The Duke's Affair

XXVI

She twisted still further, slowly turning her head, hearing the crunch of the snow loud in her ear, feeling the ice relieve the inevitable swelling of her face. Then she saw it; just beyond the reach of her left right hand, a thick branch, embedded in a light layer of snow. Heavy, substantial: fallen from one of the oak trees that lined the drive and forgotten about. If she could just reach it...she stretched out and shuffled forward in the snow, millimetre by millimetre. She knew she only had seconds before the men began to focus on her again.

But she had made up her mind, and her actions were faster than she even had time to think. She gripped the branch, thick between her fingers, and brought it up with as much force as she could manage between the man's legs. The thud as it made contact with his crotch, as Lauren stood up, sounded painful. He dropped the gun in the snow, Lauren's eyes flicking to where it fell, and yelled, his knees turning inward and his hands falling between his legs. He swore, he screamed and the other man at his side was so shocked that he stood frozen, staring. Lauren wanted to reach for the weapon, but she wanted to run more. The man's eyes met hers and he made an unmistakable lunge for the gun. Lauren turned and began to sprint round the other side of the car, darting through the line of oak trees, heading for the thicket that ran behind.

Her blood rushed in her ears, her breathing heaving with difficulty as she ran faster than she had ever run in her life. She ducked and covered her head as she heard a round of bullets being sprayed in her direction. She wasn't hit, but they would keep coming for her. She jumped a fence and ducked behind the hedge, which ran along the side of the field and provided some cover.

The only choice she had was to run for the house. For Henry.

*

Henry came back into the room. Lydia was sitting with an arm around Aurelia, whispering in her ear. When she saw Henry, she sat back, shifting away from his sister. "Are you ready?" she asked.

Henry took a moment just to stare at her, to see if he could make out the slightest glimmer of insecurity or regret. But no, Lydia knew what she wanted. And she knew she was going to get it.

But to have him marry Annabel? That was too much. She couldn't control him like a puppet; for too long these women had been winning, playing him like a pawn. Well, he'd had enough. Even now John's men would be after Annabel, slowing her down, stopping her from reaching the house. She was barely more than a teenager; she could be dealt with, talked round. She wasn't as established in her evil ways as Lydia was, although she was headed down the same track. He took a deep breath. "Yes." He slid his hand into his pocket and pulled out a Mont Blanc pen, flipping off the lid and fixing it to the other end of the pen.

"I'm so glad you've come round," said Lydia. "It's for the best, you know."

Henry walked toward the table that Lydia leant over, pushing the papers towards him. But just as he was about to put pen to paper, he stopped, the pen poised, a drop of black ink welling on the nib. "Before I sign, shouldn't we watch the footage?"

"Are you sure -"

"I ought to at least know what you have," he said, standing up straight and fixing the lid back on his pen.

"You really want us to see it? You want to force your sister" - she pointed at Aurelia - "to watch your depravity?"

"If she wants the house and money that much then yes, she can damn well watch the video."

Lydia raised her eyebrows and tilted her head in a way that said 'alright then', but spoke disapproval just as loudly. She reached out and took up the video. "I haven't seen it, but your PA assured me it was worth watching. How she must have loved playing it, eh Henry?" Lydia laughed, her fingers tightening around it.