"We had to distract Findlay's servants so the men could slip into the house," Suzette said with a grin.
"Distract them? Really?" Lisa asked with amazement, wondering what that had consisted of. Although she supposed so much cleavage on display would have been distracting on its own with most men.
"Yes, and gad, it was fun," Suzette said on a laugh, and then wrinkled her nose. "Well, mostly it was. Wasn't too keen when the one fellow pinched me as we were heading down the stairs. "
"Daniel didn't appreciate it much either," Christiana said dryly. "I swear he put a little more vigor into knocking out the fellow than was strictly necessary once we got downstairs where he and Richard were waiting. "
Suzette grinned again. "And he kicked him something fierce between the legs as he went down too," she said on a laugh. Christiana shook her head and glanced to Lisa. "She always was the more violent-natured of the three of us. "
Lisa smiled faintly, but then said, "Thank you . . . for helping save me. "
Christiana got all misty-eyed at once and leaned forward to squeeze her hand. "We could do nothing else. And you would have done the same for us. "
"Aye," she said simply and turned her hand over to squeeze her back. "How did you sort out where I was?"
Christiana quickly explained the events that had led to her rescue. Lisa listened silently, and when she finished, asked, "What will they do about Findlay?"
Suzette and Christiana exchanged a glance. It was Suzette who sighed and said, "I am not sure they can do anything, Lisa. At least not without dragging you into scandal. "
"So he just gets away with everything?" she asked with a scowl. "I don't know," Christiana said unhappily. "I hope not, but we shall have to wait and see what the men come up with to handle him. I doubt they will just let him get away with it unless absolutely necessary. They have to think of you too, Lisa. "
She grimaced with displeasure at this, but then the carriage slowed and stopped and she glanced out the window to see they were home. Lisa was just wondering how they were to get the unconscious Robert inside, when the carriage door opened and Richard peered in. The Radnor carriage had obviously followed very closely, or had overtaken them at some point and arrived first for him to be there that quickly.
Lisa and her sisters got out and waited at the side of the carriage while Daniel got in to hand Robert down to Richard. The women then followed as the men carried him into the house. They took him straight to his room upstairs, but when Lisa started to move to the bed once he was laid out on it, Suzette caught her arm and urged her away.
"Blood," she said simply for explanation when Lisa frowned at her.
Lisa shoulders immediately drooped with defeat and she allowed herself to be urged to the window of Robert's room while Christiana tended to him. She stared silently out the window as she waited for him to be cleaned up enough that she could see him without fainting.
She and Suzette were silent as they waited, each of them casting the occasional glance toward the trio crowded around Robert's bed as Christiana cleaned the wound and did whatever else needed doing. It seemed to take a long time, but Lisa suspected that was because she was waiting, and then Christiana straightened and said something to the men before moving to join them by the window. "How is he?" Lisa asked with concern.
"He's got a cut and a bit of a knot on the side of his head, but I think he'll be all right," Christiana said quietly.
Lisa stared at her silently, recognizing the worry in her eyes.
"He's unconscious. "
"Yes," she said with a sigh. "And that's worrisome. But I really do think he'll be okay, Lisa. I doubt he has eaten anything all day, and he was under a great deal of stress fretting over you. That may have just exacerbated the situation and weakened him. I'm sure he'll wake up soon. " Christiana hesitated and then said, "Why do you not go lie down for a bit? You had a long rough day as well. I will come get you when he regains consciousness. "
Lisa hesitated, but then nodded and turned to head for the door. It had been a long day. Very stressful, really. First the hack driver had abandoned her to the mercies of the men on the street, and then Findlay had shown his true colors and taken delight in scaring her silly about his plans for her. She was very tired, Lisa acknowledged to herself as she slipped from Robert's room and crossed the hall to her own.
It was only as she reached for the door to her room that Lisa wondered where Bet was. According to her sisters it was the maid who had revealed what the men were keeping from them, that Findlay had paid the hack driver to abandon her and the men suspected it had been so that he could take her away. She would have expected the maid to be waiting anxiously to see if Lisa was rescued. However, there had been no sign of the girl since their return.
Releasing the doorknob, Lisa turned and headed up the hall instead of entering her room. She then hurried lightly down to the ground floor and moved quickly up the hall to the door to the kitchen. She found Cook and a couple of other servants seated at a table there, chattering quietly. They all paused and glanced her way as she opened the door, and each offered a relieved smile and a comment regarding being glad to see her there healthy and well.
Lisa wasn't surprised. She had no doubt they knew what had happened, or at least a good portion of it. It was simply impossible to keep secrets from servants.
She murmured a quiet thank-you and then asked after Bet, only to be told she'd gone up to Lisa's room to await her return. If she hadn't made an appearance yet, she'd probably fallen asleep waiting, was the overriding belief. Smiling, Lisa nodded and thanked them, then left them to their relaxation. She entered her room a couple moments later and glanced around as she closed the door behind her, expecting to find Bet nodding off in a chair there . . . and she did find Bet in a chair. She wasn't asleep, however. She was wide awake, wide-eyed, and bound and gagged in the chair she sat in.
Lisa stilled at once, and then following the direction of her maid's glance, whirled instinctively back to the door. Findlay stood, leaning against the wall beside the door, arms and ankles crossed in a relaxed pose and smiling widely.
"You are lucky I am a patient man, Lisa, else I would surely punish you for making me wait so long for your return," he commented with a smile. Then he straightened and moved toward her, saying, "Of course, I suppose I can hardly blame you. The men appear to have taken their time in bringing you back. Dare I hope they ran into trouble with my men? I did notice that Langley had to be carried in. "
Lisa opened her mouth to scream for help, but Findlay was fast.
Before a sound could slip from her lips, he was on her, covering her mouth with one hand, and pulling her tight up against his chest with the other at the back of her neck. Lisa grabbed at his arms to keep her balance in the awkward position and had to hold on to stay on her feet.
"I spotted the Radnor carriage sitting on my street as I headed out for the ball. It seemed obvious to me that I hadn't been as clever as I'd thought and help was on the way," he whispered, urging her backward. "I debated what to do. Return to the house and warn the servants to prepare for all-out battle? Or flee for the Continent?"
"However, then it occurred to me that there was no real need to flee for the Continent. They weren't likely to call in the authorities. After all, that would damage your reputation. It made me realize I had another option. I could come here. They would rescue you, bring you back here and relax a bit thinking you were safe in the bosom of your family, and then I could take you away right from under their noses. It would mean at least one whole night's head start to drag you to Gretna Green and force you into marriage before they even knew you were missing. "
Lisa glared at him over the hand he had over her mouth.
"I know, I know," he said with a shake of the head. "It means having to bypass all those lovely little pleasures I'd thought we might enjoy tonight. But we can still enjoy them after the wedding. "
Lisa felt the window ledge press against the backs of her legs and tried to glance around, but he was holding her head still with the hand over her mouth. Pinning her against the window ledge with his hips, he removed the arm from around her and dragged something out of his pocket. In the next moment he'd shoved a balled-up cloth of some sort into her mouth. Lisa instinctively lifted her hands to remove it, but found her wrists immediately clasped in his hands and dragged behind her back. Holding them there with one hand, he then retrieved another strip of cloth from his pocket and quickly bound her wrists.
While he was distracted with tying her hands, Lisa tried to work the gag out of her mouth. All it would take was one good shout and help would be there in an instant. She almost managed it, but just as Lisa was about to spit the last of it out and give that shout, Charles finished with her hands and returned his attention to her gag, pushing it back into her mouth to the point where she thought she might choke on it. He then produced another strip of cloth and placed it over her mouth, forcing it between her lips and then tying it around behind her head.
"Now," he said pleasantly once he'd finished. "This is going to be tricky, but we are going out the window and down the tree. You, of course, don't have your hands to help you so will have to depend on me to keep you from falling. I will keep you safe . . . unless you try to escape. If you try to escape, I will let you fall. Do we understand each other?"
When Lisa hesitated, he squeezed her bound wrists together painfully. "Do we understand each other?"
She nodded abruptly.
"Good. " Charles smiled.
Lisa eyed him warily, and then gasped into her gag when he suddenly turned her to face the window.
"Here we go," he murmured by her ear.