Ward: A Dark Romance Page 18

  I knew she loved the world I had built for her… for us. She just needed a little more persuasion. After all, wasn’t it the duty of a guardian to guide and instruct his ward? To show her the error of her thinking? To discipline her?

  She thought me cruel before. She hadn’t seen cruelty yet. I would make her bleed for me. Mark her as forever mine. Break her will till her every thought, her every breath was reserved only for me. I had done it before, I would do it again, but this time, I’d make sure her mind never came back to the present.

  I was doing this for her and soon she would learn to appreciate the kind of love and protection I was offering. I would give her no choice in the matter.

  The house was calm and still when I returned but not for long. After speaking to Thomas, I of course headed directly to Elizabeth’s room, only to discover her gone.

  Returning to the stables, I grabbed my still saddled horse and headed out into the night to find her. As much as I might rage about how much she needed me and my protection, the simple fact was I needed her more. I loved everything about her. From the way she bit her lip when she was nervous, to the way she kicked off her shoes and rode on the top of my feet when we waltzed, to the beautiful flush of her cheek when she came on my tongue. Everything. I knew what I had to do.

  I needed to get her back. This time it was going to be different. No longer would she be treated as my ward. From this point forward, she would be my bride, forever bound to me before god and man.

  As I approached the one main road in and out of the village, I saw a car pulled over and Elizabeth struggling against one of the servants’ arms. She had gotten further than the last time. I would have to take additional precautions to make sure she never escaped again.

  “I caught her trying to escape, your grace,” said the servant.

  “No,” she said, recoiling from my glare. Good. She was afraid. She should be afraid.

  “No, no, no.” Elizabeth started fighting the servant’s grasp. “No! It’s not real! It’s not real!”

  The moment I dismounted and approached she knew she was defeated. Like the submissive I knew she was, she crawled toward me and curled into the fetal position at my feet.

  Despite my anger, I took pity on her. This was all as much my fault as her own. It was my duty to take away all care and independent thought, till her mind was filled only with thoughts of us and our life together, but there was a flaw in my thinking. A glaring one. Elizabeth would never be a true Victorian woman till she had a family to care for. I would make her my bride, my wife. Once she had a child to love and care for, she would no longer be concerned about fantastical thoughts or dreams of a different life… a life away from me.

  I would rectify the matter the moment I got her home. I would not relent till her belly was swollen with our child, binding her to me forever.

  Leaning down, I picked her up and cradled her close, sheltering her from the chill of the night with my body. I turned just as the carriage arrived to collect us. Inside its dark warmth, I held her close in my arms. I couldn’t help but smile when I thought of the children she would bear for me.

  “Don’t worry, my love. I’ve got you. It’s only a dream. Just a dream.”

  A dream… and a new beginning.

  Chapter 26

  Elizabeth

  “Good morning, Lady Elizabeth. I have your chocolate and biscuits all ready for you.”

  An older woman stood at the foot of my bed, holding a large silver tray. She had dark grey hair and a large matronly bosom.

  “Who are you?”

  She gave me a confused look and searched up at the ceilings for moment as if uncertain how to answer… or as if she were looking for something… cameras?

  Recovering, she smiled. “I’m your lady’s maid, Parker, of course. I’ve been with you since they let down your skirts and put up your hair,” she beamed. “When your parents died, his grace, lord love him, insisted that I join his employ. He knew your mind was troubled and hoped a friendly face would do you some good.”

  A backstory.

  She was reciting a backstory.

  Certainly not for my benefit.

  She began clucking like a mother hen as she walked around the bed undoing the buckles of my restraints. Funny, I didn’t even notice they were on. It’s odd what you could be forced to become used to.

  Just then there was a discreet knock on the door before a young woman with bright red hair walked in carrying a familiar dress. “I have Lady Elizabeth’s dress, Mrs. Parker.”

  “Thank you, Rose. Please place it in the wardrobe.”

  Another new Rose. A new Parker.

  I imagined I would find that the entire servants’ quarters had been recast.

  New Parker placed the tray over my lap. The scent of warm pastries and hot chocolate was now more familiar to me than the pumpkin spiced lattes I used to get at… that place… what was it called? Dammit. I can’t even remember. Already everything was starting to slip away.

  There was a bitter taste in my mouth. Laudanum. He must have given me a dose after we got home to calm me. I can’t remember.

  Home.

  I guess this was home now.

  “There you go, my lady. Eat up. I understand you passed a terrible night with your night terrors. It really is a shame you suffer from such odd dreams. Imagine believing you had run out into the dangerous night when you were here tucked safe in your bed.”

  Odd dreams?

  I opened my right palm and traced the dried, caked blood over the two deep cuts. I remember making them with the sharp edge of a rock last night in order to remind myself it wasn’t a dream.

  This isn’t real.

  This isn’t real.

  This isn’t real.

  Please, I begged my inner self.

  Please hold on this time.

  Hold on to Lizzie.

  Don’t forget her again.

  Just then, new Parker broke into my reverie. “My lady, you must finish breaking your fast. His grace will be waiting to start your daily instructions soon. His grace says he has something extra special planned for you today. Ah, young love,” she crooned happily.

  My daily instructions.

  So, the nightmare begins all over again.

  I wondered, how many times had we done this?

  This twisted obsessive love affair.

  How many times had I forgotten only to go through the pain of remembering again?

  How many times had my mind been forced to retreat for its own survival?

  Once? Twice? More?

  I looked down at my other palm… and saw two faint scar marks.

  This isn’t real.

  The End

  About Zoe Blake

  USA TODAY Bestselling Author in Dark Romance

  There is something delicious in our desire for the corrupt, our ravenous appetite for the brutal, the profane, the unspeakable. The taboo. I write the type of books that give you a frisson of unease; that will have you questioning your own resolve as I take you on a dark ride of twists, kinks and perversions of both the flesh and mind.

  Enjoy the blush and tremble as you read each decadent word.

  XOXO Zoe

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