Her papa had come straight away, and though he had tried to insist that he should take her home, she had told him that he should stay. She knew he enjoyed his time in the backroom, playing cards while smoking and drinking with his friends.
He did escort her to the carriage though and kissed her forehead before he helped her up into the carriage. "Go home and go straight to bed, young lady. No over exerting yourself."
She had blushed at his words, thinking about how she had exerted herself the previous evening. Sometimes she almost felt guilty about her escapades, but not enough to actually stop her from continuing her trysts.
As she settled in the carriage, snuggling into her new black fur cape she let her mind wander back to the man across the room and the woman that had dragged her away from his gaze. Who were they and why did she feel as if those brief moments had changed her life forever?
She had never seen either of them before. She was certain of that. No, she would have remembered the perfect faces and flawless, pale skin. She'd especially have remembered those eyes. Remembering the crimson tint to the woman's eyes she shivered a bit despite the warmth provided by her coat.
She just wanted to get home and slip under the warmed covers of her bed. Perhaps she'd even forget about this evening's events. Yes, she'd concentrate on the Baron, or perhaps one of the other countless men who had come and gone over the last three years.
But, thinking of those men only led her thoughts back to the handsome gentleman across the ballroom. What would it feel to have him hold her in his arms, kiss her, take her? For some reason she shuddered at the thought. No, taking her thoughts in that direction was far from safe.
She tried to distract herself by thinking of the things she would have to do on the morrow. There were the usual things that happened after the early afternoon mass. She would have to set the menu for the week and go over things with the staff. She'd played the lady of the house from such a young age these things were like second nature to her. And, they were boring.
Just when the thoughts of household duties along with the rocking of the carriage were beginning to lull her to sleep the carriage lurched to a sudden stop, sending her sprawling across the empty seat in front of her. As she tried to untangle herself from the fur cape and layers upon layers of fabric that made up her gown and petticoat she felt her heart begin to pound in her chest.
Had they been set upon by robbers? That could be the only explanation for coming to a sudden stop like they had. She hadn't heard any break in the axel or the wheels.
The sound of her heart thumping in her chest was suddenly drown out by the horses making sounds so horrible that she tried covering her ears as she squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block it out. She didn't know that animals could make sounds of sheer terror.
What had happened to the footman? The coachman? She knew that the latter carried weapons incase they were ever set upon by highway men. Why weren't they doing something!?
The shrieking cries of horror from the animals had finally stopped and things had grown eerily silent. The lantern inside the coach had gone out when the coach had come to a sudden stop. Crawling around in the pitch black interior, the curtains over the windows blocking out whatever little light might have come in front outside she could only hear her own terrified panting breaths and the pounding of her blood in her ears.
What was she to do? Should she stay here or try to make a run for it? It didn't take her long to reject the idea of trying to escape, her skirts and shoes would only be a hindrance in the snow and she wouldn't make it far.
Before she could decide on another course of action the door to the carriage was pulled clear off its hinges and a cry of panic was cut off as she was yanked from the shadowed darkness into the pale moonlight. It took a moment for her green eyes to adjust to the glow of the moon reflecting off the snow that covered the ground, but even then she could not see who her attackers were.
The elaborate powdered hairdo had come apart and tangled pieces of teased hair were falling across her eyes even as she struggled against the iron grip around her waist. She couldn't find the air to scream, the fright having stolen the breath from her lungs and the constricting corset didn't allow her room to fill them with enough oxygen to do more than shriek breathlessly and whimper.
What was happening? WHY was it happening?
Those were the only coherent thoughts in her head as she continued to struggle against the impossibly strong grip of the monster that held her from behind. The sounds she made were almost as horrible as those of the horses that she could see lying in dark heaps on the snow covered road, their limbs lying in unnatural positions around the massive bodies that were slowly being powdered by the snowflakes that had begun to fall.
When she finally managed to get enough air in her lungs to let out a scream, it was a mixture of outrage and horror: outrage because of the impossibly cold, hard hand that had wormed its way down the front of her gown, fingers roughly squeezing at her breast; fear because of the body of the coachman lying not far off, his once kind eyes now staring blankly up at the night sky, unblinking in death. But, her cry was futile…there was no one around for miles and she knew it.
No, she thought, this cannot be happening! She was the daughter of a baron, a strong woman in control of her own fate!
Though there was no point in struggling, her attacker being impossibly strong, she continued to do so, ignoring the pain as the effort bruised her delicate flesh. Her legs were tangled in the fabric of her skirts and petticoats so she could not kick and as she tried to dig her nails into the arms that held her prisoner she only felt her nails snap and break as she clawed at what seemed to be granite covered in fabric.
When she finally managed to do more than scream her words were those of a woman filled with a fear of death, "GOD HELP ME!"