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weathered many scandals in
our time.”
    “You’re really not concerned
what my family shall think? Kidnapping is a crime!”
    She shook her head more to
herself than anything. Who were these men? How could they just take her and not
have one jot of worry what might happen to them? The police would catch up with
them soon. They had to, surely? Someone must have seen something and her family
would begin an investigation.
    She pictured Uncle Bernard
blustering about, trying to organise a search party. A sigh escaped her. As
much as she loved them all, they were not the most practical of people. It
would probably take them several days to even notice she was gone, such was the
size of their family. It had always been quite easy to get lost amongst all the
cousins when they’d had their big family gatherings.
    However, soon enough one of
her eager suitors would call or ask for her. Then there would be panic. She did
hope they weren’t too distressed. As much as she didn’t wish to be with these men,
she knew they presented no danger to her person.
    “Will you tell me where we
are going?”
    Harris shifted a sideways
look to his brother. Ash remained sleeping as though he had not a care in the
world. It was the first time she’d seen him look carefree. Throughout their
short acquaintance he had looked as though the weight of the world was upon
that severe brow of his. What could make a man who had no responsibilities,
plenty of wealth, and devastating good looks so angry? As far as she could see,
he had every reason to smile.
    His brother offered her an
uneasy one.
    “Harris?” she prompted.
    “Stourbridge House in
Surrey.”
    She let the name sink in. It
was familiar to her. Realisation dawned and snippets of words drifted through
her mind, words she’d picked up from the ladies’ columns. Words like scandal,
affair, lewd behaviour and many other unsavoury notions.
    “Oh no,” she declared. “You
are not taking me there.” She stood in the confines of the carriage and rapped
the roof.
    Ash jerked awake when the
vehicle rolled to an abrupt halt. Lila moved swiftly, diving for the door and
almost falling out because the steps weren’t down. The footman had already come
to her aid, unaware his masters had not asked them to stop. But warm fingers
curled over her wrist and prevented her from taking those few steps to freedom.
She turned her fiery gaze upon him.
    “Release me.”
    Ash shook his head.
    “Release me. You cannot hold
me captive. You cannot take me there.”
    Lila yanked against his hold
and her shoe slipped from the edge of the carriage. Were it not for the
diligence of the footman, she would have taken a tumble, but he gripped her arm
as she slipped and made an inelegant journey to the ground. Before she could
gather her wits and take in the surroundings of the narrow country road lined
with blackberry bushes, Ash was upon her, grasping her wrist once more.
    Sense deserted her. “No.”
    She would not be manhandled
or told what to do any longer. Everyone was forever telling her what to do. Her
whole life had been governed by other people’s expectations of her, and now
these men were going to ruin her one chance of freedom and finally fulfilling
what she’d been planning for her whole life.
    They were going to ruin her.
The unfairness of it all made tears burn in her eyes. Why did she have to
witness that awful scene? Why could it not have been someone else? Other, silly,
selfish thoughts ran through her mind. Why couldn’t the killer have just been
some random attacker? Of all things to happen to her, she simply had to witness
the attack of a serial killer. How typically Lila of her.
    She flailed. She scratched.
Pushed against the impenetrable wall of muscle that counted as Ash Cynfell’s
chest.
    “No, no, no,” she cried. “You
will not take me there. You will return me home. I refuse to partake in this.
Return me home now, and we shall be saved from scandal.”
    Ash gripped her other arm
and