Page 80 of The Unfortunate Debutante
“Never!” She glanced over her shoulder at Luke’s bruised and bloodied face, and she knew what she had to do to keep him safe. Turning back to face Peter, she declared, “I will come with you!”
“Please, Emma,” Luke whispered from behind her. “Don’t worry about me. Just run from here.”
Ignoring his plea, Emma squared her shoulders. “If you kill Luke,” she said, her voice stronger than she thought possible, “I will never stop trying to escape. I will never stop fighting you. But if you allow him to live, I will come with you… willingly.”
Peter seemed to consider her response, his pistol wavering. “Do you mean that?”
“I do,” she replied, nodding. “I give you my word. Please, just don’t kill him.”
“All right,” Peter said, lowering his weapon. He pointed towards a coach in front of Luke’s coach, blocking it in. “After you, my love.”
Emma turned around and threw her arms around Luke’s neck, ignoring the two thugs restraining him. “Thank you for everything. I love you.”
“Don’t do this, Emma,” Luke pleaded again. “Just run. I’ll be fine.”
Releasing him, she stepped back. “Tell Rachel that I love her.” She walked reluctantly towards the coach and accepted Peter’s assistance. She glanced over her shoulder, knowing she was making the right choice. She needed to keep Luke safe. This was her fault, not his.
Once she was situated, Peter sat across from her and closed the curtain over the window. “That was most exciting, was it not, my dear?”
“I think not,” Emma muttered.
The sound of the pistol discharging could be heard as the coach started moving. Her heart lurched at the noise. “NO!” she exclaimed, lunging for the carriage door.
Peter grabbed her and tossed her back against the bench.
“It’s best not to witness such atrocities,” Peter commented, completely unphased.
“Did they kill Luke?” she demanded, her chest heaving with anger.
“Of course,” he answered as his lips twitched. “I couldn’t very well leave any witnesses behind.”
“But you promised!” she cried as she lunged at him.
Peter caught her arms and held her close. “Frankly, my dear, my word doesn’t mean much,” he crooned.
Tears streamed down her cheeks. “Why are you doing this, Peter?”
“I told you,” he said, shoving her back against the bench. “You belong to me.”
“Never,” she responded. “I belong to no one.”
He chuckled. “Your spunk is adorable, but in time, you will learn respect.”
“How could you?” she sobbed. “Luke was my guardian. My friend.”
“No, he kept you from me and deserved to be punished.”
Wiping the tears streaming down her face, Emma lowered her gaze away from the man she once considered a friend. He had killed Luke. He had promised her that he would let Luke live, but he’d broken his promise, which meant that she was free to break hers, as well. And she would. She would never stop trying to escape Peter’s evil clutches.
Simeon letout a deep sigh as he saw Stone holding a pistol at his chest. If the gunpowder was detonated from the heat of the flaming arrow, then they were still well within the blast range.
“We don’t have time for this,” he declared loudly as he calculated the exact time it would take to reach for the gun in the waistband of his trousers.
Stone cocked the pistol. “I assure you that I do have time to kill you.”
“Possibly,” he replied, “but when that wicker basket catches on fire, it will be too late for both of us.”
Simeon glanced over his shoulder and saw that the fire was just starting to spread along the length of the wicker basket.
