At least they had left her alone during the night. Not once had she heard any noises coming from the other room, and the chair she’d placed in front of the doorknob never moved.
Amelia tried her best to stay awake, to think of a way to escape the two devils, but the drug had done its job. She was helped out of the carriage and then her arms were slung over the two men’s shoulders as they practically dragged her up the steps to Randolph’s house.
She cringed, knowing if anyone saw them they would assume she was drunk and ready to allow these two men to have their way with her. She was grateful that so few people in the neighborhood, even in all of London for that matter, knew her. On the other hand, Randolph’s reputation couldn’t get worse, so he wouldn’t care.
After dropping her ignominiously on the bed in her former room, the men left her after locking the door. She continued to sleep.
It was around dusk when she awoke. Her mouth felt like she’d drank from the Thames, and her body ached. No doubt they didn’t do much to secure her while she slept in the carriage, and the bumps along the way caused bruises in various parts of her body.
She climbed out of the bed and made her way over to the dresser where a fresh pitcher of water sat. It unnerved her to think one of the men might have brought the water while she slept. Hopefully, they’d gotten one of the housemaids to do that duty.
After washing her face and brushing her hair with one of the brushes she had left behind when she’d fled, she felt a bit better. And very hungry.
She pounded on the door until finally it opened. Randolph stood there, an annoyed look on his nasty face.
“I would like something to eat. Or is it your intention to stave me to death?”
He pushed his way in, and she walked to the other side of the bed, keeping her distance.
“No. Now that you’re awake, we’ll have something sent up to you.”
Amelia raised her chin. “Frankly, I prefer to leave and find my own meal.”
There was no doubt he was well on his way to being in his cups. He swayed slightly and waved his hand in the air, then quickly grabbed the bedpost to hang on. Yes, he was definitely feeling the effects of too much spirits.
He pointed his finger at her. “Let me make this clear, dear sister—”
“—I am not your sister.”
He bowed and again almost lost his balance. “Step-sister, then.” He burped. “You will remain here until the auction.”
Since they’d never discussed it in front of her, she feigned ignorance. “Auction?”
Randolph snapped his fingers, again, grabbing the bedpost for purchase. She had the feeling she could walk over and with one shove to his shoulder he would be on the floor.
Where was Lyons? If he wasn’t in the house, she could very well escape. Almost as if he’d read her mind, Randolph said, “Don’t think you will get out of here until we’re ready to release you. I have both footmen alerted that you are unbalanced, and they are not to let you leave the house.” He grinned and her stomach roiled. “For you own safety, of course. I wouldn’t want anything to happen to my beloved step-sister.”
Amelia quickly glanced around the room, looking for some sort of a weapon to use on the two footmen if she managed to get past Randolph. Just as her eyes landed on the iron poker next to the fireplace, Lyons sauntered into the room. He appeared to be less inebriated than her stepbrother.
“Ah, our lovely prize has awoken.” He turned to Randolph. “Why didn’t you summon me? Have you told the lovely Miss Amelia what our plans are?”
“Was just about to, old friend.” He burped and closed his eyes briefly.
Lyons cast a reproachful glance in Randolph’s direction. “You need to cut down on the brandy if we are going to do this right. We must make plans and you can’t do that if you’re always reaching for the bottle.”
Randolph raised his arm to wave the comment off. He lost his balance, fell to the floor and immediately began to snore.
“Get him out of my room,” Amelia said.
Lyons grinned at her. “All in good time, my dear.”
“Don’t ‘my dear’ me. I have no intention of going along with your ‘plans’.”
Lyons walked closer to her and she backed up, stopping when she reached the wall. “Don’t come any closer or you will regret it.” She’d learned years ago how and where to strike a man to leave him crying like a babe.
“Hmm. It seems our little prize has a mean streak. That would make you more attractive to a certain sort of gentleman. We must remember that when we advertise our auction.”
“It won’t work.”
Lyons raised his eyebrows. “Indeed? And why is that?”
“Because I won’t go along with it. As I said, I know how to defend myself.”
He moved a step closer, and she tensed, getting ready to knee him in the groin.
“Ah. I can see you are preparing to harm me.” He tsked and shook his head. “We can’t have that now, can we?”
Abruptly he turned on his heel and walked to the door. “I will send dinner up to you and have one of the footmen remove Newton here.” With those curt words, he walked past the threshold and slammed the door.
Amelia slid down the wall and collapsed into a heap on the floor. She wrapped her arms around her legs, hugging her knees to her chest. For the first time since they grabbed her outside of The Rose Room, she cried.
* *
