Love's Misadventure (The Mason Siblings Series Book 1) by Cheri Champagne

wished to have the comforts of home, Anna settled for having her wrists unbound and a night of sleep.
    How had Mama, Papa, and Charles taken the news of her abduction? Were they terribly concerned? By now the fact of her kidnapping would be circulating around the ton as the latest scandalous gossip. Anna sighed. She was ruined. She had been in a hack with four men, without a chaperone, for two full days and had spent time with them in five separate inns. There was no possibility that the haute ton would forgive those iniquities, deliberate or not.
    She couldn’t hold back the tears that welled in her eyes. Her hopes for a future were gone. Anthony would no longer wish to wed her… no gentleman would wish to wed her! Her hopes for children were gone. And she hadn’t a clue what was going to happen to her and Lane. Would they expect him to repay the debt he had incurred in his own blood? Would they be tortured? Killed ?
    Her shoulders began to shake as she openly wept, letting out her fears, pain, and sadness in a cathartic release.
    The adjoining door suddenly opened, and Anna swiped at her eyes and cheeks with the backs of her hands.
    “ Lane ,” she whispered wetly as she stood, her arms outstretched.
    He hedged a glance at her guard before he glided forward to pull her into his embrace.
    “I was worried about you,” she murmured into his travel-worn riding coat.
    “ Me ?” He pulled back to search her face. “I was worried for you , Anna.” His astute gaze locked on hers. “You have been crying.” Anger burned in his gaze. “What have they done to you?”
    She rolled her stinging eyes at him. “What an absurd question, Lane. We have been kidnapped .” She sniffled. “What haven’t I to cry about? Anthony will no longer wish to seek my hand—”
    “If Boxton cannot see past something that is not your fault, then he is not worth fretting over.”
    “This is not merely about Anthony, Lane,” she said, her voice a heated whisper. “This is about all gentlemen. Don’t you see? I am ruined! Not only will I not marry, but I will also be shunned. Women will shield their daughters from the sight of me. I have no care for the state of my pride, but my heart desires a child to love. And Charles! Poor Charles will be in want of a wife in a matter of years, and having a pariah for a sister will render his efforts futile.
    “Our current circumstance has me frightful that…” Her chin trembled and her eyes clouded over once more. “I would,” she squeaked, “I would hate for anything ill to happen to you, Lane.”
    His arms came around her once more, and she sank into his warmth.
    “Shh, shh. It will be all right, Anna. We will find a way to escape.”
    She nodded against his shoulder.
    “I…” His grave voice rumbled against her ear. “I have a confession.”
    He pulled away from her once more and gestured for her to resume her seat on the mattress. She sat, watching him pace the floor for several moments before he sat beside her.
    He was agitated and tense, his hair dishevelled from raking his fingers through it.
    Anna dried her eyes and waited nervously for him to speak.
    “I am not in debt,” he blurted.
    Her brows drew together. “I beg your pardon?”
    “I am not in debt,” he repeated. “I am, in fact, very wealthy.”
    “You lied to me, Lane?” Hurt cut through her.
    Lane ran his hands through his blonde hair. “Yes, I lied to you. But I had what I thought was a good reason. Though, in retrospect, it was a ridiculous plan.” He faced her, his expression pleading. “I arranged to have us kidnapped.”
    Anger charged through her, quickly replacing all feelings of sadness and self-pity. She surged to her feet in indignation. “You did what ?” she hissed.
    He rose to his feet as well, his hands open in a pleading gesture. “Please allow me to explain, Anna.”
    She crossed her arms beneath her breasts, her jaw clenched tight as she awaited his excuse. As little as she wished to hear him