Chapter 25

Chapter Twenty-Five

V ictoria had always believed that she was destined to live a boring life. A life that was neither too good or too bad, but was as mundane as possible. She had good reason to believe this too, having spent the better part of her life working everyday to pull her family together.

She had accepted that it was her fate to help beautify her sisters lives, rather than shine herself. She had made peace with it even. Ironically recent events has proved that, that belief was far from the truth.

First, she got into a love scandal with a man that was known as a recluse in polite society, then she got married by special license and now she was sitting in a carriage going God knows where, having been kidnapped by her former childhood friend, who she would have sworn was an angel at heart, but who was actually a raving maniac that for some reason was obsessed with her.

She wondered when his mental decline had started. Was it back in their childhood days?. Somehow, she didn't believe that, giving that the man who now sat beside her with a stoic expression, held no resemblance to the gentle child in here memory, who could not bear to hurt an ant, who bounded the broken wings of wounded birds.

The boy who tended to her wounds and consoled her when she got injured would never dream of tying her up and threatening to harm her.

Wriggling her bound hands to allow for some blood flow, she licked her dry lips, feeling the heat of perspiration at the back of her neck that reminded her that she have not had access to hot water for the past three days.

It was funny that in this moment, she had the silly thought of how much she would love to be at her chambers in Castle Devlin reclining in a bathtub filled with piping hot water that smelled good, scented with lilies, her favorite flower.

Perhaps her husband might even join her, helping her scrub her back while he placed sweet kisses along the sensitive skin of her neck.

With the way their relationship had been lately he might even bed her.

The thought that she would have been home at the castle in comfort and wrapped in the loving arms of her dashing husband were it not for the crazy man seated somewhere above her, filled her with anger.

For the hundredth time, she wondered what Anthony would think of her disappearance. Would he believe that she abandoned him? or was he was now in agony looking everywhere for her?. She had to know and the only way she could know was, if she could find something, anything that could help her escape.

Clearing her suddenly dry throat, she began.

" Theo, could you at least tell me where we are going?" She asked in the softest tone she could muster.

Her question was met with cold silence and she looked up to see his set determined expression. He was ignoring her.

" Theo," she tried again " I am severely patched, could we stop to get some water to drink?"

If they stopped at an inn, it might provide an opening for her to escape or at the very least slow them down long enough to be found, assuming that Anthony was looking to find her.

The icy silence that followed her plea, filled her with hopelessness because it seemed appealing to even the man's heart was not working

She was slowly going into panic when the carriage abruptly stopped causing her to jerk slightly forward, hitting her forehead on the panel before her. She winced slightly rubbing the abused area.

" Damn it" Theodore cursed beside her and pulled the carriage door open, slamming it closed behind him. " Why did you stop man? " She heard his angry voice muffled by the closed carriage doors. " I told you we have to make haste...." His words trailed off as he probably saw the cause of the disturbance.

Whatever or whoever had caused the disturbance deserved her silent thanks because she was sure going to make sure that she escaped, even if she had to crawl her way all the way back home.

* * *

Anthony had ridden for the past half day at top speed chasing after the blackguard who had made the irrevocable error of kidnapping his wife.

When his mother had drawn attention to the fact that it was out of character for Victoria to leave, especially while all her belongings remained intact in her chambers. He had felt so stupid for allowing his self pity and self loathing to blind him from seeing the true situation. Because in his stupidity he had subjected sweet Victoria to staying longer in the hands of her captor than she should have.

That very minute he had left the castle at top speed, not waiting for the constables to arrive. Whenever he imagined his sweet beautiful Victoria suffering in the hands of whomever had kidnapped her, he got more enraged. He spurred the horse even harder. Now he even had an idea who the captor must be, he moved even faster, eager to catch the culprit.

A stable hand had reported seeing a man with features matching that of Viscount Seton driving off a carriage from the estate at an odd hour of the morning.

He should have known and trusted his instincts when it told him that the man held feelings other than just platonic ones for Victoria. He had known in some part of him, that the man held regards of a romantic nature for Victoria but he had never guessed that the man was unhinged enough to go the route of kidnapping a married woman from her own home.

Perhaps he might have admired the man's audacity if the woman in question was not his wife.

For the next half hour, he pushed his horse to it's limit, stopping at an inn, only to change horses and enquire if anyone had seen a couple matching the description of Seton and Victoria.

When he got no positive answer, he became even more worried. A carriage carrying a female was usually slower, since they had to stop at inns along the way for the lady to attend to her toilette or rest. The fact that it appeared that they had not stopped meant they could be farther away and that Seton was most likely torturing his wife with no thought for her needs.

The thought caused his vision to be hazed with red as he imagined twining his hands around the man's neck and squeezing until the light went out in his eyes. The thought of his revenge seemed to do the work of fuel propelling him to push his horse to eat up miles in a few moments.

When he had gotten a glimpse of a carriage ahead, he had hastened his ride, his heart lurching in his chest. When he made out the Seton coat of arms on the carriage identifying it as belonging to the mad man.

He felt relief that quickly transformed into anger as he spurred his horse, fairly flying after the carriage. He drove past it to stop ahead of the carriage, guiding his horse to face the oncoming vehicle.

The carriage driver's eyes widened with surprise, when he spotted him barely a yard away, but Anthony would praise the man on how quickly he was able to bring the team of horses to a stop just barely a breath away from where he sat on his horse.

It was also a testament to the stoic temperament of his horse that it didn't try to rear or bolt in the event of that possible collision. Anthony patted the animal in thanks, rubbing the mane of the magnificent horse while he waited for the occupant to step down.

Just as he expected, he heard the man curse as he alighted from the vehicle.

" Damn it, man. I told you to make haste....." His voice trailed off when he noticed Anthony's presence.

His eyes widened slightly in surprise before he schooled his expression into an unreadable one.

" What the devil, Devlin?" He said in a slightly annoyed tone.

It was obvious that the man was trying to affect an expression of innocence but his previous expression of shock and guilt had already giving him away.

Anthony jumped down smoothly from the stallion, whipped out a pistol from its place in the hidden pocket of his jacket, he trained it at him, stepping towards the viscount until he stood right in front of him. Loving the way the man's eyes shifted uncomfortably, clearly intimidated by the difference in height and bulk.

Anthony had never been more grateful for his tough body honed in the fires of battle than in that moment, he appreciated it and the effect it was having on the pompous brat.

" I came to collect my wife" he said in the quietest voice possible.

" I would have thought that the appropriate place for that would be at home, not here in the middle of no where" Theodore said in defense.

Anthony allowed his lips to curl in the sinister smirk that had made the blood of many soldiers run cold on the battlefield. It was satisfying to see Theo shudder in fear. Seemed he hadn't completely lost his touch.

Seton's eyes darted away from his face and around, possibly looking for a way to escape.

Anthony stepped closer to him

" I do not like repeating my self, Seton. It is in your best interest that you return my wife to me and I truly hope she is intact or unscathed. Or so help me Seton"

" What will you do?. Call me out to duel?. Duels are outlawed in England." He said with false bravado

Anthony let out a dark chuckle in answer, stepping in even closer that he was now glowering down at the man

" I have no intention to call you out for a duel. They are quite simpler ways to settle the matter at hand. As a matter of fact, I am happy to settle the matter here."

He watched as the hidden threat penetrated his daft brain. He stood close enough to see when the man's eyes dilated with fear and the sweat that broke out on his brow.

Good. It seemed the man wasn't completely dumb. He waited while the other man weighed his options because he for a fact knew that his offer was deadlier, because a fight with the puny Viscount had a predictable outcome, going by the fact that between the both of them, there was only one person with military background and affiliations with pugilism and that person was not Seton

A fight between them could only end one way- with the Viscount's dead body on the side of the road

He had no inclination to kill anyone, especially after coming back from the war but if the man presumed to stop him from recovering his wife or even made the mistake of harming her, the choice would be out of his hands. He hoped for both their sakes that the man made the best decision.

As he watched, Seton brought his expression under control and thrust his chin out in determination. An icy feeling of dread climbed down Anthony's spine. It seemed the man had decided to take the difficult path and the next words of his mouth confirmed his premonition

" She is not here." He said simply causing Anthony to release a growl of anger.

He continued, completely ignoring the apparent danger staring him on his face

" Besides, even if she was here. She clearly do not want you. Who would want to be shackled to you by the way? You are an unrefined beast, unworthy to have such an angel as a wife. She must have realized it. That is why she left" he sneered.

It was obvious that Seton's plan was to provoke him into a state of rage, but he had not lived the better part of a decade enduring the barbed tongues of the gossips of the ton to crumple in the face of such weak insult. It also helped that the statement was untrue.

" Well, My wife is the only one that can confirm that isn't she?" He said pasting on a smirk on his face that was sure to anger the other man.

Keeping the gun trained at him, he sidled towards the door of the carriage. Finally turning his back to Seton to open the door.

That was a wrong move, especially for a retired soldier and he immediately suffered the consequences for that error, because before his fingers made contact with the door, he felt Seton jump on him from the back temporarily surprising him. Seton used that opportunity to knock his gun away from his hand and before Anthony could react to retrieve his weapon, he kicked it out of sight.

Anthony reacted on instinct, using his elbow to deliver a sharp blow to his abdomen. That gave him enough time to remove himself from his grasp. When he turned, Seton was on the floor cupping his bleeding nose. When the man stood up, Anthony caught sight of a flash of silver and Seton was on him again raising a silver dagger clearly intending to stab him.

Anthony reacted immediately raising his hands to block the downward trajectory of the dagger. Seton pushed down on the dagger with all his might. A crazed look in his eyes

" You cannot have her" he said on a whisper." She. is. Mine." He said in a chilling whisper " Mine do you hear?"

" I will kill you before I let you have her" he said putting more of the weight of his body behind the dagger

Anthony acknowledged now that he might have underestimated the man and the degree to which his madness had hold of him. He had always known Seton as a man that tended towards being a dandy.

He never believed that the man could go to the extent of trying to kill him to gain his wife. He must have planned it, if he had silver daggers hidden in his clothes. Granted, many men in society wore it as a fashion. He had just never expected the man to know how to use it. He became increasingly afraid of the true state of his wife given the latest display of madness from his new opponent.

In addition to his fear. He could also feel his strength failing him. He must have become weak after starving for a day and a half with no rest as he rode half across the country. The exhaustion was definitely telling on him and he could not give in now, because he would surely be dead. He pushed up using the carriage to brace himself, pushing off Seton allowing him to deflect the dagger a bit.

Bringing up his knee he managed to deliver a blow at the man's shin, but his madness must have made him impervious to the pain, because it barely slowed him down. Instead it seemed to enrage him

With an animalistic growl. He attacked him once again, the dagger raised high in his fist like some medieval Viking warrior. Anthony could already feel the exhaustion fast taking hold of him. He braced himself to deflect the blow when a feminine scream pierced the air..

" Stop!!!"

Anthony towards the sound, vaguely realizing that his opponent had stopped as well to look at the source of the interruption. It was Victoria. His radiant wife. She was alive. The relief that came with that realized threatened to drive him to his knees. She was a sight for sore eyes even in her bedraggled state.

She looked worn out, her hair matted with the effect of a few days of dirt and her face and clothes slightly bloodied. The presence of bruises on her face and the small cuts on her forehead caused anger to breed in his chest restoring part of his strength. She stepped down from the carriage. Coming to stand beside him. She smiled up at him

" How... How did you...." Seton stuttered

Victoria broke her eye contact with him, her smile dying, replaced with resentment when she faced Seton

" You must be wondering how I got loose. I can be quite creative some times, but I am sure you would know that, seeing as we have been friends for the better part of two decades"

He had bound her. He was sure going to kill him now

" I overheard you telling my husband that I don't want him. I wonder where you got the idea. I love my husband and no one can replace him in my heart"

At the mention of her love for him. Anthony turned to her, a warm feeling totally at odds with the situation at hand rapidly spreading through his veins. It was certainly a privilege to be loved by the extraordinary woman beside him. She was too perfect.

He was forced out of his internal monologue by the sound of Seton sputtering.

" But, you didn't want him at first. You think I don't know that you only agreed to be courted by him to protect your sisters?."

Victoria barely managed to conceal her shock. She wondered how he got access to such information. It was definitely not from her sisters. Charity barely spoke about to outsiders about such matters and neither did Diana.

She guessed she was not supposed to be surprised by a man that had gone the length of investigating her husband in attempt to make her leave him

" That might be so at first, but as I got to know him while he courted me. I fell in love with him"

" No. You do not get to just fall in love with a beast. You are supposed to love me. I loved you first. I sacrificed everything for you. " He said his voice rising causing Victoria to flinch.

Seeming to realize he was scaring her. He breathed deeply, smiling in a chilling manner

" You just have to come with me. We can be happy together. I promise. We can live in our own house. Have our own family. We will be happy. Very happy" he said nodding as if trying to convince himself.

" Theo" Victoria said to him in a gentle voice " You are great friend but I never did love you. I love Anthony. He is my husband. You need to return to your family. Your wife, your son. They are waiting for you."

The scary smile on Theo's face faded and was replaced with an expression of rage, his eyes burning with hatred.

" Well if I cannot have you." He said, the hand that still clutched the dagger flexing " I will make damn sure that no one will. Not even your beast of a husband."

With that statement, he raised the dagger and rushed towards them. Victoria heard someone scream and realized that must be her. She braced herself for impact that never came. When she opened her eyes it was to see that Anthony's big body shielded hers. He must have taken the stab. Rushing around him. She saw that the dagger was embedded on his left shoulder just missing his heart by a few meters.

" Anthony" she screamed. As she watched Theo pulled the dagger free eliciting a grunt from Anthony. He raised it again to probably finish the work.

She threw herself across Anthony's body. He would have kill her before he got to Anthony. After all. It was her fault for trusting such a mentally unstable character like Theo.

The stab she expected never came because she felt someone pull Theo away from behind her

When she turned her back, it was to see that two men dressed completely in black were restraining Theo while he struggled like a wild crazed animal.

She shuddered, realizing that the mild tempered man she knew as a friend was long gone and in his place was this animal clothed in human skin. She could not believe that he had tried to kill her and her husband. She was just happy that it was over. She laid her head back on her husband's chest. The grunt he emitted, reminding her of his injury.

Sitting up, she saw that his eyes were closed, he was sweating, his breathing was a little labored and there was a greyish cast to his complexion and the wound on his left shoulder still bled freely soaking his white shirt and his waist coat.

" Anthony" she called loudly. He opened his eyes to look at her. His gaze dull and slightly unfocused.

" You are so beautiful" he said trying to raise his hand to caress her face but it fell back beside him

" Shh. I need to look at your wound" she said to him. Unbuttoning his waistcoat and then his shirt.

" I would never object to being undressed by a woman but the venue isn't appropriate. We are out..side dar..ling" he said his words slurred as he dozed off.

He couldn't sleep off not when she had not ascertained the extent of his wound.

" Wake up Anthony. You cannot die on me. I love you and you dare not leave. I will never let you"

" So bossy..." He said with a tired smile " I love you too, beautiful Vicky"

" Good. Now tell me where you keep the whisky"

" In the saddlebags. I think " he said blinking blearily attempting to keep awake.

Scrambling to her feet she rushed to the point where his horse still stood munching happily on nearby grass completely unconcerned with the events happening around. She reached into the saddlebags that hung from his back., rummaging until she found the flask that contained the whisky. She quickly closed the bag and rushed to where Anthony sat slumped at the side of the carriage.

She tore some part of her petticoats and fashioned some bandages. She disinfected the wound with the whisky, ignoring his hiss of pain, wrapping the bandage around him.

By the time she was done. He was already unconscious. Now that she was sure that the wound wasn't life threatening and was not likely to be infected during their long ride home. She decided to leave him to sleep, at least it would give him a respite from the pain.

She called the attention of the constables, who requested the help of two other of their colleagues to get her husband inside the carriage, she had always known that her husband was a big man. She had just not realized he was that heavy.

When they successfully had him inside. The driver who was still hanging around, apparently offered to drive them back home and the constables followed behind tethering Anthony's stallion to their carriage.

The ride home was uneventful and Victoria was immensely grateful that she and her husband was in one piece.

With this one scare she had become quite clear about what was important in life. Love and family being top of the list. She loved her husband and was resolved to make sure that he knew that for as long as they both lived.