Page 12 of Hideaway

Kara pondered her words of warning, growing more uneasy by the second. Apparently, she wouldn’t be getting any more out of the older woman on the mystery girl. Kara would have to change her tactics if she hoped to get any useful information.“Mr. Ashford seems to be quite—”

Mr. Ashford seems to be quite a twat.

“Imperious,”Kara finished mildly after searching for a word appropriate for the older woman’s company.“Have you worked for him long?”

The woman settled comfortably into a chair and claimed the second cup of tea, enjoying a gulp as she prepared to relay the details of her acquaintance with Mr. Ashford.“Aye, since he was a wee bairn, or his mother more like. I worked at the family’s estate back in Yorkshire. After he’d grown and spent a few years establishing business in America, he came back and stole me right out of his mother’s house. Told me he couldn’t live without my plum pudding and made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. I’ve always had a soft spot for the lad. Him and his brother both.”

Two Mr. Ashford's? How terrifying.

“Oh, I’m Mrs. Hughes, by the way. Sorry love, should have begun with that. My mind’s a bit scattered some days,”she added apologetically.

“Lovely to meet you, Mrs. Hughes,”Kara extended her hand in greeting,“I’m Kara.”

Chapter Four

AS a new day dawned, the too cheerful morning sun greeting Kara with the welcome knowledge that she had made it through another night in captivity moderately unscathed. Surprisingly, she had survived one day with Ashford Manor as her prison, but she dreaded what the second might bring. The lingering soreness of bruises splattered against the pale skin of her neck and the tenderness in her throat when she swallowed reminded Kara that her captor was a morally depraved, relentless, fucking bastard. He simply could not be reasoned with, and, consequently, she resolved to avoid Caden Ashford at all costs.

After rapidly losing her appetite at breakfast the previous morning and skipping all subsequent meals, Kara’s stomach was most at odds with her decision to confine herself to her room for fear of encountering Cade. The nauseating sound of Cade’s imperious voice traveling across the dining room to her quarters could only dissuade her for so long before her starving body rebelled, consequences of leaving the safety of her room be damned.

Finally, the raucous of male voices dissipated, leaving a blessed silence in its wake. Slowly, Kara cracked open her door and tiptoed out of her room. She wasn’t stupid enough to linger anywhere in Cade’s house apart from her allocated bedroom, but perhaps she could find solace in the kitchens with Mrs. Hughes. She’d seemed friendly enough, even if she was complicit in her employer’s kidnapping of young women. At that point, Kara would accept any hint of kindness she could get.

Thankfully, she made it to the the kitchens without being accosted, the large house seeming to be empty. Mrs. Hughes greeted her warmly, dusting the flour from her hands on her apron as she turned from the dough she was kneading on the marble counter. “Morning, dear. I’m afraid you’ve missed breakfast,” she informed Kara apologetically.

“Yes, I suppose I overslept,” Kara lied. In actuality, she had no intention of ever making another appearance in the dining hall to eat with Cade and his reprehensible, criminal delinquents.

“Nae bother, there’s plenty for you to eat,” Mrs. Hughes reassured her, bustling around the kitchen to grab bits and bobs. She fetched a fresh loaf of bread, still warm from the oven, and sliced four, thick slices, wrapping them in a cloth. A quick pop to the refrigerator produced a selection of berries and some cold cuts of ham. “The strawberries were picked from the hothouse this morning. You can venture over there if you like. Mr. Ashford has some lovely flowers in bloom, and there are a variety of fruits and vegetables as well. It’s a nice sight to see when the dreariness of winter really starts to set in.” Mrs. Hughes grabbed a large block of cheddar cheese from the counter and started to slice it as well. “Why don’t I get you a basket for all of this, and you can have a walk around the grounds? Some fresh air would do ye good.”

“That sounds lovely, thank you,” Kara answered, genuinely grateful for the suggestion of escaping the imposing walls of Cade’s home. Perhaps she could even find a means ofactualescape. “Is the estate very large?” Kara inquired, trying to get an idea of how far she would have to walk for help.

“Goodness, aye. Over twenty kilometers. Ye coudnae walk it in a day if you tried.” Mrs. Hughes went to the cupboard to get a basket. “There’s river that runs about a kilometer north of here that can be a rather pretty spot. It’s about cold enough that it’ll be frozen over. Oh, and the stables are just beyond. The horses always fancy a visitor.” She began filling the basket with all the fresh foods she’d gathered, adding some apples and a thermos of tea at the top.

“I think you’ve packed enough for an small army,” Kara laughed as she watched the older woman stuff the basket full.

“Ye need a bit more meat on your bones,” Mrs. Hughes tutted back, her accent thicker and less English that morning.

Kara didn’t respond to the critique because it was true. A glance in the mirror that morning had revealed a haggard ghost of a woman she had barely recognized. Clearly living in a cage did not agree with her and neither did skipping meals for the sake of avoiding the men of the house. Thanks to her wisp of a mother’s genetics, Kara had always straddled the border oftooskinny, and clearly the stress of her current situation wasn’t doing her any favors in that department.

“Thank you so much, Mrs. Hughes,” Kara said as the cook handed her a very full picnic basket.

“Dinnae mention it, dear. It’s no trouble at all. I’m just grateful to have another woman to talk to. It’s been nothing but these rowdy boys for ages.”

“Does Mr. Ashford not entertain?” Kara asked, surprised at Mrs. Hughes words and trying to think of the most tasteful way to ask if Cade dated.

“Not in that way, no. Goodness, you’re the first woman he’s brought home in a year at least,” Mrs. Hughes explained, seeming pleased by the idea of Cade bringing Kara to the manor.

Kara wondered if the woman could truly be so naive as to assume she was there of her own free will. Did she think that Cade and her were in some sort of relationship? Mrs. Hughes had found her crying in the dinning hall with the marks of Cade’s anger around her throat. Is that how Cade typically treated the women he dated? Kara repressed a shiver of fear at the thought of what Cade would do to someone he didn’t care for at all. How far would he go if she didn’t give him what he wanted? She had a feeling that, as bad as a brute like Jace seemed on the outside, Cade had a far more deadly monster lurking beneath the surface.

“Ye can’t go out like that, you’ll catch your death of cold,” Mrs. Hughes admonished, dragging Kara from her darker thoughts. “Here, put these on,” she ordered, handing Kara an oversized coat, scarf, hat, and gloves.

Kara didn’t have to ask who they belonged to. She could smell the intoxicating scent of Cade on every item in her hands. She was met with a conflicting desire to bring the scarf to her nose and deeply inhale the fresh, wintery scent of mint and cedar and to throw the whole pile in an open fire. “I can’t wear these,” Kara argued, trying to hand the clothes back to Mrs. Hughes.

“Och, Mr. Ashford won’t mind. It’s a dreich day. He’d rather you were warm than freezing to death outside,” Mrs. Hughes brushed off, grabbing Kara a pair of tall wellies too as her heels would never hold up with wet and rocky grounds.

Kara seriously doubted Cade would mind her succumbing to the perils of the winter weather, but she listened to Mrs. Hughes and put on everything she’d offered. If Cade spotted her wearing his things, she have to worry more of dying from embarrassment than anything the cold elements had to offer.

Begrudgingly, Kara had to admit that the greenhouse was breathtaking. She’d always had a love for flowers and plants, but had never had a knack for keeping them living for long. The longest something had ever survived in her care was a cute little cactus she’d named George. George had lasted for about three months until he met his end as a result of a little overzealous watering. Clearly, plant murdering was a crime she had a one up on Cade because the greenhouse was immaculate.

Every plant was beautiful and vibrant and clearly meticulously attended. The crown jewel of the collection was a vast assortment of English garden roses spanning many different shades of color from the deepest burgundy to the palest blush. Unable to resist the lush blooms that had always been one of her favorites, Kara plucked a deep, blood-red rose from the shrub, inhaling the delicate sweetness of its petals. Careful of the thorns, Kara picked several more roses and added them to her basket, getting an irrational sense of satisfaction from plundering Cade’s personal floral collection.

---