“I’ll leave the door open for when you’re ready to come out,” he told her, taking the tray out with him.
She didn’t bother to reply, but after a while, she decided it might be time to visit upstairs. He had said she could, so she was assuming she’d find bars on those windows too, but you never knew. She put down the puzzle book and slipped off the bed, stepping out the door. He was in the kitchen, putting away things as she approached the stairs.
“Going up to the library?” he asked as she began to ascend the stairs.
“Yes. I thought I’d see if there are any interesting books up there to read.”
“Help yourself. The bedrooms and bathroom up there are locked, but I left the library open for you.”
“So, the house is free for me to roam as long as I am good with being locked in my room, out here where you can see me, or in the library?”
“Aye. That sounds right.”
She grunted at him and climbed the stairs, heading down the hallway to the open door at the end of it. She didn’t waste any time in looking around for anything that might help her and came up empty. She was stuck here unless an opportunity presented itself. Looking through the books, she found it was quite a decent collection. She pulled out a few of the books and laid them on the locked desk behind her. That was when she struck it lucky.
Something fell from one of the volumes and made a little clinking noise on the floor. She looked down to see a paper clip that had apparently been holding one of the pages of the books. She stared at it for a while, stunned by her luck. Now, the question was whether she’d be able to use it for anything. Looking over at the French doors, she realized there were no bars there anyway. She tried the lock and found it was secure, so she bent the paperclip until she had a long thin instrument.
She had no idea if it would work, but she’d done it once on a bathroom door that had gotten locked from the inside and it had actually popped the lock. She could only hope this one was just as easy and that she could get out the window before he knew she was missing. The thought crossed her mind that it would be better to wait until he was gone, but then she’d be trying to get out the bedroom door plus one of the outer ones downstairs or this one. Plus, who knew when he might leave again or if he’d decide to move her elsewhere.
Her hands shook as she tried to quietly work the clip into the small hole in the doorknob, listening for any footsteps coming up the stairs as she went. She was so shocked when she heard the lock pop and the door shift slightly that she could barely believe it. She opened it slowly, praying it wouldn’t creak or make enough noise for him to hear. She stepped out onto the balcony and smiled. There was no ladder down, but there was a trellis nearby. It was covered with roses, but thorns would be a small price to pay for escape.
Looking about, she could see no sign of other houses, but there were boats on the lake. None of them were close by, so it would be a bit of a swim. That was nothing for her, a former member of the swim team in high school and college. Her heart thudded in her chest as she climbed over the balcony railing and swung out toward the trellis, biting her lip as she immediately clamped down on a thorn. She couldn’t afford to let go, so she just pushed back the pain and kept going, shimmying downward until her feet were on the ground.
She was free! She made a mad dash for the lake and was about to jump when she found herself looking at Fergus, standing by the water and looking at her with a huge scowl on his face.CHAPTER SEVENTEENFergus
“Going somewhere, Eimear?” he asked.
“I thought I might go for a swim,” she replied, panting slightly from her sprint across the yard.
“I would have let you swim if you’d asked me.”
“Right. Of course, you would have.”
“You're feisty. I’ll give you that,” he replied, stepping forward to seize her wrist.
She yanked it away and took off running for the woods. He let her go for a moment and then shifted. She was about to learn what happened to people who crossed him. He gave chase, bounding across the backyard after her and following her into the woods. She wasn’t particularly good at hiding, opting to run instead of finding shelter to hide in, not that it would have mattered. He could smell her a mile away.