and build you back up. You are too much of a dreamer, Desmond, and always have been—else you never would have thought this foolish scheme to elope to Gretna Green would have worked.”
“I may be a fool for love but at least I know what it is,” he challenged. “I found Mama’s diary, you know. Three years ago. I read every last entry. She loathed you. She was probably glad she died in childbirth just to escape you.”
Torrington slapped him again and then called out. Two burly men rushed in and bound and gagged Dez before he even had a chance to fight back.
“Take him to his bedchamber,” the earl ordered and the pair dragged him from the room and up the stairs.
After flinging him on the floor, they left, heartily laughing. Dez couldn’t move. His hands were restrained behind his back, the circulation already cut off. His ankles were also tied together.
As the day passed and darkness came, he worried about Anna and what was happening to her. He prayed she would think of a way out of wedding Viscount Needham. Next to Dalinda, Dez knew Anna was the strongest, most resilient woman he knew. She would find a way, he told himself. She would wait for him. They would be together someday.
He had to believe that—or go mad.
Chapter Three
Anna stared morosely out the window, her stomach grumbling noisily. She had been locked in her room for two days now, given neither food nor water, and feared her father thought to starve her into submission.
The carriage ride back to Shelton Park had seemed an eternity as her mind whirled, wondering what would become of Dez. She had silently watched the English countryside as the miles passed as she felt her father’s intense stare upon her. She refused to acknowledge it or his presence. Finally, as they drove up the lane to Shelton Park, he had asked, “Will you wed Needham?”
“I would rather load my pockets down with stones and walk into the lake,” she’d snapped.
He had made no other comments and the carriage had pulled up in front of the house. Their butler, along with two footmen, met them. Usually, Jessa would have been present but Anna supposed her little sister had been forbidden to come and greet the wayward daughter.
“Take her to her rooms and lock her in,” the viscount commanded.
Anna had gone of her own free will and stepped inside the room she had thought never to enter again. The sound of the lock turning chilled her soul.
Nothing had happened since then. She had seen no one, not even the gardeners from her window. Heard no footsteps in front of her door. Hunger gnawed at her belly. She’d had no access to water to drink or wash. The chamber pot was almost full, the smell growing stronger by the hour. She had covered it with an old shawl and pushed it under her bed.
For the thousandth time, she wondered what had happened to Dez. How he was being punished. She knew a marriage between them would be impossible now. She also vowed never to wed the elderly Lord Needham. She would rather become a spinster than wife to that dried up, shriveled man.
The sound of the lock being turned drew her attention from the window and she held her breath, waiting to see who might appear at the door. Hope filled her heart as her mother entered, leaning heavily on her cane. Mama rarely left her rooms. She had suffered numerous miscarriages and two stillbirths between Anna and Jessa’s births.
“Mama!” she cried and ran toward her, throwing her arms about her.
The door closed and she heard the lock turn again. “Are you supposed to be here?”
Mama smoothed Anna’s hair. “Yes, dear. For only a few minutes, though. How are you?”
Through watery eyes, she replied. “Hungry.”
“I know. I am so sorry. Your father . . .” Her voice trailed off as she shook her head.
“Do you know anything about Dez?” she asked.
“No. Why would I?”
“I just thought you might have heard something. From the servants. They always seem to know everything.”
“No. You must forget about Desmond Bretton,” Mama cautioned.
“I know we can never marry,” she said glumly. “But I love him.”
Mama touched her cheek. “I know, dear girl. I had such high hopes of you marrying a nice young gentlemen.” Her mouth trembled. “Not like me.”
“Oh, Mama,” Anna said, embracing her mother again. “Were you forced to wed Papa?”
“Yes.” She shrugged. “It is the way of females, I