When she raised her head, the rough fellows Farnsworth had employed had come closer and were laughing at her. Their images danced in her vision and her stomach rolled disconcertingly.

Farnsworth stopped at the edge of the old roadway and set his hands to his hips. Arabella caught the sound of movement beyond him and fought to focus her eyes. She heard horses, tack jingling in the distance, and then men carrying lanterns appeared.

“This is the devil of a place to meet, Farnsworth. I thought Winslette would offer a finer welcome than this. You’d better have delivered what your invitation promised.”

A dark shape joined Farnsworth, though she could not identify who it might be immediately. He was tall. His voice held a demanding edge to it that nagged her memory.

“She’s waiting. Exactly as I believe you like your women.”

 “Good.”

Farnsworth turned and gestured to where she sat. “There she is. As you can see, Parker, she’s docile enough for your plans.”

Lord Parker came closer, his smile showing his delight and his greatcoat sweeping back from his body like the giant wings of death. “My dear lady. How well you look this evening.”

“Help me,” she begged, her words slurring. She lifted her heavy, bound wrists for him to inspect. It was growing harder to focus. “Farnsworth stole me away.”

She shook her head, hoping to clear her foggy mind.

Lord Parker came close enough that he could inspect her bound hands. His fingers caressed the rough ropes and the reddened skin beneath, but he did not untie her. “You’ve done well, Farnsworth. How long ago was she drugged?”

Arabella gaped when Farnsworth smiled. “Not long. A double dose since you’ve a ways to travel.”

It must have been the wine. She forced herself to relax as Parker untied the rope between her hands and feet. Her feet tingled a little as she shuffled her feet. Given how they felt, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to walk away, let alone run, if an opportunity presented itself.

Parker turned his back on her. “The gag will solve any difficulties when the potion wears off on the journey. I’d rather not be disturbed by busybodies. The dose you gave will serve. Too little and she might cry out an alarm and draw attention. Too much…”

He left the rest unsaid and she shivered.

A gag? What sort of a fiend was he that he needed to resort to such measures? She swallowed hard as tears sprung to her eyes. Parker was strong, and if he didn’t release her of his own accord, she didn’t think she could get away without help. He would have no trouble subduing her if she tried to flee. She didn’t like to think about what might happen after that.

“You’re sure no one will look for her?”

“Not after the tales I’ve spread. She has no family to speak of besides me.” Farnsworth nodded. “Are we square now?”

Parker circled back to leer at her. “She’s more leggy than I usually like, but all women are the same in the end I suppose. You just have to teach them to behave.”

Arabella stared. She should be scared by that promise. She should be terrified. But it was becoming so hard to think of very much at all. She was on the verge of sleep when a voice cut through her stupor.

“Oh, I don’t think you’ll have the chance to teach her anything.”

Arabella’s heart thudded in response to Merrick’s voice. She fought to turn her head to see if she’d imagined his arrival and saw him a short distance away on the edge of the ruins in the company of his servants, half-brothers, and Grayling. She smiled happily. Her Merrick, though shrouded in fog, would make everything all right again. He would take her home to Winslette where they both belonged together.

CHAPTER TWENTY SIX

Merrick could not look upon Arabella without his rage rising. Seeing her barely aware of her surroundings and bound like a dog by this pair was beyond all understanding. “Untie her.”

Farnsworth turned, his eyes widening with shock. At his side, Parker grinned as if they were meeting at their club. “What the devil are you doing here, Rothwell? This is a private matter and does not concern you.”

Farnsworth had the sense to shrink a little. “Yes, a private matter.”

Merrick shook his head and flexed his fingers. “This is my land now, and there is no matter so private where Arabella is concerned that I do not want to know where she is and that she is well. I said untie her.”

Parker placed himself next to Arabella and petted her head like she was his favorite hound. Her head lolled to the side. “She’s mine, Rothwell. Promised, in fact. Can you not see how perfect she will be?”

When Arabella swayed away from his touch so far that she might fall, Parker grabbed her by the hair and then hauled her to her feet. She couldn’t seem to stand on her own, and he took a step forward.

“Pretty, isn’t she?” Parker boasted. “I’ll beat any disobedience out of her and make her perfect.”

Farnsworth shrank back, placing himself behind Parker and Arabella.

Merrick continued forward but stopped as Arabella smiled. “She’s already perfect.”

Parker yanked on her hair harder and she whimpered. He drew her against him. “Go back where you came from, Rothwell.”

Around him, Merrick’s half brothers backed away, disappearing into the fog like ghosts. He quickly determined their intent when a man grunted somewhere in the fog, and then another. He kept his attention on Parker and Farnsworth, although the latter appeared distracted by what his brothers might be doing out of sight.

Grayling stepped forward and held out his hands. “Now, steady on. There’s no need for this. Let Arabella choose for herself.”

Parker spun Arabella around to face him, caught her jaw in the palm of his hand, and pressed his fingers into her cheeks. After a moment, her mouth gaped, lips pursing in an obscene imitation of a kiss. “Experience has taught me that women are too weak to make decisions. She’s not protesting, is she?”

“She’s drugged,” Merrick reminded him. He counted to ten as Parker’s hand caressed her throat.

“Not got sense enough to protect herself, even from a harmless devil like Farnsworth.” Parker’s free hand stroked down her back and rested on her bottom. He squeezed. “Besides, you took what I planned to have for my very own, Grayling, and now I will take what I want. Farnsworth made it so convenient to come to an arrangement.”

Merrick spared a glance for Grayling, but he appeared just as confused. “What the devil are you talking about?”

“Married women are no challenge, but a woman unattached is much easier to persuade when their family wants nothing to do with her and cannot pay their debts.” Parker smiled mockingly over Arabella’s shoulder. “I’ve seen your wife, Grayling. I know what she once was. The whore was to be mine, but you stole her away from her world and married her instead. What will society have to say about that scandalous tidbit?

“Arabella will take her place or I’ll ruin Farnsworth and his precious daughter, and you’ll wish you’d never laid eyes on your talented wife too, because the tales I could tell about her proficiency in the bedroom would turn society against you and all you hold dear.”

“This is between you and me. Leave Arabella out of this,” Grayling argued, face turning a deathly shade that hinted Parker’s accusations might just be based in truth. Merrick didn’t know anything about Rosemary’s past, but if Parker did not stop touching Arabella’s ass soon, he would kill him.

“But I do have someone who cares where I am,” Arabella said suddenly, her voice slurring under the effects of the drug. Her head fell back as she stared at Parker, brow creased in thought. “We will be married soon.”

Merrick’s heart leapt at her words, a ruse that might just to win her freedom from Parker’s clutches without resorting to violence. Unfortunately, he didn’t think Parker believing her was likely. She was not in her right mind.