Misguided Trust

by Jamie Ott

  I’m ridiculous! She shouted, inward, at herself.

  She shouldn’t be getting comfortable! Was she sick in the head? These people knew she was kidnapped and did nothing about it! Was she turning into a Stockholm syndrome victim?

  When she thought about these things, she cringed and felt dirty and stupid.

  But the biggest question that plagued her was why these seemingly normal people were so loyal to Michael and his father? They couldn’t say enough good things about them. Maddie stomached convulsions every time she listened to them.

  One afternoon, after having spent the entire morning helping Julian trim in the gardens, she walked into the kitchen to have lunch. It had been several weeks since she’d seen Michael, as he always seemed to be stuck in his office, shouting at people. Today, he’d come down and was, now, pounding some sort of meat on the counter. Little bits of blood and liquid flew about him as he pulled the mallet back.

  Maddie stood frozen in the doorway for a moment, but then decided to proceed as if he wasn’t even there. She saw him look at her out of the corner of her eye. He must have figured he’d act the same as her.

  She grabbed all the items she needed to make herself a sandwich and a can of soup, from the adjoining pantry. Right as she sat down to eat, Marie walked in.

  “Hey, Maddie,” she said. “Would you cut up the carrots?”

  Maddie turned and saw that she had a good sized basket in her arm. They looked like they were just pulled from the gardens.

  “Sure, I’ll do it.”

  “Thanks, my dear.”

  She set the carrots by the sink and left.

  Maddie finished her food and then rinsed the carrots.

  Michael stirred up some kind of brown sauce that smelled good. It looked he might have been a good cook. Then it occurred to her that the reason for him being there, all of the sudden, was that he was likely expecting visitors. The thought made her mad.

  “So, let me guess, you’re having guests for dinner? Perfect.”

  “Let me remind you that if you try anything, you’ll be locked in your room again, but this time you’ll be there for the rest of your stay. And I don’t know how long that’ll be: weeks, months or even a year.”

  Maddie fumed and her hands shook.

  “Look, I have noticed that you’re getting on well with everyone in the house. We definitely don’t need to do this unpleasantly. I want to know that I can trust you about the place.”

  Maddie found this statement odd because why should he ever trust her? Even if she did show him some loyalty, eventually she would betray him because as soon as she escaped, she was gonna turn his ass in!

  But instead of saying these thoughts, she mumbled, “Yeah, sure,” and continued washing the carrots.

  Michael stirred chopped ingredients into the sauce pan. The sound of his rubber spatula hitting the edge of his pan infuriated her.

  Maddie turned and said, “How can you entertain at a time like this? I have a family that I miss very much. I demand that you tell me why I’m here, or send me home.”

  Michael said nothing, keeping his back to her and stirring the sauce.

  “Speak to me you asshole!” she yelled and pushed his back.

  “Aaagh!” he shouted.

  Michael had stumbled into the stove, knocking into the pan and sending a wave of the sauce onto his fresh white cotton shirt.

  Afraid that he’d retaliate, she turned to the sink, wet a kitchen towel and helped Michael pull his shirt off. Then she used the cloth to wipe the sauce that bled through his shirt, from his stomach.

  The area where the sauce hit was bright red.

  “Does it hurt a lot?” she asked.

  He didn’t say anything.

  “Just hold that a minute, okay?”

  He took the kitchen towel from her, and she ran to the cooler to get ice. She pulled a fresh cloth from the pantry and bundled the ice in it; then came back and pressed it to his stomach.

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “I just want to go home. I miss my husband and my father.”

  When she lifted her eyes to his, she thought she saw sympathy or guilt. He sighed, and in it she heard exhaustion and frustration. And at that moment, she thought maybe there was something good about him.

  He put his hand over hers and gently removed the bundle of ice. One of his hands went to her lower back and rubbed her slowly in a circular motion; a sign that she had read him right.

  Then he gently turned her towards the kitchen exit and said, “Go to your room. We’ll clean up.” He gently touched her chin. “Don’t worry, you’ll be allowed out tomorrow.”

  For a moment, Maddie was touched by the sound in his voice, and the softness of his touches. For a split second, she felt hair follicles lift all over her body. Not wanting to anger him anymore, she left quietly.

  Back in her room, Maddie replayed the incident in the kitchen over and over. She was curious about Michael; and she was sick of dining alone. What she’d give to be out with friends, laughing and talking over good wine.

  Later that evening, Michael sent Adele up with a cart of food, so she sort of got her wish. Adele brought Anna with her, and together they supped by the light of the moon that shone through the large window.

  ~~~

  A couple days passed after the incident in the kitchen. During that time, she hadn’t heard or seen Michael at all, but she thought about him quite often. Deep down, she actually hoped that she would see him soon.

  She hated herself for feeling that way. She really was sick in the head.

  Fall was officially here, and it suited the property: The way the fog hugged the ground, and the mist made every which way look hazy. Maddie loved days like these because it inspired her imagination, and made her think, once more, of romantic stories she used to read. They wrote about being trapped somewhere utopian with beautiful yet forbidden strangers. Always, those stories inhabited mystical gardens or homes amidst fantastic weathered scenes.

  That day, the fog was particularly thick and massive around the gardens. Between the mountains, it was trapped as though in a bowl, and only a few peaks of mountains poked out just above the thick white blanket. In that view, the mountains really did touch the sky.

  Maddie carried with her a warm sealed mug of tea that she drank as she strolled around and breathed in the moist air. Julian was off that day. Before he left, he told her he was concerned about the weather and the affects it would have on the tea bushes they’d recently planted.

  She wandered into the flower garden to check on them. It was there she got her wish because Michael was standing in the front section of the labyrinth, examining some drooping flowers. She wanted to approach him but her heart pounded heavily and instead, she stood frozen.

  Finally, he moved further along the path.

  Her heart slowed as he disappeared into the next section of the maze.

  Maddie walked in and sat on the stone bench and drank her tea. It would be a few minutes for him to get past the courtyard in the center, where the tea bushes were. So she pulled out her book and started rereading the infamous tale of Leopold Bloom in Ulysses.

  Meanwhile, Michael, instead of finishing his walk through the garden, which led back into the house, came back out to see Maddie sitting there on the stone bench.

  He strolled nonchalantly toward her and sat.

  “How are you?” she asked. “Not too burned, I hope.”

  “I’m fine,” he said while looking at some tulips.

  She looked back to her book, but he interrupted her.

  “I would let you go if I could, but…” he stopped.

  Maddie looked up at him and repeated, “But?

  “Well, I made a promise and I need to stick with it for now. I-I,” he stuttered, “only wanted to tell you that it was never my intention to harm you in any way. Never was it ever my order that you should be treated roughly.”

  She stared at him and after a moment, replied, “It’s a relief to know that you aren’t go
ing to kill me, but I have been harmed. And I still want to go home.”

  “The harm that was done to you was not my doing; it was those guys. They were hired by your husband. You’ll be home soon enough, I promise you,” he said without looking at her.

  Maddie was pissed, but felt unable to say or do anything. Like a temper turned inward, her face got hot and her nose stuffy.

  “Just tell me what’s going on. Maybe I’ll be more understanding than you think.”

  Ignoring her, he said, “I see you and Julian have made great progress together. My father started these gardens; he really loved i here. Although he was a straight laced lawyer and business man, he really valued the instant satisfaction that can be had when producing admirable things.”

  Maddie was hot faced and crying.

  Michael put his arm around her shoulders and squeezed. This action made her hate him even more. How could he tell her that he was going to keep her hostage, and yet hug her and comfort her?

  “Maddie, please, you’ll make yourself hysterical.”

  He pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped her tears.

  After, he held her for a moment more and rocked her, gently. Maddie wanted to resist but she was too upset to do so. Then Michael left her in the garden and went back to the house. She sat there a few moments, and then made her way back to the house herself.

  Later that week, Maddie and Julian scavenged all of the lavender plants. Julian figured they may as well use it because there was due to be several continuous weeks of it cool, moist weather. Lavender was fully capable of surviving but he’d rather repot a new batch after the winter. So, Maddie scraped large amounts of the purple flowers into barrels while Julian sealed as much of it as he could into airtight bags for later use.

  After hours of tiring work, Maddie went to the kitchen to retrieve a couple wooden fragrance bowls.

  Over the weeks she spent with Julian, she had become fond of the smell of lavender. She loved the way it calmed her nerves without making her sleepy, like some of the other garden scents. Julian, who wanted to take advantage of Maddie’s spare time, coaxed her into the idea of using some of it to make soap. Maddie was intrigued, and so was Marie who rummaged through the kitchen cupboards for spare supplements.

  Marie mentioned that Michael was very fond of lavender, which reminded her of the scent she got off him that day when he carried her to bed. Funnily, Maddie had never realized that it was a manly, musky scent. Normally, she was used to people turning it into a fragrance for women. After retrieving the bowls from the kitchen, she filled one and walked it up to his office.

  Michael’s office was two rooms down from hers. The door was half opened and Michael sat behind a cramped desk, looking down at a small computer screen and typing.

  “Come on in.”

  The office was cluttered with various law books and encyclopedias.

  “So, you’re a lawyer, like your father?”

  “Sometimes, but I don’t really practice, though I am qualified. I became a lawyer because it was what my father wanted; these were my father’s books.” He motioned his hands toward the book case.

  “Marie said you liked lavender, and I remembered smelling it on you.”

  She handed him the bowl, which he took and deeply inhaled.

  “Very nice, thank you. Lavender reminds me of my mother; that’s why I like it. My father specially grew it for her, and kept it around the house in these exact bowls.”

  He cleared some of the paper and books away, and set it down.

  Maddie couldn’t stand being in his office because it was extremely small in comparison to most of the other rooms in the house; in fact, it was about the size of a closet.

  As she turned to leave, she got a glimpse of a couple monitors on the book shelves. One of the images looked familiar. A second later, she realized why.

  “What is it?” he asked.

  “That!” said Maddie, pointing at the screen. “Are you watching my room?”

  “Well, you’re under my protection. I have to make sure you don’t harm yourself or leave, especially after that first night and the incidents that have followed.” He must have seen the anger on her face, for he said, “Look, it’s not like I get my kicks this way.”

  “I actually was beginning to trust you! But now, I feel even more violated.”

  Michael said nothing as usual.

  She wanted to hit and kick him. Instead, she left without another word. Michael ran out from behind the desk and grabbed her by the elbows.

  “Stop!” he said urgently. “I’m sorry; please believe me. I won’t watch you anymore. I promise.”

  She sighed and said, “I wanna go home!”

  He followed her out of the office. From the corner of her eyes, she saw he watched her walk inside her room, where she slammed the door.

  Maddie lay on her bed, beat her pillow, and cried. She missed her father and Joe. If only they could have redone their sexy weekend, everything would have been different. Now, he’ll never how much she really did love him.

  In between thoughts of Joe and her father, visions of Michael continued to pop into her head. She hated him so much, she told herself, but she was well aware of the fact that she was also mildly attracted to him. Michael appealed to her the moment she saw him, which made her hate him even more. Worse, there was something terribly familiar about him. She just couldn’t figure out what it was. Perhaps he used to hang out with her husband, she considered.

  The next morning, she woke to sound of Adele coming in. Normally, she never came in at that time, which is why Maddie just about jumped out of bed.

  “Good morning, Maddie,” she said cheerily.

  “Why are you so happy?”

  “I’m going to drop Anna off at her dad’s; then I’m on vacation for a few days.”

  “Anything exciting planned?”

  “Nah, I’m just gonna go home and clean, but I’ll be back on Monday evening or so.”

  Maddie was saddened. Her face fell.

  “Don’t look so sad. I’ll be back. Just enjoy the peace and quiet; and the freedom as you won’t be locked in your room at all.” She smiled at her. “Michael still warns you to stay on the grounds and not to try to run off.”

  Then she walked toward a corner of the room and pulled down the small potted ivy. Her petite hand fumbled, several times, before successfully unscrewing the bottom. Finally, the bottom popped off, and out of it fell a little hidden camera.

  Holding it up to the light, she said, “Peculiar place for a plant; it must be water proof. Alrighty, see you later.”

  Then she left.

  Guilty Lust

  Chapter 6

  Her first day of total freedom felt wonderful. She was almost human again. And as she walked the premises, not an ounce of sorrow touched her. She thought of Joe and her father, but they weren’t so important that day; that day, she was all about her own enjoyment. Twisted as it was to take lessons from those who held her captive, life at Le Marcon Manor made her realize she needed to take time for herself in the future. People like Julian and Marie worked hard, but they were driven by passions that put smiles on people’s faces – including their own. Theirs were lives that allowed others to enjoy every day and reflect on every moment, and that was the life that she wanted.

  That wasn’t to say she didn’t look, constantly, for ways to escape. But she hadn’t a clue as to where to begin. She went and examined all the old rifles in the garage, but she hadn’t a clue how to use them. There weren’t any phones or cars. And Maddie couldn’t figure out how Julian and Adele left the property. Could a bus or hired car have come? If so, Maddie only needed to find a phone and call 9-1-1.

  But not once did she ever see anyone with cell phones. She supposed she could overpower Adele or Marie, and make them help her – as there were plenty of kitchen knives and gardening instruments to take someone hostage with. Oh, she just didn’t think she could do it. She liked them too much. What if she didn’t get away an
d someone got hurt? Then she’d have to live them and their anger.

  Julian had gone to town to get supplies, so he’d be gone for a day or so, too. She tried to find something she could do without him.

  After walking around for a moment, she sat down and sighed at the work bench that Julian would usually occupy. It didn’t feel right to be there all alone.

  She was disgusted with herself for being so dependent on them to occupy her time. Fiercely, she should hate them, she told herself. But she didn’t, and she loved being there at the manor. The only remedy was that she get out of there soon. Whatever was happening to her was not good; it was sick. Adele and Julian should be locked up, along with Michael and Abilene – and whoever else knew of her.

  And then the face of Joe came to mind. What if Michael told the truth? If Joe was in on her abduction, then they’d all go to jail, if she reported them. Joe, whom she missed so much that it made her cry at night.

  She was in a terrible spot, emotionally and physically. All these thoughts made her head heavy, and her face warm. Wet drops ran down her cheeks.

  Ah, enough! The day was wasting.

  Maddie calmed herself, stood up and went to the supplies cabinet in the center of the labyrinth. She wanted to get fresh soil for the pomegranate seeds she and Julian wanted to plant. Had she known that Michael would be there, she would have gone back to her room. It was too late, though; he’d already seen her. The twinkle in his eye made it known that he was there specifically for her.

  From across the courtyard, she stood there and stared motionless. Her emotional state must have been apparent because he lost that twinkle in his eyes, and his mouth suddenly clenched, making him look more serious.

  When it became obvious to Michael that she was not going to go to him, he walked over to her.

  “I guess I’m still on not your good side.”

  Maddie wondered if he was stupid when he said this, yet she felt obligated to remind him.