The Wicked Game (A Wicked Game Novel) Page 6

  It was the Duke.

  She shrieked again.

  “Your grace! You startled me so!”

  He reached for her hand and planted a kiss on her gloved fingers. She momentarily wondered whether it would stain the fabric but his shrill voice brought her back.

  “Forgive me my lady. It was not my intention to scare you. I saw you step out of the room and I thought I would join you. I could use some air myself.”

  The Duke reached for her arm but she quickly pulled away. “Your Grace? That would be quite inappropriate. We would not be chaperoned!”

  The Duke grabbed her arm again but this time she was unable to pull free.

  “I beg your pardon your Grace but you’re hurting me.” Angela tried again to break her arm free but she was still unsuccessful. He tightened his grip, driving his nails deep into her skin.

  “What am I doing wrong?” he asked coyly. “You were sending me signals all of last night and you have kept rather close with me today. And besides, you family wants us married. It is only a matter of time.”

  She lost her breath. Yes, she had been rather close to him tonight but that was only to please her family. She had done nothing other than treat him with courtesy. None of that mattered right now though. All that mattered was that he was now clutching both of her arms and his grip was growing tighter.

  She tried to scream but before a sound came out of her mouth, the Duke’s lips were on hers, moving fiercely. She struggled to break free but Corning pushed her up against the wall and used the weight of his body to hold her in place. The movement of his lips was becoming more intense and without warning he forced his rancid tongue into her mouth, flicking it around sloppily. Angela tried screaming again but it was no use. All the sound was being muffled by the kiss.

  And then suddenly she realized. He was going to try to take her. Right here in the hallway of her father’s home this abominable man was going to try to steal her innocence. It couldn’t get worse than this. It really couldn’t.

  But she was wrong and she knew it. It could get much, much worse.

  As long as no one saw them, she might be safe. As long as there were no witnesses…

  But if there was a witness…

  If someone were to come down the hall right now and catch them in this incriminating position she would have no choice but to marry him. It wouldn’t matter that she was being held against her will. She would have to marry him.

  This abominable man could steal her freedom.

  That was the worst thing that could happen.

  And she would not allow it.

  She felt his hands slip behind her back. He was holding her tighter now and his hands were slipping lower down her body. It was making her absolutely nauseated. She had to get away. She had to stop this before someone saw them, before he conquered her. She mustered up all her strength and with one determined shove she tried to free herself.

  But the Duke was much stronger than she had imagined.

  Her spirit crumbled as she suddenly realized that getting away might not be so easy.

  This was it. The end of her life. Her heart was breaking.

  No. No! She had to get away. She had to try. No matter what, she could not give up.

  She pushed him again, with all of her might, and the Duke felt it. But he misunderstood.

  “Oh Angela. My Angie. This is—oh—I—”

  Angela cringed at the use of her given name. He was babbling now and she tried to block her mind of what was happening but she just couldn’t. He had taken his lips off of hers now and Angela had the sudden urge to scream. But she stopped herself. It was too late for that. To draw attention now would be disastrous.

  Corning leaned back just a bit so he could get a better look at her. And then in one sudden movement he grabbed the neckline of her dress and pulled it down all the way to her waist. Angela stiffened and gazed at him in horror, momentarily in shock. Her breasts were now fully exposed.

  She could see him go weak at the knees and she wondered if at his age he had somehow never seen a woman's chest before. He began kissing her neck and her collar bone, or at least he was trying to. His breath was becoming deeper and heavier. He was panting so hard that for a moment she thought he might just pass out. When he didn’t, she gripped his shoulders instead and heaved into him, but to no avail. He just clutched her tighter and continued his savage attempt at kissing, his jagged teeth tearing at her skin.

  Angela felt her stomach rise up inside of her. Maybe retching on him would end this, or maybe it would just make him angry. She didn’t want to take that chance. She swallowed, desperately trying to keep everything down. It wasn’t working. She could still taste the sourness of her stomach and she didn’t know how much longer she could hold it in.

  Slowly the Duke moved his left hand from her neck and slipped it down lower, and then still lower, down the front of her body. She slapped him and immediately regretted it. He shot his eyes up at hers, full of anger. With one hand firmly pressed into her shoulder, he slid his other hand all the way to the hem of her dress and then began to slide it up inside.

  She struggled, and pushed him, and kicked at him savagely and this time her dress tore.

  Now more determined than ever, he grabbed her leg and shot his hand up her thigh as far as he could reach. Angela could see a look of satisfaction on his face as he almost reached his mark.

  She poised herself to attack again. If she could just—

  And then she heard footsteps. Someone was coming and they were going to be found. A figure hurried around the corner and stared straight at her.

  The worst had happened. They had been caught.

  ***

  Andrew had been in the hallway hanging paintings when he heard what sounded like a struggle happening around the corner. He set down his tools and quietly crept to the corner to peer around. It was most likely a couple having a secret tryst but Andrew wanted to be sure. There at the end of the hall was a woman with her dress around her waist and a man with his mouth on her neck. He had been right, of course, and turned away. Occurrences such as this were common in large households and it was always best to look the other way. But his curiosity got the better of him and he turned back. If they were going to do it in public, he really couldn’t be begrudged to watch.

  Then he looked closer and realized exactly who made up this couple.

  The man was the Duke of Corning and the woman was Miss Bennett.

  What was going on? She couldn’t possibly be participating willingly. At least he hoped not. Andrew had thought more of her than that and he was certain she was level headed enough not to agree to let a man take her, out in the open, in her father’s house nonetheless. What kind of woman would agree to that anyway?

  She was the daughter of a Baron for God’s Sake!

  That was it. He was going to intervene. He didn’t care if she wanted this or not though the more he saw of it he became convinced she was trapped. Maybe it wasn’t any of his business, for all he knew they were celebrating their impending marriage but he just couldn’t take that chance. Andrew picked up his speed and was only within a few feet of the couple when Angela looked up at him and caught his eyes. And that’s when he knew.

  She did not want this at all.

  She didn’t say a word but he somehow knew what she wanted. She was begging, pleading for him to save her.

  So in one swift move he grabbed the Duke by the collar of his shirt, pulling him off of Miss Bennett. Andrew spun him around and looked him squarely in the eyes and planted a solid punch right on his nose. Blood began to pour down his face and before he could reach up to stop it Andrew had punched him again. The Duke responded with a thrust of his head, slamming it squarely against Andrew’s chest. Andrew thudded loudly against the wall behind him. This prompted a scream from Angela and so he turned to make sure she was uninjured.

  The Duke took this opportunity to reach for Andrew’s arm but he missed and Andrew pinned him to the wall.

  “How
dare you put your hands on me. I am a Duke! And you—you—are nothing!”

  At this point Andrew had lost his patience. He was nearly a full head taller than the Duke and noticeable stronger. Andrew grabbed him by the throat and slammed him against the wall with such force that a painting came loose and crashed to the ground. Corning’s eyes grew wide as Andrew put more pressure on his windpipe. He was gasping for air and struggling to get away but it was useless. Andrew was not going to let him go anywhere.

  “I don’t know exactly what you were doing to the lady but I saw enough to make a fair judgment. What I do know is that if I ever see you near this woman again you will have more problems to deal with than a broken nose.” Andrew reached down with his free hand and grabbed the Duke in a sensitive spot. He squeezed with all his might and the Duke fell to the ground in agony.

  The Duke look up at Andrew, wide eyed and washed in red. “I could have you hang for this!” he rasped.

  “Then best get on with it. But I don’t regret what I have done!”

  The old man looked rather pathetic now as he wiped blood from his eyes and narrowed his stare. His pride was obviously pricked. “You are not even worth the time. Did you not hear me the first time I said it? You are nothing! Not worth the paper to file the charges, nor the effort to speak my case.”

  Angela saw Andrew wince.

  “But this is not over. Angela will be mine. One way or another…”

  “Well that time is not now. And since you have made it clear that I am not worth your time, your business here is done. Now go!” Andrew yelled. “Get out of this house and never come back!”

  The Duke struggled to his feet and stumbled down the stairs. All Andrew could hear was the sound of receding footsteps as he hurried to leave. Most likely the Duke would not stay away forever but he would stay away for now and that was what mattered.

  Andrew looked over to Miss Bennett. She had fallen to the floor and looked rather a mess. She had pulled her dress back into its proper place but she had crossed her arms over her chest as if trying to hide herself. He kneeled down and offered his hand to help her up. Realization flickered in her eyes and she reached up to accept his offer.

  Once on her feet Angela took one long look at Andrew and threw her arms around him. Her body was soft and warm and he thought he could feel a large amount of terror leave her body as they touched.

  Angela released him from the hug but quickly clasped his hands.

  “I—thank you. You have saved me from having to marry that fool,” she said somewhat composed.

  “Well you are welcome, Miss Bennett. There was no way I could stand by and let him abuse you so.”

  “Please,” she said smiling. “Call me Angela.”

  “Thank you ma’am but I couldn’t possibly do that.”

  In a rather intimate gesture, she put her finger up to his mouth to silence him. “I insist.” She paused for a moment before continuing. “We have become close enough that I believe it is called for.” She looked down at the neckline of her dress and flicked her eyes to him. She blushed and he knew exactly what she meant. They had met only twice, accidentally both times, since his arrival at the residence only the day before, and both times her clothing had been around her waist.

  “Oh umm I suppose you are right…Angela.”

  Now Andrew was blushing.

  They both laughed nervously and Angela squeezed Andrew’s hands.

  This time they were both left wondering what had just passed between them.

  ***

  One half hour later Angela was safely tucked into her bed with a warm bottle of water under the covers by her feet and a tall glass of brandy on the table by her head.

  Andrew had promptly returned Angela to her family who expectedly went bug eyed at the sight of her. The two had remained silent the entire walk back to her family, though she never let go of his hand until the very end. He had intended to think of a good tale to explain their current situation but her touch distracted him until it was too late.

  And besides, the only thing he could really think about was how he should have killed the Duke. Duke or not that man was disgusting and deserved to be punished with full force. But it was more than this that was driving his anger and the comfort of her hand was making his mind foggy.

  In the end he never did come up with a cover story. However, luckily for Andrew, Angela was as quick minded as he and by the time they had reached her family she had created an intricately detailed story, both hilarious and heroic.

  As Angela told her family, “I passed Andrew in the hallway as I headed towards the steps that led to the terrace. I was about to place my foot on the first step when a large rat ran past me. So as it happened the sight of this rat set me to shrieking and hopping up and down. That’s how I ripped my dress you see.”

  Her mother shook he head but her eyes were still transfixed on her daughter’s clothing.

  Angela continued anyway. “Meanwhile, Andrew who heard the screaming and knew that the only place I could have been heading was the stairs, immediately assumed that I had fallen down them! So he threw all his tools to the floor and came running around the corner to save me!”

  She paused here to gauge the reactions.

  “However, when he finally caught sight of me and realized that I was actually not in danger, it was too late. He couldn’t stop and his momentum sent him flying down the steps instead. So I, who had suffered nothing more than a ripped dress after stepping on the hem while jumping, let out another shriek at the sight of Andrew tumbling past me, arms and legs flailing wildly. He crashed with such a sudden thud at the bottom of the stairs that I quickly fled down the steps intent on saving him!

  “But you see mother, I didn’t yet know my dress was ripped and while I was rushing to make sure he was uninjured, I tripped on the hem and ended up tumbling down the stairs after all. Thank goodness Andrew was there to break my fall!”

  At first no one spoke but then without warning, Lord Cheston himself slapped his knee and hollered with laughter. The story was so absurd it just had to be true. Soon the entire room was wild with merriment.

  As it turned out, everyone was so enchanted by the story that no one thought to ask about the whereabouts of the Duke. By the time anyone remembered about him, it was well into the night and everyone just assumed that he had retired home for the evening.

  Well, thought Andrew, she’s safe for now. The pair exchanged knowing looks before going their separate ways. They only looked back once (or was it twice?) and smiled.

  Chapter Seven

  It was a secret she would hold inside her heart forever. She had been attacked, violated, and almost taken but women had no voice, especially in the world of elite families. Her family preferred the Duke for her match and if the attack had been seen, her fate would’ve been sealed. It was thanks only to Andrew, a servant, that both her life and innocence were intact.

  The next morning the rain came pouring down.

  She could never cry out loud for the horror she had faced, so she let the rain be her own tears, each drop a sorrow from the depths of her heart. It washed over her and the house, cleansing some of the fears that she felt inside, but it would never be able to erase the memory completely. With this thought, Angela was not surprised when the rain continued pouring for a week. The crying rain, so strong and powerful, flooded the roads to and from the country home leaving her family prisoners inside. But Angela didn’t mind and thanked the weather for this gift of solitude when she needed it the most.

  During the first day of home confinement Angela took to wandering the massive country manor. The view was beautiful and calming and she marveled that she had never noticed it before. Her eyes scanned the horizon and she set them on a familiar stretch of the land; the place where she had first seen Andrew and misjudged him for a scrawny boy. Amused, she retreated into her thoughts and when she came to, she was at the stairs of the servant’s quarters.

  What inside force had driven her to this place,
she wondered. But she didn’t have time to ponder the thought. The sound of footsteps caught her attention and when she opened her eyes, Andrew came into focus. Her heart took a gentle leap and a peace fell over her body. His expression changed as well and he quickened his steps in her direction. They both looked down nervously.

  In a fantasy, Angela hugged her heroic rescuer and cried until all her tears were gone. But she didn’t and she couldn’t. Instead she said, “Thank you,” and nothing more. He didn’t respond but he looked at her now and she could read his eyes. He understood her and she understood him. Words were unnecessary. He reached out and softly squeezed her shoulder and something changed between them.

  Without knowing why, Angela was back the next day. When Andrew came down the stairs he looked surprised but that expression only lasted for an instant. Unconsciously, the pair linked hands, and with a mischievous glance at each other, they fled to the secrecy of Lady Cheston’s gardens.

  ***

  She was smart, witty, and beautiful… and he was holding her hand! This was Andrew’s first chance to speak so intimately with a woman of class and he was determined to make it count.

  “Tell me about yourself.”

  She smiled at his interest and asked, “What would you like to know?”

  “Anything. Everything. As long as it’s about you…”

  There was coyness in his voice and Angela’s heart leapt. He was flirting with her!

  “Well,” she began, “As you know I am the only female member of my family…”

  Andrew raised his brow. “I know this, do I?”

  Angela had no words.

  “No,” Andrew continued simply. “All I know is that you’re Angela.”

  She blushed and nearly fainted. She had found the man of her dreams, the only man in the world who didn’t know who society said she was. Andrew knew who she really was. She was Angela, just Angela.

  “You don’t like this status. Why?”

  Angela laughed. “It appears you can read my mind.”