Chapter Thirty-Two
Mari stared at the door Wesley Alton had just locked. The filthy cloth in her mouth made her want to gag, and she tried moving it with her tongue to no avail. Forcing herself to remain calm, she tried to think. She had no idea how long it would be before Nicholas arrived. Shehadto get out.
Mari looked around for some sharp object Wesley may have left. There were probably knives in the drawer, but she was bound to the chair, unable to stand or open a drawer. Her eyes rested on the empty liquor bottle sitting on the lopsided coffee table. It was about the right height for her bonds. Could she somehow break the bottle and use a piece of glass to saw through the rope on her wrists?
Desperately, she began to inch forward, a slow process since the chair was heavy and the floorboards uneven. The ticking of the clock grew louder—or maybe it was her own heart pounding—but the sound made Mari all too aware that time was passing much too quickly and her process was tediously slow.
She glanced anxiously at the door. Nicholas had been angry last night, but she had not thought he would do something as drastic as arrange an abduction. But then she had not known he was Wesley Alton’s son either. Did madness run in families? Even if it did not, she knew Nicholas hated Jamie enough to make taking her virginity pure revenge. Mari shuddered. She had no misgivings about Wesley either, knowing Jillian had come close to being raped by the man as well. Ian had saved Jillian.
Jamie had no idea Mari was even in danger.
Her eyes stung with unshed tears, making her sinuses swell and threatening to close off her air supply. Mari stifled the sobs, having no time to waste on self-pity. She had been an absolute fool, but she would dwell on that later.
Finally, after what seemed like long, long minutes, she made her way to the small table. Alternating trying to lift her seat and shuffling her feet, she managed to turn the chair around so her hands were in position. Craning her neck to look over her shoulder, she stretched her fingers toward the bottle.
It was out of reach.
Had she been able, she would have screamed in frustration. Mari tried maneuvering the chair closer to the table and caught her skirt on the splintered side.Drat it!She tried pulling away and then she stopped. Maybe she could use the splintered edge? She placed her hands alongside the fragmented piece, praying it would work, and began to saw at her ties.
Tick. Tick. Tick.The clock droned on.
Mari heard footsteps outside, and she stopped breathing. Had Nicholas arrived or was Wesley returning already? She had no idea how much time had elapsed.
The footsteps moved on. Her breath returned and she kept working.
Tick. Tick. Tick.
Mari finally felt the rope begin to give a little and tried to remember what Jamie had told Robin and Joseph to do the day he’d trained them on getting out of bonds. She wished she had paid more attention to what Jamie had said rather than watching how the muscles in his arms flexed when he moved.
Something about drawing in the thumbs to make the hands smaller…
Mari forced her hands to relax, slowly tucking her thumbs into her palms and folding her fingers over each other. She began to rub her wrists together, pushing against the slight loosening the frayed rope allowed. Feeling one hand begin to slip past the other wrist, she tugged while continuing to scrape against the rough edge of the table.
Tick. Tick. Tick.
This had to work. One of her palms was almost even with the other wrist now. Maybe just a little more…
Footsteps sounded outside again. Two people this time. Mari hacked faster on the rope.Please Lord, don’t let it be them.One more frantic tug, and the rope gave way. Nearly crying with relief, she jerked her hands loose and removed the gag. The footsteps had passed. Mari made quick work of untying the rope around her waist and stood, whimpering a little at the stinging sensation in her legs. She stumbled toward the door and opened it cautiously. The road directly in front of the tenement was clear save for the couple who had gone by—a sailor and a doxy.
Mari stepped out and ran in the opposite direction.
“Where is she?” Hand on his dirk, Jamie pushed past Nicholas, sweeping the sitting room with a glance, taking in an easel, drawing table and minimal furniture. The door to the bedroom stood ajar, and he detected no movement or sound there.
“Am I supposed to invite you in?”
“I’m alreadyin.Where is she?”
Nicholas gave him a cold look. “I do not recall inviting you here, Highlander.”
“Do I look like I give a damn whether yeinvitedme?” Jamie tightened his hand on the dirk handle. “For the last time, where is Mari?”
“I have no idea. We had a bit of an argument last night.”
“She broke things off with ye,” Jamie replied.
“Then why would you think she would be here?”
Jamie resisted the urge to put his fist in the Frenchman’s smug face. “Mari is missing, and we suspect she has been abducted.”
