Stolen Kisses (Leap of Love Book 2) (7 page)

Jones came closer to Lily. He was so close that she could smell the whiskey on his breath. His presence in her space made her skin crawl.

"I love beautiful things. I like the best of everything: spirits, food, clothing, jewelry and women. And you, my dear, are fortunate enough to have me pick you."

Lily was confused. Was she supposed to feel like she had hit the jackpot because Jones considered her to be a prize? His very touch made her feel more soiled than she was physically.

Jones ran his fingers through her hair. "I can help you afford the kind of life you have never dreamed of. You can be my Lily. No woman turns down a chance like this."

The feel of his warm breath on her neck was infuriating. But Lily was not sure what to do in this predicament. Fighting him would just exhaust energy. She had to think her way through this one. And patience would be the virtue because she knew in her heart Brent would rescue her. She had to just have a little hope.

*

Maria helped Lily bathe and get into some clean clothing. It was a bit awkward for Lily. She had never had anyone assist her with anything of that sort.

"You really don't have to help me, Maria."

"Yes I do, Senorita." Maria was hard at work scrubbing Lily's back and washing her hair.

Lily had to admit that it felt good to soak in the bath. She had only been in a bath a few times in her life. Her family could not afford indoor plumbing. She often went down to the lake to bathe if she wanted to really relax, but it was more of a luxury. Here she did not want to get comfortable with the luxuries that Jones was trying to bestow upon her. This was not her home.

"Please no, Maria. I can really do this myself." Lily snatched the soap and began to scrub herself.

Maria acquiesced and left Lily at the tub to bathe herself. Instead, Maria began to tidy up the room and lay out Lily's clothing.

"Really, I can put back on my dress," Lily offered.

"No, Senorita. That dress is soiled. I will wash it. You must put on one of these dresses as Senor Jones requests."

Lily squeezed the water from her hair and stood up, draping the towel around her naked body.

"Maria. Please call me Lily. And there is no way that I can wear something like that. I can not even afford to look at a dress like that. This is not for me."

Lily went to pick up her dress from the ground. She would wash it out in the tub and simply wait for it to dry. Maria caught her hand and twirled her around.

"I am not sure how to say this, Senorita. You are here under Senor Jones request. I am your ladies' maid, sent to make sure you get acquainted with the way things are done around here. You should make it a point to be friendly and cooperate. Things run much more smoothly when you cooperate." She squeezed Lily's hand, just enough to let her know that she was serious.

Lily eyed her counterpart. "How long have you been here?"

"Three years. It may not be my home, but I have had to settle in here. I make enough money that one day I can bring my son over here and take care of him. I do not want anything," she paused, "or anyone to get in the way of that."

Lily snatched her hand back. "That is fine. I would not get in the way. I simply want to get out of here."

"That is not possible." Maria began to hand Lily the dressing garments.

"What do you mean that is not possible?"

Maria was frustrated by now. "What that means is that you must get used to being here and not make too much trouble, Senorita. That is what that means."

She thrust the garments out to Lily again.

As much as it pained Lily to step into the skirt, she did as Maria asked. By no means did she ever want to stand in the way of a mother and their child.

"I apologize. I just do not know how I got here. One minute, I am on my way to the market and my horse is spooked. The next minute, I see Jones, he offers to help me, and I wake up a day later on the dirt floor of a barn on his property."

Maria listened as she busied herself assisting Lily into the slip.

"It happens to the best of us."

Lily was not sure what to make of Maria's comment. Had the same thing happened to her? Unfortunately, it was not appropriate to ask a young woman whom she had just met, her entire life's story. If Maria wanted to tell her, she would eventually open up to her.

"I don't plan to be here long," Lily blurted out.

Maria was still silent, as she dressed Lily.

"I have a Texas Ranger and the sheriff looking for me."

Maria eyed her and then finished tightening Lily's corset. Lily sucked in her breath when Maria pulled the strings tighter. She had only worn a corset once or twice and it was the most uncomfortable feeling. She preferred to wear the beaded dresses and shirts that he mother made for her. Corsets were so restricting and besides, she was not one of the ladies in town that looked for social acceptance by wearing the roundest hoop skirt or the highest collar. Lily rarely pinned her hair back and preferred it to be in one single pony tail down her back.

"You and Senor Jones will be dining in the great room in about ten minutes. If you need anymore help, please let me know.

Maria bowed as she left the room, after dressing Lily, in a rush. The room was quaint, decorated in lace and embroidery. It was definitely a room for a woman and most definitely decorated with care. The bed was the largest she had ever seen and the she had never been privy to living in surroundings quite like this.

Lily was not sure how to handle the situation. What was she supposed to do? Pretend like she was okay with having dinner and idle conversation with a man that was holding her against her will?

Not exactly. But the thought of dinner was making her feel weak. She had not eaten since yesterday morning and she was famished.

She did not want Jones to think that she was enjoying his hand outs, but she needed a bit of nourishment. Lily braided her hair and let it fall down her back. She got ready for dinner with Jones. How she would get through the evening was a mystery to her. But she would have to do her best.

*

Lily had never been to a dinner so formal. Even having dinner at home with the sheriff, Miss Sarah, and Brent had not been so formal. Here the dinner plates looked delicate, the table clothes were trimmed in gold, and the table was set with lit candles and flowers as centerpieces. And from the feel of things, she knew that this was the normal state of living and not something done for her because she was a guest.

"You look ravishing, Lily."

When Jones spoke, it made Lily's skin crawl. He always seemed to be eyeing her with intent to do something to her, like she was a piece of property. Not like the way that Brent looked at her. When Brent looked at her, she felt adored and special, not coveted like Jones made her feel.

Lily did not respond. Instead she looked down at her feet, trying her best not to give Jones any eye contact.

He laughed. "I know it will take some getting used to. Here, please take a seat."

Being as much of a gentleman as he could, Lawrence pulled her chair out for her. Lily took a seat.

"I know that this is all so sudden a change for you. I promise I will make it as comfortable as possible. You will have your own room and we can, well, we can cultivate our relationship as slowly or as quickly as you would like." As he spoke, he twirled his hands around to accentuate his speech. 

Lily smoothed her dress and hoped that what she was about to say came out calmly. "I am not sure why I am here. Or why you have invaded my life in the way you did."

Jones clenched his jaw, tightening his hands into fists as he took his own seat. He sat for a moment as if in deep thought and then relaxed.

Smoothing the table cloth, he spoke. "As I said, I am used to getting what I want. I have had my eye on you for quite some time. And I have been very patient. I hate that you feel that your life has been invaded, as you say. As far as I'm concerned, your life here with me is an upgrade. You did not have all of this while living in that shack of a log cabin with your parents, did you?" His voice was so on edge, it almost cracked.

Lily was not sure if he would stay calmly seated or if he would jump up and turn the entire dinner service over onto the floor.

"What I meant was-," Lily tried to explain, but her words were interrupted by Jones thrashing his hand on the table.

Lily jumped in her seat. Jones straightened his neck tie and picked up his fork. A maid came in to the dining area and began their dinner service.

Jones nodded to Lily, giving her the okay to begin eating. She did not recognize the food on her plate, but she thought it would be rude to not eat when she was a guest in someone's house. Taking her fork, she tasted a bit of the food. It was seasoned enough and she figured it would not kill her to eat some of it.

The maid filled her glass with water and backed away from the table. Lily was not used to having someone serve her, especially when the person looked like her. It made for an awkward situation. Her first intuition was to ask the girls to stop serving her. She knew it was their job and she did not want to make any trouble for them so she sat quietly.

It was vexing to her soul to remain so quiet and so calm in the face of this situation. Her normal spirit was to fight and to be independent and take care of herself. She was strong and able to handle many things. But in this instant, she did not feel strong. She did not feel like she was able to take care of herself and she did not feel as though she was able to fight. She wanted nothing more than to look out of the window and see a band of men coming to rescue her. That band of men would include her father, the sheriff, and Brent.

"Now, back to what we were speaking of. As I was saying, I hope you like your accommodations. I have gone through a lot to make sure you feel comfortable and appreciated. You even have your own maid to help you with anything you need. Maria is a good girl and she can be trusted. She has worked for me for several years and is a faithful servant."

The word servant was stinging to Lily's ears. To hear him think of her as a servant was painful.

"Thank you."

Jones smiled at the appreciation she showed. "Well now, it is nice that you are coming around. This is your new home and you will be just fine."

"How long do you purpose I stay here in my new home?"

Jones, exasperated, threw his utensils down and they settled on the plate with a clang. "I just don’t get it. I rescue you from that meager existence you were living in and you have the nerve to show such little appreciation."

He rubbed his chin, deep in thought. "I suppose you would like to go back home then."

Lily smiled. "Yes I would."

Jones slammed the table so hard, the soup in the bowls spilled over and the utensils jumped off of the table onto the floor.

"I have had it with your insolence!" He stood up so quickly from the table, the table cloth pulled and almost fell off of the table.

"Maybe you would like to have your supper in your room." The words were spoken so calmly, it was frightening.

Lily took her cue and silently excused herself. She practically ran to her room and once inside, she threw herself on the bed in tears.

For the life of her, she could not understand what was going on or why she was in this predicament. She had been kidnapped and it seemed that it would be easy enough for her father and for the sheriff to come up to Jones' property and retrieve her. But maybe she was not in town. Maybe she was somewhere on a ranch outside of Owen's Bluff. That had to be the case because they would have marched right on in to the ranch and rescued her if she was so close.

She wondered if they had realized she was missing. Of course they did. There was no way that no one noticed. Her father would have been hysterical when she did not come home the night after the market. Brent would surely notice when she did not present at the market two days in a row. She just had to hold out faith that they would be on their way for her and that her stay here would be very short.

"Senorita?"

Lily did not pick her head up off of the bed.

"Senorita?"

Lily could hear Maria walking around the bed to come and sit beside her.

"Senorita, I think I have something that can help."

Lily lifted her head to see Maria standing there by the bed, hands folded with a stern look on her face.

"What is it, Maria?"

Maria held out her hand. "First thing's first. You can not sit around her crying all day. You must get up."

When Lily did not take her hand, Maria reached out her hand further. Lily took her hand in hers and sat up.

"I would like to know what you have in mind, Maria."

Once sitting up, Maria handed her a cup of tea. "I would like to see you present yourself better. No need in sitting around wallowing in pity. If you have someone coming to save you, they will do so in due time."

She began to tidy up Lily's hair. "Maybe this is not an ideal situation for you, but make the best of it. You get the chance to enjoy these expensive clothes and gifts and foods and here you are making your situation worse. Take it for what it is and be better with it. Your job is to make things easy on yourself, not harder. Does that make sense?"

She pinned Lily's hair to the top of her head and sat a warm head on Lily's shoulder.

"You can make it through this, Senorita. And when you are rescued, you will be all the better."

Lily regarded Maria for a moment. What she was saying made sense. She had to hold it together to make it through.

"Thank you, Maria." She took Maria by the hand and held it tightly. "Thank you so much."

It would have to work. She had no idea how long it would be before she was rescued and if she ran, she was not sure where she would run to. She would have to be patient and wait. Her day of refuge would come soon and she knew on that day, Brent would save her.

Brook Song had been through a lot. She had seen some of the worst in her life and up until now, she thought that she had seen it all. From the wars on the frontier between the Indians and the Americans to the wars between the Spanish and the Mexicans, she had seen so much horror and hatred in her life.