Teaser Tuesday - Lily's in More Danger Than She Realized

 

Lily

Head throbbing, Lily moaned as she slowly came awake. Something cold and wet pressed against the side of her head where she hurt the most.

“Thank you,” she murmured.

There was no answer. Hardly polite. She tried to move her arms, but they were behind her for some reason because… because she was sitting on a chair.

No. She was tied to a chair.

Lily jerked upright, her head snapping back, and she cried out as her headache exploded in a new burst of pain.

“Stop moving about.” The frustrated voice brought everything back to her.

The carriage ride back to Derbyshire. The highwayman. Her poor dead driver and his threat to Chastity. Going with him willingly. Trying to knock him off the horse – and failing miserably.

Groaning, she let her head hang back down, endeavoring to appear as pathetic as she could. Sadly, it took very little effort.

“There now. Better.” The man sounded very satisfied. Lily lifted her head again, much more slowly this time. She peeked at her captor through thick lashes. The inside of the cottage was gloomy, and his back was to the only open window, which made him hard to see. The light coming in through the window was not very strong either, as if the trees were blocking the sun, or perhaps clouds had rolled in front of it. Possibly both.

It appeared as though he was still wearing the hat and scarf, though he had pulled the scarf down to cover just under his chin and below. With the poor lighting, she could not see his face any better than she had when he’d accosted her carriage.

Keeping her movements slow, Lily looked around the room. The cottage was sparsely furnished and dusty, but showed signs of use. It was not completely abandoned. A hunter’s cottage? There was a table and chairs by the window with the drawn curtains, a small stove, cupboards and drawers, and even a bed. Lily turned away from the bed, her blood chilling. So far her kidnapper had not shown any interest in actually ruining her, but she could hardly forget the possibility was there.

Moving over to the far wall, where there were some shelves, the villain had his back turned to her while he opened up a box. Lily immediately pulled at the ropes around her wrists, testing how much give they had. She mentally blessed Evie, who had prepared her friends for all sorts of eventualities. Not just boxing and shooting, but things they thought would never happen to them – like being tied up with rope.

The highwayman had only tied her wrists and while it was tight enough, he’d used a thick rope that had more give than some she’d gotten out of in the past. It had been a while since she’d had any practice at this, but she was sure she could work herself free if given the chance.

When he turned back around, she froze, watching him warily, but he did not glance up at her as he went and settled down at the table. In profile, when he was walking, she could see his hawkish nose and dark brows, but when he sat at the table he did so with his back to the window, putting his entire face in shadow. It felt particularly ominous and she did her best to press her arms behind her back so she could keep pulling and stretching at the ropes around her wrists without being obvious.

“Well. Miss Davies. I have a few questions for you.” He placed the items he’d gotten from the box on the shelf in front of him, smoothing his hands over the paper and setting the pen against it before looking up at her.

Lily froze as several pertinent facts hit home.

He knew her name.

He spoke like a nobleman.

And he wanted her to answer questions. He was not writing a ransom note.

She might be in more dire straits than she’d realized.

******

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