Duke of Decadence (Lords of Scandal 9)

“My name is Caroline. I quit.”

“You’re quitting now?” Eliza huffed as she grabbed up an umbrella, holding it in front of her like a sword.

Isabella straightened. “I accept your resignation. You may leave the carriage now.”

Abigail gave a quick laugh as the older woman turned pale, but that voice called again. “If you’re thinking you can escape, you should know there’s a man out here for each of you to make certain you’re escorted to your host.”

“It was a trap,” Eliza whispered. “That note wasn’t from Bash, was it?”

“No,” Isabella answered, her gut churning. “How are we going to get out of this?” Her hand shook as braced it on the handle of the door.

Eliza frowned. “Do we stay in or get out as they’re requesting?”

“Stay in,” Abigail inserted. “Don’t be a fool.”

“But then they can just drive off with all of us in this carriage.”

“Ladies,” the voice called again. It held a sing-song quality that made Isabella even more nervous. “Time to come out.”

“Eliza.” She drew in a deep breath. “One of us needs to climb out and make it to the driver’s seat to get the carriage out of here.”

“How close are the men? How many of them are there?”

Abigail peeked out one curtain. “I see two. Ten or fifteen paces away.”

“I see three,” Emily said. “Two further back and one right next to the door.”

Eliza nodded. “Ok, I’ll bash him with my umbrella and then Isabella will climb into the driver’s seat and whisk you all to safety.”

“But what if he grabs you?” Isabella asked. For a split second she saw the fear flicker on Eliza’s face before her sister carefully masked it again.

“I can’t have you being the only hero,” Eliza said as the door rattled.

Isabella tightened her grip on the door. “Eliza. You’re not likely to climb back in if—”

“I’ll be fine.” Eliza grabbed the handle too. Then she whispered, “Get our sisters to safety and marry that duke. They need him and so do you.”

Emily grabbed the handle too, pushing Eliza’s hand away. “Give me that umbrella.” Then Emily snatched it from

Eliza’s hand. Instead of helping to pull the handle, Emily gave the door a sudden push. “Now!” she yelled.

The door swung open and, with all three of their weights behind it, Isabella felt the moment that the door hit the attacker.

He grunted, stumbling back and Emily jumped out, hitting him with the umbrella as Isabella followed her out, scrambling to the front of the carriage and onto the seat. She saw other men rushing toward them, and her hands shook as she tried to grab up the reins. A scream from behind her made her swivel back. The attacker had grabbed Emily and was holding her in a beefy grip.

Eliza had also climbed out and was attempting to pull Emily from the man’s grasp.

Isabella, froze for a moment, torn between helping Eliza and getting the carriage back to safety. But if they were all caught, their heroics would be in vain and so she started for the seat, climbing up onto the bench.

Another man rushed toward Emily, and for a moment a scream built in her throat. What would the two men do to her sisters?

But this new man yelled, “Go!” And then he swung his fist, hitting the attacker with a force that sent the man sprawling to the ground.

Isabella gasped out her surprise recognizing him instantly. It was the mystery gambler from the night before. “You!”

In an instant, he pushed Eliza through the open door, and she fell to the carriage floor. “Go!” he yelled again and then grabbed up Emily and reached for the back of the carriage.

Isabella fumbled the reins and managed to grab hold and snap them, and the horses kicked into motion again.