Patricia Rowell - An Impetuous Abduction

And he knew what that meant.

How could he tell his poor, distraught wife that her daughter had been abducted?

The Hades reference could hardly be missed by anyone who had coped with the name Persephone Proserpina Hathersage for twenty years. And it told her a great deal about her escort. In spite of the fact that he looked like every child’s image of a wicked pirate, the man must be well-educated.

How else would he know that in the Greek tale, Hades, Lord of the Underworld, figured as the abductor of Persephone, the daughter of Demeter?

Which also meant that, in addition to knowing that she was the daughter of the Hathersage house, he knew her full name. Which, in turn, must surely mean something. But what? Phona had certainly never met him before. She could hardly have forgotten a man who looked like that .

A chill ran over her.

Could she possibly escape him? At the moment Phona could not see how. She was rapidly becoming more and more disoriented. Dusk had begun to fall, gathering in the crooks and shadows of boulders, trees and crevices. Nothing looked familiar. Soon it would be dark, and she would never be able to find her way back.

Hades, on the other hand, clearly knew exactly where he was going. They had been riding steadily for hours, winding through the protection of small gorges and woodlands, never in sight of a trail, let alone a road. Obviously he had a destination in mind.

Phona cleared her throat. “Lord Hades? Where are we going?”

He twisted his broad shoulders toward her. “My apologies, Miss Hathersage. I fear I cannot tell you that.”

What else did she expect? “Is it much farther?”

“Yes. I am afraid so. Are you tired?”

“A bit.”

“You certainly should be, after that engagement. We will rest presently.”

Phona made another try. “Where are we now?”

“In Derbyshire.”

A decidedly unladylike snort escaped her. “I knew that much!”

“I was certain that you did.”

The wretch! She could hear the smirk in his voice as he turned back to watch his path. She’d be damned if she spoke to him again!

The intensity of running and fighting with her intimidating adversary had faded, giving way to a discouraged weariness. Phona had been able neither to outrun him nor to outsmart him. She had been overpowered and dumped unceremoniously on the rocky ground twice each. Her neck ached from lying as if broken.

She could not slide off her mount and try to run without being dragged by the leg, and as he had so annoyingly pointed out, no one would hear her if she shrieked like a banshee.

As the warmth of the sun faded, she began to feel cool. Sweat from the chase had dampened her clothes and now sucked the heat out of her battered body. Dear heaven, she hurt all over.

Try as she might to suppress it, Phona shook with fright, fatigue and cold. How could she not be afraid? She could not get away from him, had no idea where he was taking her.

And what did he intend to do with her?

A knot began to tighten in her stomach. Surely, had he planned to kill her, he would not have taken the trouble to subdue her. But she could hardly afford to underestimate a man who called himself Hades.

Her captor had not yet deliberately hurt her, but he might prove more cruel than he now seemed. Phona knew a man might mistreat a woman in any number of ways.

Perhaps that was why he had taken her.

Chapter Two

When the sun had sunk completely and the lavender twilight had faded to black dark, Hades stopped in the shadow of a small wood and dismounted. He untied the thongs from her leg and helped her slide off her mare. Her legs wobbled from the long ride, and he steadied her with his good hand and led her to a boulder where she could sit.

“We will stay here and rest the horses until the moon rises. It is too dark to continue safely. Are you hungry?”

For a moment Phona’s pride forbade her to answer. However, second thought made her realize that she could not allow herself to become weak with hunger. Now that he brought it to her attention, she felt starved.

And she had another problem.

She would have to speak. “Yes, I am, but I also need to…” She stopped in midsentence, the heat of a blush suffusing her cheeks, and gestured with her bound hands and her head toward the bushes.

“Ah.” Lord Hades gazed at her consideringly. “Of course.” He came to where she rested on the rock and knelt on one knee in front of her. He looked so intently into her eyes that Phona’s face got even hotter. She studied her hands.

The man put a finger under her chin and lifted it until he could see her face in the faint starlight. “Do not mistake this for an opportunity to escape, Miss Hathersage. If I am forced to, I will keep watch on you every second. Do you understand?”

Phona pondered that declaration for a moment. She turned her head away from his scrutiny. “Sir, you are no gentleman!”

She thought she heard a wry amusement in his voice. “I believe we have already established that.” The humor faded. “Miss Hathersage, I would give you all the privacy you need, if I could be sure that you will not try to hide or run away. You will not succeed, but I fear that if you try, you will get lost or injured. This is not safe county.”

Every fiber of Phona’s being longed to make the attempt, but her aggravatingly practical nature told her that the man was absolutely correct. And absolutely serious. He would watch her while she… Intolerable! Reluctantly, she nodded.

“Do you give me your word?” He continued to study her eyes.

Phona sighed and nodded again. “Very well. Word of a Hathersage. I will not use this as an occasion to escape.”

Hades considered for a moment, then he nodded in turn. He obviously had not missed the qualification. But the assurance sufficed for now. With a few deft motions he untied her wrists. “Don’t go far.”

Little danger of that! The short trip into the dark bushes proved quite enough to make flight far less tempting. Mysterious small creatures rustled in the leaves, and she could imagine spiders as large as her hand dangling from the tree limbs.

She stumbled over every rock. Definitely not the time to try to lose Hades and make her way home. As soon as she could, she scurried back to where she had left him with the horses.

She found him rummaging in a saddlebag. He indicated with a motion that she should again sit and then followed her, carrying objects unrecognizable in the dim light. He made himself comfortable beside her and began to unwrap something from the folds of a white napkin. Phona’s mouth started watering at the smell of a meat pasty.

Hades broke off a generous chunk and handed it to her, placing the remainder on the rock between them. “Plain fare for a lady, but sustaining enough.”

“Thank you.” She took a hearty bite and chewed appreciatively.

He broke a bite from his portion and popped it into his mouth, watching her from the corner of his eye. When he had swallowed, he took a swig from a jug which he had placed on his other side.

Phona eyed it enviously. The day and the pasty had left her very dry. He had almost set the bottle down again when he turned suddenly to glance at her. “Are you thirsty? I have only ale, and I doubt that young ladies care much for it.”

“I have never drank any.” She considered the jug. “But I am exceedingly thirsty.”

“I doubt you will find it to your liking, but you are welcome to have some.” He paused thoughtfully. “Just don’t have too much. It will go straight to your head if you have never drank it.” He handed her the bottle.