“Have you spoken to Mary, Sir?”
“Not personally. Why?”
“I’m worried about her.”
“Then you should talk to her yourself. I believe you both would benefit from seeing each other.”
Brie shook her head. “I can’t do that.”
He looked at her, cocking his head questioningly. “Why not?”
Her heart began to race when she admitted her guilt over the role she’d played in Mary’s violent punishment—and Mary’s reaction to it. She understood why Mary hated her now.
Turning her head to stare at the ocean, Brie said sadly, “Mary couldn’t even look at me after we were rescued.”
Sir squeezed her tight. “I don’t think that was the reason for her distance.”
Brie frowned. “Although I didn’t know it at the time, my disobedience led to the punishment she received. I’m directly responsible for every lash that cut her back.”
“Holloway is responsible, not you. I’m certain Miss Wilson understands that,” Sir stated firmly. “The fact you question it concerns me.”
She looked down at her empty mug and had to hide her flinch when the song started up again.
“Hey, little songbird…”
After the sunrise, Sir insisted Brie return to bed for some much-needed rest. After taking a warm, soothing bath, Sir tucked her into bed and kissed her on the forehead.
“The only thing I need is for you to sleep.”
She nodded and closed her eyes, fighting hard to block out the hated song. Just as she was about to drift off, she heard a hard knock on the front door.
Brie bolted upright when she heard her father shout, “Open up!”
Remaining in bed, she heard her mother tell Sir, “After seeing how thin Brie is, I cooked all of her favorite breakfast foods.”
Brie slipped out of bed and grabbed her robe. Wrapping the tie around her waist, she cinched it up before walking out of the bedroom.
She was surprised to see an expansive spread of breakfast dishes on the counter in the kitchen. “What’s all this?”
“I couldn’t fall asleep last night, sweetheart,” her mother explained. “I needed something to do, so I cooked you a nice breakfast. What started as a breakfast casserole soon became…” She gestured to all the food with a sheepish grin. “…this.”
Brie shook her head and laughed. “There’s no possible way I can eat all of this.”
Her mother shrugged good-naturedly and turned to Sir. “Thane, I know you are just going to love this one,” she said proudly, pointing to the casserole. “It’s an all-American breakfast rolled into one delicious dish. It’s full of eggs, hash browns, bacon, and cheese, and I added slices of tomatoes on top because I know how you like to eat healthy.”
Sir stared at the casserole dish and pursed his lips. “Unfortunately, my stomach is feeling unsettled this morning.”
“I’m so sorry to hear that,” her mother exclaimed, looking at Sir with motherly concern. “Luckily, this casserole tastes even better the next morning. But I’d be happy to make you some oatmeal to settle your stomach, if you like.”
During their conversation, Brie noticed her father staring at her intensely. So intently, in fact, it was starting to make her extremely uncomfortable.
“What’s wrong, Daddy?”
Before he could answer, there was a loud commotion outside. Sir walked briskly to the front window and pulled back the curtain. “Fuck…”
Suddenly frightened, Brie whimpered, “What’s happening, Sir?”
He turned to meet her gaze. “The press is here.”
Brie hurried to the window and groaned when she saw several news vans parked down the street and a crowd of reporters setting up.
She looked at Sir, asking fearfully, “Why are they here?”
“I’ll tell you why they are here,” her father stated, picking up the newspaper he’d brought and shaking it in his hand. “Everyone wants to know what really happened to the people who were rescued, because what they are describing in this article is beyond horrific.”
Brie’s stomach twisted. Glancing again at the growing number of reporters gathering outside, she asked Sir, “Can’t we demand that they leave?”
“Unfortunately, I am very familiar with the laws concerning the press, babygirl. They have the right to camp out on the public sidewalk in front of our house.” He glanced down at her. “We can do nothing unless they trespass on our property.”
Brie suddenly felt lightheaded and dizzy. “Sir…” she whispered.
He barely caught her before she hit the floor. Sweeping her into his arms, he carried Brie back to the bedroom. “You must rest. Stay in bed while I take care of this.”
Brie was surprised to hear her parents leave the house with Sir. Curiosity got the best of her and she snuck to the window, slowly pulling back the curtain to take a peek.
Sir was being unusually dramatic, giving both her mother and father each a long hug before watching them drive off. Then he nodded to the reporters before heading back into the house.
Hurrying back to bed, Brie slipped under the covers and waited. She was surprised when she heard clinking sounds as Sir moved about in the kitchen. When he left the house again, Brie crept back to the window and watched as he walked straight up to the reporters and started handing out the dished-up food her mother had brought.
He returned to the house several times to make sure everyone received something to eat, then he put his arms behind his back and spoke to them with a serious look on his face. The moment he turned to point back at the house, Brie let go of the curtain and stood still, holding her breath.
To her surprise, she soon heard one of the vans drive off. Curious, Brie risked another peek. Brie’s jaw dropped when she saw many of the reporters handing Sir something before gathering their equipment and walking away from the house.
She wondered what he could have possibly said to garner such a response.
Before Sir caught at the window, she slipped back into bed. It wasn’t long before she heard Sir return and shut the front door. She held her breath when she heard his footsteps heading to their bedroom.
Knowing she’d been caught, Brie sat up in bed to await her fate.
Sir walked into the room, holding a plate of her mom’s food. He smirked as he placed the plate on the nightstand beside her. “I saw you at the window.”
She blushed. “I’m sorry, Sir. But you had those reporters eating out of your hand. How did you get them all to go away?”
“Not all of them, but the majority are gone,” he replied. She looked at Sir in amazement as he explained, “I needed time to think, so I asked your parents to leave. Knowing the press would be watching our every move, I convinced your parents it was important we present a united front without speaking to them. To do that, we played out an emotional goodbye before they drove off.
“When I returned to the house and looked at all the food your mother had cooked, I was struck with an idea on how it could be put to good use. From my personal experience I know that fighting the press only causes problems, so I decided on a different approach. Since the reporters arrived here so early this morning, I assumed most of them hadn’t had time to grab breakfast before heading out.”