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Authors: Olivia Drake
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the wrong person.”
His mouth quirked slightly and he stared more keenly at her. “Quite clever, my lady. But surely you cannot ask me to believe you’re that drab nun I’ve seen in your company from time to time. She must be at least twenty years your senior.”
“Drab nun? Twenty years ? I beg your pardon!”
“Besides, you were wearing the finest garments. Your shoes alone would have cost a year’s wages for a servant.”
Ellie parted her lips to explain that the clothes had been borrowed, when she suddenly looked down at herself, distracted by the startling realization that she no longer wore the gown and shoes. Her garb had been replaced by a fine lawn nightdress, and her feet felt bare beneath the blankets.
A flush suffused her from head to toe. Who had removed her clothing? This wicked man? Worse, had he taken advantage of her while she was unconscious?
Too scandalized to ask, she said stiffly, “Where are my things? And what did you do with my shoes?”
“You’ll have them back, all in good time. In the meanwhile, Mrs. MacNab will see to your needs.” A glint in his green-gray eyes, he added, “I’m sure you’ll be comforted to know that she took care of you during our voyage here.”
Ellie glanced at the kindly maidservant waiting by the door, then back at Damien Burke. “Voyage?”
“Yes, we were at sea for three days. It was necessary for me to take you far enough away from London so that no one could easily mount a rescue.”
Ellie tried to grasp the astonishing news. Three days had passed? Dear God, he must have drugged her, perhaps with laudanum. That would explain her headache and the sense of sluggishness. And it also explained the dreamlike period when she’d felt the constant rocking of the sea and heard the rhythmic crashing of the waves. She had vague, disjointed memories of someone feeding her, helping her to the chamber pot. And at other times, voices talking …
A cold knot formed at the pit of her stomach. Heaven help her. She had been gone for three days . The family would have discovered her disappearance the first evening when she’d failed to return home from the modiste. They would have been searching for her all this time …
“Where am I?” she asked hoarsely. “Where have you taken me?”
“Never mind, my lady. It is of no consequence whatsoever. You’re to relax and enjoy your stay here. Consider it a holiday.”
Damien Burke strolled away from the bed, stopping near a massive stone fireplace where a blaze crackled on the hearth. He leaned his forearm on the mantel in a cavalier pose. He was a tall man, broad shouldered and muscular, and it was no wonder he’d managed to subdue her so easily.
What did he intend to do with her?
Ellie’s mind shied away from speculating, and she struggled to contain her fear and outrage. “Enjoy my captivity? You must be mad.”
“You’ll be treated in the manner to which you’re accustomed. I’ve provided you with every luxury, including two servants to wait upon your every wish.”
“I am not Lady Beatrice,” she repeated. “And I wish for you to acknowledge that. Since you’ve wrongfully abducted me, I demand to be released at once.”
“I’m afraid that’s impossible. I’ve no intention of letting you go—until your brother complies with my demand.”
“Brother? I don’t have a brother.”
He grimly regarded her, his face taut in a slant of weak sunlight from the window. “Enough with this charade, Lady Beatrice. It’s growing quite tiresome. You shall remain here until Walt delivers the ransom. I sent him a note to that effect before we left London.”
Ransom.
Latching onto that word, Ellie felt a modicum of relief. Damien Burke’s purpose was not to force her into his bed. Nor would he try to coerce her into marriage on the faulty belief that she was an heiress.
He merely wanted money in exchange for her return.
Then her heart sank again. Her fate rested in the hands of her weakling
His mouth quirked slightly and he stared more keenly at her. “Quite clever, my lady. But surely you cannot ask me to believe you’re that drab nun I’ve seen in your company from time to time. She must be at least twenty years your senior.”
“Drab nun? Twenty years ? I beg your pardon!”
“Besides, you were wearing the finest garments. Your shoes alone would have cost a year’s wages for a servant.”
Ellie parted her lips to explain that the clothes had been borrowed, when she suddenly looked down at herself, distracted by the startling realization that she no longer wore the gown and shoes. Her garb had been replaced by a fine lawn nightdress, and her feet felt bare beneath the blankets.
A flush suffused her from head to toe. Who had removed her clothing? This wicked man? Worse, had he taken advantage of her while she was unconscious?
Too scandalized to ask, she said stiffly, “Where are my things? And what did you do with my shoes?”
“You’ll have them back, all in good time. In the meanwhile, Mrs. MacNab will see to your needs.” A glint in his green-gray eyes, he added, “I’m sure you’ll be comforted to know that she took care of you during our voyage here.”
Ellie glanced at the kindly maidservant waiting by the door, then back at Damien Burke. “Voyage?”
“Yes, we were at sea for three days. It was necessary for me to take you far enough away from London so that no one could easily mount a rescue.”
Ellie tried to grasp the astonishing news. Three days had passed? Dear God, he must have drugged her, perhaps with laudanum. That would explain her headache and the sense of sluggishness. And it also explained the dreamlike period when she’d felt the constant rocking of the sea and heard the rhythmic crashing of the waves. She had vague, disjointed memories of someone feeding her, helping her to the chamber pot. And at other times, voices talking …
A cold knot formed at the pit of her stomach. Heaven help her. She had been gone for three days . The family would have discovered her disappearance the first evening when she’d failed to return home from the modiste. They would have been searching for her all this time …
“Where am I?” she asked hoarsely. “Where have you taken me?”
“Never mind, my lady. It is of no consequence whatsoever. You’re to relax and enjoy your stay here. Consider it a holiday.”
Damien Burke strolled away from the bed, stopping near a massive stone fireplace where a blaze crackled on the hearth. He leaned his forearm on the mantel in a cavalier pose. He was a tall man, broad shouldered and muscular, and it was no wonder he’d managed to subdue her so easily.
What did he intend to do with her?
Ellie’s mind shied away from speculating, and she struggled to contain her fear and outrage. “Enjoy my captivity? You must be mad.”
“You’ll be treated in the manner to which you’re accustomed. I’ve provided you with every luxury, including two servants to wait upon your every wish.”
“I am not Lady Beatrice,” she repeated. “And I wish for you to acknowledge that. Since you’ve wrongfully abducted me, I demand to be released at once.”
“I’m afraid that’s impossible. I’ve no intention of letting you go—until your brother complies with my demand.”
“Brother? I don’t have a brother.”
He grimly regarded her, his face taut in a slant of weak sunlight from the window. “Enough with this charade, Lady Beatrice. It’s growing quite tiresome. You shall remain here until Walt delivers the ransom. I sent him a note to that effect before we left London.”
Ransom.
Latching onto that word, Ellie felt a modicum of relief. Damien Burke’s purpose was not to force her into his bed. Nor would he try to coerce her into marriage on the faulty belief that she was an heiress.
He merely wanted money in exchange for her return.
Then her heart sank again. Her fate rested in the hands of her weakling
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