His Perfect Bride(46)

"I don't have time to waste on ceremony." Winsler glared at Hopkins's  retreating back as the butler exited and shut the door. "I was on my way  to visit Lady Elizabeth at Denton House when a frazzled governess  handed me this. She insisted I bring it to you at once."

Richard took the crumpled paper from Winsler and unfolded it, exposing  the unfamiliar scrawl. His heart sank as he read the contents. He saw  red and lost the ability to breathe.

"What happened?" he demanded through clenched teeth.

"Lady Brianna is gone and there is no address listed. I can only assume  she went to meet this person, and Lady Elizabeth followed her."

"Where is she now?" Richard gripped his chest as the soul-crushing pain  sliced through him at the realization he already knew the answer to the  question. Rushing from the room, he was ready to take action. Although  not positive where he was headed, he had a good idea where to start.

"I don't know. She must have taken a hackney, for according to the  governess, I arrived only moments after Lady Elizabeth departed,"  Winsler answered, quickly following behind.

"Hopkins," Richard bellowed. "My horse, now!"

Storming from the house, he nearly plowed into Saul. From the looks of  it, the man had ridden his horse hard and was obviously in a panic. That  was all Richard needed. His suspicions were confirmed.

"My Lord, Kirkwood has Lady Brianna and your sister."

"Come with me," Richard ordered.

Luckily his stallion was ready as he had intended to visit Brianna  later, so it didn't take long for the groom to bring him around.  Launching himself in the saddle, he noticed Saul quickly following suit,  and Winsler mounted a horse his driver disconnected from the carriage.



"Notify the Watch," Richard called to Hopkins before tearing down the  street. He had no idea how much time had passed since Brianna left her  home. If Saul left his post immediately following her arrival, they had a  good chance of reaching their destination before Kirkwood set his plan  in motion. Richard sincerely hoped Kirkwood didn't intend to move her  somewhere, making it more difficult to find her.

As he navigated around the carriages and people, he ignored the rules of  etiquette, not having time for such nonsense. He could not say how his  two companions were doing as he could not afford a lapse in his focus.

When his destination appeared in sight, he pushed his stallion harder  until he reached the front of Kirkwood's townhouse. Lunging himself from  his mount, he ran the last couple of feet before attempting to kick in  the door. Saul was seconds behind him and with a few kicks from the both  of them together, the door gave way.

"Go find Elizabeth," he commanded as he ripped the splintered door from the frame.

Heart pounding, he ran through the house, following the sound of  Brianna's screams. Once in the room, his sight grew temporary as rage  clouded his vision. Brianna's clothing had been ripped from her body,  and Kirkwood stood over her wearing nothing but trousers. When Kirkwood  turned, Richard saw ugly red scratches down his chest and was pleased to  see Brianna had exacted a small measure of her own vengeance.

With a roar of fury, Richard dove at the unprepared man, knocking him to  the ground. Kirkwood's body lay motionless, so Richard rushed to  Brianna's side, where she desperately tried to cover her nakedness with  the shreds of clothing. Tears poured down her swollen red cheeks.

Seeing her in this state caused him more pain than a person should be  forced to endure. He reached out but froze upon hearing her  bloodcurdling scream. For a second, he thought she didn't want him near  her, but then he felt the searing pain on the back of his head. He  stumbled forward, swaying from the blow.         

     



 



Turning around, he observed the next swing coming, so he ducked, barely  avoiding the blow. Moving quickly, his fist made contact with Kirkwood's  nose, making a very satisfying crunch. Kirkwood staggered back, right  into Saul's waiting arms. At that moment, the Watch arrived, so Richard  turned his attention back to Brianna, content to allow Saul to deal with  the situation.

Grabbing a blanket from the sofa, he knelt beside Brianna and bundled her up.

"Stonemede!" Kirkwood yelled. "Come back and fight me like a man!"

Richard ignored him. "Are you all right?" he asked Brianna, gingerly wiping the tears from her inflamed cheeks.

"If you don't allow me my revenge, I'll continue to terrorize your  house, your club, and your woman until I'm satisfied," Kirkwood  threatened.

Looking into Brianna's wide terrified eyes, Richard knew he could not  leave her to deal with Kirkwood, yet he could not allow the taunting to  continue. Desperate to take his revenge, Richard forced himself not to  rise to the bait though his blood pumped wildly.

"Saul," Richard called out evenly. "Deal with it."

"Yes, my lord."

"Very good, have your man take care of your-" Kirkwood's words were cut short, and Richard sighed in relief.

"Elizabeth! Richard, Elizabeth is here! You have to find her and help  her!" Brianna sobbed, trying to force herself up as if she were in any  state to save his sister.

"I'm here, Brianna," Elizabeth called out as she ran toward them. "Oh my goodness, are you all right?"



"I'm much better now." Brianna answered his sister in a shaky voice as  she gazed up at him with worship in her eyes. The adoration made him  feel ten feet tall, and Richard wished he would always be able to earn  the level of regard she honored him with.

"Come on, let us get you home." He lifted her from the ground and  cradled her in his arms. Holding her never felt so good, and the relief  it provided him was palpable. Although he knew she was safe, the drive  to get her out of there as soon as possible overpowered him.

"Winsler, can you help Saul deal with matters here while I escort the ladies home?" Richard asked, eyeing him pointedly.

Winsler looked at Elizabeth with longing, and opened his mouth as if to  argue, but then he clamped his lips tight and nodded in agreement. There  was obviously something more than Richard realized going on between the  two of them, but he had no complaints. He was proud his sister managed  to choose a good man.

After hailing a hackney, Elizabeth climbed in and assisted him in  placing Brianna upon the seat. He took care, feeling as though she could  break with the slightest movement. Once inside, he pulled Brianna  against him. He knew it was not proper, especially in front of his  little sister, but after what Brianna went through, he was loath to  break contact with her.

"Were you harmed?" he asked Elizabeth, searching her face.

"No. After that horrible man dragged me away from Brianna, he locked me in a closet."

"At least one of you was unharmed," he commented, holding Brianna  tighter against his side. "How did this all come about? Winsler didn't  have much information to impart."

"Earlier this afternoon a courier brought a letter for Brianna. I was  curious since I have never known you to send a letter when you could  send yourself," Elizabeth explained, and Richard nodded at her correct  assessment.



"Did you read the letter?"

"Not at first. I saw Brianna trying to leave, and once I realized she  was upset, I tried to detain her. Miss Ashley was supposed to keep an  eye on her while I ran upstairs to read the missive, but when I  returned, she was gone. Apparently Brianna is very persuasive when she  wants something."

"I have noticed that." Richard fought a grin as Brianna ducked her face  down into the blanket. He was not sure if it was in embarrassment or  shame, but, regardless, he didn't wish for her to endure any more  discomfort. Leaning down, he placed a light kiss on the top of her head.

"How did you know I was trying to leave?" Brianna asked his sister, her voice still shaking.

"When you were insistent and refused to make eye contact with me, I knew  I needed to read that letter. After I brought it downstairs and  discovered you had already departed, I gave Ashley the letter with  instructions to get help. Then I hailed a hackney to follow you myself."

"Thank you both for saving me," Brianna whispered, then burst into tears.

Richard wrapped his arms around her and gently stroked her back. Placing  another quick kiss on her temple, he sincerely wished there was  something more he could do for her. She had been through a horrific  ordeal and was hurt. Unfortunately he felt helpless to alleviate her  pain or remove the memories. One positive aspect was the timing of his  arrival. If he had been a few minutes later, Kirkwood would have created  scars that would never heal.         

     



 

Once they arrived at her father's townhouse, Richard carried Brianna  inside, ignoring the protests from both the housekeeper and Lady  Ransley. With Elizabeth's assistance, he took Brianna to her bedchamber  and placed her in the middle of the bed. When he stood, she looked up at  him with frightened eyes that tore at his soul.