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CHAPTERONE
Escape was Lily’s only option.
Of course, that had been true for most of her life.
She hunched down on the floor of the carriage, ignoring the cramping in her legs. Days in the carriage had already made them tight and sore. Adding to that, she’d spent the last quarter hour crouched on the floor, and she worried they might not work when she needed them most.
She’d been taken from London four days prior. Snatched as she made her way to an interview for a position at a dress shop. In fact, she’d been right outside the door when she’d been grabbed and stuffed into this carriage, the events unfolding so quickly, she’d hardly been able to scream.
Why hadn’t she fought harder? But fighting had never been her forte. She’d had plenty of time to consider that during this never-ending carriage ride where food was tossed at her intermittently and she was allowed out once a day to squat behind a bush.
Four days of fear and worry, with nothing but her thoughts.
Would her newfound family come after her? Fight for her?
She had two half-brothers: the Duke of Devonshire and the Earl of Baxter. They’d sworn that she was their family, and that they’d care for her. Baxter had procured the interview, in fact. A position he swore was vital to her future success.
Lily was nearly certain they’d landed her in the very mess she now found herself in. Because when her half-brothers weren’t discussing her future, she’d overheard them talking about thieves and a gaming hell. The Den of Sins. She hadn’t been eavesdropping, exactly. Living without anyone’s support had taught her to be naturally cautious. Watchful.
Her situation had also educated her on the importance of only relying on herself. If she’d remembered that lesson, she wouldn’t be here now.
She shifted her weight, placing her hands down on the carriage floor so that she’d be ready to spring.
No one was coming to save her, which meant…she’d need to save herself.
Lily had gotten reasonably good at the practice of being her own hero, but she’d spent the last four days waiting for an opportunity to do just that. A chance to escape this vehicle and flee into the woods.
She’d grown up in a sleepy hamlet, she knew how to find barns to sleep in and how to snitch food when no one was looking.
Four men guarded her, traveling outside the carriage. One drove, one rode his horse next to the door, and two followed just behind the carriage.
She’d been watching them, learning what she could and waiting for a weak moment to make her escape. None had occurred until today.
As they drove down the road, a shot rang out.
The men who guarded her began to yell, horses whinnied as everyone scrambled outside the carriage, and then another shot sounded. She heard a man drop and knew one of her guards had been hit.
The carriage stopped. Had it been the driver who’d fallen?
What followed was a quarter hour of shouting, guns firing, and men falling…
By her count, only one of her guards was left.
Which meant it was time for her to flee.
She inched forward, testing the door. With a soft click, its latch released.
“Where are you, you bastard!” a deep voice boomed through the air, both close and familiar. He was one of her guards.
This man was huge, with the sort of face that scared small children—rough and mean, with pitted skin and a constantly scowling mouth. His hands were like anvils, with a great many scars. Those hands frightened her as much as the rest of him. In her head, she’d nicknamed him Ox. She had no idea what his real name was; the men never used names with each other. But it had been Ox who’d covered her mouth and shoved her forcefully into the carriage, and it had been him who’d cuffed her hard when she’d tried to scream.
Lily wished he’d been one of the men who’d fallen.
He’d be the hardest to escape. And the words he’d yelled told her something else…there was only one attacker.
How likely was it that that one man could defeat her captor?
She grimaced as she stuck her head out, creeping up to peer over the door. Ox stood at the back right corner of the carriage, staring straight ahead. The door was on the left, so her escape would be blocked from his view.
