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“Somersworth.”
She looked between the two men, the confusion only making her that much more worried. “What do you wish me to say?”
“Such a good girl.” Kingsley’s hand had spread out on her back. She tried to shrink away, but there was nowhere for her to go. She’d stepped right into his trap when she’d moved closer. Silly girl.
“You tell him that selling his clubs would make him a very rich man. Far richer than waiting for them to earn.” Gyla’s dark eyes glittered with intent, the sort that made her shiver with fear.
Her brows crinkled. “Why do you need me to tell him that?”
Kingsley’s hand thumped on her back. It didn’t exactly hurt, but it wasn’t gentle, either. She yelped, despite herself. She didn’t want to show fear but every nerve ending tingled as he spat out, “Never mind the why. You let me worry about that.”
Natalie attempted to reconcile the man next to her with the one she’d thought she knew from the last two weeks. She’d considered him a benign bore, but had that been a careful cover-up of his real nature. She looked between the two men, wondering how she’d managed to get into such a tight spot. Her heart beat wildly in her chest and she wished that she was here with Ethan right now.
“When do you see him next?”
“I don’t know, precisely.” That was the truth. Since they’d decided not to go to the masquerade, she was dependent on her mother to create her and Ethan’s next plans. Or she had been. After this meeting with Kingsley, she’d have to have a private conversation with Somersworth very soon.
Kingsley searched her face. “Find out. I’d like the message delivered as soon as possible.”
She opened her mouth to ask what all of this meant. She’d come on this ride with him thinking that his interest was in her. Had it always been in Ethan? What if she didn’t do as he asked? “All…all right.”
“Good girl,” he said with another of his scary smiles. “Do a good job and I may very well offer for your hand. Remember that.”
That was her reward? She said nothing, though she made a mental note to tell Ethan all of it. “And if I fail?”
Kingsley’s face turned hard and cruel. “You won’t. Trust me, you don’t want to find out.”
Gyla moved closer still, and Kingsley’s hand remained at her back. The fear that had been simmering beneath the surface began to bubble up. She was trapped between the men, both leering at her. “She is a true English rose,” Gyla murmured. “The sort that out to be preserved.”
“Sending her to Somersworth will not accomplish that task.” Kingsley was back to speaking about her as though she wasn’t right next to him. “He’ll ruin her for certain.”
“We could—” Gyla started but a voice from behind them made everyone turn.
“My lord, I found your glove.” Her footman. Thank goodness. She nearly melted with relief at the sound of his voice.
Gyla disappeared into the nearby hedge while Kingsley pasted that blank smile on his lips once again.
Her footman climbed back into his seat, handing the glove to Kingsley.
The outing proceeded as though nothing sinister had transpired. Natalie kept her mouth closed just as Kingsley expected her to. It wasn’t that she accepted anything he’d said. She would tell Ethan all that had happened, but also, she’d share the veiled threats and then they’d have to come up with a plan for her to never see Kingsley again.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Dusk was falling as Ethan jumped up to grab the bar he’d fashioned inside the stable at the back of his property.
He’d woken with an ache in his temple. Unbelievable, considering he’d only had half a drink the night before at the party. It had made him wonder what he’d been doing to his body with all that drinking before he’d met Natalie.
Now he worked through the headache with a series of exercises that left him feeling stronger and more alert than he had in years.
Most of the staff had finished caring for the horses and had retired for the day. It was his new favorite time to be in the stables. Only the occasional sound of a snorting horse punctuated the silence as he completed the routine he’d learned at Rush’s home.
He dropped from the bar, breathing heavy, though not loudly enough to cover the faint sound of the stable door opening.
He spun about, muscles tense, to find Natalie standing in the doorway. Two steps toward her and it was obvious her face was streaked with tears.
Rushing forward, he gathered her in his arms. “What’s wrong, love?”
She let out a broken breath. “Ethan.” The way she said his name scared him and fear made him muscles tense further.
