Chapter 10
The steward let out a sigh. “You didn’t have to be so honest. Even making up a harsher excuse-something to trick Lil- ly-would’ve spared you from this.”
“Gayle.”
Lottie’s delicate face was calm, not a trace of resentment. “She raised me. I might lie to anyone else, but never to her.”
Gayle Ware sighed again.
This time, there was a rare flicker of genuine affection in his eyes as he looked down at her bruised, red palms. “Don’t waste any more time. Get to the hospital.”
“Alright.”
Lottie nodded.
She said nothing more.
Chester had already been sent away.
Each step Lottie took was agony.
Even as a child, she suspected Lilly might be the reincarnation of a cruel nanny.
Erma might punish Esther by making her bow in the courtyard.
But Lilly? She had the maids take Lottie to bow in the snow.
In this weather, it actually felt fine at first-snow, a bit cold, even soothing.
But as the snow melted, all that remained were the freezing cold.
Once she was thoroughly frozen, the maids would return-with rulers to lash her palms.
That was when it hurt the most.
Skin split open. Flesh torn.
The Pollard family sat along a mountain road, surrounded by hills and water-beautiful, remote.
Lottie finally managed to hail a car, offering extra fare since it was late and snowing. The driver agreed but only wait- ed at the base of the hill.
Climbing down was excruciating.
Though it was the dead of winter, her back was soaked in cold sweat from the pain.
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Chapter 10
In the distance, a long black Bentley moved slowly along the snowy road.
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The sharp-eyed driver noticed first, instinctively speeding up a little. “Sir, I think that’s Ms. Cummings up ahead.”
In the back seat, a man lounged against the seat, long legs crossed casually. His face, half-shadowed in the dim light, was sharp and cold-every inch of him radiated authority.
The air in the car shifted.
He didn’t even look up at first, just gave a faint reply.
Impossible to read his mood.
The assistant in the front seat couldn’t stay quiet. “Sir, aren’t we going to help Ms. Cummings?”,
“You want to help her?”
The man’s deep, cool voice carried a hint of menace.
The assistant fell silent.
After a long pause, the man finally looked out the windshield, eyes narrowing at the swaying figure ahead.
“Find out what Nigel’s doing tonight.”
“We already checked. He’s most likely with Esther-very cozy, very affectionate.”
The assistant answered quickly, then added, “Ms. Cummings probably bowed in the snow for hours again. I don’t think she can take much more.”
As he spoke, the figure up ahead suddenly collapsed.
“Sir, I told you-”
Bang!
The car door slammed open.
The man got out, face like ice, and swept the girl off the ground, wrapping her in a cashmere coat.
The assistant rushed out to open the back door. “Sir, should we take her to the hospital or-?”
“Back to the manor first.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And get the doctor there ahead of us.”
“Already called.”
The driver, ever perceptive, quietly turned up the heat.
Inside the car, the soft cabin lights glowed. When the man’s eyes flicked over her, something cold and sharp flashed
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Chapter 10
in his dark gaze. His voice, though, remained as detached as ever. “Went at her pretty hard.”
The assistant muttered under his breath, “When has Lilly not gone overboard…”
The man shifted topics. “Victor’s coming back to the country soon, right?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Set things up.”
“To what extent?”
The man gave him a lazy sidelong glance, but his eyes carried a hint of menace. “What do you think?”
Lottie woke to find her body completely limp, every limb heavy with exhaustion.
But oddly enough, she wasn’t in much pain.
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The swelling and throbbing she expected in her palms never came. They still looked awful-bruised, raw-but the pain had mostly faded.
