Ducal Encounters 02 - With the Duke's Approval by Wendy Soliman Read Free Book Online

Annalise went limp in the man’s arms, aware she wouldn’t be able to get away from them both. Better to let them take her wherever they planned to, wait for them to let their guard down, and then assess her situation. It did not sit well with her to be so passive, but what other choice did she have?
    She felt herself being lifted up into the arms of another man. They must be taking her over the garden wall. Of course. That would be how they had got in. They could have simply headed for the mews at the back of the mansion, but carriages belonging to guests would be clustered there, along with their drivers. They would be bound to notice a woman with a sack over her head being carried out. But how the devil did they intend to get her over the wall and down the other side? She had no intention of co-operating.
    No co-operation was needed, damn it. They had thought this out well. Kidnappers with brains. Just her luck. The original man pulled himself over the eight-foot wall, stood on something they had obviously left on the other side and his partner-in-crime handed Anna down to him.
    “Let him take you and don’t make a fuss,” the man passing her down said. “Make a noise and it’ll be all over for you.”
    Anna believed him and abandoned all thoughts of struggling. If she fell with her head still covered, she could do untold damage to herself. If her abductors didn’t kill her first, that is. Besides, her head was still ringing from the heavy blow the first man had delivered to her face, and she was in no fit state to run for her life.
    She heard her captors grunt with satisfaction when they negotiated her over the wall. And now, here she was, trussed up like a chicken in a carriage that was being driven slowly through the falling snow. Anna thought of Lord Romsey’s warning about the dangers to vehicles in snowy conditions and half wished this one was being driven a little faster. If they had an accident, then surely she would be rescued? Except, if they were taking her to a poor part of town, her situation might actually go from bad to worse. Not that she could imagine anything worse than this, but still…
    Anna tried to pay attention to the sounds and smells along the route they took, as well as the direction they headed, but there were so many twists and turns she became hopelessly muddled. She was fairly sure they had left the better part of town, but that didn’t help her much. Any noise from other vehicles was drowned out by the snow. Because she couldn’t see, and because she was so uncomfortable with her hand and feet bound so tightly, she found it hard to focus on their route. She was near freezing to death in her flimsy ball gown and had lost Frankie’s lovely shawl. She would have to apologise for that, she thought inconsequently.
    Anna counted down the seconds inside her head, by that means, trying to work out how far they travelled. The horse was moving at walking pace and, by her calculation, they had been on the road for about thirty minutes when the carriage finally came to a halt. As soon as the door was thrown open, she smelt dank river air, which was definitely not good. They could hide her in the docks for months with its labyrinth of warehouses, alleyways, and slums, and no one would discover her whereabouts.
    A blanket was thrown over her body. She was lifted by the same vile-smelling man, and someone else wrapped the blanket around her, trussing her up like a mummy. Presumably, they didn’t want a lady in a silk ball gown to be seen in the district. Not that anyone would be about at this hour, but she had already decided these rogues were a cut above the average criminal, and they were taking no chances.
    She heard a door being dragged open. It sounded heavy, and the man grunted with the effort it took him. The second man carried her inside a building and up some stairs. He too complained since the stairs were clearly steep. With great good fortune, he might put his back out.