Free Abducted by a Prince by Olivia Drake

eldest cousin. Walt wouldn’t be able to pay; he lived off a quarterly allowance and he often grumbled about the paltry sum. Would he speak on her behalf and ask for help from his father?
    Ellie despaired to imagine the earl’s reaction. If Uncle Basil was too miserly even to pay her a wage, how could she expect him to redeem her from the clutches of this scoundrel? Especially since her reputation would be in tatters after such a long absence …
    “What is the amount of the ransom?” she asked. “Because I can assure you, Walt seldom has funds to spare. And if you think he’ll seek money from his father, well, your scheme won’t work. I’m not the earl’s daughter, and he won’t pay so much as tuppence for my release!”
    Damien Burke narrowed his eyes to ratlike slits. His expression thunderous, he stalked to the bedside and stabbed his forefinger at her. “The ransom is my concern, not yours. All I expect from you, Lady Beatrice, is for you to comb your hair, eat your meals, and most of all, stop trying to bamboozle me!”
    With that, he pivoted on his heel and stalked from the chamber, slamming the heavy oak door behind him.
    The manservant and Mrs. MacNab, who had been waiting in the shadows, now held a whispered conversation. The fellow departed in his master’s wake, while the woman bustled forward. “Poor wee lass,” she crooned in a thick brogue. “The laird oughtna bluster like that. And ye sufferin’ such a shock, bein’ dragged from the bosom of yer family.”
    The laird. Ellie seized the clue. “Where am I? Is this … Scotland?”
    Mrs. MacNab pursed her lips. “’Tisn’t fer me t’ say, milady, though I wouldna deny that, neither. Now, I ken ye’ll be wantin’ the privy.”
    She helped Ellie out of bed and guided her behind a screen before allowing her seclusion to complete her business. Ellie pondered the woman’s words. Since they had traveled by ship, did that mean they were near the coast? Could they have gone as far as Edinburgh? Or were they closer to the English border?
    She came out to find Mrs. MacNab bending over an opened drawer of a tallboy. “Please,” Ellie asked, “what is the name of this place?”
    The woman looked up warily. “’Tis a castle. I canna say more.”
    A castle?
    Ellie glanced around the chamber and noted the circular stone walls. This must be a tower room. In spite of the grim circumstances, she felt a spark of interest. She’d seen drawings of such fortresses in books and had sketched them herself, guided by her imagination. But never had she had the occasion to actually visit a castle.
    Eager to look outside, she pulled a wooden stool to the window slit. But to her disappointment, the opening was too high for her to see anything more than the fast-scudding clouds. From the direction of the light, it appeared to be late afternoon.
    A knocking sounded and the manservant entered, toting a huge can of water in each hand. “Over here, Finn,” said Mrs. MacNab, dragging a small copper tub over to the fireplace. He emptied the cans into it; then he bobbed his bald head in Ellie’s direction and left again, shutting the door behind him.
    She scowled at the wood panel. Damien Burke had assigned these two servants to her. Where had the Demon Prince gone? Perhaps he was scuttling through some dark passageway like the rat he resembled.
    He hadn’t seemed at all concerned that she might try to escape. Had he stationed guards throughout the castle? Or maybe he simply didn’t consider a London debutante to be intrepid enough to sneak past Mrs. MacNab while her back was turned.
    Ellie pondered that notion. She hadn’t seen either servant use a key in the lock. She might never have a better chance than now, for the woman was looking into an open wardrobe, busy at some task.
    Keeping an eye on the maidservant, Ellie tiptoed toward the door, her steps silent on the rug. Just as her fingers curled around the cold metal handle, however, Mrs. MacNab glanced over