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Chapter 151
"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
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Disgraceful Chapter 152
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
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"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
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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
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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
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The word "jail" seemed to strike instant terror into Amanda's heart, because her crimson face instantly drained of all colors. He stared down into her pallid face from hard, uncompromising eyes."Choose wisely, Amanda. If you give up now, I will let you go and you don't have to bear legal consequences for your offence. You will get nothing, but you will still have your freedom and possibilities. In jail, you will most likely lose it all."******The pale winter light peeked through the slit between the curtains in Ava's chamber as morning crept over the quiet mansion. In the middle of her bed, Ava rolled over to her side, biting her lips restlessly. She'd been staying wide awake all night, not so much as thinking about sleep, knowing that somewhere in Amanda's house, a woman was confined, perhaps terrorized and tormented as well, alone with no one to save her. Everytime she'd closed her eyes, Eleanor's terrified face flashed through h
Disgraceful Chapter 157
A shout from behind startled her. Gasping, Ava turned to see Ashton rushing in. Roughly he snatched the piece of paper from her hand and crumpled it before throwing it back into the fire."These are my personal stuffs. You shouldn't go through it."He hissed, turning blazing eyes on her."Why I shouldn't see your stuffs? I think we've vowed before God to share anything we have with each other.""Listen carefully. This house and everything in it is yours to do as you please, but I'd rather you leave my personal things alone.""I want nothing to do with this house. All I want is you committed to me.""You know I'm committed to you.""I've committed myself, to being totally honest with you at all times. Is it too much to ask the same from you? If you're truly committed to me, then you should be completely open and truthful with me. If you still keep secre
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After so much disturbance in the first days of their marriage, Ava could finally enjoy a few days of peace without disruption. Except for Lord Carlton and Lady Cecily, nobody dared to be hostile to her in her husband's presence, but just when she thought she would finally be able to breathe easy, a sudden news dashed her hopes. It happened one fine morning when she was taking a stroll down the garden with her husband."A ball?"Ava repeated the words in horror, staring unblinkingly at Ashton, who just announced that he'd ordered the household staff to arrange a ball in her honor. Not expecting such an unenthusiastic response, he stopped walking and looked down at her with a slightly perplexed frown."That's absolutely unnecessary."Ava shook her head, horrified by the idea of having to be displayed in front of the crowd of nobility."It's a family tradition.
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"Don't forget, you once said your uncle is like a father to you.""He is, and I will always respect and honor him, but that doesn't mean I will tolerate his unacceptable behavior, especially where my wife's well being is concerned."She shook her head, appalled by the idea."It may seem like the most possible solution now, because you are mad, but you'll regret it later.""The only thing I'll regret in life is if I fail to protect the closest person to me."Ava opened her mouth to reply but then subsided. She knew that at this point, whatever she said wouldn't stop him from doing whatever he deemed necessary. Once Ashton took a resolved standpoint, nobody could change his mind. He had always held fast to his point of view, and never wavered between two courses of actions. Now all she could do was to try to defer the decision."All right, but I ask you to consider this matt
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