Nobody's Duke by Scarlett Scott

Author:Scarlett Scott
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: 0
Published: 2019-01-07T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

ONE MOMENT, ARA had been alone in the garden, staring into the sculpted hedges and trying to calm her racing heart and mind. The next, a crunch of tread on gravel alerted her to another presence.

She turned, expecting the interloper to be Clay, returned from wherever he had disappeared to in the wake of her revelation. Hours had passed. Rains had come and gone. And still he had not reappeared. She was desperate to know what his next move would be. Terrified of how her admission would impact Edward. Frightened of the power Clay could wield over her.

But when her eyes settled upon the unfamiliar face and form of a stranger, all her terror and fear turned into abject horror. The man stood at a distance, a bowler hat pulled low over his brow. His countenance was grim. Menacing. Dark-red splatters stained his coat and trousers. Blood. The hilt of a vicious-looking blade glinted in his hand, also dripping with gore.

And she knew.

She knew he was here to kill her.

Ara screamed, snagging fistfuls of her skirts and running in the opposite direction. Clay had men stationed everywhere. She could only guess that the blood on the stranger’s clothing was from one of them.

He had murdered one of her guards. And now, he would murder her.

No.

She would fight. She would run.

As fast as her feet and her legs would take her, she raced. Into the maze of carefully manicured hedges she went, knowing the path by heart. Heavy footfalls followed, echoing in her ears. All she could hear was the pant of her own breaths, the thudding of her heart, and the sound of the stranger following her. Gaining on her. Closer and closer he came. Her heart hammered. Her breaths became increasingly shallow until she was gasping. She was losing speed and he was gaining.

The garden was not large. She reached the center of the maze. He grew closer. Closer. Closer. But she was determined. Desperate. The footfalls sounded heavier now. She had a son to live for. She had everything to fight for. She pushed herself, ran faster, her heavy skirts and corset twin impediments to her progress.

Until her foot caught in her hem. She lost her balance. Tripped. Fell headlong into the gravel path. A fresh wave of fear hit her as she collided with the earth. Her hands caught most of her fall, keeping her head from slamming into the ground. But the footsteps were upon her now, and she was lying prone, helpless.

A lamb for the slaughter.

This was it for her. She had reached the end. Edward’s face flashed through her mind. No, she had to be brave for her son. She had to escape. She would live for him. She had to live for him. She scrambled to her hands and knees, desperation coursing through her.

“Ara.”

Huge, boot-shod feet appeared before her.

This was not the voice she had expected to hear. This voice was familiar. Dark and low. Reassuring in a way it ought not to be after all these years and everything that had come between them.

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