“There you are!” Lady Priscilla exclaimed. “I saw you dash off and wondered where you had gone to. I simply had to follow, but who would have ever thought to find you by the kitchens.” Looking up, Reid realized they were in a back hallway, far from the normal foot traffic of the house other than servants. He wished they had been even further afield so Lady Priscilla would not have found them at all.
“Why, whatever is the matter, Elise? You look like you’ve seen a ghost. Do get up off the floor or you’ll wrinkle your dress.” Lady Priscilla was either oblivious to, or unconcerned with, the distress Lady Elise was in. As she prattled on, Reid turned his attention to Elise and watched as she flinched at the continuing chatter.
“Are you alright?” he asked quietly. She nodded with closed eyes.
“I just need a minute.” Elise responded so softly he almost didn’t hear her. She took in another deep breath and held it before exhaling. Reaching for his hand to use as leverage, she began to stand while bracing herself using the wall.
“Well, well, well . . . it looks like the real party has moved out here.” Elise began to violently tremble at the voice of Lord Dorsten. “Who are you hiding back here?” he asked. “I didn’t get to see your face before Weston took off after you.”
“Oh, this is Lady Elise,” Priscilla said, not reading the tension that now permeated the space. “You may not know her. She’s been out of society for the past few years.”
At this exchange Elise began breathing hard again, her eyes wide with panic. The hand which Reid still held was now gripping him tightly and he was afraid she might pass out. He didn’t know what was going on, but it was clear that something about Dorsten was unsettling her. Instinctively, he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer as she continued to gasp for air.
“Pricilla, would you be a dear and fetch Lady Elise a glass of water, it seems she isn’t feeling well,” Dorsten said, his eyes sweeping over Elise with an avarice that Reid didn’t like at all.
Dorsten moved forward as Lady Priscilla scampered away. “I see you are providing some fine entertainment at this gathering, Weston. I do applaud your taste,” the man said with a wicked smile. “It’s been a few years, Elise, but it’s lovely to see you again. I do hope we might be able to pick up where we left off last time—before we were so rudely interrupted. That is, if Weston here is willing to share.” He had the audacity to wink at Reid as he finished. Elise was practically hyperventilating as she burrowed into him, attempting to make herself as small as possible.
“Don’t you dare touch her,” Reid growled as Dorsten reached out a hand, a feral look in his eyes.
Retracting his hand with a smirk, Dorsten said, “If you want the little minx all to yourself, you just had to say so. I’ll leave you alone, I know what a good time she can be—enjoy.”
Reid wasn’t completely sure what Dorsten was alluding to, but what he could infer based on his comments and the lady’s reaction made him more enraged than he had ever been in his life. He saw red. Just then, Priscilla returned with a large glass of water and looked at them in concern.
“Here. Is she alright?” she asked in concern as she thrust the glass towards Reid. He couldn’t focus on her however as he was intently staring down Dorsten.
“What did you just say?” Reid growled, his voice so low anyone would know danger was imminent. “What did you do to her?”
“What?” Dorsten replied, still smirking. “It was only a little fun. There was no harm in it, seeing as she was already ruined.”
Reid heard Priscilla gasp. Elise was shaking in his arms and she clutched at him desperately, a whimper escaping her as her chest continued to rapidly rise and fall with her labored breathing. “Get out,” he said in a deadly calm voice.
“What?” Dorsten said, a look of shock, finally wiping the smirk from his face.
“You heard me,” Reid said, looking him dead in the eye. “I said, get out. I want you out of my house. Now.” He had to force the words out of his throat, so enraged that he too was having trouble getting proper breath, his airway constricting from the amount of sheer tension in his body.
Dorsten raised his hands in surrender. “Look, I meant no harm. You obviously don’t want to share, and I misread the situation. I apologize for intruding—I didn’t realize she was yours.”
“She’s not mine,” Reid spat. “She’s not some object or plaything. She’s a person, and belongs to no one but herself. I will not have you speak to any woman like that in my presence ever again. Now,get out.” Reid saw the realization that he was deadly serious finally settle in as a look of terror crawled across Dorsten’s face. He turned and walked away without another word.
“He’s gone,” Reid whispered in Elise’s ear, wrapping his arms around her as tightly as possible. She let out a strangled sound as wracking sobs began to pour from her.
“Is she going to be alright?” Priscilla whispered. Reid looked up to find her pale and leaning against the wall, forgetting she was even there.
“She will be,” he said, “I’ll take care of her. Can you give us a moment?”
“I’m sorry,” Lady Priscilla said softly, not taking her eyes off Elise’s broken form. Reid didn’t understand what she was apologizing for, but the lady looked devastated as she turned away.
Finally, alone with Elise, all Reid wanted was to protect her. “It’s okay, he’s gone. I promise I won’t ever let him hurt you again.” He muttered soothing nonsense to her, stroking her hair as she cried into his shoulder. It was several minutes before everything started to slow down and she began taking in shaky breaths. Finally, Elise pulled away and slid down the wall, unable to support herself without his arms bracing her. She grabbed onto his hand on her way down.
“I need to go home,” she said.
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” he responded, not wanting to let her out of his sight. “I don’t think you should be alone. I promise he’s not here anymore, and I’ll personally ensure he is escorted off the premise.”
“Please,” Elise said, looking up at him with pleading eyes, “I don’t care if he’s gone, I just can’t be here anymore. I need to go home.”
Reid could see how much she was hurting. Though every fiber of his being cried out to keep her with him, he couldn’t force her to stay against her will. “I’ll send Jenny to accompany you, but I’m coming to check on you tomorrow.”
“Thank you,” she replied, looking utterly drained.
