Strictly Taboo(181)

“Lord Ansley, Aden needs your attention, sir.” The boy said, but that one word continued to echo through her head.



Lord. She thought. It didn’t seem right. How could he be a lord? What’s going on? Lord Ansley. He can’t be talking to Dugal. A Lord wouldn’t abduct me. A lord wouldn’t do this. Act like this. She thought. Her head was spinning, and she no longer paid attention to anything that was being said around her. It didn’t matter what the boy said. An argument commenced in her head before she realized that they were moving again and the boy was nowhere to be seen.



The group was splitting up, and escape briefly crossed her mind again. Wouldn’t a Lord be as respectful as he has to you, though? Do you think a Scottish scoundrel would? It echoed in her head, and she bit her bottom lip before they started to reach a building that was much larger than the rest. Her eyes widened, and everything that was happening finally sunk in.



“You’ll be staying with me, Miss.” He told her, and she nodded dumbly. Her heart started to pound a little harder, and he saw her eyes go wide but said nothing. Another woman met them both at the door as soon as they were down. It was an older woman with a kind face, and she didn’t seem to have the desire to scowl at Lauren at all.



“Should I show her to the room, my Lord?” She asked, and he nodded.



“Please, Martha. I seem to have some business to take care of. She followed Martha down one corridor and then the next. Dugal said nothing to her, but soon she found herself in a room. It wasn’t anything like she had imagined. There were no bars on the window. There was no guard at the door. None of the men were threatening her. It was just what it seemed. It was a room, with nice blankets and a chair to sit at. It even had a window that she knew she could sneak out of if she ever tried. Where would you go? That voice nagged, but it didn’t matter. A window meant freedom, but she wasn’t sure if she should take that chance. She had no idea where to go, and decided to sit down where Martha asked her to as she straightened the bed one more time.



“I’m sure he’ll want me to send you up dinner soon, so you just sit tight diary.” Martha said, and she nodded.



“You mean Lord Ansley? Are you sure?” Lauren asked, finally finding her voice. Martha gave her an odd look, as if she was completely unaware that she had been kidnapped.



“Why of course I’m sure Miss. Why wouldn’t he wanted you to eat? That wouldn’t make no sense. No it wouldn’t.” The woman said as she shook her head before scurrying out of the room.



Sure enough, food came, and Lauren was baffled. She ate a quiet dinner in what seemed to be guest quarters until she was too tired to stay up any longer. The day caught up with her, and she could feel the exhaustion welling over her. There was nothing that she could do about it, and with a sigh she looked at the door again. Still nothing came. No scolding. Nothing. The sun set, and Martha brought her water. She didn’t seem to know anything was happening at all.



It was as if Martha didn’t know that she had been kidnapped. After too long she decided to go to bed. Maybe I’ll wake up to realize it’s a dream. She thought as she pulled the covers over her. She tried not to think of the thrill of the wind whipping her hair as the horse galloped underneath her. She tried not to think about his eyes, burning with anger and determination that took her breath away when her horse finally stopped. Lauren just tried to sleep, but sleep didn’t come easy.





Chapter Four

When Lauren woke up, her first thought was that it must had been a dream, but then she realized she was not in her summer home. No one was around her that she knew, and the bed was unfamiliar. That’s when everything came rushing back with the stiffness in her muscles and a groan from an erratic night of sleep. She bit her bottom lip as she thought about Dugal Ansley once more. Lauren had no idea what to expect, and her mind was empty. She didn’t even know what she’d wear. She couldn’t imagine wearing the same clothes for a third day, but much to her surprise, Martha scurried in.



“Oh good, you’re up Miss. I’ll draw you a bath.” She said, as if nothing happened at all. She just put down a new pitcher of water, and Lauren sat up to pour herself a cup nervously.



“Don’t worry, don’t worry. Your clothes were brought into the manor as well. Lord Ansley will be out for a little while, so he advised that you could sleep in. I do hope that you had a good sleep, Miss.” She rambled, but Lauren could barely concentrate on it all.



“Thank you.” She said, as her etiquette took over. Martha drew her a bath.