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My stomach contracts. I turn to glare at my mother, unable to believe that she just offered me to this stranger.
“There will absolutely be no sampling of anything.” My voice tears out of me, sounding a little panicked, but also resolved.
I go to the door and try to open it, but it’s locked. My finger trails over the keyhole, which is empty. “Open the bloody door.”
My mother ignores me, turning back to Lord Huntsville. “This would be a good match for both of us. You get links to our enterprises, and we get support back from you when it is required. Aurelia is very pretty. Don’t dismiss her quite yet.”
Lord Huntsville glances at me before bringing his attention back to my mother and father. “You want me to marry your daughter?”
“Would that be so terrible?” Anthony asks.
Lord Huntsville glances down, and I wonder what he’s thinking. Panic starts to rise inside me. Is he honestly considering this? “This isn’t the fifteenth century. We don’t force women to marry for political gain.”
“Unlock the door, Charlotte.” I try the handle again but it doesn’t move.
“Lord Huntsville, there are certain… things in your life that you have tried to keep hidden. Certain events that could see you stripped of your peerage, even sent to prison. Don’t sit there and act holier than thou, when underneath all the fancy robes and titles, you’re no different from us.”
“You can’t blackmail me into this.” He snarls out the words, and my heart starts to pitter-patter. What dirt does Charlotte have on this man? And how prepared is she to use it in order to get him to do as she bids?
“Oh, but it’s not blackmail, darling. You are going to agree to our terms and you are going to marry Aurelia in a lavish ceremony that will get tongues wagging no doubt. It will legitimise Fraser Holdings even further and it will give my family access to areas we never had before.”
I shake my head. “There’s only one problem with your little scheme. I’m not marrying anyone, certainly not somebody you have chosen for me.”
Charlotte crosses the room, anger lining every inch of her face. I brace for the strike, but it is my throat she grabs. She slams me against the door, forcing the air from my lungs. Her grip on my neck is so hard, I can barely breathe. Her rabid eyes fill my vision as she moves barely a scant inch from my face. “I’m tired of your childish tantrums. You will do exactly as you are ordered to do, because that is your duty. If you don’t, it is your brothers who will suffer the consequences of your actions.”
A chill races through me at her words. Someone hammers on the door behind me. Graham, I think. He puts his full weight against the frame, trying to break the door down. It slams against me, but I can go nowhere as Charlotte is still holding my throat.
“You will let this man do whatever he feels the need to do in order to cement this marriage, and you will be happy about it. I found you a wonderful match, Aurelia. A Lord. You will be Lady Aurelia Fraser. How could you ask for more?”
She releases me and I step away from the door, which continues to thunder with each kick Graham plants against it. I meet Lord Huntsville’s eyes, and I see the strain in them.
“I’m sorry,” he murmurs. “There are things that need to be kept secret.”
My stomach sinks. Charlotte moves to the door and unlocks it. It flings open and Graham is standing on the other side. His eyes shift me before coming back to my mother.
“Miss Fraser, is everything all right?” he asks.
“Everything is fine,” Charlotte interrupts before I can respond. “I don’t know why you felt the need to bang against the door like some kind of animal. Your services are no longer required.”
Graham’s back snaps straight. “All due respect, Mrs Fraser, I don’t take my orders from you.”
“I thought you might say that.”
Charlotte’s men step into the room, sucking all the space out. Graham twists as he’s encircled, but he has to realise he can’t take on all of them.
This is not going to end well for me, and I know it. My only chance of survival is to run. While my mother is concentrating on what is happening in front of her, I slip out of my heels. I dart for the door, hearing raised voices and feeling fingers trying to grab me. But I’m small and fast. I also have the benefit of adrenaline pumping through my body. I rush into the hall, ignoring the eyes that come towards me. Desperately, I scan the room for the exit and run in that direction. I can hear feet behind me, heavy boots on the marble, but I don’t stop moving.
I hit the doors out of the room at full speed, jarring my elbow. I make it into the foyer, still ahead of my pursuers, and see the front doors just metres away. I hit them hard, and stumble out into the night air. The concrete ground is freezing beneath my soles, but I’m in a fight for my life. I run, pounding up the street like an Olympic athlete chasing the gold medal.
Crossing the street, I feel the kiss of a bumper as a car gets too close. Horns blare, but I ignore everything except the need to escape. Whatever it takes to keep my freedom.
I slip down a narrow cut through between two buildings, which opens out onto a courtyard. The quaint little row of shops is probably delightful in the daytime, but right now, everything seems sinister. The shadows seem to chase me deeper into the corners of the courtyard as I realise I’m trapped.
I duck down to the corner, drawing my knees to my chin, praying to every God I can think of that no one finds me.
I’m not sure how long I sit there for, hardly daring to breathe, but the air becomes frozen around me and every breath hurts. Knowing I need to keep moving, that I need to find security and safety, I use the wall to help myself up. My body aches and my bones feel stiff.
I move to the mouth of the small ginnel and peer out. There is traffic, even a few people around, but I don’t see any of Charlotte’s henchmen. I slip out onto the street, ducking my head and wrapping my arms around my freezing body. Barefoot, I start to walk in the direction of Luke’s penthouse. He is the closest place of safety I can reach.
