I Thee Wed by Amanda Quick Read Free Book Online Page A

was no longer spinning.
    She seized the handle of the heavy iron bedwarmer and ran to the door. She stepped out into the hall, just in time to see a door halfway down the corridor closing. A little white muslin cap lay on the floor where it had fallen.
    She picked up her skirts and rushed forward. When she arrived in front of the chamber, she heard muffled thuds.
    Bedwarmer held on high, she twisted the ancient iron knob. It turned easily in her grasp. She took a breath and prepared to open the door as quietly as possible. She did not want to give The Bastard any time to react to her presence, if she could help it. Everything depended on timing.
    She waited until she heard a particularly loud thud and Polly’s moan of despair. Then she pushed hard on the door. It swung silently inward to reveal a small, dingy storage room illuminated by a single narrow window set high in the wall.
    Crane’s back was to Emma. He had already managed to pin Polly to the floor and was working on the fasteningsof his trousers. He did not appear to hear Emma enter the closet.
    She moved forward, bedwarmer raised.
    “Stupid little bitch.” Crane was breathing very hard. His voice was tight with excitement. “You should be glad enough to have a gentleman bother to lift your skirts.”
    Polly’s wild, terrified eyes swept to Emma’s face. Desperation and despair glistened in her gaze. Emma knew exactly what she was feeling. Rescue from her present dire straits might well mean dismissal, an equally disastrous fate, given the shortage of decent occupations open to females.
    “Glad to see you’ve got some fight in you.” Crane used his weight to hold Polly hard against the wooden floor while he opened his trousers. “Makes it more interesting.”
    “I trust you’ll find this equally interesting,” Emma whispered.
    She brought the bedwarmer down hard on the back of his head.
    There was a sickening thunk. For an instant, time seemed to stand still.
    And then without so much as a gasp or a groan, Chilton Crane crumpled silently.
    “Dear God, ye’ve killed him,” Polly breathed.
    Emma looked uneasily at Crane’s motionless body. “Do you really think he’s dead?”
    “Oh, yes, I’m sure of it, ma’am.” Polly scrambled out from beneath Crane. The flicker of relief in her eyes was quickly overwhelmed by an expression of congealing horror. “Now what will we do? They’ll hang us both for murdering a fine gentleman, they will.”
    “I’m the one who hit him,” Emma pointed out.
    “They’ll blame me, too, I know they will,” Polly wailed.
    She might very well be right. Emma shook herself free of the panic that threatened to freeze her where she stood. “Let me think. There must be something we can do.”
    “What?” Polly asked, clearly frantic. “What can we do? Oh, ma’am, we’re both as good as dead, we are.”
    “I refuse to hang because of The Bastard. He’s not worth it.” Resolutely, Emma bent down to grab Crane’s ankles. “Help me drag him to the staircase.”
    “What good will that do?” Nevertheless, Polly leaned over to grab Crane’s wrists.
    “We’ll push his body down the stairs and say that he tripped and fell.”
    Polly brightened. “Do you really think it will work?”
    “It’s our only chance.” Emma heaved on Crane’s ankles. “Oh dear. He’s awfully heavy, isn’t he?”
    “As big as the plump new pig me pa bought at market last week.” Polly shoved hard against Crane’s weight.
    The body moved a few inches toward the door.
    “We’ve got to work faster.” Emma took a firmer grip on Crane’s ankles and hauled with every ounce of strength she possessed.
    “Would you ladies like some help?” Edison asked quite casually from the doorway.
    “Sir”
. Polly yelped and dropped Crane’s wrists. She took a step back, her hand at her throat. Tears welled in her eyes. “We’re doomed.”
    Emma went very still but she did not let go of Crane’s ankles. It was too late to panic, she told