Protecting Lady Esther (The King's League)

It has to be now, she told herself, edging slowly towards Lord Hogarth. You have to do it now!

Before she could stop herself, before she grew too fearful to do anything other than obey, Esther launched herself forward. She did not know where she had hit Lord Hogarth, and she did not know how deep the pin had gone, for in that one moment, Lord Hogarth bellowed in pain and she had no other thought than to pick up her skirts and run for all she was worth.

Breathing hard, her soft slippers useless against the stony ground, Esther hurried forward into the darkness, one hand outstretched in front of her. Unable to run any longer, the darkness surrounding her, Esther moved forward as quickly as she could, praying that Lord Hogarth would not catch her.

Behind her, she could hear him still roaring in pain, calling down curses on her head as he shouted aloud. Her heart was in her throat, her eyes filling with sudden tears as she fell, her knees scraping hard on the ground. Pushing herself to her feet and stumbling forward, she began to whisper a prayer, her eyes damp and her strength fading fast.

“Esther!”

The hissed voice of her aunt reached out towards her from the darkness, making her heart suddenly lift wildly in her chest.

“Esther, are you there?”

“Aunt?” In the complete darkness of the night, she did not know where she was going, moving forward slowly and fully aware of Lord Hogarth’s voice growing every closer behind her, his lantern his source of light where she had none.

“Esther! I am here!” Her aunt seemed closer now, and with outstretched hands and more whispered words, Esther finally found Lady Ware.

“Aunt!” She hugged her aunt tightly, feeling Lady Ware tremble. “We must press on.” Shuddering at the loud voice of Lord Hogarth behind them, hearing how he threatened her with all manner of dark intentions, she began to stumble forward again, only for her aunt to tug at her hands.

“No.” Lady Ware said hurriedly, pulling Esther back. “No, come this way. There, can you see?” She tugged Esther forward, making her stagger after her as fear began to course through her veins. “The lights.”

Esther strained to make out what her aunt was showing her, only to realize that the lights her aunt had seen were nothing more than flickering dots of light in an otherwise dark sky.

“It is the city,” her aunt whispered, hurrying forward and pulling Esther along with her in reckless abandon. “We must return there.”

Esther began to move forward quickly, pushed on by fear and by the ever increasing presence of Lord Hogarth behind them. With his lantern, he was certain to make better progress than they, which meant that very soon, they would have to battle him again unless they could escape. Her heart hammered furiously, nausea rising up within her as she gasped for air, her hand holding tightly to her aunt’s, with one hand outstretched in front of her again.

“He is gaining,” Lady Ware whispered hoarsely, turning around to see Lord Hogarth’s lantern light drawing ever closer. “What are we to do?”

Esther’s breath caught in her chest, her eyes fixed on the lights ahead. “We must press on,” she said, glancing behind her and feeling her heart jump into her throat. “We must find somewhere to hide from him, else we will be useless against him.” With Lord Hogarth’s knife, she knew that they would have no defense. There seemed to be no way out, no easy answer to the struggle that lay before them. Either they would find a place to hide from Lord Hogarth or he would capture them again.

And just then, when her strength was fading and her lungs were burning for air, when her feet were screaming in pain and her heart was quailing within her, the sound of horses hooves caught her attention. Lady Ware heard it too, stopping dead and looking all about her.

“A carriage!” Lady Ware cried, seeing lights moving towards them. “We must stop them, whoever they are!”

Esther, knowing that there was nothing else for it, moved as quickly as she could, waving frantically, knowing that Lord Hogarth was only a short distance away from them now.

“Stop! Stop, please!” she cried, as Lady Ware cried out the same. “We need your help!”

“There you are!” she heard Lord Hogarth shout, making her scream aloud in fright. “You will not escape me again!”

Frantic, Esther began to run heedlessly, not knowing where she was going but desperate to escape. The horses screamed, wheels scraped, and Esther felt something huge hit her, throwing her back against the ground.

Then everything faded to nothing.

Chapter Thirteen

“Where is he?”

Charles’s voice was filled with urgency as he hurried into the small, dank room, which was now lit with lanterns. Lord Riggerton gestured to a small bed on the floor, where a man was lying. Grasping one of the lanterns from the wall, Charles knelt down, just as Lord Watt came to join him.

“Lord Leighton,” he said, reaching out to grasp the older gentleman’s hand. “You are safe now.”

Lord Leighton said nothing, his eyes closed tightly and his breathing labored. Charles threw a glance up to Lord Riggerton, who merely shook his head. Evidently, he had been like this for some time.

“Lord Leighton,” Charles said again, setting the lantern down beside the man. “We must move you to your townhouse. A doctor has already been sent there to wait for you. Your daughter, Esther, she—”

Lord Leighton groaned loudly, shifting on his makeshift bed, his eyes still closed tightly.