"It's not like what you think..." She blurted without thinking and scurried down the trunk. She halted before him, looking up at him with racing mind, she couldn't decide what to say and how to begin. "Leave."He said without sparing her a glance, looking straight at the man standing in the middle of the bridge. She had seen his eyes burning with fury, but she never knew those eyes could look that horrendous. Like eyes of a wolf stalking its prey. She sidestepped past him and hurried away. He had just arrived not so long ago, but he made it just in time to see her in the moment of surrender, her hands ceased to push and her body stopped resisting, before shaking in the devil's arms. He saw it all, though it lasted only a split second. He almost could see her mouth opened wider and took Blackthorne's evil tongue inside and su

Walking alone in the hallway to the music room, Ava was on full alert. The music room was quite far from the ballroom. To fetch the reticule, she had to pass the corridor, dashed up the empty stairway in fear of unexpectedly being caught by Lord Blackthorne once again. Once she found the reticule in the music room, she took it and rushed downstairs. Her footsteps echoed in the walls. Dim and silent, the side of the building was completely empty as the entire guests were gathering at the ballroom. Not even a servant passed by. She wondered if someone could hear her scream from here. When she scurried along the long corridor, suddenly she glimpsed a figure standing in the shade of an alcove. The man stepped out immediately, barring her passage. She almost shrieked in shock, but his pewter locks made her recognized him at once. For a second she was thankful to find it wasn't the man she feared for, but the relief last no longer than a heartbeat. He shot a crudely i

Ashton watched her room from the shadow in the darkest hour of the night, only to make sure she was not with somebody else. He couldn't tell whether she was waiting for the scoundrel or not. The question harrowed him the whole night. He went back to his room in the small hours, just one hour before sunrise, wondering if he started to lose his sanity. He acted like a man obsessed, a man possessed. He was restless and curious and furious at the same time. This emotion had completely taken over at the expense of everything else. *** A few hours later, he sat idly on a bench in the garden with his sketchbook and pencil. The gentle morning breeze carried the stench of dewy grass and the heady perfume of roses to his nose as the birds fluttered and chirped above his head. Soft, vibrant rays of sunlight flooded over the landscape, lighting and warming every inch of the lawn. It was a bright, beautiful morning but his mood was as dark as the night.

She got up and tried to make her way out of the row, but her petticoat made it difficult to move in the narrow passage. She was in the midst of the row and with the seats fully occupied, to get out of here seemed like an impossible task. "Please sit down, Miss. You're blocking the view."An irritated voice came from behind, followed by mutterings of annoyance. She had no choice but to sit back. She set her body rigid and looked straight ahead. She would just ignore the earl during the show. She could feel that he was watching her intently. Under his silent observation, she became more and more restless. "What do you want from me?"She asked impulsively. "Forgiveness."Came his unexpected reply."I apologize. I made a terrible mistake yesterday. I promise it will never happen again." Had she misheard him? Was he apologizing to her? He looked like an unrepentant jerk. But, s

Later that evening, she walked across the garden to return to her room in the East Tower. Lady Byrne decided to retire early this evening and she couldn't be more pleased about that. She didn't think she could endure another hour of polite and mundane conversation, pretending to be enthusiastic with the topic while her mind was in total chaos. This vacation had turned out to be a real disaster, her whole situation was distressing and there was nothing she wanted more than to leave this place, and put anything that happened here behind her. She spent every hour counting down the days until she could go home and return to her peaceful life, away from the haughty, insufferable men of aristocracy who thought they could buy anything in this world with their money and power. She rushed along the lovely garden path, glancing over her shoulder every now and then as to check if she was being followed. When she passed a darkened path, suddenly a stron