The room wasn’t large, and she knew the man who’d carried her had walked for a while to reach where she was.
Think, Evie.
Pacing away, she walked slowly around the small room. Picking up the hairbrush she studied it. Silver with an intricate pattern, it had a long handle. Looking at the window again, Evie wondered if it would break the glass. But then if she made a noise, it may bring someone to investigate.
Moving closer she looked through the glass and saw water below. From her height Evie guessed there were likely cliffs beneath, and she would plunge to her death if she attempted toclimb down them. But there could also be a ledge somewhere she could reach.
Grabbing two shawls, she went back to the window and lowered one onto the floor beneath. The other she wrapped around the handle of the hairbrush. Not easy work with her hands bound, but she was nothing if not determined. She was about to strike at it with the handle when she heard footsteps. Grabbing the shawls, she took them and the hairbrush back to the bed. Sitting, Evie draped the shawls over her knees and dropped the hairbrush to the floor, kicking it with her heel under the bed.
The door swung open, and a man appeared in one of those terrifying masks.
“Miss Spencer, we thought you may be hungry after your trip.” He took a single step into the room, keeping his eyes on her.Wise man.
“Where am I? Why have you abducted me?”
He lowered the tray to the floor, just inside the door, and then backed away. Before he closed it again, he spoke once more.
“This will be your home for quite some time, Miss Spencer. I suggest you eat, as you will need your strength.” He then shut the door quietly, and she heard his laughter as he walked away.
She’d known, of course, that something nefarious was afoot. You didn’t steal someone away in the dead of night from a house party to make friends with them after all. But those words had a sinister threat behind them, she was sure of it.
“I’d rather die than be held against my will for the rest of my life,” Evie declared, getting off the bed.
But why did they want her? Did they think to ransom her and hope Anthony would pay well to get her back?
He would; she knew that. There was a good man under the cold facade. He’d shown that with the care he gave his aunts.Even if he was too much of a coward to come out of hiding and live with her.
Thinking about him hurt, so she pushed him aside again and dropped to her knees to look under the bed. The hairbrush had not gone too far thankfully. Hooking it out with her foot, she regained her feet. Her stomach then let out a loud rumble.
If she was to escape and find her way back to her family, then she must keep her strength up. Picking up the tray, Evie carried it back to the bed. There was something that looked like a beef stew and a slice of bread and jam. She ate the bread.
Evie then planned, which is what she did best. She worked through every option for escape, which, if she was honest, there weren’t many. When she was finished with the food and coming up with every scenario that may or may not happen, she took her supplies back to the window.
Wrapping the hairbrush, she then yelled “Let me out!” while smashing the handle into the window so no one heard. A crack formed, but it needed to be bigger if she was to look out and eventually climb through. Yelling again, this time she forced her elbow into the glass, and it shattered.
Taking one of the larger shards, Evie braced it between her knees, using it to saw through the ropes around her wrists. It took time, and she nicked herself twice, but finally, her hands were free. Tucking the glass into her bodice, she was about to clear away the glass from the sash, when she heard footsteps. Dashing for the chair, she carried it back to the door.
Heart pounding, Evie watched it open, and a man stepped inside.
“What the—”
She raised the chair and swung at the back of his head. He crumpled to the floor.
Evie bent and began searching his pockets. Finding a large round ring holding keys, she pulled it out. She then pressed herfingers to his neck and felt his heartbeat. He may be a villain, but she had no wish for this man’s death to be on her hands.
Straightening, with her heart in her mouth, Evie walked to the door. Peering out, she saw no one. Stepping outside, she closed it softly. After trying several keys with trembling hands, she finally found the right one to lock it.
Looking to the right she saw a short hall and stairs. The left was a longer one with two more doors leading off it.
Which way should she go? She heard a sound then. Was that someone weeping? Tiptoeing left, she reached the first door. Someone inside that room was definitely crying. Should she open it? Turning the handle slowly, Evie found it locked.Did that mean whoever was behind this door was also being held against their will?
Evie couldn’t call out and risk someone hearing her, so she tried several keys in the lock until one fit. Pushing the door open, she looked inside.
Three young ladies were sitting, wide eyed and clearly terrified, on a bed, which was the only furniture in this room. Like hers had been, their hands were bound.
“Wh-who are you?” one of them asked.
“My name is Miss Evangeline Spencer. Are you being held here against your will?”
