Loving a Fearless Duchess Read online

  “You keep looking at the door. If you are thinking Edward will come for you, you’re wrong. He isn’t going to find us. Not soon anyway. You’ll be dead before he makes it here. You’ll be long dead, and I’ll be long gone. I’ll come back for him when he least suspects it.”

  Penelope sat and listened. Her head was swimming down at the bottom of the ocean. She couldn’t think. The water was so much thicker than the air. Things were coming into her head slowly. She was having trouble keeping up. She just needed to stay alert and stick to the plan.

  She was still gagged, and even if she were not, she wouldn’t say anything. She didn’t know what might set him off.

  Penelope looked over at the table again. She wished she could take a better look at the tools without Henry noticing. If he knew of one she was looking at closely, he would probably use it on her.

  “I’m having such fun trying to decide which tool I should start with while I’m watching you squirm. So many times, I’ve been around you Penelope, and I haven’t been in charge. I need this.

  “Oops. I left the saw by the woodpile. Be right back.”

  As soon as the door slammed shut behind him, Penelope jumped up, leaving the rope she had cut while in the bedroom on the chair. She ran to the kitchen table and picked up the axe. She didn’t want to use a little knife or some contraption that screwed open and shut; she wanted to wield something substantial.

  She gripped the axe and took a practice swing with it. She liked the weight.

  Penelope stood against the wall next to the door taking off her gag. She didn’t have to think whether or not she should do it. She knew she had to do it, and she was at peace with it.

  The door began to open, and she set herself, her feet apart, and the axe at her waist. As soon as she saw him, she swung. She didn’t give him a chance to see her. He wasn’t looking for her there. She was supposed to be sitting in a chair in the middle of the room.

  The axe connected with Henry’s chest. His eyes grew large, and he looked up at her, confused. When Penelope looked at the axe, the tip was embedded a good six inches into the middle of his chest. Blood was beginning to flow at a faster pace than at first.

  Henry dropped. Unfortunately for him, he dropped front side down and yelled when the axe went in further. He rolled to the side.

  Penelope was through watching. Most likely, he would bleed to death. She didn’t need to stick around for that. She fled the house, still in the night-rail she put on the night before. Now, blood splattered the front in delicate drops that were too small to drip.

  Without a backward glance, Penelope left the lodge and found Boney’s horse. With a little difficulty, she saddled him. She led him to a rock where she mounted him astride.

  She couldn’t be caught on the open road wearing a bloody night-rail. She took the long way home.

  *****

  Edward, his riders, and Nash dismounted and tethered their horses. They had agreed to spread out in a semicircle and slowly walk towards the lodge.

  They heard nothing on their approach nor did they see the horse. Nash gave Edward a quizzical look.

  At the door, Edward and Nash mouthed one, two, three then kicked in the door and rushed in. Nash, having gone in first, tripped over Henry and landed on the floor. Edward stopped short, staying upright.

  He turned and yelled “Clear,” to his riders.

  Nash turned Henry over and laughed. There was Henry, on his back with an axe sticking out of his chest.

  “Penelope? Are you here? Come on out,” Nash yelled.

  Edward turned back towards the door. “Search around the lodge for the Duchess.”

  Nash had searched the entirety of the inside of the lodge during that same time. He stopped at the kitchen table and looked at the display.

  “I’m thinking she killed him then took off on the horse,” Nash said.

  Edward yelled, “Gerald.”

  He was standing behind Edward, “Yes, My Lord.”

  “We need to track the horse that was here. We need to know where it went.”

  “Halt,” Gerald yelled. Then men froze. “Don’t move until I have a print.”

  While Gerald tried to pick up tracks, Edward spoke. “Once we are cleared to move, I want you to go back to Edgewood and let everyone know Henry’s dead. We haven’t found the Duchess yet, but I suspect she’s alive, and if she is injured, her injuries are minor. We’ll be tracking her.

  “If any of you see her, bring her back to Edgewood and deliver her into the hands of Lady Balfour. Then find me.”

  “My Lord,” Gerald said. “I have what we need.”

  “Excellent. Everyone move out,” Edward said. “Gerald, Nash, let’s move.”

  Gerald bent down and showed Edward and Nash what they were going to track.

  Nash was unclear. “Why would she go this way? She knew how to get to the lodge on her own, didn’t she?”

  Edward said, “Yes, she did. This is the long way. I hope she’s not panicked that someone will arrest her.”

  Nash prodded his horse forward. “I need to find her.”

  Edward turned to Gerald. “Let’s let him go.”

  Nash rode as fast as he was able on the tricky path. He had to dodge trees and take tight curves.

  All the while, he yelled for her. “Penelope, stop, call out, where are you?”

  Nash kept going, muttering the whole time about this path. His day had been a nightmare since the moment he approached the front door of Edgewood. He wanted it to be over.

  If he felt that way, what must Penelope feel? She was kidnapped, dragged up to this lodge, who knew what was done to her? She killed a man, and now she was on horseback. He hoped she wasn’t running away. There was no need for that.

  “Penelope, where are you?”

  Nash grinned. She put an axe in Henry’s chest. Good for her. I better be on my best behaviour, he thought.

  “Penelope,” he yelled.

  Well, this is better than locking him in the dower house for twenty years, he thought.

  “Penelope,” he yelled.

  “I’m here,” she said, her voice far away.

  “Where are you?”

  “Over here, to your left,” she said.

  Nash looked ahead to his left and saw her sitting on a rock, the horse grazing nearby. He got off his horse and ran to her, taking her into his arms.

  “What are you doing in the middle of the woods sitting on a rock?” he said quietly.

  She looked up at him. “I killed Henry.”

  He smiled. “I know. And I love the way you did it. An axe. Nice touch. Edward says I better be nice to you, or I’m going to end up with an axe to the heart.”

  Penelope laughed. “I think you should listen to Edward.”

  She rode with him, leading her horse behind them, leaning against his chest, the fear coursing through her body settling down.

  *****

  Nash helped Penelope down from his horse and took her by the hand. When they entered Edgewood, Cecilia was standing in the foyer.

  “Oh, Penelope. Thank God you are alright.” She hugged her hard.

  “I’m bringing her upstairs for a while.” He turned to Thomas. “Order a bath and some food to be brought upstairs.”

  He tugged Penelope’s hand, and she followed him. When he shut the door to his bedchamber behind him, Nash took Penelope in his arms and hugged her.

  “Stop, Nash. It’s too tight.”

  Nash took a step back. “I’m sorry. I was so afraid I would be too late. I didn’t know my heart could pound so hard. Did you hear it inside the lodge?”

  Penelope laughed. “No. My heart was pounding too. I knew Edward would come after me, but I wanted you, and you weren’t due back yet.”

  “I caught up with them on the trail.”

  There was a knock on the door, and servants brought in a tub, hot water and a tray of bread, cheeses, and ale. Penelope didn’t realize how hungry she was until she sat in front of the trencher. They ate in c
ompanionable silence, punctuated by sighs.

  “Are you alright?”

  “Yes,” she said. “Just remembering parts of the day. It occurred to me that we don’t have to live with Henry next door for the next ten or twenty years. What a relief. I’m not used to the thought that he can never hurt me again.”

  “I know. That occurred to me too. I felt like the anvil that was on my chest every time I lay down was gone. Like I could breathe more than a shallow breath again.

  “Come. I’ll help you out of that night-rail and into the tub. I’ll get Helen. Don’t worry; I’ll only be gone a minute.”

  Nash went downstairs hoping Edward was back from the lodge. He was in the parlour, forearms on his thighs, head down.

  “Edward,” Nash said. “I’m glad you’re back. Do you feel up to talking?”

  Nash’s gaze looked at Cecilia. “Now that you won’t be alone, Edward. I think I’ll check on Penelope.”

  Nash nodded as Cecilia left then turned to Edward.

  “You don’t seem to be doing well. You can’t blame yourself for what happened.”

  Edward looked up. “Sure I can. That little worm outsmarted me. As I was sending every man in the house down to the dower house to help with the fire, I left the house unattended. While I thought I was so smart putting a guard at Mother and Penelope’s doors, he had already taken her.” Edward shook his head.

  “What are you talking about? You saved her. Your quick action in securing the tunnels and figuring out where she went saved her life.

  “Don’t carry this weight, Edward. You saved my wife, and I am forever grateful to you.”

  Edward shook his head. “I didn’t protect her.”

  Nash sat next to Edward and made him look in his eyes. “You saved my wife. Anything that happened or didn’t happen until that point is inconsequential. No, I take that back. Everything you did before that point brought you to her. Brought her to me.”

  Edward nodded.

  “You need a drink.” Nash brought him a whisky.

  “To saving Penelope,” Nash said, then clinked Edward’s glass.

  “Doesn’t it feel good that little worm is dead?”

  “You can say that again.”

  *****

  Penelope bathed and rested until it was time to dress for dinner. Once dressed, she stood in front of the mirror, looking at her scar, thinking of Henry. She breathed a sigh of relief.

  When Penelope walked into the parlour before dinner, she looked refreshed and beautiful with Helen having taken extra care on her hair. The only thing showing she had been through an ordeal had been a few scrapes on her face and cuts on her hands as well as the rope burns on her wrists.

  Nash’s blood boiled when he looked at them. He kept quiet, not wanting to upset her.

  All eyes were on her, and there was almost no conversation among them. Penelope knew they wanted to hear what happened but were trying not to pry. Penelope knew all eyes would be on her until they knew what happened, so she sighed and began.

  “Would anyone be interested in what happened? I think you might rest easier. But if you would prefer not to hear it, I understand.

  Edward shifted in his seat and tried to act calm. “If you want, sis. But it’s up to you. We’ll understand whatever you do.”

  “Thank you, Edward. I would like to tell the story but listen carefully. I probably won’t want to rehash it after today. Fair?”

  Nash took her hand, “Fair.” He looked around the room to make sure Cecilia, Edward, and Mira understood.

  Penelope cleared her throat. She talked slowly, but she seemed detached from the tale as if telling a story of something that happened to someone else. “I vaguely woke to a flurry of activity in the house. Once I cut through the fog, I shot out of bed to find out what happened. I put on my robe and reached for the door when it opened forcefully from the other side.

  “I thought I might be dreaming, or more accurately, having a nightmare, when Henry rushed in and closed the door behind him. I was so stunned; I stood in the middle of the bedchamber frozen.”

  Penelope shook her head. “I couldn’t have made it easier for him. He walked up to me and tied rope around my wrists while I looked at him in disbelief. I was pulled around by a long end of the rope.

  “He moved the rug, opened the trap door, pulled me to him, and told me to climb down. He climbed after me until he stopped to fix the rug and close the door.

  “He had stolen a couple of candles and matches from my bedchamber on the way down. I didn’t even see him do it he did it so fast. At the bottom of the ladder, he stopped, lit a candle, and took the lead in the tunnel, pulling me along. At the end, he tied my hands around my back and gagged me.

  “By the time we got to the stables, the stable boys had been pulled away to help in the search. Henry opened the trap door and lifted me up to the horses’ stall.

  “He didn’t count on Boney as his getaway, but he seemed to be pleased. I think he planned to steal one of the horses in the stable. He muttered ‘even better.’

  “Boney didn’t want to be part of Henry’s plan, but Henry gave him no choice. He seemed to know what was coming. He mumbled for Henry to take his cart and leave him behind. Henry didn’t need him. Knowing Boney didn’t want to go, Henry told him he didn’t want Boney pointing the way for Edward or anyone else looking for him. He told Boney he’d shoot him.

  Watching Henry kill Boney was awful. I was shocked at how out of control Henry was. His eyes darted back down the road we had just come and then to me and the road in front of us.

  “He got on Boney’s horse then lifted me up. We rode fast, all the while he held me by the ropes behind my back. The horse galloped while my arms were pulled at the sockets. It was painful, but I knew if I complained it would be more painful.

  “I was so happy when we got to the lodge, and Henry plucked me off the horse, even if I did land on my backside, pain shooting up my spine to the back of my head. He barked at me to get up, which wasn’t easy in long skirts with my arms behind my back, but I did.

  “He pulled me into the lodge and down the corridor to one of the rooms at the end. He shoved me on the bed and locked me in. I heard him walk down the hall.

  “I knew this was my last chance to live. I couldn’t help it, but I said it over and over again.

  “The door was out of the question, and the window looked out on Henry gathering tools he planned on using as weapons on me. So, I began to look inside the room for sharp objects to cut my rope.

  “On the bedside table, there was a hurricane globe over a candle. Henry was still outside so I broke it and took a large shard. That’s where I got these cuts.” She lifted her hands to show the cuts on her palms and fingers.

  “I finally managed to cut the rope. If I hadn’t been able to get through that rope, I don’t think I would be alive right now.

  “He led me down the corridor. My arms were behind my back. I had wound the rope around my wrists and was holding it by my fingers. When I sat, I didn’t know what I would do. I thought I might run out of the house.

  “Henry thought I was watching the door waiting for Edward to come barging in. I knew he would come eventually, but I didn’t think I had that kind of time.

  “There was no question in my mind Henry planned to kill me. If given the chance, I planned to kill him. He left the lodge for a minute, and that was the only chance I needed. And I took it. I barely remember hitting him with the axe. I remember him falling on it and hitting the floor. I turned and ran straight for the horse.” Penelope turned to Nash. “That’s when Nash found me.”

  Penelope stopped and shrugged. Nash took Penelope’s hand and patted it. “I would be grateful if Penelope doesn’t have to go through this horrific experience again. She’s given us the details of her ordeal. I consider the case closed.”

  Cecilia murmured, “Of course.”

  Mira nodded.

  Edward looked at Penelope. “The nightmare’s over Penelope. The good that comes
from all of this is that Henry will never bother you again.

  Penelope gave a small smile. She nodded.

  Henry was gone, but the scar lived on. And would for the rest of her life. To Penelope, it used to be a constant source of shame. The first thing anyone saw when he or she looked at her face. It caused her to be the underdog in everything she did. And it ultimately made her stronger. Henry tried to destroy her, but he didn’t. She was fearless.

  THE END

  Can’t get enough of Penelope and Nash? Then make sure to check out the Extended Epilogue to find out…

  Will Penelope and Nash extend their family?

  How is Edward doing with his new duties?

  What happens between shy Mira and Edward?

  Click the link or enter it into your browser

  http://abigailagar.com/extended

  (After reading the Extended Epilogue, turn the page to read the first chapters from “The Duke’s Broken Heart”, my Amazon Best-Selling novel!)

  The Duke’s Broken Heart

  Introduction

  Phineas Collins, Duke of Exeter, left London for India to escape financial ruin caused by his irresponsible father. After having restored the family’s fortune, he returns five years later seeking a wife at the marriage mart to produce an heir and to live in Collinswood, his country estate. He prefers the quiet to the London noise and crowds.

  Lady Charlotte Albert begins her first season at the marriage mart. Outgoing and vivacious, she draws men to her. Although she is the opposite of what Phin is looking for, he is attracted to her. Lord Bernard has also shown an interest in her. Being deeply in debt, his interest is in her large dowry. To improve his chances with Charlotte, Lord Bernard spreads rumors about Phin that stem from his father’s irresponsible ways.