by Vi Carter
“Is he a good kisser?” Mary asks, her eyes greedy for information.
“A lady never tells,” she says while staring at me.
My heart beats wildly and I glance at Mary. “He’s a fantastic kisser.” There is a loud inhale at my bold statement.
Sandra’s nostrils flare and I feel a sense of victory, it's brief as she smiles.
“I second that.” She steps away from me smiling.
I swallow the bile that rises in my throat. He couldn’t have kissed her. He wouldn’t. She is playing mind games. But I can’t stop the rise of pain that squeezes my chest.
“Come on Ella.” Hannah pulls my arm gently for us to go back into the room. I do and Sandra continues to smile. I hear their laughter as I close the bedroom door.
“Never mind her, she’s just jealous and lying.” Hannah’s words have me pushing Sandra’s lies aside. It had to be a lie. He wouldn’t do that.
I join them back on the bed and try to take my mind off Sandra as we plan our rescue of Vicky.
“So when do we go?” Hannah asks while chewing her lip.
“There’s no time like the present.”
We all jump as someone knocks on the door. The second knock has me scurrying off the bed and opening the door. I nod at Mark.
“Miss O’ Leary, Master Lucas, requests your company in the gardens. I will escort you.”
I glance back at Jessie and Hannah, both of them smiling and nodding eagerly. But I think of Vicky and hesitate at the door.
“Once you get back, we will finish it,” Hannah says.
“Go.” Jessie widens her eyes and I leave with Mark.
Mark doesn’t speak as he leads me to the gardens. I don’t see Lucas and Mark stops walking. “He said you would know where to find him.” I nod and leave as I make my way to the only place I can think of, the maze. My heart pounds as I get closer. I don’t see him. I glance back to see if I can still see Mark, but he is nowhere in sight. Something heavy settles around my shoulders as I stand at the entrance of the maze.
“Lucas,” I call and glance behind me. Facing forward, I call his name a little louder. Something is telling me to go back the longer I stand here. I hear the rustle of the hedge, but I don’t feel the wind.
“Lucas are you here?” I take a few more steps but keep the entrance in my sights at all times. As I reach the bend, I stop. There is a second that I think it’s Lucas, but it’s the shortest second ever, as Henry attempts to smile. He isn’t wearing his glasses. I shake my head and step away. He’s quicker than I expected and pulls me back in. His hand immediately covers my mouth, as he pulls me against his chest. Panic overrides all logic and I reach back and try to claw his face. He roars but his hold tightens around my chest, threatening to crush it.
“Stop moving.” His command is barked loudly into my ear. My heart rate won’t slow as I try to see past the fog of panic.
“I’m not going to hurt you. I only want to talk.” He still holds me and I try to compose myself.
“I have a deal for you. It’s about Lucas.”
I’m nodding. I want his hands off me.
“If I let you go, you better not scream.”
I’m nodding again, but he doesn’t release me. I jerk and he pulls tighter. Moving us further into the maze. I kick out, but he’s expecting the blow and blocks it easily.
“Would you stop?” His warning is hissed in my ear. I wouldn’t have expected his strength.
He releases me abruptly and I stumble forward only to have him grip my arm. I yank it back and he blocks the way out. I’m considering running into the maze, but that’s the panic talking.
“What do you want?”
He touches his face. “Just to talk.” He looks at the blood on his hand. I don’t feel guilty at all.
“So you sent Mark to trick me?” He keeps his legs wide so he can shift left or right if I try to get past. Kicking him between the legs was an option. I just needed to wait for the moment of distraction.
“Would you have come if you knew I was here?”
“Maybe.” I lie and he hunches forward in that creepy way and half laughs.
“What do you want?” My heart is pumping too fast. I need to calm down. So far he hasn't hurt me.
“I have a proposition for you.” He stands up fully now.
“Where are your glasses?” I don’t know why it is bothering me so much. Was he trying to look like Lucas? My stomach churns. He never could.
He takes them out of his pocket and slides them on. “Is that better?”
No. It would be better if I wasn’t here.
“Lucas has something belonging to me in his room, I need you to get it.”
I’m ready to laugh. Was he crazy?
I shrug. “Why would you think...”
He cuts me off. “I saw you going in and coming out of his room. So let’s not pretend you don’t have special access to my brother.”
“You’ve got the wrong girl.” I take a step towards him, my body repels the minute he moves and tilts his head.
“I don’t want to hurt you.” But I will–is left hanging in the air.
“Hear me out.” He speaks through gritted teeth.
I stop moving.
“If you get me the box that I need, I will get you something in return.”
He was crazy if he thought he could give me anything. “Okay,” I say, just wanting this to end.
His roar has me backing into the hedge. “Don’t lie to me!” He grips his hair and I’m nodding like the lunatic he is. Oh, God.
“You have to hear the whole deal.”
I’m sorry. I’ll listen.”
My words seem to work, he releases his hair and pushes his glasses up on his nose. “Lucas is going to marry Sandra. The contracts are signed. I can get rid of Sandra if you get me the box.”
I feel physically sick. “Like, kill her?”
“Is that what you want?” he seems sincere and that makes this worse.
“No, thank you.” A weakness enters my legs as he takes a step towards me.
“She is standing in the way of your future with Lucas. Do you understand?”
I’m afraid to say yes, because I don’t. But I don’t want to prolong this.
“No. I don’t.” I’m waiting for the backlash.
“Good. You’re listening.” He nods and bends his head again. “My father and her father have agreed on the marriage from the start. There is no contest. Her father has the most money.”
Bile rises in my throat. No.
“I’ve read the files.” He sounds bored now. “I’ve read yours and know you have no money. Your father left your mother in a right mess.”
I tighten my fists. How dare he mention my father, but I also wonder if Henry is telling the truth? I know money wasn’t plentiful with us.
“Does Lucas know?” My throat feels dry.
Henry smiles and it chases all the warmth from my bones. “Yes.”
He holds up his hands. “But, in his defense, it was all done without him. But he is aware of it.”
“Why would I want to get rid of Sandra now?” My blood roars in my ears. If what he is saying is true, it means that Lucas led me down the garden path.
“Or Lucas?” he smiles again and a coldness seeps into my skin.
“You are offering to kill your own brother?”
He is more twisted than I expected. “I don’t care. Just get me the box.”
My heart is still beating too fast and I keep my hand over it.
“What do you want if not Sandra or my brother?”
I swallow the saliva that’s pooling in my mouth. Could I really get him this box?
“What’s in the box?”
He smiles again. “Trust me, you don’t want to know.”
“If I say no?”
He’s staring at me and not answering, so that’s not good at all.
“I’ll try,” I say.
He shakes his head. “I don’t want to hear you will try, it’s
a yes or a no.”
“I don’t even know where to look. What you are asking isn’t reasonable.” You're not reasonable.
“I know where it is.” He’s looking hopeful now.
“Where?” I feel sick.
He smiles and bends his head. “In the back of his wardrobe.”
I nod.
His eyes widen as he straightens. “Is that a yes?”
“Yes,” I whisper as If I had a choice.
I take a step to leave.
“If you lie to me, I’ll hurt your friends. The one called Hannah looks like she would break easily.”
I can’t back down, I’m so close to him now. “Don’t threaten my friends. I’ll get you the box.”
I would attempt to find it, but maybe having it would give me power over Henry. I would see what is inside it.
“What do you want in return?”
Nothing. There is no deal. “I’ll think about it.” My anger has given me strength and he believes me.
“I’m happy doing business with you.” He reaches out his hand and I walk past it. He doesn’t stop me, but his laughter follows me out of the maze.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
ELLA
I glance back over my shoulder at the maze, but Henry is no longer in sight. Folding my arms across my chest, I make my way back to the house and the safety of my room. It is the only place that feels normal right now. I try not to think about Lucas actually marrying Sandra. I know she was put forward as the favorite, but to me it was all in theory not actually signed on paper. I remind myself that Henry could be lying. It would have been more beneficial if he was lying. That way I would have tried to save Lucas. Now he painted Lucas in a bad light. I check the foyer for Mark, but only George is there. He’s coming out of the drawing room and peeks up at me. His smile is instant. “Lady Ella.”
I like him. “George.” I don’t linger but make my way up the stairs. I need to tell Hannah and Jessie so I can make sense of what Henry had said. Too much of me is believing him right now. I twist my hands together as I enter an empty room. I’m ready to leave and go back down stairs. They must be in the drawing room. A piece of paper is on my bed, an A4 size, so it’s hard to miss. I recognize Hannah’s writing straight away.
Gone to do some housekeeping. (Vicky)
Hannah & Jessie
She’s even done a love heart over the i’s like she always does. The page flutters from my fingers. What have I done? I’ve put both of them in danger. How long ago had they left? Panic has my feet moving rapidly from my room and down the steps. I need to reach them. I just hope I am not too late. What if something happens to them? I will never forgive myself.
My heart rate spikes to an uncomfortable level as the sheds come into sight. I slow down and look around me. I take a walk along the side like I’m just curious. Sweat gathers at the back of my neck. My mind races, telling me to get in there and get them out. I want to make sure we actually all get out, hopefully undetected. This was such a bad idea. I walk around to the door, my patience to disguise my reasoning for being here disintegrates quickly. The door opens and I enter, pulling it closed behind me. I let my eyes adjust to the different lighting before I weave through the cars. Blood crashes against my ears as I peek out from behind a car towards the stairs.
I count to ten in my head to try to calm myself before deciding on the count of three I will go down into the basement. One, Two… A gloved hand across my mouth has me throwing myself back ways and into my captor.
“Ella, be quiet.” It takes me a moment to battle through the haze to allow Lucas’s voice to settle me. I turn and he releases my mouth instantly.
His jaw is clenched, the warning in his eyes crystal clear, as he grabs my hand and tries to pull me from the shed.
“Lucas,” I whisper and he spins fast. His anger would normally terrify me but right now I can’t think about me or the repercussions of what I have done.
“Hannah and Jessie are down there. It’s my fault.” I need to get them. Even more so as Lucas’s face turns pale. It must be bad. A cry wants to erupt from my lungs, but I swallow it down along with my panic.
“We need to get them.”
Lucas steps away from me before returning quickly and gripping my hand, dragging me away from the stairs again. I yank hard and he turns with a flash of warning in his eyes.
“I won’t leave them.” I try to pull my arm again, but his ironclad hold on it isn’t budging.
“I’ll get them. You stay right here.” He sounds like he’s talking to a stranger. Anger has a funny way of altering our tone. I don’t want to stay, but I nod.
“Don’t you dare move.” His growl has me moving away from him until I bump into a car. He still hasn’t left and I want to shout at him, what is he waiting for? He’s pointing his finger at me, words fail him and he leaves.
It’s forever that I stand there feeling naked. Please God, tell me they are fine. I repeat the mantra in my head. My eyes snap open as a scream has the hairs standing on the back of my neck. It’s Hannah. I’m moving, my foot catches in the tarp and I tumble. My hands take the impact along with my knees, the pain radiates through me and I’m up and running again. I’m halfway down the stairs when Lucas looks up at me. His eyes widen before they narrow. I take a peek at Hannah and Jessie behind him who are both red faced but look unharmed. Lucas who had paused marches towards me, making me climb back up the steps. He doesn’t speak and that’s more terrifying.
I’ve never seen him look so angry. His clenched fists and tight jaw have me looking away from him. We follow him silently out of the shed. I’m waiting for him to turn on us and start shouting, but he doesn’t.
“Follow me. The three of you.” His words are delivered calmly and I wrap my arms around my waist. Hannah keeps looking at me-trying to catch my eye-but I refuse to look at her. I’m angry at myself but also angry at both of them for going without me.
We follow Lucas all the way to his office. Once we are all in, he closes the door, his eyes are heavy on me and I swallow. No one speaks but we all shuffle. Yeah, we messed up big time.
“I’m sorry. It was my fault.” I start the moment he sits down. He holds my gaze for a second before cutting me off.
“Let’s start with why both of you were down there?” He asks and I know Hannah is glancing at me.
“Because of me,” I say and Lucas’s attention snaps back to me.
“Don’t speak, unless I address you.” His anger isn’t just peeking out at me, it’s jumped in the front seat and taken over. I wisely bend my head and keep quiet.
“We thought Vicky was down there, Master Lucas.” Hannah has a soft tremble in her voice and I want to plead with Lucas to let them go, as this is all my fault.
“Why would you think that?”
Yep, Hannah is glancing at me. I meet her eyes and give a nod.
“Ella had been down there…” Hannah doesn’t get any more words out before Lucas is standing and marching to me. Each step is fueled with rage that he is barely containing. I stand my ground and raise my chin.
“You were down there?”
His voice sounds strange. “Yes, your father caught me.” I quickly look at the girls, Hannah is watching me, her cheeks are ablaze as she chews on her lip. Jessie is facing forward. Lucas grips my chin and pulls my face back to him.
“Why would you put yourself in that kind of danger?” His eyes roam my face like he’s searching for an answer that he can’t phantom.
“I’m sorry.”
He releases me but shakes his head. “No Ella. You're sorry you got caught.”
He goes back to his desk and glares at me. Sweat trickles slowly down my back. I want this scolding to end. He picks up the phone and starts punching in numbers. Fear has me taking a step towards his desk, his eyes snap to me-freezing me in place.
Is he ringing Andrew? That wouldn’t make any sense since he just saved us all. I tighten my hands into a fist, the sting of my cuts have me breathing a bit heavier
.
Lucas’s eyes dart to my hands. “Can I speak to Vicky O’ Sullivan? It’s Master Lucas.” He holds the phone slightly away from his face.
“Show me your hands.”
I feel like a baby. “It’s nothing.” I place them behind my back.
“Now, Ella!” His growl has my face heating up. I glance at Hannah and Jessie who face forward, not looking at me. I bring my hands out front and show him. He tuts.
“It’s nothing,” I repeat. But he ignores me.
“Vicky, I have someone who wants to speak to you.” He holds the phone to Hannah. “Talk to her, confirm she is alive.”
I die as Hannah takes the phone and speaks to Vicky. Her eyes dart to me and she nods. Oh, God. Vicky is fine, I had sent them on a wild goose chase.
Lucas is standing and walks towards me. “Why didn’t you just ask me?” His voice is heavy with disappointment and that brings a lump to my throat.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper.
Hannah clears her throat. “Vicky is fine. She’s at home. Still slightly mad about being sent home, but she’s fine.”
“When you all arrived here, you were told you could only go to designated areas. The three of you have broken that rule. So you will all be punished.”
“It was my fault.” Lucas cuts me off with a warning look and I sensibly focus on the floor and don’t interrupt him again.
“I will decide your punishments. For now, go to your rooms and don’t leave them.”
The warning is clear. I feel terrible as I turn for the door.
“Not you, Ella.” I glance up at Lucas before stepping aside and letting Jessie and Hannah leave. Once it’s just me and Lucas, I’m waiting for him to lose it. But he doesn’t.
I’m surrounded by his smell and warmth as he pulls me into his arms. “You’re going to be the death of me.”
I’m pushing him away, fear tightening my throat. “Don’t say something like that.”
“Why Ella, because it’s true. What were you thinking?” His anger has reignited. He takes a breath.