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Chapter Thirty-One
Bertram couldn’t move.
He tried, but without success. For a moment, he thought he might be dreaming and that was why he was unable to move his hands or feet but he did not ever remember having a dream where his head was pounding like this. His eyes fluttered as he tried to open them and he became aware of the painful throbbing in his arms.
He opened his mouth and groaned and then jerked in surprise when he realized he could hear himself. That he was awake.
He jerked again and realized that his hands and feet were tied and that he was sitting in a chair.
“L-etty,” he murmured, his heartbeat speeding up as he worried about what those people might have done with her.
“Bertram!”
His eyes fluttered open and he lifted his head to see Letty, similarly tied to a chair across the room from him. Her eyes were wide and worried as she looked him over, her body straining against the bonds.
“Are y-you alrigh…?” he didn’t like the way his words were slurring but he could not seem to help himself.
“Bertram! I’m not the one they hit over the head. Oh,merde, you’re still bleeding! I can’t move these bonds!” She was struggling in earnest and Bertram wanted to tell her to calm down but he was having difficulty forming words.
He looked around the room, realizing that they were still at the cottage but in the living room. He was tied to his own dining room chairs. He shook his head, trying to clear it, but the action just made it throb harder. He groaned, his hand jerking as he tried to bring it up to cradle his forehead.
A man came into his line of sight, dressed in black breeches with a hat pulled low over his face and a kerchief tied over his mouth. He had on a white ruffled shirt and was clearly a gentleman by the quality and cut of his cloth.
“Thybaut. You have finally rejoined the land of the living. I must say we were getting rather impatient.”
He blinked, trying to think if he knew that voice or not. So far, he could not place it.
“Your new wife has been kind enough to entertain us by calling us a myriad of names. It’s clear she’s no lady. She curses like a sailor. I can see the attraction, however.” The man looked Letty up and down. “She really is quite beautiful.” His voice was soft and speculative. Bertram growled, making the man turn to face him with a grin. “Don’t worry your little head. We shall not touch your precious bride. That is not why we are here.”
Bertram glared at him.
“Why are we here, you ask? Well, Your Grace, that is an excellent question.”
He stepped closer and Bertram saw that his eyes were a light, piercing blue. He lowered his voice as he brought his mouth close to Bertram’s ear. “But I suspect you already know why you’re here, don’t you? And you know what will happen to you if you don’t give us what we want.”
Bertram leaned back and turned his head so he could look the man in the eye. His head was still pounding and it was difficult to maintain eye contact but he did his best. “And if you know that much then you know I will not be giving you any information.”
The man’s gaze became glacial. “We shall see about that.”
He walked over to Letty whose eyes were wide and staring in fear. A knife appeared in his hand and he pressed it to Letty’s neck. Bertram’s eyes widened with fear but Letty seemed to calm down as the man nicked her.
“You wouldn’t want anything to happen to your new bride, now would you?”
Bertram tried to get his breathing under control. “Tell me what you want.”
“That’s a good man. Now, first question. What is the location and mission of the Third Man?”
Bertram’s mouth twisted with derision. “Considering all the efforts you’ve made to locate him, I am shocked that you have no idea what his mission is.”
The man’s glacial eyes narrowed in annoyance and he pressed the knife down harder against Letty’s neck, causing blood to trickle down to her shoulders. She made not a sound, clamping her lips shut and fixing him with a steady gaze as if to say, “Do not worry about me.” Bertram loved her so in that moment, more than he could ever have thought possible.
“Answer the question!”
“As I’m sure you’re aware, the British Army has limited manpower. The Third Man’s mission is to acquire more fighting men.”
“Is that so? Then why the secrecy? Why could you not recruit openly?”
Bertram closed his eyes and sighed. “Because they’re not recruiting Englishmen.”
