Page 73 of His Scandalous Viscountess
“Not as yet.”
Wolf resisted the urge to growl when he knew his friend was risking his neck for him.
The others ranged out around the room, Arthur immediately checking on his sister.
Stone sat next to him in a wing chair. “We’ll get her back.”
Wolf nodded, unable to reply. Because while he knew he would free her no matter the cost to himself, he wasn’t sure if he would make it in time to prevent something unforgiveable from occurring. Not to mention, he didn’t know if she would even want him still under the circumstances.
He had long since grown accustomed to being discarded by those he cared about. His father did not want him, for obvious reasons, and his mother could barely stand to look at him. Knowing what he did of his past, he wondered how much he looked like the man who sired him. So many worries swirled in his head, that he felt nauseated as he sat and waited.
After what seemed like days, though in truth it had been less than a couple of hours, Cooper finally walked into Wolf’s study. With his shirt tail untucked and his bow tie dangling around his neck, he appeared the epitome of a lord who’d been out rabble-rousing all night.
Wolf was on his feet in an instant. “Where did they take her?”
“Seven Dials. It took a while to walk out far enough so I could hail a cab.”
Cooper sank into a nearby chair and picked up a partially filled tumbler of spirits someone had abandoned on a side table.
Wolf tried to be patient with his friend, but it was killing him to stand there while Julia was in danger. “Address?”
Cooper nodded and rose once more. “Let’s go.”
The six of them departed in two carriages, so they would have room for Jules when they returned. And theywouldbring her home. What happened after that, though, was anybody’s guess.
Chapter 29
Julia had no idea where she was, though it was quite obvious she was still in London, mostly because they hadn’t driven long enough for the scenery to change from city to country. But she was not foolish enough to believe that just because she was still in the city, she would necessarily be found. London was a large city with a maze of back alleys and city streets that a person could easily become lost in.
Wolf was dead as far as she knew, so even if there was someone who cared enough to look for her, they would have no way of tracking her down quickly or easily. Just in case, she knew her job was to find as many ways as she could to make herself discoverable, while holding off whatever outcome the man pulling everyone’s strings intended. Of course, she had her suspicions on who that man was, but she saw no value in sharing her suspicions with her captors.
Not that they had stuck around to chat.
They had arrived at their current location in the dead of night. Then she’d been dragged upstairs to an attic room, pushed inside, and the door had been promptly locked behind her. Being an attic, it had a musty smell that seemed to permeate everything. What all that entailed she couldn’t tell, since the space was pitch black, and she did not have the benefit of light beyond the shimmer of moonlight peeping in.
Deciding to avail herself of the little bit of light offered by the moon, she shuffled over to the small, high window near the roofline and huddled below it. It was the only area she could clearly see that was unoccupied, either by boxes or other, more livelier occupants.
As she sat on the floor, she tried to focus on the present and not think about Wolf or his demise. If she did that, she’d cease being functional, and be of absolutely no use to anyone. So she ignored the heavy weight pressing on her chest and tried to close her eyes for a few minutes. Perhaps with a bit of rest she would have a different outlook in the morning. To her dismay, the scrabbling noises of her “roommates” made it impossible to sleep, which left her mostly awake as the first rays of dawn pierced her tiny window.
Fortunately, that also meant that she heard the footsteps on the stairs long before the door opened.
A woman entered bearing a tray of food, as one of the villains from earlier stood in the doorway. The woman looked dispassionate as she set the tray down on a nearby chair. “I suggest you eat this before the rats get to it.”
Feeling mulish and angry once more, Julia glared at the woman. Her hair hung lank around her sallow face, and her brown eyes appeared dull and flat, with poor nutrition and fatigue, but to Julia, none of that excused her participation in this outrageous act.
The woman shrugged. “Suit yourself.”
Then she and the glaring man left, and the lock was turned in the door once more. Angry, but not stupid, Julia realized she would need her strength for whatever lay ahead. Scooting closer to the tray, she grimaced at the crust of two-day-old bread and bowl of watery gruel. With a sigh, she set about eating the meager sustenance and reminded herself that she had curves to spare. A reduction in food quantity, as well as quality, would not hurt her in the short term.
Shoveling the fare into her mouth, her mind wandered once more to Wolf. Her heart ached once more as she thought of his death. Sitting there, she forced herself to survive, praying to whatever deity might be listening.Please, let me live. Don’t let him die in vain.A tear slipped down her cheek.He was a good man who deserved to live and find happiness. I love him so much… If only I’d had the sense to tell him…
No longer able to eat, she set her food aside and curled up on her side. It seemed unfair that she should only now accept how much she loved him, just when she’d lost him. Crying softly into her arms, she huddled there in her misery.
Sometime later, more steps sounded on the stairs. Julia had lost track of time, though the sun still seemed weak, as though it were morning. Assuming it was the woman returning for the crockery, she barely looked up when the door swung open.
“My, my… How the haughty have been brought down a peg or two,” Wallthorpe remarked, sneering at her from across the room.
Fury sparked to life within her, as though someone had lit a match near a gas lamp. The anger sizzled and popped in her veins, zipping along her limbs until she felt she could barrel right through the vile little man who believed he’d won. “You willneversucceed.”
