Page 2 of Stolen By the Heartless Duke

A faint crease appeared between his brows. “You are unusually quiet this evening, my lady.”

“I am at my own engagement party, my lord. I fear I exhausted my conversational abilities greeting two hundred guests,” Jane said.

“That’s fair.” He glanced around the ballroom. “Though I must confess, I expected your brother to make more effort to speak with me tonight.”

Jane stiffened slightly. “Colin has spent the entire week arranging this evening.”

“Yes, but…” Maltby began, but stopped.

A thunderous crack split the air, interrupting him.

The music stopped mid-note.

For one long second, nobody moved.

Then screaming erupted across the ballroom.

Jane spun toward the entrance as masked men stormed through the doors. This was not a masquerade. One held a pistol raised toward the chandelier above them, smoke curling from its barrel.

Another shot exploded. Glass shattered somewhere behind her. Women cried out in fear. Guests stumbled over one another in panic. A violin screeched horribly as a musician dropped it.

“Where is Lord Wynten?” a masked man barked.

Colin. What do they want with Colin?

Jane’s heart slammed painfully against her ribs. She wasn’t sure what she should do. Everything felt slow and sluggish, as if it was moving through water.

The leader of the masked group stepped farther into the ballroom, pulling the black cloth so that it was covering the lower half of his face.

“Forgive the interruption, ladies and gentlemen,” he drawled. “I do hate breaking up such a romantic gathering, but we simply must have a chat with Lord Wynten.”

He grabbed a nearby vase of flowers and smashed it on the floor. More screams rose into the air.

Jane turned frantically through the chaos. “Mother?”

There was no answer.

Bodies surged around her. A gentleman knocked into her shoulder hard enough to cause her to stagger backward.

“Mama!” she called again.

Lavinia grabbed her arm. “Jane, come on! We have to get to cover.”

“But my mother—” Jane protested.

Another gunshot shattered one of the tall windows overlooking the gardens. The room instantly quieted. Broken glass rained across the marble floor.

The masked man lowered the pistol slightly. “There, now. Much better.” His voice sharpened. “Lord Wynten. Present yourself.”

Jane’s blood rushed through her ears, so that she could only hear the roar of her pulse.

Where was Colin?

Then she saw him. He emerged slowly from the crowd near the center of the ballroom, his hands raised carefully in surrender. Candlelight caught the stark tension in his face, though his voice remained steady.

“I am here.”

Jane stopped breathing.