"It smells like hell!"
Amanda complained once the cover of the pot was removed. A strong herbal odor wafted through the air. They were in a large salon in the French house, sitting on a velvet upholstered coach.
"Try it. It works wonders."
He showed the faint, faded line across his palm, persistently convincing the reluctant Amanda to try the Gypsi medicine. After a good long while, finally she allowed him to apply the ointment to the stitched wound.
"Let it absorb for a while. Don't touch or wipe it."
Amanda crinkled her noise and started complaining again, but he insisted, carefully smearing the foul cream all over her wound.
"You'll look just the same as before. You'll forget you ever got this wound."
To his great relief, the stinking medicine decreased her mood for amorous act. When he first arrived, she had pulled him down to kiss him and climbed onto his lap, but now she was reclining on
"No," She pulled away from his touch abruptly, startling them both."Not like this. Not here."Hastily she slid down the desk and retreated a step away from him, her hands slightly trembling as she adjusted her robe. This didn't feel right. There was no honest passion in his touch, no fierce, genuine urgency. It felt like he saw her as another duty, another chore to get through."I... I think I'd better go. You still have a lot of work and you need a good rest afterward. See you in the morning."And without waiting for his reply, she fled out of the room.Something was terribly wrong. She didn't have any concrete proof, or even clues of what was wrong, but every instinct in her told her that he concealed something from her. She determined to find out what was behind his strange behavior and she wouldn't stop until she got to the bottom of it.*****Ava awoke to a light kiss on he
Later in the evening, Ava checked her reflection in the mirror, and couldn't help but feeling satisfied with what she was looking at. She looked fine, to say the least. Today she was feeling beautiful. Her flawless face was fresh and glowing, her black hair tumbled in glorious mass over her shoulders. She was wearing a muted purple nightgown. The shade flattered her pale skin and accentuated her eyes. Entirely happy with her look, she stepped out of the bathroom and into her chamber.Ashton was sitting in the middle of her bed in his silk dressing gown, leaning against the headboard with a book in his hand. When their gazes met, he tossed the book aside. Eyes locked with his, she climbed into bed and came toward him. She wasted no time in showing what she wanted. Without a moment's hesitation, she unfastened his robe and pushed it off his shoulders. In return, he ran his hands up her smooth haunches, pushing the hem of her nightgown up over her hips to cup her b
Alone with her restless mind, Ava gazed at the night outside her window as she listened to the minutes ticked away in the quiet. She was lying on the far side of the bed with her back facing the door. She put on a dozen layers of clothes and wrapped herself in the thick blanket to shield herself from unwanted attention. She didn't want him to touch her tonight.Though, came to think of it, her desperate attempt to protect herself was ridiculous. Since it was well past ten and her husband hadn't come to her, it was clear that he wasn't keen to spend the night with her. In fact, he was actually putting some distance between them since their fight this morning. He left the house rightaway, though he returned home shortly. He buried himself in work the whole day, which was only another excuse for avoiding her. The thoughts disrupted when the adjoining door creaked open behind her."You awake?"
"We can't see anything from here."Several yards away from the back of the French house, Ava peeked out from behind a bare tree. A row of windows in the upper part of the house above a stone wall silently greeted her. She had been spying the house for almost one hour, waiting for an unmarked coach to arrive at the back gate, with its inhabitant hidden safely inside.Her eyes ached and she blinked away the blurry mist. She hadn't gotten much rest since all night long her suspicion had been eating away at her. Now from where she stood, with barely a glimpse of the happenings inside, imaginary vision of what could possibly happen behind the walls flashed repeatedly through her head. Bile rose in her throat. She'd leave him rightaway if her suspicion proved to be true."I don't get it. What the hell are we doing here?" Behind her, Polly griped between chattering teeth. The weather outside w
The sound died out just as sudden, for several seconds Ava was uncertain if she really heard it. But it was quite real that she almost jumped out of her skin. Even now her heart was still pounding from shock. It sounded like a woman's voice. And Amanda, what was she doing up there? Obviously she was bringing a food tray to the attic, which meant that there was someone in there.It could be Amanda's sick relative. But some instincts told her that there was something wrong going on. This massive house surely had more than enough decent rooms to accomodate guests and relatives. It was unreasonable to place a guest or a relative in a secluded place like the attic.The thought was disrupted when Amanda appeared at the bottom of the stairs without the food tray. Amanda blew the candles and set the chandelier back to the sidetable, then walked away. Ava waited until Amanda disappeared down the stairs, then rushed to the railing and peered down. Aft
"You little whore..." Amanda hissed and suddenly the candelabra in her hand swung into her face. Shrieking, Ava dodged the attack and shoved Amanda, so hard that she slammed into the wall. The candelabra slipped out of her hand and dropped onto the floor with a loud clang. Whirling away, Ava streaked down the hallway to the servants' stairs. From a near distance, she heard hasty footsteps as the guards dashing upstairs.She must flee, or she would meet the same fate as Eleanor, confined in the dark, forsaken place. She shuddered to think what Amanda planned to do next. Perhaps she would settle her along with Eleanor to keep her secret. Ava recoiled at the possibility. Now she really wished she had brought her gun.Halfway down the stairs, Ava heard Amanda shout to the guards,"She's escaping through the back stairs! Go get her!"A wave of panic swept through her and she ran as fast as she could, nearly stumbled ov
Amanda flashed her a smug, triumphant smile and Ava nearly tripped over the steps as Ashton pulled her roughly down the stairs all the way through the house. The servants immediately lowered their head when they passed by. Not giving up yet, Ava struggled to wrest free of his grip."She can't be far! We should search the entire house." Her stomach churned at the thought of what might happen to Eleanor after this, when they had left the house."You must believe me! Amanda is hiding a captive somewhere in this house!"*****"She was there just a moment ago, I swear it!" Ava stumbled after him as he dragged her out of the house and to the waiting coach at the backgate. When they stopped by the carriage, she opened her mouth to speak again, but immediately shut it when Ashton pinned her with a hard stare. The coachman opened the door for them, and she was thrusted into the carriage. Throughout the ride, he'd withdrawn to a qu
Furtively Ashton kept an eye on Amanda the whole evening, but she stayed in her chamber until bedtime. When the clock struck ten, and the house was empty and quiet, silently he went to the attic.The door made an eerie voice as it creaked open to the darkened room. With the dim light from the candelabra, he scoured the whole room, inspecting every corner, every old, dust-covered stuff carefully. The lack of light made it difficult to see clearly, however there was nothing like a hint that anyone had been confined in this place. He stopped in the corner a little longer to examine the empty chair, but again found nothing.When he turned to leave, he spotted a dark patch on the floor, just a feet away from the door. Kneeling, he set the candelabra on the floor and rubbed his fingers across the surface and lifted his hand to better see it. It didn't take long to recognize what the stain was, and h