him off as mad but harmless. He was anything but harmless, and Eleanor was beginning to get scared. She was trapped, and she had no idea where she was. Leyton could do anything, and nobody would be any the wiser.
