Nothing Ordinary, M J Marlow [ebook and pdf reader .TXT] 📗

to sit down and eat. Annie did as she was told and Ilsa returned a half hour later for the dishes. Annie begged her to let her out of the nursery and the woman informed her with a great deal of delight that she was ‘in confinement’ now and this was where she would stay until her baby was born. “You’re to tell me if there is anything I can get for you to make your time in confinement easier to bear,” Ilsa continued. “I will be bringing you meals every four hours.” “This is ridiculous,” Annie cried in dismay. “I can’t get out of the house. Why lock me in the nursery?” “Your uncle is taking no chances, Mrs. Owens,” Ilsa told her. “In your fragile emotional state you could take a tumble down the stairs and cause harm to yourself.” She looked around the room. “You are safe in here.” “I want to see my uncle!” “He will come speak to you later,” Ilsa broke in. “Now calm down and take your nap,” she ordered her. “You have to think of your baby.” Annie watched the woman go and sank down on her knees and sobbed. This was even more of a nightmare than before. She went to the windows and they would not open. The house had central air so there was no need to open windows. There was no way she was going to take this without argument. She was not a piece of furniture to be moved from one room to the other as it suited the man. She was a person and she would be treated like one. She was practically fuming when Guthrie was the one who brought her next meal. He set it down and watched her as she ate. He could tell she was angry at him for locking her up in here and it amused him to see she was capable of such temper. So he decided he would calm her down. He pulled her into his arms and rocked her as she struggled to get away from him. He did not let her go. “We do this for the sake of our child, Annie,” Guthrie said as he held her in his arms. “My first wife died as the result of a fall and our child went with her. I would die if anything happened to you.” He looked into her eyes. “Can you understand now why I asked your uncle to do this?” “I am not having a child with you, Walter,” Annie sobbed. “I am another man’s wife and I am carrying his child!” She could see he was angry but she did not care. “I want out of here!” “No,” he said as he kissed her on the forehead. “I am going on a trip tomorrow, darling. I’ll bring you something special when I come back.” “Walter, please…” “Don’t argue with me, Anneke,” Guthrie sighed. “You know your uncle and I only want what’s best for you.” He frowned as he heard the front doorbell ring. “Who is that at this hour?” He left the room and locked the door. He returned a moment later with Jeffrey. “Here’s someone who wishes to speak to you.” “Jeffrey!” Annie sobbed and threw her arms around him. “Please tell me you’re here to take me out of this place.” “Annie,” Jeffrey wished he could do what she was asking, but he had his orders. He could not break them, even for her. “I just wanted to make certain you were all right. You’re looking better.” “My uncle won’t let me leave, Jeffrey,” Annie told him, eyeing Guthrie coldly. “I don’t want to be here.” “But he’s taking care of you, Annie,” Jeffrey said to her. “You need time to rest after everything you’ve been through.” He put his hand to her cheek and willed her to accept what was happening. He leaned in close and slipped something into her pocket as he whispered. “We’ll get you out of here, Streudel.” “You’re not listening to me, Jeffrey,” Annie sobbed and turned away from him. “You’re as bad as they are!” “Your sister-in-law is still very emotional, Captain Owens,” Guthrie said as he showed Jeffrey out. “I’m sure she’ll settle down eventually.” “Once she sees James,” Jeffrey told him bluntly, “she’ll be fine.” He turned to go and Annie had to remain where she was. Guthrie pulled her back as she suddenly changed her mind and tried to follow Jeffrey out and she screamed and told him to let her go. He slapped her across the face and she glared at him coldly. “I hate you, Walter Guthrie!” Annie sobbed as she tried to pull free of his hold. “You are a bastard!” “You are overwrought, my dear,” Guthrie said gently; “so I will forgive your outburst. Your handsome brother-in-law is alive because you remained here.” “I hate you for what you’re doing to me!” She pulled free and slapped him across the face. “I will find a way to escape from here,” she promised him, “and when I do my uncle and you are going to pay!” Jeffrey drove away from the house and headed into town. He would stop at Clancy’s for a drink or five. That bastard had forced Anneke! He was going to make the man pay for that. He only wished that he could have taken her with him when he left that house. “Feeling sorry for yourself, Army?” “Go away, Fed,” Jeffrey snapped back as Clark sat down next to him. “I take it you went to see Annie,” Clark said as he ordered a whiskey. “Fat lot of good that did her,” Jeffrey replied, playing the role he’d been asked to take. He shook his head and muttered. “I should have grabbed her and made her come with me.” “And get yourself killed?” Clark broke in. Jeffrey looked at him in shock. “She’s not in any danger where she is. Once we get those files decoded we can use what is in them to hang the man.” “Kidnapping and white slavery isn’t enough?” Jeffrey snapped at him. “Did you know Guthrie raped her, Clark?” He saw the other man go white and realized he hadn’t. “How can I sit back and let that stand?” “You have to?” Clark queried. “You hang in there, Army. We’ll get her out of this mess and that bastard will go down for the rest of his life!” He held up his glass. “Another round?” 11 Annie settled into the routine that was set for her. Every four hours during the day Ilsa brought her something to eat. She had vitamins and supplements to take and she did not argue at taking them. Guthrie decided he would take her out of the house. She came out of a dress shop wearing one of the new dresses he’d purchased for her and smiling happily at being outside her prison as Guthrie kept a tight hold on her hand. “Annie?” “Molly!” Annie smiled as she saw Molly coming out of the drug store. “How are you?” She turned to Guthrie and saw him frown. “Nick told me he saw you the other day,” Molly said as she looked Annie over. She was physically healthy, but there was a look in her eyes that Molly noted. Annie did not want to be at her uncle’s home and she was starting to despair. Even more, she did not want to be with the man watching her like a hawk. “We have lunch with your uncle, Anneke,” Guthrie reminded her as he kept his hand on her arm. “Say goodbye to Mrs. Taylor and we’ll be going.” Molly watched the couple move off and frowned as Guthrie acted like a loving friend. But she had seen the slight panic in Annie’s eyes when Guthrie had reminded her of their lunch. The man was keeping her caged. She went home and her husband was there. “I ran into Annie in town.” He was instantly interested. “That man may think he fooled me, but I saw the way she flinched when he touched her. He’s hurt her, Charles!” “We need her there, Molly,” Taylor replied. “There’s not much we can do. Was she in physical distress?” “She appeared to be in excellent health,” Molly told him and watched her husband flinch. “You know if we don’t get her away from him soon he’ll have her completely brain washed, don’t you?” The phone rang and Molly answered it. “Taylor residence,” she sang out and watched her husband smile. “Annie? Darling, don’t cry. Of course we’ll help…” Her smile died as the line went dead. “Annie? Are you there?” She hung up the phone and turned to her husband. “Convinced now we need to get her out?” Annie looked at her captor as he hung up the phone. She had not counted on their being a pay phone in the restaurant bathroom but seeing it she could not resist. She was in trouble and she had to get help. She knew the longer she remained with Guthrie the less capable she would be of leaving him. He grabbed her arm and pulled her out, ignoring the startled looks on the waiter’s face as he was nearly bowled over. “Who did you call, dear?” Guthrie roared as he forced her into the car. She shook her head, refusing to endanger anyone else. He got behind the wheel and drove to the house. He took her to the nursery. “Who did you call?” “The police station,” Annie lied, daring him to call her a liar. Guthrie slapped her and she glared at him. “I hate what you’re doing to me, Walter, and I am tired of it. My uncle and you can’t keep me here like a prisoner! I don’t care what the law says, I am going to my husband now!” “We’ve had this conversation before, Anneke,” Guthrie shook his head. He pulled out his cell phone. “Gillian? It’s your brother.” He looked at Annie as he continued the call. “I’m really worried about Anneke; she’s having violent mood swings. I’m terrified she could hurt herself or someone else when she gets so violent. Could you prescribe a sedative for her that won’t harm her or the baby?” He saw the horror on Annie’s face and he smiled. “Thank you, sister. You’re a treasure.” He hung up and took Annie to the nanny’s bedroom. He tied her wrists to the bedpost behind her and yanked her head back. “You are mine now. You are never going to get away from me.” “I won’t stop trying,” Annie snapped as she tried to pull free. “You will go to prison for what you’ve done to me!” “It’s now on record that you have violent mood swings, Anneke,” Guthrie said to her. “Gillian will have it noted in your medical file as the reason for the sedative she is bringing to you.” He laughed as she shrieked at him. “You brought this on yourself, my love.” He released her and patted her on the head. “I am more than prepared for whatever you try, Anneke. Save us both the heartache and accept your fate.” He found a heavy statue and threw it through her window. “Oh, Anneke! Why would you do such a thing?” “I hate you, Walter Guthrie!” Annie screamed at him. “Get out of here before I hurt you!” “Anneke?” Eliza cried in distress as she came running. “Is something wrong?” “I’m afraid your cousin’s mind has become unhinged, Eliza,” Guthrie said sadly. “It’s all my fault,” he continued mournfully. “I should have realized it was too soon to talk about marriage.” He nodded towards the window. “I had to restrain her when she went after me. Gillian is bringing Anneke a sedative that we’ll have to keep her on for the foreseeable future.” He stroked Annie’s hair as she leaned back and tried not to scream. “I only hope