Chapter 25

CHAPTER 25

RICHARD

T he cadence of the horse's hooves beating into the ground did little to soothe my raw anger. How dare she question what I had built for us? All that I had done for her? She was just like the others and soon she would follow the same fate.

Taking out my riding crop, I spurred the horse on faster, imagining it was Elizabeth's soft backside I was whipping as I did so.

Dammit, my mind raged. Elizabeth was special. She had been from the moment I laid eyes on her. I just knew, deep in my soul, that she would be the one. That after all this time and all my searching, I had finally found my perfect Victorian woman. I wasn't not wrong. I knew she loved me, I saw it in her eyes every time I whipped her with my belt or shoved my cock down her throat. Those gorgeous emerald eyes looking up at me with perfect submissive trust and obedience.

I knew she loved the world I had built for her… for us. She just needed a little more persuasion. After all, wasn't it the duty of a guardian to guide and instruct his ward? To show her the error of her thinking? To discipline her?

She thought me cruel before. She hadn't seen cruelty yet. I would make her bleed for me. Mark her as forever mine. Break her will till her every thought, her every breath was reserved only for me. I had done it before, I would do it again, but this time, I'd make sure her mind never came back to the present.

I was doing this for her and soon she would learn to appreciate the kind of love and protection I was offering. I would give her no choice in the matter.

The house was calm and still when I returned but not for long. After speaking to Thomas, I of course headed directly to Elizabeth's room, only to discover her gone.

Returning to the stables, I grabbed my still saddled horse and headed out into the night to find her. As much as I might rage about how much she needed me and my protection, the simple fact was I needed her more. I loved everything about her. From the way she bit her lip when she was nervous, to the way she kicked off her shoes and rode on the tops of my feet when we waltzed, to the beautiful flush of her cheek when she came on my tongue. Everything. I knew what I had to do.

I needed to get her back. This time it was going to be different. No longer would she be treated as my ward. From this point forward, she would be my bride, forever bound to me before God and man.

As I approached the one main road in and out of the village, I saw a car pulled over and Elizabeth struggling against one of the servants' arms. She had gotten further than the last time. I would have to take additional precautions to make sure she never escaped again.

"I caught her trying to escape, Your Grace," said the servant.

"No," she said, recoiling from my glare. Good. She was afraid. She should be afraid.

"No, no, no." Elizabeth started fighting the servant's grasp. "No! It's not real! It's not real!"

The moment I dismounted and approached she knew she was defeated. Like the submissive I knew she was, she crawled toward me and curled into the fetal position at my feet.

Despite my anger, I took pity on her. This was all as much my fault as her own. It was my duty to take away all care and independent thought, till her mind was filled only with thoughts of us and our life together, but there was a flaw in my thinking. A glaring one. Elizabeth would never be a true Victorian woman till she had a family to care for. I would make her my bride, my wife. Once she had a child to love and care for, she would no longer be concerned about fantastical thoughts or dreams of a different life… a life away from me.

I would rectify the matter the moment I got her home. I would not relent till her belly was swollen with our child, binding her to me forever.

Leaning down, I picked her up and cradled her close, sheltering her from the chill of the night with my body. I turned just as the carriage arrived to collect us. Inside its dark warmth, I held her close in my arms. I couldn't help but smile when I thought of the children she would bear for me.

"Don't worry, my love. I've got you. It's only a dream. Just a dream."

A dream… and a new beginning.