Introducing Miss Joanna (Once a Wallflower #2) - Maggi Andersen Page 0,55

door and hustled her into the hall. “Good thing we let all the servants go after you and that maid of yours popped up uninvited. Upstairs.”

In a bedchamber, he forced Jo onto a chair. She sat watching while he removed clothes from drawers and packed a portmanteau. Her terror had subsided a little, and her curiosity took over. She wanted the truth. All of it. “Why did you kidnap Charlotte?” She still didn’t know how Reade found her friend.

“You know about her then.” He tucked his brushes into the case. “When I returned your maid, I needed to replace her to appease our buyers. We were sending your friend Charlotte to Algiers.”

Jo shuddered. “Why would you do such a thing?”

“The slave market. A wealthy sheik wants to expand his harem. Fair-haired women are in demand there. I haven’t found another suitable girl since last year.”

Her blood ran cold. She shivered and searched for a means of escape.

He noticed the movement and turned to her, his eyes cold. “Don’t think you can fool me. Stay where you are, or I will tie you up.”

“Was that girl you took Anabel Riley?”

“It was some chit my mother enticed from the street.”

Jo hated him more deeply than she believed possible. He cared for no one but himself.

“So, your name isn’t Ollerton.”

“Ollerton was a gentleman I knew who died. Virden was my stepfather’s name. Millet is my mother’s maiden name.” His face pinched, and Jo saw Mrs. Millet in his features. She held her head in her hands. Oh, Papa!

“Our plan was for Mother to marry your father and then assist him into the grave, or I abduct you and hold you for ransom. But none of that will happen now. It’s got far too hot in London for me. I need money, a ticket out of here.”

“You are vile.”

“You do not understand how ruthless these people can be,” he said in a pitiful tone. “They will have me killed and throw my body into the Thames should I fail again.” He looked triumphant. “But I now have you.”

“Me?” Jo’s lungs squeezed as she struggled for breath.

Virden glared at her, a look of madness in his eyes while fingering the long thin stiletto in his hands. “A pretty redhead should delight a sheik. It won’t be so bad if you please your master, that is. Look on the bright side, you will have his other wives for company.” He frowned. “And if he insists on a blonde, I shall sell you in the slave market.”

Jo leaned back on the chair, her heart beating hard. “How did someone like you gain entry to ton balls? You belong in the rookery of St. Giles.”

His features contorted, making him ugly.

“You are lucky I must hand you over in perfect condition,” he said, his voice a low growl. “My mother and I have friends among the ton. They enjoy our charming company at their pathetic balls but wouldn’t shed a tear if we ended up in the poor house. And woe-betide me if I asked to marry one of their daughters.”

“So, another lie when you said Viscount Cranswick was your father. There is no Julian.”

Virden scowled heavily. “The viscount is my father,” he spat out. “And Julian is his son. But he never cared about me, his bastard second son. My mother was his mistress, and he treated both us like dirt. I planned to kill him before I left England, but there’ll be no time for that now. Agents of the crown are on to us, it seems.”

“And they’re very close behind you.”

“They’ll be too late. We sail to Plymouth on the morning tide, and on to Algiers.”

Jo swallowed, her throat horribly dry. “You are leaving your mother behind to face them. They might kill her.”

A shadow passed over his features. “The east doesn’t appeal to her. She prefers to remain in England. She’s clever, my mother, she will find a means to escape the law. Mother has excellent family connections, you know.” He snapped the lock on the bag shut. “Enough talk. We’ll have plenty of time for that on the boat. Should you feel like talking.”

“I won’t be on that boat.” Jo fought not to let his words make her desperate. Would Reade know where to look for her? And if he did, would he come too late?

Virden stood and observed her. “You’re a spirited one. You will please them, although it’s a pity about your maid. I wanted her for myself, but Mother wisely insisted