Georgie had heard enough. She dug her heels into the soggy ground and bent her knees to get free of his grip, tugging with her whole weight behind her. Josiah cursed, and a flash of white fluttered in her peripheral vision as he pulled a handkerchief from his pocket. Before she could react, he pressed the fabric over her nose and mouth, cutting off her air. She cried out in panic and kicked at him, but he caught her in a crushing grip around her ribs. She tried to inhale, to bite him, but it was impossible. The edges of her vision grew fuzzy and narrowed like a tunnel closing in. She heard Josiah laugh.

“Shhh, sweeting.”

She’d been so stupid.

Her knees grew weak, and her lungs burned. She scratched at his hand, desperate to remove the fabric so she could breathe. Then his fingers pressed into the side of her neck, hard against her pulse, and everything went black.

Chapter 33.

She awoke in a moving carriage. Her head felt heavy, her throat raw. Sounds came and went, as if she were beneath a pillow or under water; the blowing of the horses, endlessly pounding hooves. A painful jolt as the wheels bumped through a rut.

She didn’t want to open her eyes. This didn’t smell like her own carriage; it was musty and filled with a strange, smoky odor. Opium. She knew the scent from Blackwall—many sailors, especially those from the east, favored the stuff over regular tobacco.

She cracked her lids apart, praying she was alone, and suppressed a groan. Josiah was sprawled haphazardly on the opposite seat, watching her with a smug, satisfied expression. A small oil lamp burned on a wooden crate next to him, and as she watched, he held the bulbous end of a long pipe over the flame and took a deep inhale. His exhale sent a thin stream of blue smoke in her direction.

She opened her eyes and struggled to sit up and found to her fury that her wrists and ankles had been tied. She coughed and waved her bound hands in front of her face to dispel the cloud. Anger warmed her veins. She’d been abducted! In broad daylight, by her slug of a cousin. She’d never imagined him capable of such stupidity.

Josiah sent her a blissful, relaxed smile. “Ah! You’re awake. I did worry I’d been a little rough with you. I’m glad that’s not the case.” He coughed, and it turned into a high-pitched giggle. He sounded unhinged. Had he lost his mind? She could escape him if he were slow and incapacitated. If only she could get free of her bonds. If he’d missed the knife in her boot she might have a chance.

She wriggled into a more upright position and scowled at him. “This is ridiculous, Josiah. Where are we going?”