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Aria stared at the man, and uncertainty moved through her. Her husband hadn’t behaved as she’d expected either.
Still, it was mad to follow this strange, disheveled man from the room, even if he didn’t seem like a criminal. Even the duke had said he was his cousin. He didn’t have an eyepatch, a hooked hand, or a scar. He spoke smoothly with the rounded vowels all English aristocrats adopted.
In fact, something about him was appealing. Something that made her want to gaze at his face. His features were symmetrical and solid, and something was charming about the way his dark hair flopped over his brow. He didn’t seem like a madman. In fact, he seemed nice.
That said, he was probably mistaken. Dudley couldn’t be a murderer, even if he’d told his cousin he intended to kill her. Perhaps he was simply trying to tease him.
And yet...
Aria’s stomach hurt when contemplating her husband. The kind man she’d corresponded with had been absent, and now she understood why. She was tempted to usher this man from her room and sleep on the bed.
The man took her hand. It felt warm, even through her gloves.
The man had a most peculiar look on his face. His expression was obvious, even despite his round spectacles, and Aria stepped away.
In the next moment, he grabbed hold of her, and in the moment after that, he swept her into his arms. Her heart sped. No man had ever held her like this. No man had ever dared.
“Put me down,” she ordered.
He frowned. “You’re going to have to be quiet.”
He swung her around, and too late, she realized he was searching for something. In the next moment, he grabbed a stocking from the wardrobe and tied it around her mouth.
“Better not struggle,” he said.
She hesitated. Perhaps he was right. Perhaps she should simply give in.
Or perhaps he’d made everything up. Perhaps Dudley truly had written those lovely letters to her, perhaps Miss van Konigsberg was only a dear, platonic friend whom he’d hired to sing some opera to make his wedding with Aria memorable. Perhaps Dudley was merely awkward around other people, and perhaps, he simply had a crazed cousin who’d always resented him.
Aria pushed against his chest, startled at its muscularity. The man didn’t seem strong at first glance. At least, she’d never associated floppy hair that most valets would scoff at and spectacles with the masculine men who rode through Hyde Park. Still, she doubted any of those men could have much outpaced Dudley’s cousin.
He eyed her fingers. “I have to carry you.”
“So you say.”
“If I let you down, you could run away and die.”
“The latter is doubtful.”
“And that attitude is why I’m carrying you.” His voice was a pleasant tenor, and it rumbled in her ear in an appealing manner.
Aria had the odd sense he would be good at singing. If she weren’t being kidnapped, and if he weren’t a vile stranger, it might be nice to lean against his arms. Instead, she held herself rigidly. She was not going to sink into his arms. Absolutely not.
She did, though, require one thing. She pointed to the adjoining door.
He frowned. “I’m not going to fall for a trick.”
Heavens.
“It’s not a trick,” she insisted, but her words came out muffled. She tried to roll from his arms, but he tightened his grip on her.
Aria swallowed hard. She was not going to leave without Galileo. If the duke truly was a murderer, he was unlikely to be a good caretaker for Galileo, especially if her abandonment infuriated him.
She pointed at the door again and gave her kidnapper a stern look.
Her kidnapper sighed, then opened the door. “I suppose you want your clothes.”
Actually, her clothes probably would be a good idea, but it wasn’t what was on her mind.
Her kidnapper opened the door, and Galileo rushed out, his tail wagging.
“I take it this is your dog?” her kidnapper asked.
She nodded. Her kidnapper’s forehead creased, but he scooped Galileo up and handed him to her. Galileo panted happily, evidently unperturbed by this new game of swaying several feet in the air.
A noise sounded in the hallway, and her kidnapper gritted his teeth.
Then he blew out his candle, and they were in darkness. She shivered in his arms, and her heart pattered. She was suddenly even more conscious that she was being held. His scent of cotton and cedar wafted over her. He wasn’t supposed to smell good. He was a criminal—a kidnapper.
She tried to scream, but the gag made the effort impossible. The man sighed, perhaps irritated at her attempt, and he quickly dragged her toward the door. Once somebody opened the door to her room, he carried her from the adjoining room and into the corridor.
This was mad.
She was being kidnapped. She and Galileo were being kidnapped. Galileo still wagged his tail, for some odd reason deciding they weren’t in any danger, even though he barked with regularity at chamber maids and footmen. She supposed brooms were perhaps more dangerous looking than spectacle-wearing men with mostly mild demeanors. She contemplated Galileo’s tail. Perhaps she could tug it. If Galileo barked, perhaps someone would come. She moved her fingers toward Galileo’s tail, but her kidnapper’s hands wrapped against hers.
A jolt of heat, possibly inspired by the sudden, certainly unwanted connection that moved through her.
Her kidnapper descended the steps, and her heart sank. Now that dinner was finished and her visitors had left, the butler had retreated to the kitchen to eat his meal.
The kidnapper was her husband’s own cousin—doubtless, he knew everything about this house.
Her heartbeat quickened. This was actually happening. He was actually taking her away from her new home. He couldn’t do that. She would be ruined. What sort of duchess absconded with a strange man before her new husband could even make his first bedtime visit?
She pushed against his chest, but he only gripped her more firmly and even secured Galileo. In the next moment, he opened the door, and cold air wafted about Aria.
Then her kidnapper started to run. Heavens. Where was he expecting to go?
He moved past some hedges into a garden. A wonderful floral scent emanated about her, and tears prickled Aria’s eyes. This place was so lovely. Unfortunately, this horrible man was ruining all her dreams.
Dudley needed to rescue her. Now.