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She stopped mid-stride and flushed a deep red. “I don’t know anything about that, miss. I wasn’t on shift yesterday.”
I followed her to the table where she’d laid out an array of pastries, cold meats, cereals and fresh fruits. “May I pour you some fresh coffee?” she asked, holding up a metal pot.
“I trust it hasn’t been laced with arsenic.”
Her gasp made me blink. “Of course not, miss.”
I nodded curtly. “Then yes please.”
As she poured, I remembered the coffee table and glided my gaze to the back of the room. Panes of cracked glass and metal spokes had been stacked against the wall. I turned back to the maid who’d stopped pouring and was watching me with interest.
“Someone’s coming to clear it away,” she said, then smiled. “I never liked that table.”
I watched, blankly, as she poured a drop of milk into the cup – exactly as I liked it – and stirred it with a teaspoon.
I breathed in heavily. “Can you bring me my phone please?”
She shook her head and stepped away from the table. “No, miss. And even if it didn’t require that I risk my job, my life and that of my family, I wouldn’t know where to start looking for it. I expect even Master Thorn doesn’t know every nook and cranny of Blackcap Hall.”
I lifted a resigned brow. “Then can I ask to see Dalziel Thorn?”
“Of course, miss. I will pass the message on to his office.”
I was about to snort at the ridiculousness of the situation but thought better of it. I should have been thinking about befriending this girl. She could be the key to getting me out of this place.
I swallowed back everything my bitter heart wanted to say, and instead thanked her. I followed her to the door, half-planning to push my way out again but the second it opened, my eyes connected with the menacing glare of another security guard. The maid turned and gave me an apologetic smile before pulling the door closed.
Ka-clunk.
And there went the lock.
Dax
I didn’t bother knockingbefore I unlocked the door. Not that it mattered. I had men everywhere; there was no way she’d get out of the tower, let alone the house. I stepped into the room and a fluttering sensation picked up in my belly. God knows what it was but it made me almost nauseous. She appeared immediately, her feet planted and her arms stiff as if bracing for an attack, and she was still wearing the outfit she arrived in.
“Have you even showered?” The question was well-intentioned; I wanted her to feel at home here. But coupled with the grimace I naturally imparted, it sounded judgmental.
Her eyes bugged. “Yes, I’ve showered!”
“Then why are you still wearing those clothes?”
She chewed on her lip. “Because… I only packed for three days and I don’t particularly want to lounge about a prison in an evening gown.”
I almost snorted at her comment. She knew nothing of being imprisoned. But her following words fizzed in my stomach. “You brought an evening gown?”
“I didn’t know what to expect,” she said, then laughed bitterly. “I’ hoped it might be treated as a special occasion.”
“I’ll have some clothes delivered for you.”
She planted her hands on her hips. “Or… you could just give me back my stuff and let me leave.”
I cocked my head to one side. “Why? Don’t you want your money?”
“Not if it means becoming your prisoner to get it,” she snapped. “That wasn’t in the contract. Now I know why you bid so much money for me. It wasn’t just my virginity you wanted, was it? You wanted a pet.”
My chest constricted painfully, propelling me across the room. Her face paled as I approached but she didn’t back away. “You’re comparing yourself to ananimal?”
She tilted her chin upwards and glared at me. “Well, isn’t this what happens to animals? People keep them in cages and train them to submit?”
