“But . . .”
“Jenson! Do as I say. Sweet mercy, you old fool, I have been married for many years. And there are sound reasons for forcing a prisoner to remain naked. Humiliating him is but one of those.”
“Ah, well,” Bened said as Jenson set out a far more comfortable chair for Augusta than he was tied to at the moment and she took her seat as if she was ready to be served tea. “I was a soldier for a few years. Lose all sense of modesty in that work. ’Tis a luxury a soldier cannot afford.”
“Listen, Vaughn . . .”
“Sir,” Bened said. “’Tis Sir Vaughn, ma’am. I earned that knighthood and the baronetcy and I would appreciate it if you used the right address.”
“Would you, now? Well, Sir, where is my niece?”
He shrugged and then kept his face as free of expression as he could when Augusta held her hand out and Jenson paced a thick cane rod in it. There was reluctance in every move the man made. Bened just wished the man’s reluctance had caused him to refuse to help the woman.
She slowly stood up, lightly caressing the length of the rod, and, before he could fully prepare himself, lashed out. The force of the blow across his shoulders made him grunt softly but he knew the true pain of it would come later. Bened suddenly wondered if the woman had caned Primrose that way. When she struck again he held back even the grunt of pain as she caned him three times right across the chest. The woman had surprising strength behind her blows.
“As I thought, you are made of hardier stock than most,” Augusta said.
“Hardier than whom?”
“Than that foolish girl in the last village for one. But, I suspected you would be in need of a heavier hand than I, a mere woman, could ever apply. I believe that Carl and his knives are needed.”
Watching her leave, Bened shook his head and, as soon as the door shut behind her, said to Jenson, “That is a woman who should have been chained in Bedlam years ago.”
“I think I would have preferred her to be shot,” said Jenson. “She could have escaped Bedlam.”
Seeing how pale Jenson was made Bened want to ask just what Carl could do with his knives, but he bit back the question. “True. She trusts you to not let me go, does she?”
“She does. I could not go against her before because it would put at risk everyone I care about but a young girl recently told me that I must, so I am to find my spine and just do it. I must save you.” The man hurried behind Bened, crouched down, and began to untie the ropes around his ankles.
“Stay calm,” said Bened when he could feel the trembling of the man’s fingers.
Jenson moved to untie his wrist from the arm of the chair. “She threatened my brother and his whole family. Then she threatened my precious little girl. I sinned, you see, and she was born but her mother died. My brother and his wife care for her while I work. I never thought that wretched evil woman would even notice such things.”
“She is working on a long plan, Jenson. An old one and has the patience and tenacity to keep at it.” Once his arm was free, Bened untied his other wrist by himself and happily accepted his clothes from a pale Jenson. “She has been working on it since the day the baron married another woman and not her. She took the second son but has always planned to be the baroness, to have the manor and all that comes with it.”
“Her ladyship and the babe she carried . . .”
Bened nodded, wincing as he donned his shirt. “And she may have killed the baron as well. Hello, Bevan,” he said as his brother climbed in through the window.
“Almost shot that bitch, but she stopped before I could bring myself to kill a woman,” said Bevan.
The sound of shots being fired made Bened start for the door but Bevan grabbed him by the arm. “Best to give them some time.”
“And who are them?”
“Your lady, Morris . . .”
“Primrose is shooting people?!”
Bevan hurried after Bened as he stormed out the door. “I do not believe she is out there killing anyone. We just planned to keep the men busy while I got you out of here and I do not think charging out the front where the shooting is is the best way to go.”
“There must be a back door.”
Even as they started to the back of the house they heard someone rush in through the front door. They ducked back inside the room Bened had just been released from and waited. It annoyed Bened to hide but he was wise enough to know an unarmed man did not stride out into the middle of a lot of people shooting at one another. He had to wait until things quieted down and pray that Primrose came out of it all unharmed.