Read Taken by the Duke for Free Online Page B

you pass the time,” he explained.
    She swallowed, and her stare changed a little from one of wariness to one of confused gratitude. “That is an unexpected kindness,” she murmured. “Thank you.”
    He slammed the carriage door without responding and walked back to his horse. He shook his head as he swung up onto the mount with great difficulty. He hadn’t ridden a horse since the accident, and his hip screamed with discomfort with every movement. He gritted his teeth and motioned the carriage to move.
    Something in his pocket nudged against him, and he reached into the fold of fabric. What he withdrew surprised him. It was one of the rolls that had been on the breakfast table at the inn. And there were even more crumbs in his pocket that made him wonder if there had been more of them hidden inside at some point.
    He glanced back at the carriage. She stole food? Why would she do that unless…
    Unless she didn’t believe he wasn’t planning to kill her. Apparently by starvation, in her mind.
    Unwanted guilt shot through him once again. He pushed it back, shoved it down, doing his best to control it just as he was doing his best to control the powerful pain that shook his body as he rode. Soon they would be at his estate, and then Ava would understand. She would see what his plan was.
    And it had nothing to do with murder, starvation or pain.
     
     
    It was nearly dark outside when the carriage drove through the gates of an estate. Ava pressed against the window, trying to see, but the night was already too thick to know exactly where she was. Not that it mattered. It wasn’t as if she could go running into the night to escape. She wasn’t about to walk back to London, and she doubted she would find sympathetic assistance from anyone who lived near a place Rothcastle owned, not if the inn owners from earlier in the day were any indication.
    After a moment, the carriage stopped and the door opened. She expected Rothcastle to be there to assist her, control her as he had been all day, but instead a footman greeted her. She stepped down and was surprised to see two other servants gently removing Rothcastle from his horse. His face was a twisted mask of agony, and he leaned heavily on one of the men as he breathed deeply.
    For a moment her fear, her anger, her hopes for escape all faded to be replaced by far different emotions. She felt empathy and pity, heartbreak and longing for what must have been a mere six months ago for this man. The destruction this feud had brought to everyone it touched was sickening to her.
    She turned her face just as he looked at her and did not allow him to see her reaction. She doubted he would appreciate it, not from her.
    “Come,” he ordered, motioning toward the door as he shrugged off the assistance of his men. “We’ll go inside.”
    The door opened as he said it and light streamed out from inside. She followed the light, not waiting for her captor as he limped behind her, speaking softly to his servants. She thought she heard the words bath and poultice , but she couldn’t be sure.
    She entered the house to find a tall, stern butler waiting here. He gave her an awkward nod that told her he was as uncomfortable with this arrangement as anyone could be.
    “My lady,” he intoned as he took the scratchy woolen wrap from her shoulders. He then turned his attention to his master. “Your Grace, is there anything I can do?”
    Rothcastle shot his gaze toward her. “No. I’m fine. Lady Ava and I will go to the west parlor straight away, but are the other rooms ready, Sanders?”
    “Yes, Your Grace. And I’ve taken the liberty of having Laura stand by as Lady Ava’s personal maid during her…visit.”
    Rothcastle blinked. “Matilda’s maid?”
    Sanders swallowed hard. “Yes, Your Grace. She is the one best trained for such a thing and has little else to do. I did not think we could leave our… guest without help.”
    Rothcastle shot Ava a look, almost as if she was stealing