Arranged (4 page)

Alison had never been so relieved to see the manor come into view. Lunch had been so quiet that a pin dropped would have sounded like thunder. Once in the carriage, James took the seat by her again, but this time he didn't grab her hand, or sit so close that his thigh was brushing hers.

Instead, he stared out the window, his chin resting in his hand as he mulled over her words. She, on the other hand, was itching to get out and escape to the woods.

Before the footman could even pull the small ladder down, she had hopped down. Jackson was quick after her. "Where are you going?"

"To bathe," she threw over her shoulder, hurrying into the house. She would have to sneak out carefully. Before the men had even entered the house, she was in her room, waiting for them to be settled so she could sneak out. To her dismay, she heard heavy footsteps coming for her door. She would have to make it seem as though she were going to bathe, so she grabbed clothes from her drawer, tucking them under and arm and threw open her door, taking a few quick steps out into the hall.

To her surprise, it wasn't her uncle at her door, but James. She froze. "Mr. Camden, can I help you?"

His eyes looked dark, as if he were angry. He took a step toward her, "You love to frustrate me, don't you?"

She took a step back, "Excuse me?"

"You love to embarrass me in front of your uncle and even in private," he growled, taking another step.

She stepped back, feeling the hard surface of the wall behind her and swallowing hard. James advanced another slow, dangerous step.

"You have ideas that are not normal for a woman. This will all change when we are married. You will worship me as a husband. You will do whatever I ask of you without hesitation," his arms came up to brace himself on either side of her, boxing her in. Her heart raced. She couldn't look away from his blazing eyes.

"You will be the perfect wife. Understood?" he asked. She nodded, trying to keep her breathing under control. One of his hands reached up to cup her cheek. "I didn't want to do it this way, but you left me no choice. You refused to listen. You need to get those ideas out of your head. It is for your own good."

She was trembling. No man had ever threatened her like this before. She didn't know anyone other than Jackson and her father's colleges at the factory. She prayed that someone would come up the stairs and see what he was doing. Even a maid could stop him.

No one came.

"Now, this marriage agreement can either go smooth or rough. Either way, you will marry me. Now that I've seen you, there is no way I cannot have you. We want it to go smoothly, don't we?" he asked sweetly.

It made her stomach curl as she nodded purely out of fear. He smiled at her; however, his eyes remained dark. Before she knew what was happening, he leaned closer and pressed his lips to hers, fully pinning her now. Her eyes widened in surprise as she stared at him, her mind reeling.
What do I do?
She wondered. His hands grabbed her shoulders, pulling her closer. It was as if the spell had been broken. She was still afraid, but she was no longer frozen. She pulled her now free hand back and balled it into a fist. With as much strength as she could muster, she punched him right in his jaw.

He released her, stepping back in surprise. His fingers touched blood on the corner of his mouth. "You whore!"

He took a menacing step toward her, but she was already in action, running to her room and locking him out. He pounded on the wood. Adrenaline shot through her as she tried to catch her breath. She made little time throwing open the window. More pounding sounded at her back. She swung her legs out onto the porch roof and scurried over the shingles to the floral ladder, slipping in her haste as one gave out and sliding uncontrollably to the edge.

Her fingers clutched the gutter around the edge of the roof, halting her fall. She gasped in pain as the gutters edge dug into her hands. She could hear the banging on her door still, now it sounded as if her uncle had joined James at the door. It was a good seven-foot drop to the ground. She looked at the floral ladder, if she could just swing her body…

Suddenly, the door banged open and the men burst into her room. James' eyes flew around the room, searching for her. Her uncle spotted the open window and wasted no time. Jackson leaned out and, to his surprise, found her hanging on for dear life. "Hang on Alison!" he yelled.

Then suddenly James was shoving Jackson away and climbing out the window. He made his way onto the roof, crawling carefully. Alison had knocked a few shingles lose in her fall. Alison's fingers screamed for her to let go. She tried desperately to pull herself up, but her arms were already fatigued from catching her.

Suddenly, hands covered her wrists and pulled her up. Any other time, she would have refused to let him touch her, but at the moment, she was so relieved to be safe. He quickly ushered her to the window and she climbed back inside. Jackson sent for bandages for her fingers. She turned her hand over and found that her fingers were bleeding badly from where the drain had sliced into her skin. She winced just looking at them.

"What were you thinking?" James demanded. He was glaring angrily at her.

Jackson stepped forward and cut him off. "Thank you for your bravery James, but I will handle this from here."

Alison watcher her uncle as he led James to the door. She couldn't believe he had stopped James from lecturing her.

The maid returned with bandages and Jackson closed the door. He turned to her, flipping her hand palm up to see the damage. The fact that he was being so quiet was beginning to make her nervous. He poured a cleaner on her gashes. She hissed in pain as she pulled her hand out of his. He grabbed it back, pouring more on the other hand.

"What were you doing on the roof?" he asked.

"Nothing…" she lied.

"You were trying to run into the forest again, weren't you?" his dark eyes burned into hers as he wrapped each finger with a bandage.

"James kissed me…" she offered, though she felt embarrassed that she couldn't just deal with it herself.

"So you wanted to run? Stupid girl. He is to be your husband. He would have kissed you sooner or later."

"But he didn't have to be so rough…he hurt me."

Jackson's brows furrowed and for a second she thought he was going to take her side. She was wrong.

"You mustn't make him angry."

Her mouth went slack with astonishment. "But I−"

"Ever since he has arrived you have done nothing but act the opposite of a good bride. Normally women are excited at the thought of an engagement. I agree with him, you need to stop embarrassing him."

Now her eyes went wide with disbelief. "You heard our fight? And you let him yell at me?" she asked, pulling her bandaged hand out of his.

"You needed to be taught a lesson Alison. He is−"

"Get out," she said harshly. "Get out of my room."

He shut his mouth, his eyes narrowing into a glare. "Very well. Don't try to escape again, I will be watching."

He left the bandages and closed the door, the lock broken from where they had kicked it in. Alison fought tears. Though their relationship was far from perfect, she never thought he would betray her like this. The arranged marriage was bad enough, but now this?

She had to leave, now, or she would never get the chance again. First thing first, she finished bandaging her bloody fingers. Barely making a noise, she set a chair before her door, then made her way to her closet. She grabbed the biggest bag she could find, that she could still manage to carry.

She stuffed clothes and anything she could into it. The bag filled with her stash of money, valuable jewels she could sell and anything else that could fetch a price. She made a mental plan of how to sneak to the kitchen for food and then to her uncle's study to grab the papers. The best time she could see to run, was at night when everyone was asleep.

All she had to do was wait. It was easier said than done. Her stomach twisted nervously as she paced her room. When she looked out the window, she found that her uncle had set up someone to stand guard on the ground below. She sighed to herself. This wasn't going to be easy.

She hid her bag in her closet, covering it with blankets so that it wouldn't be found. When there was a knock at the door, she quickly moved the chair and answered it, cracking the door. The maid lowered her eyes. "Dinner is served. Your uncle wishes for you to join them."

"Tell him I am ill and will not be coming to dinner, but I will take it in my room instead."

She nodded and hurried away. Alison shut the door and bit her lip, pacing her room once again. A few moments later, there was another knock at the door. She cracked it, surprised to find her uncle there, frowning down at her.

"Come to dinner," he ordered.

"I do not feel well. I will have dinner in my room."

His frown deepened. "You will come down and honor the man who just saved your life."

"It is because of that man that my life was in danger. I will not come down."

"Alison−"

"No matter what you say uncle, I will not dine with that monster. Nor will I marry him." With that she shut the door and put the chair back into position before he could do anything. There was silence as she listened, then angry footsteps heading down the hall. Alison let out the breath she'd been holding and ran her fingers through her long red hair, remembering suddenly that they were bandaged.

Ever since the fall, she hadn't given herself a look over. She lifted her dress slightly to find that she had also skinned her knee. Her arms were still weak from catching herself, but other than that, she was in one piece. For now.

Jackson straightened his clothing as he walked slowly down the stairs, trying to get his head together. How could she be so foolish? James was of social standing, his family well known and the fact that he was still here even after she had embarrassed him, showed his good character. She had never rebelled like this before, and in front of a guest nonetheless.

He walked back into the dining room, shaking his head. "She…doesn't feel well," he lied.

James stared down at his food. "I don't know how to get her to listen to me…"

"She is very stubborn."

The younger man frowned as he met Jackson's eyes. "If I can't control her now, how am I supposed to control her when we are married?"

Jackson took his seat, leaning forward. "Do not lose confidence. We stick to the plan. We need to think of a different tactic is all…maybe try more of a romantic approach, women love that."

James glared. "I've tried. She does not soften toward me."

"Well, try harder," Jackson growled. "She will have no idea what to do with the factory once it is given to her. It would be in her best interest if
we
controlled it."

"Yes, I know," James said, throwing his linen down. "She is impossible to woe."

"Try harder boy."

The two glared at each other for a moment, before James excused himself from the room. He jammed a hand into his dirty blonde hair and tried to regain his composure. With a few deep breaths, he smoothed his jacket and climbed the stairs.

Alison's door was shut and he couldn't hear any sounds coming from her room. For a moment, he thought she had run away again. He licked his lips as he rapped his knuckles against her door.

The door cracked open and her beautiful green eye peeked through the crack. She didn't say a word.

James cleared his throat. "I came to apologize…I was out of line earlier."

Again she didn't speak. She just watched him.

"I should not have forced you to kiss me…," he continued. It was strange to apologize. He was used to getting whatever he wanted; he was the youngest of the family. Even Jackson had selected him because he knew how to get what he wanted, but with Alison it was different. It was apparent that she didn't want him. Most of the younger girls would die to have him, after all, his family was very well known, but not Alison.

"I'm sorry," he finished, standing their awkwardly.

"Forgive me if I do not feel well enough to discuss this with you right now," she said bitterly, closing the door in his face.

He blinked a few times in surprise. She was bold for a girl, and that wasn't a good thing. His surprise was quickly replaced with a deep frown as he marched off down the hall to his guest room. Jackson didn't understand when he said that Alison was impossible to woe, she really was.

Alison pressed her ear to the door once more, just to make sure that he was gone. She breathed a sigh of relief and pushed off the door. She bet her uncle had something to do with his apology. She knew that he wouldn't apologize, unless he absolutely had to. And from the spark that she saw in his eye, she could tell that he didn't think he'd done anything wrong.

There was a light rap at the door. She asked who it was this time, allowing the maid entrance. The girl was carrying a tray of food. Alison accepted it from her with thanks, then locked the door once more behind her.

She ate quickly, keeping one eye on the door. Who knew when her uncle or James would come back?

She double then triple checked her bag, making sure she had everything. She would venture to her father's house. The keys were in her uncle's study. The plan was falling into place.