Elegant Sins - Stasia Black Page 0,20

much less ridden in one.

But here I was, two hours later, trying not to gawk but finding it impossible. My hand lifted to the glass of the backseat window almost without my volition.

The drive up had been impressive enough. At first the landscape had been familiar, normal. Other than the fact that I was in a limousine. Who on earth had a limousine in Barnwell, Georgia?

But soon enough we weren’t in Barnwell anymore, were we? No sir, we were in Darlington now.

Everyone in Georgia knew at least a little about Darlington. It was part of the slim strip down the middle of Georgia that hadn’t been burned in the Civil War.

Rich people from Atlanta had their second homes here, massive estates that belied so much of the poverty of the rest of the South. It was Georgia’s secret little Mara Lago, nestled right in the center of the state. No beaches but plenty of golfing and sweet tea as far as the eye could see.

I should have guessed this was where I’d be coming.

I shifted uncomfortably in my poofy dress, anxiously trying to smooth out any wrinkles. The invitation said to wear it, but maybe I should have just worn normal clothes and brought it in the box it came in?

Because as I passed through the wrought iron gates, opened by two footmen in full livery like something out of Downton Abbey, it hit me full force.

This was real.

It was all very, very real.

Rich men wanted to buy me—ostensibly had already bought me—and would do whatever they wanted to me behind these gates.

I was a nobody with no voice and they could just—

Make your dreams come true. Any dream. Delilah’s words ricocheted through my brain.

“Fuck,” I whispered under my breath as the limousine continued forward down a smooth, freshly-paved road that was lined on either side by ancient oak trees, planted at regular intervals every twenty feet. Their branches stretched like arms embracing in a canopy over the road, blocking out the bright sunlight.

It was an impressive and forbidding sight. Those trees had been planted purposefully, hundreds of years ago. On and on they went, the Avenue of Oaks, calling me closer to my destination. My heartbeat sped up as we turned a final corner and the house—no, the mansion—came into view.

I don’t think I breathed for several seconds.

I’d never seen anything like it. Even in movies. Even in fairytales.

Even in my dreams.

I didn’t know to dream that big.

I looked up. And up. And up.

Huge, stately square white columns lifted up into the sky like a modern day Coliseum. Except everything was perfectly intact. It was like stepping into history. It was only two stories tall, but each floor was massive, with a huge wraparound deck. Everything was done in elegant whites and grays, with black wrought iron railings on the balconies and patios. Black shutters completed the dramatic look.

And did I mention massive? Because holy shit, as we drove closer, I just kept seeing more and more to the building. Or maybe there were multiple buildings? I couldn’t tell if it was just one giant structure that wrapped around or if it was a network of interconnected buildings. Either way, it had to be tens of thousands of square feet large.

Who the hell lived here? Surely no one person could own such a place. But it wasn’t a historical landmark, either. At least not one I’d ever heard of. People were crazy for their Southern history in these parts, and this place had never come up on any of the class field trips or anything else I’d ever heard about even though it was only a couple hours away from where I grew up.

I didn’t know much about architecture, but this place had to be, what? At least 100 years old. But for as big as it was, it was probably pre-Civil War. So that meant over 150 years old.

My gawking was cut short though, when my door suddenly opened.

There was Jeeves, looking as calm and unperturbed as ever. He held out an arm to me. “Miss Morgan.”

Oh shit. I’d been distracting myself with details of the house but here Jeeves was, throwing my actual situation in my face again.

“What if I don’t get out of the car?” I squeaked. “What if I ask you to turn around and take me back home? Will you do it?”

He sighed impatiently, the first time I’d seen him do anything like break character. “Back home to what, exactly?”

My mouth dropped open for