Free Innocent Darkness by Suzanne Lazear Page B

compromised me, so I’m still marriageable. But the things he did to me are far worse than being strung up on a bar and beaten with a whip, shocked, and everything else they do here.” Tears pricked her eyes and she shuddered.
    Putting down her bundle of thyme, Noli wrapped her arms around Charlotte. He did what? The horrific thought made Noli cringe.
    “I can’t win,” she bawled. “I don’t want to go back— either as me or some perfect, marriageable drone. Even an asylum would be better than this. But no. He won’t let me go. Why won’t he let me go?”
    Noli stroked Charlotte’s hair, holding her tight. “Why did he send you here?”
    “My aunt did,” Charlotte hiccupped. “She discovered what he was doing and blamed it on me—hence the flirtatious label.” For a moment she went quiet. “We could run away.”
    “Escape?” Noli’s voice hushed as she gathered some flowers to go with her thyme.
    “Why not?” Charlotte cocked her head.
    “Where would we go?” Noli’s heart skipped a few beats.
    Charlotte replied, “Anyplace but here.”
    “I suppose we could go to my house. Still, escape?” The word barely passed her lips. “If they caught us … or even suspected we entertained the thought … ”
    “The water room and isolation at the least. Just think about it. Do you really want to be a mindless lady? To never fly a hoverboard or read a book again?”
    Actually, flying a hoverboard illegally was wrong. But to never read another book? Never learn more about plants and the way things work?
    Running away was serious and could have consequences even if they weren’t caught. “Let me think about it, I’m not sure I want to end up in a detention center.”
    A look of disappointment crossed Charlotte’s face. “Think fast. I’m not sure how long my chance will last.”
    A rustling from near the fence made them look up. Noli’s mouth grew dry with fear and she hoped no one had overheard them.
    The movement came, not from the garden’s entrance, but the other side of the fence. Someone had cleared a spot away. A handsome face peered through—a fine-looking man with long, black hair tied back in a tail and piercing yellow eyes. For some reason he reminded her of V. Though poised and polished, he still looked a bit like a ruffian—or at the very least a rake.
    “I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to frighten you.” His voice sounded silky and accented. “This is a lovely garden—a faery garden, I should think.”
    Noli and Charlotte moved closer together, seeking each other’s safety. “It is, isn’t it,” Noli said softly, unsure if she wanted him to go away or not.
    “Do you believe in the Fae, the fair folk?” He arched a dark eyebrow.
    “No, I don’t. They’re just pretty stories for children.” She nervously rearranged the flowers in her hands.
    An odd smile played on his lips. “You think so?”
    Charlotte went pale. “You won’t tell, will you?”
    “Tell what to whom?” His smile stretched. “Besides, who’d believe anyone from here?”
    After being at Findlay House for two months Noli had seen the stream of men and the occasional woman entering, the painted fancy-women strolling the gardens with men on their arms, heard groups of people laughing eerily late at night.
    “It’s a house of ill-repute, isn’t it?” She shouldn’t speak to him; as soon as he appeared she should’ve grabbed Charlotte by the arm and dragged her out of the garden. That’s what a proper lady would do when approached by a man she didn’t know without a chaperone present. Just the fact he approached them meant either he or his intentions were improper. If someone should find out, they’d be punished. They were supposed to ignore the occupants on both sides of them. To talk to a patron would be worse than speaking to one of the painted ladies.
    Still, there was something about him.
    “More than just that. I’m Kevighn, Kevighn Silver.” Taking off his hat, he bowed. His hypnotic yellow