would get her nowhere.
“I have work to do, Lily. Goodnight.”
“Wait. What did you want to tell me about Annabelle?”
Why should he reward her bad behavior with a surprise? On the other hand, if wanted to gain the girl’s trust, he didn’t have another minute to waste.
“I would love for her to work with me and get to know the business.”
“I don’t want her around Glenda Jane. From what I understand, she’s unstable. What if she took Cee Cee out of revenge? I’m told she’s tried it before. What if she decides to take Annabelle?”
He felt his control slipping. Lily had gone beyond irritating and was rapidly becoming as unmanageable as her daughter.
“You’re right. She did try to take two children of our employees, but that was many years ago, long before Clive paid for extensive therapy. Do you think we’d keep her on at Allistair Roses if she were still unstable?”
“Well… no.”
“Lily, Annabelle loved the cultivars. I was going to give her three to work with any way she likes. If she could succeed in turning them into roses worthy of the Allistair brand, I was going to let her name them. And I would be with her all day, every day, teaching her. However, if you don’t want her to work with her future father, just say the word. We’ll forget I ever mentioned it.”
“Stephen…I hardly know what to say.”
“Thank you will do.”
“Of course. Thank you.”
“All right, then. I’ll see her at the nursery greenhouse in the morning at seven.”
Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.
With Clive’s voice whispering through him, he walked out and left Lily standing there, probably still expecting him to kiss her. His grandfather’s voice echoed all the way to his home office.
Sometimes you have to teach lessons the hard way.
Chapter Ten
She sat in her prison chair reading one of her prison books. Surprisingly, it was the kind of fantasy novel she usually loved. Still, it wasn’t love of reading that had led her to the chair. It was sheer exhaustion and terror.
Though she’d searched every corner of her bedroom and bathroom, she’d found nothing that would suggest an escape route. And even if she found one, there was no way she could get out of her leg iron and chain. It was just long enough to allow her free rein of the bathroom and the area between the chair and the bed. Anything else was out of the question.
She picked up the note she’d found on her table when she woke up. Was it this morning? Noon? Middle of the afternoon? She had no concept of time. The light in her room burned constantly, and there was no way for the shadows of the sun or the moon to reach her damp prison.
She re-read the note, searching for clues:
This is your food ration for the day. Eat all of it. I’ve brought clean clothes. You must take a bath every day, brush your teeth and keep yourself well-groomed. Everything you need is in the bathroom. It’s imperative you remain clean and healthy.
The food had been more substantial than yesterday, beef stew and thick cornbread, three kinds of vegetables and another assortment of fresh fruit. The clothes he’d brought were too big but at least they included a wool sweater and warm leggings.
But how could she remain healthy chained in this damp place without sunshine or exercise? And for what purpose?
Her mind stalled at the horrors his letter conjured up. She scrunched into the soft cushions of her chair and pretended she was in a cave, sheltered from the cold and whatever monster prowled beyond the walls. She held The Once and Future King in front of her face to block out the sight of her lumpy bed and the chain fastened to the wall. Then she turned the pages and vanished into the mists of Avalon.
The scream catapulted her from the chair. It went on and on, echoing from beyond her room, tearing through her like the worst nightmare she’d ever had. She dropped her book and clapped her hands over both ears, but she could still hear the echoes of terror long after the screaming had stopped.
“Please, please, please.” It was a desperate prayer that had no words. It was her very soul crying out to save her from whatever depraved creature was just beyond her locked door.
Finally the sounds died away, and she took her hands off her ears. Suddenly, a new thought burst into bloom, and she couldn’t pick up