The soft creak of her bedroom door openly was the only warning Mina van Dorn, Duchess of Edgemont, would receive before the wad of cloth was shoved past her generous red lips. Coughing and gagging, she came awake, grey eyes snapping open, and she caught a glimpse of Laurence, her chauffeur, looming over her before her pounced, tearing her from her wide bed and pinning her down upon the floor. There was the awful sound of ripping duct tape, and Mina gave a muffled scream as the first strips sealed her lips, keeping the gag in place. More followed, securing her wrists behind her back, and she felt Laurence’s breath upon her bare neck, pregnant with lust. “Good evening, my lady. Did you sleep well?”
“Mmmmmpgggh!” Mina screamed vainly for help, eyes bright with terror as she thrashed about, both the tape and the strong hands of the estate’s servants holding her fast. The Edgemont estate was a large one, both the manor itself and the surrounding lands requiring a small army of servants to help maintain, and since marrying the Duke six years earlier, Mira had done her best to try and earn the loyalty of the help, treating each and every one with respect and courtesy. Waking up to one of them trying to abduct her was a shock she’d never expected, and a shudder of disgust wracked her slender frame as she felt his hands running down her long, slim legs. “MMMMMMPPPPPGGGH!”
“For six long years, I’ve waited for you to finally notice me,” the chauffeur whispered, breathing deep of her long, copper-red locks. “For six long years, I’ve lain awake at night, hoping that you’d finally come to your senses and cast aside that witless fool you call a husband, or wondering if I would have the courage to kill him myself. I can wait no longer. Scream for help all you want, but with your husband away on business, I sent the rest of the servants away. It’s just us now, like it always should have been.”
Terror seizing her heart in claws of ice, Mina offered no resistance as her ankles and thighs were bound together with more duct tape. “Time to take you away from this place now. Don’t worry, you’ll enjoy your new home. After all, there’s no helping it…”