"In heaven's name why?"
"I can think of any number of reasons. He's not your friend—the Etienne de Giverney I've known since my early days in Paris is not a friend to anyone. He gets rid of anything that stands in the way of what he wants. I think he's decided that having lost his French title and lands he now wants the English titles and estates. And he's going to get them. "
"Of course he wants them. He always has. I'm not a complete idiot," Adrian said.
"No, only a partial one. Though I admit, I had no idea how far he'd be likely to go or I would have warned you. You're in his way. So is your possible heir. And if I were you I wouldn't be languishing, waiting for Charlotte to return. "
The feeling of dread that he'd been fighting returned full force. "You think Etienne has taken her?"
"'Haven't I said as much?" Montague spoke with a trace of his old asperity. "I haven't much time or energy left, and I really don't wish to waste it solving the mess my friends have made of their lives. I wish to depart mine knowing that things are well on their way to at least a reasonably happy conclusion. I'll be very annoyed if something happens to Charlotte. It will depress me, and if I have to die young, I at least deserve to die happy. "
"Nothing's going to happen to Charlotte. I'll find her and force her to marry me. "
Montague closed his eyes wearily. "I can't live forever, dear boy. Stop being so stubborn. You're in love with the girl. Admit it and go tell her. "
Adrian narrowed his gaze, but he didn't bother arguing. "Where would Etienne have taken her?"
"How should I know? It depends on how mad he is. He may have strangled her and dumped her body in the canal by now, while you've been suiting. "
"No. " Rohan said, his heart like ice. "No. "
"You think he's not capable of doing such a thing?"
"No," he said, the blind fury threatening to overwhelm him. "I believe he's capable. But I would know if she were dead. "
"Would you? And you still deny you love her? What kind of bond could you possibly have that would allow for you to know any such thing?"
"I need to find her. We can argue about whether I love her or not once she's safe," Adrian snapped.
"Well, at least that's a step in the right direction. You're allowing for the possibility, when any fool can see you're totally besotted with the girl. Which gives me much greater hope for your future. In the meantime, there are any number of places Etienne might have taken her. He may have driven her back to London—she'd probably go with him willingly enough in her need to escape your ham-handed behavior. Or he could have taken her to the ruins. There's lots of privacy there. Send Dodson to me and I'll have him organize a search party. "
"I can't—" Their conversation was interrupted by one of Monty's beautiful footmen.
"Excuse me, my lord, but a gentleman left a message for you. "
The fear suddenly went bone deep, and when Adrian held out a hand for the fol
ded scrap of paper he could see it shake slightly.
He recognized Etienne's scrawl immediately: Your bride awaits you at the Chapel of Perpetual Erection. I suggest you come at once, and alone.
He looked up, meeting Monty's gaze. And then he walked out without another word.
24
At first Charlotte was aware of nothing but darkness and the smell of what seemed uncomfortably close to fire and brimstone. Her recollection was hazy— she'd been running from something, hadn't she? And why couldn't she seem to move? There was something over her head, blocking out the light, and she tried to shake it off.
She squirmed, and heard a low, evil chuckle, the same sound she'd heard in the maze at Ranelagh Gardens. Memory came flooding back, along with a full-blooded fury. She tried to speak, only to discover something was tied around her mouth, silencing her. She tried to shake it off, furious, when she heard the laugh again.
"You don't like that, do you, my pet? If you'd had the sense to hit your head on a rock when I shoved you down the cliff you wouldn't be going through this now.
Eiienne, she thought. Elienne had pushed her. She allowed herself a brief moment of relief. She thought she'd long ago dismissed the idea that Adrian had tried to kill her, but there must have been a lingering doubt, now vanquished.
She was good and trussed, like an angry chicken, she thought. Her legs and arms were tied to a chair, and she struggled, wildly, the chair tipping when a heavy hand clubbed her across the face. The hood over her head muffled the blow, and she struggled, desperate for a way out of the darkness. She didn't like being tied up.
"If you're going to behave yourself I'll let you see where you are. " He pulled the hood off, and she blinked, looking around her. She appeared to be in some kind of church, and for a moment she wondered if Etienne was in league with Adrian, if he'd brought her to the village church to force a marriage upon her.
Author: Anne Stuart