Harmonia opened her eyes, having had them closed for the last few minutes as she tried her best to think carefully about all that was happening to her. The weakness that had filled her when she’d first heard about her father’s supposed illness had slowly begun to dissipate and, instead, there came a growing strength spreading all through her. For too long, Luke had taken her for granted, presuming her to be weak and gullible. He had thought her easy to manipulate, ready and willing to do just as he asked and expected. She was not like that and, yet, no matter how often she had tried to stand up to him, he had simply ignored her. He had refused to accept anything that she’d been saying, had decided that he was to have her and that was all that mattered. Her decisions, her thoughts, her feelings on the matter had been entirely disregarded, to the point that he was now attempting to abduct her with the promise that, one day, she’d simply accept him as her husband.

Harmonia was determined that such a thing would never happen. She would not allow herself to be so manipulated, to be so deceived. She would never agree to this marriage, would never let the words ‘I do’ slip from her mouth when it came to standing over the anvil with Luke. She would do all she could to fight him, to escape from him. He would see that there was a fire in her that he could not put out.

And Phillip, her beloved Phillip, would be right by her side. Harmonia had no doubt that, should she return home with her reputation in tatters, he would still take her as his bride. There was such a depth of love between them that Harmonia knew it could not be easily pushed aside, not even by Luke’s cruel determination to have her as his own.

“I will not have this, Luke,” she said, firmly, looking across at him from where she sat. His eyes darted back towards her, his lips thinning. “I mean it when I tell you that I will never agree to this marriage.”

He snorted. “You will have very little choice.”

Trying not to let his words assail her soul, Harmonia lifted her chin. “No, Luke, I will always have a choice. And that choice will be to refuse you. Whether or not you try to force me into matrimony, I will always turn from you, always be looking for a way to run from your side. I have another man who I intend to call husband and it is not you.”

Anger flared in his eyes. “Lord Newford has no right to your hand.”

“He has every right!” Harmonia exclaimed, a little more loudly than she had intended. “He is to be my husband, Luke. He proposed, and I accepted. My love for him grows stronger with every day that passes, as does his love for me. I will never turn from him, no matter what you try to do to me.”

“Be silent!”

Luke’s words were harsh and angry, his tone wrathful. Harmonia felt fear clutch at her heart, but she fought it tooth and nail. She would not allow him to intimidate her any longer.

“I will not do as you ask, Luke,” she said definitely, directly to the face of his anger. “I will never obey you as you wish. This is not who I am, regardless of what you think.”

His hand shot out and Harmonia recoiled, feeling the air billow over her skin as she missed his slap by only an inch.

“Be silent,” he snarled, his eyes narrowed, and face filled with fury. “I will have you silent one way or another, Harmonia. I have too much dependent on you and your dowry for this to fail. Without you, I will be bankrupt.”

Her heart was beating so loudly that Harmonia didn’t know if she could speak with any kind of firmness, but the fire within her belly forced her not to back down, not to remain silent.

“Why should I save you from your own mistakes?”

Her whisper filled the confines of the carriage and she felt the heat of his glare on her the moment she finished speaking. His mouth worked, his jaw clenching but yet he did not say a single thing.

Her skin prickled with dread as he leaned forward, his fingers curling into fists.

“Now you listen to me, Harmonia,” he said, hoarsely. “It will be painful for you if you do not –”

The carriage jerked suddenly, cutting off the rest of his words. With a frustrated groan, Luke struggled to seat himself back in his seat before pulling back the carriage window curtain, trying to see what was going on through the small gap.

“We’ve stopped,” Harmonia murmured, her heart suddenly bursting into life as hope filled her. “The carriage has stopped.”

Dropping the curtain back into place, he jabbed one finger at her. “Don’t even think about trying to get out,” he said, firmly. “That door is firmly locked from the outside and this one….” He chuckled, darkly. “Well, this one is right where I’m sitting so I doubt you’ll be able to get past as easily as you might hope.”

The hope that had flared to life slowly began to fade as Harmonia realized just what he meant. There was no easy escape for her, not if she couldn’t use one of the carriage doors. Luke would be easily able to hold her back should she try to use the other one, making escape seem almost entirely impossible.

“We need to move,” she heard him mutter as she sat back in her seat, her sudden anticipation fading away. “We can’t stay here.”

The curtain was lifted again as Luke stared out of the window. From where she sat, Harmonia saw nothing more than carriages and hackneys alongside them, each sitting as still as their own. Apparently, the road they were on was quite busy with other travelers making their way out of London.

“Whatever’s the matter?”

Luke rapped on the roof once and shouted aloud, but there came no reply from the driver. That was not surprising, given the number of other travelers about them, but that did not stop Luke from shouting again and rapping all the harder.

Harmonia held her breath as he slammed one hand down, hard, on the seat beside him. Clearly, Luke was getting more and more frustrated with each minute that ticked by.

There came no answer from the driver and, since the carriage was still stationary, Luke had no choice but to open the door and look outside.

An idea suddenly hit her, one that took her breath away. Were she brave enough, were she quick enough, it might be her only chance to escape although she had no idea what Luke would do should he catch her.

Her heart began to hammer so loudly she was sure he could hear it. Sitting as still as she could, she lowered her eyes as Luke turned his head to face her, his hand on the door handle.

“Stay still,” he hissed, before opening the door a crack and sticking his head outside.

“Whatever’s going on?” she heard him call and, with one deep breath, Harmonia acted.

With all of her strength, she shoved Luke, hard. Unbalanced, he tipped forward, hanging onto the door handle with all his might as he tumbled forward. Harmonia pushed at him again, her whole body trembling as he fell out of the carriage entirely.

Without hesitating, she climbed out of the carriage, her dress catching and tearing as she struggled to get down without assistance. Luke was shouting, holding his head, but she did not so much as look at him again. Taking to her heels, she ran between the carriages, not seeing the many curious looks from the others making their way out of London.

“Harmonia!”

Something huge, something black, came into her path, forcing her to a stop. Her breath ragged, she looked up in terror – only to see Lord Newford’s anxiety-ridden face peering down at her.

“Phillip!”

He slid from his horse and ran to her, catching her in his arms. She clung to him, tears slipping down her cheeks as she closed her eyes.

“You’re safe,” he breathed, relief evident in his voice. “You’re safe, Harmonia. I have you now. Luke will never touch you again.”

“Harmonia!”

Her body tensed as she heard Luke’s angry voice reaching her.

“Don’t worry, Harmonia,” Lord Newford murmured, as she turned around in his arms, standing just a little behind him. “You leave Lord Darnsley to me.”

Luke appeared from between two carriages, apparently unaware of the many people now watching all that was going on. Blood was trickling down the side of his head, but it was the fury in his expression that made Harmonia’s breath catch.

She had never seen him look as wrathful as this. His whole face appeared dark, his cheeks burning, his eyes dark and hands clenched.

“Get away from Harmonia, Newford,” he grated, his eyes wild. “She is coming with me. She belongs to me. She was promised to me before she ever gave any kind of affection to you.”

Harmonia gasped, but Newford did not appear to listen to Luke’s words in the least. “You have done more than enough, Lord Darnsley,” Lord Newford replied, firmly. “This time, you are to be punished for what you have done. Consequences. In front of all these people here, I am calling you out, Darnsley.”

That appeared to stop Luke in his tracks. Still shaking, Harmonia saw the somewhat glazed expression come over his face, as though he had not quite realized that trying to abduct Harmonia would lead to something as serious as this.

“I suggest you find yourself a sword, Darnsley,” Lord Newford continued, as the murmurs from those in the carriages began to grow in volume. “Hyde Park. One hour. I will be waiting for you.”

Luke did not have time to either speak or react, for Lord Newford caught Harmonia around the waist and turned her away from Luke, leading her carefully back towards his stallion.

“We will find a hackney soon enough,” he murmured, tossing a coin to the beggar boy who held the horse’s reins. “Come quickly, Harmonia. You must be brave for only a few minutes longer.”

Harmonia drew in a long breath and nodded, feeling as weak as a kitten. The fire that had pushed her to react so strongly to Luke’s attempted abduction had begun to fade away, leaving her with nothing but ashes in her veins.

“You are going to fight him?” she whispered, her fingers tightening on his sleeve as he wrapped his arm around her and helped her towards a waiting hackney. “I cannot let you do that, Newford. You might be hurt.”

His smile was tender but there was heat in his eyes, the corner of his mouth curled in anger. “I will not be hurt, my love. Lord Darnsley is on the verge of madness from what I can tell. I doubt he will prove to be much of a challenge. I will not kill him, if that is what you are worried about. Besides, I doubt if there is any other way we will be rid of him entirely. Whatever is was that pushed him to madness, his debts, his sins, or the realization that he could not have you, the truth of the matter is that we will never be fully free and happy until your cousin is dealt with.”

Harmonia bit her lip as she sat back against the hard wood of the hackney seat, only for Lord Newford to come and sit close beside her, his arm going around her shoulders as he tugged her in towards him.

“Just be careful,” she whispered, as the hackney began to make its way slowly back along the road into London. “I could not bear it if he were to harm you again.”

Lord Newford said nothing but simply held her close, allowing his strength to flow into her. He held her tightly and held her close and Harmonia felt her eyes grow heavy as she succumbed to the tiredness and fatigue that swarmed in towards her. After such an ordeal, she was finally safe in the arms of her betrothed, secure in the knowledge that nothing would happen to her every again. Luke would be taught a lesson he was not likely to forget, and she would, finally, be able to live without fear.