Page 46 of A Raven Revived

“I don’t know. We went to her family’s estate yesterday afternoon. Her father doesn’t like me, so I wasn’t surprised that he didn’t want me there, but the bastard didn’t seem happy to see Daisy either.” He paused and took a shaky breath. “Her mother begged her to stay the night, so at Daisy’s insistence, I left her there.” He let out an anguished roar and pounded his fists on the desk. “I left her there,” he repeated, his chest heaving. “I thought she’d be safe, Ash.”

“Of course you did, Fitz. She should have been safe with her family.”

“I’m so sorry.” Agony ripped at his heart. He’d failed her. She’d counted on him to keep her safe, and he’d left her there.

“It’s not your fault, Fitz.” Ash slowly drew in a deep breath and gradually blew it out. Fitz nodded and tried to follow his lead. “One more,” he said, and breathed in deeply again. Fitz copied him again and felt a little of his terror recede.

“There. Now tell me the rest of the story.”

“Her father wouldn’t allow me to stay, so I spent the night with my family, and first thing this morning, I went back to collect her. I knew she might be miserable there, but it never crossed my mind that she might run away again.” He reeled himself back in. He was getting off course again.

“She wasn’t there. Her father said she must have run off.”

“Are you sure she was actually gone?”

Fitz nodded. “I checked every room in the house. Her bed had been slept in, and she wasn’t there, but her clothes and her robe were.” He met Ash’s eyes. He was listening to every word still. “I found Lady Litchfield in a drawing room, and when she realized Daisy was not in the house, she became distressed. She looked in the direction of the dining room where her husband was, but then she refused to speak another word to me. I confronted him, but only managed to get myself dragged out of there. I don’t know what to do.”

Ash nodded. “We’ll get her back, Fitz.”

“How?” he asked desperately. Tears were threatening. “I have no idea where she’s gone.” He looked up into Ash’s eyes. “Do you think she ran because she doesn’t want to marry me?”

“No.” Ash shook his head and let out a long sigh. “When Daisy first told me about her family, she said if she went back, her father would have her committed to an asylum. At the time, I thought she was exaggerating. She was terrified after running into you. But now, I would guess he’s done exactly that.”

“Dear God, why didn’t she tell me that? Why didn’tyoutell me that?” he shouted over the desk. “I never would have left her there if I’d known that.” He slammed his palm on the top of the desk before storming out.

ChapterFourteen

Daisy woke to the door opening. A few hours must have passed because, although she was still cold, she wasn’t shaking anymore. Samantha entered, and her eyes flicked briefly over Daisy’s form. Her lips scrunched to one side and her brow dipped with sadness seeing the state of her. She didn’t say a word and simply knelt beside her own bed.

“Where did they take you?” Daisy asked.

“The man pulled the door back open, his eyes fixed on her. “It’s quiet time right now, Jane. That’s the only warning you’ll get. This is a good time for prayer.”

Knowing full well what was going to happen, she sat up in the bed, looked straight into his eyes, and shouted, “I will not be quiet!”

He sighed before stepping into the room, another man following right behind him. They dragged her from the bed. Her whole body ached, but she fought them every step of the way. Her bare toe stubbed against the wall, and she cried out as pain gripped her. They didn’t stop moving until she was plunged into the water.

Somehow the shock of the cold only seemed to become more intense with each repetition. It should be getting easier after this many times, but it wasn’t. She screamed as the cold seared her skin. Bits of ice floated on top of the water, and she couldn’t help but wonder if someone had that as their only job, making sure the tub was always ready for its next victim. They kept her in longer this time. Weakness seeped into her muscles, and she slowly lost her ability to fight them.

The familiar man in the white coat appeared at the end of the tub looking down at her. She still didn’t know his name, or any of them for that matter.

“How many times are we going to have to do this, Jane?”

My name is Daisy!She shouted the words inside her mind, but couldn’t manage to vocalize them, no matter how desperately she wanted to.

The pain was growing unbearable, and she was struggling to breathe. She just wanted it to end. She didn’t want to fight anymore, but she had to. She had to get back to Fitz.

They pulled her out of the tub and set her on her feet. It took all of her strength to remain upright, but she was determined not to let them see her weakness. The man in the white coat came to stand before her and held up a syringe. “Do you need to be sedated again?”

“No.” Her voice was as weak as the rest of her. “Please don’t.” She shook her head. She’d never be able to get out of here if they kept her drugged.

“The next time you fail to obey, that’s what will happen. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” she said with a jerky nod.

“Good. Lift your arms.”

She did as she was told, wishing the whole time she could be anywhere but here. It was so demeaning and degrading, but she had no choice. The alternative was being drugged into oblivion, which sounded tempting, but would only allow them to keep her there even longer. Slowly, the wet gown was peeled off her body and pulled over her head.

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