“Your brother will not touch you. Not until I am done with you, at least,” Stephen said slowly, his voice calm and even.
Amelia was not sure how to respond. She hoped to have a witty retort ready, but nothing came to mind. She gulped, her eyes wide, and waited for him to speak again.
“I said before that I meant you no physical harm, and I stand by it,” he added, rather briskly. He released her chin, letting her head drop.
Amelia resisted the urge to raise her hand to her face and touch where he had touched. Silly, really.
“Should I be grateful?” she managed, lifting one eyebrow.
He chuckled mirthlessly. “Nothing has changed. You’ll stay here until I decide what I will do with you and how to proceed.”
While Amelia gathered her thoughts, he turned on his heel and strode to the door. Only when he reached out and touched the handle did she realize he was going to leave her.
“Wait!” she cried, hurrying after him. “What are you doing? Where are you going?”
“I thought I made it plain,” he responded, opening the door and ducking through it. “You’re to stay here. There’s enough furniture to keep you comfortable. I believe there’s a box of blankets somewhere, too, and plenty of pillows and cushions. There might be books, too, but no penny dreadfuls, I’m afraid.”
“This isn’t fair. You are keeping me against my will.”
“Yes,” he agreed equably. “I am. A maid will come shortly with food and perhaps a change of clothes, if you need it. Until then, I suggest you spend your time considering my generosity and thinking about how you can make it up to me.”
“Generosity?” she spluttered, outraged. “I would not call thisgenerosity.”
“I could take you to the county gaol and see whether you still think I am ungenerous,” he suggested.
She paled. “No, thank you.”
“There we are. Gratitude will get you far in life, my dear.”
“I am not your dear,” she fired back.
It was intended to be an insult, but he only chuckled, shaking his head.
“Certainly not. But I would like you to reflect on the fact that I chose to spare your sister. A man like me could summon the constables and have his word taken as law as easily as that.” He snapped his fingers. “But I did not, despite your stealing from me. So, as I mentioned earlier, a little gratitude is not out of the question, don’t you think?”
He smiled grimly at her, not waiting for an answer, and began to pull the door shut.
“You still have not explained what you plan to do with me,” Amelia burst out, desperately trying to forestall the moment when the door would close and the lock would click.
Stephen paused, glancing at her with a distant, thoughtful expression.
“Perhaps I have not decided yet,” he answered at last.
Then he closed the door. Just as she’d expected, the lock clicked.
Amelia stayed where she was for a moment, listening to his footsteps retreat down the silent hallway. Then she sank, ever so slowly, to her knees.
CHAPTER 5
How much time had gone by? Amelia wasn’t entirely sure. An hour, perhaps, or two? She had paced around the room, pulling off all the dust sheets, and found only one old grandfather clock, which seemed to be running slow and was no help at all.
A draft ran through the attic, a curling, cold breeze that nipped at her ankles. Shivering, Amelia drew her legs up onto the cushioned bench she sat on. She’d dragged it across the room to rest beneath one of the wide, slanted windows. If she stood on her tiptoes—the bench was too unsteady to risk standing on—she could just about peer out the windows. All she could see were hills of roof slats and sky.
What is going to happen to me?
Since her captor had left her, variations of this question had assaulted her mind over and over again. Part of her was terrified he’d never return. Who was to say a maid would come with foodand fresh clothes? Perhaps she’d just fade away up here, alone and forgotten.
Marjory would be terrified. She must have reached home by now, but what could she do? The constables wouldn’t help them, not after hearing how they’d broken into a rich man’s house. And if there were no evidence that Amelia had ever been there, no witnesses besides Marjory, and he denied it…
