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“What happened?” Noel whispered.
“Nothing.” He attempted to rise, but a sharp pain stabbed him in the side, hindering his movement.
“Will we ever have honesty between us?” Noel’s question gutted him.
He longed for honesty to rule their actions toward one another. But dishonesty ruled his world, and he had forgotten how to speak the truth. Truth was an illusion that ceased to exist. He wished to share the truth with her. However, some truths were meant to stay hidden. The brute’s slander of Noel was an insult he’d take to the grave. He refused for her to suffer embarrassment over the crass talk and withdraw into herself. She only blossomed when she embraced her sensual being.
Ravencroft rose after the pain had lessened. They needed to leave now before the other guard came to finish him. He refused to allow Noel to be vulnerable in their care, especially after the guard expressed how he wished to defile Noel.
“Only part of my plan, love, to keep them from checking in on us.” Ravencroft’s lie slipped off his tongue so easily. Only he cringed with each word he spoke in dishonesty.
Ravencroft rose and set the scene for their departure. He lit a fire in the hearth and propped the pillows underneath the blanket to make it appear as if they slept. Noel stood in indecision with her hands on her hips, watching him. She slipped on her shoes and waited near the back wall for him to join her once she believed he told the truth.
He debated if he should keep candles burning but decided against it. Worth had stressed how important it was for Lady L to take the drawings into her possession. If a candle fell and burned the cottage to ashes, then his efforts to bring her to justice would be for naught. He kept a candle lit while Noel explained the door to him.
“When they used the cottage to help protect their clients, they installed this secret door in case the client would need to leave undetected.”
Ravencroft ran his hand over the craftmanship. Whoever had designed the door was brilliant. He had never noticed how the panel blended in with the woodwork. Noel pressed the secret latch, and the panel opened to their freedom. Rain splattered inside, hitting their legs. They must not leave any trace of the rain or the guards would realize how they escaped.
Ravencroft blew out the candle. “You go first.”
He lowered her to the floor, and she slid outside. Noel’s hand reached inside to help pull him out. He slid out on his stomach. The opening was a tight fit to accommodate his size, which left him to wonder who Worth and Ralston’s clients were. Someone had designed the secret door for women or small children.
Once he got to his feet, he tried to lead them into the woods, but Noel held back, fiddling with the wood along the cottage. “We need to go,” Ravencroft ordered.
An outpouring of rain off the roof landed on Noel. She wiped at her face, trying to explain. “We must secure the latch from the outside. Once the panel slides in place, the door locks from the inside.”
Ravencroft nodded and helped her search for the latch. Once they secured the lock, he drew Noel’s hand into his and headed for the trees. However, a shout rang in the distance, along with a carriage thundering down the lane to the cottage. The sky roared louder with its displeasure of the storm.
“Damn. We must hurry, Noel. We have no time to spare. Lady L has returned earlier than I predicted.” He didn’t give her time to respond and pulled at her to follow him.
“There is the path,” Noel directed him.
They took off, swiping at the tree branches in their way. It wasn’t long before he heard footsteps following them. Ravencroft started running, pulling Noel after him. The lightening flashing gave him glimpses of a path washed away from the rain and fallen branches to maneuver around.
“How far to the estate?”
“I do not remember,” Noel cried.
He wanted to ease her fear by pulling her into his arms and reassuring her they would be fine. But he couldn’t. He must forge them ahead and pray they didn’t have far to travel. If they reached the estate before the guards, then Ralston’s father would provide them with the security they so desperately needed.
Ravencroft released his hold on Noel when they came upon a fallen tree. He climbed over the barrier and reached back for Noel. The guard stationed by the road was getting closer. He lifted Noel over the tree and ran. But Ravencroft slipped on the mud and fell down a small hill. Noel was in tears but kept on fighting. She crawled to her feet and reached for his hand.
“Run!” Ravencroft yelled.
Noel glanced over her shoulder and panicked when the guard grabbed at her. She took off running for her life. She evaded his grasp and darted in between the trees to lose him. Noel hid behind a tree, gasping for air while he taunted her with slanderous comments.
“Come here, missy. I only want to play.”
Noel peeked around the tree and saw him facing the other direction. She only had to take off, but fear kept her frozen. Her fingers dug into the bark of the tree, the roughness scraping across her soft skin. She urged herself to run. Desperation clawed at her to move, but her feet stayed frozen.
“I wonder if I can make you scream like Ravencroft did when he plowed into you. Heard your screams clear up by the road. He always did plunder the ladies until they cried out with mindless screams of pleasure.”
The guard’s last comment wiped away every ounce of fear she held, only to replace it with fury. She wanted to scratch his eyes out. Then hit him over the head with Cook’s heaviest pot.
“You fool! Run!”
Noel whipped around to see the young girl from Lady L’s standing in the rain, ordering her to run, instead of informing the guard she had her in sight. Noel didn’t question the girl’s motives and took off running in the estate’s direction. Or what she believed to be the correct path. She had lost her way in the rain with all the distractions.
