Redeeming-Love-By-Francine-Rivers

R E D E E M I N G L O V E
Duke came out of his chair. Grabbing her hair, he yanked her head back,
and his face came down within inches of her own. “What’s happened to
you, my dear?” he said in a deceptively soft voice. “What will it take to bring
my little Angel back?”
Her scalp was on fire, her heart in her throat. He could break her neck in
an instant if he chose to. She wished he would and put an end to all of it.
His dark eyes changed as he glared into hers.
Frowning slightly, he eased his grip. “You’re no good to me dead.” Could
he read her mind so easily? He let go of her with a hard jerk and stepped
away. He crossed the room, then looked back at her warily. “Don’t push me,
Angel. As fond as I am of you, you are not indispensable.”
Angel thought of the child. “Who is manager of the keys now?” She
smoothed her skirt so he wouldn’t see how badly frightened she was or
what her reasons for asking were. He was perplexed. That was far preferable
to sadistic.
“I am.” He pushed his hand into his pants and pulled out a ring of keys.
“I think I would prefer Sally’s position.” If she could discover which key
belonged to the girl’s door, perhaps she could get her out of this hellhole.
Duke was smiling, eyes laughing at her. He tossed the keys onto the table
before her. “The wine cellar, pantry, linen cabinets, and costume room.” He
opened his collar and slipped out a gold chain. A key was on it. “This is the
one you want.”
Still smiling, he came to her again and rested his hands heavily on her
shoulders. “I think you do need a lesson after all,” he said silkily. “I’m going
to introduce you this evening. You’re going to wear a blue gown and leave
your glorious hair down. You will be a great sensation. Every girl I have is
lovely, but you are something very rare and special. Every man in the house
will want you.”
Angel’s skin grew colder and colder as he spoke. She wanted to bolt from
the chair but knew, even if she did so, she would succeed in nothing. It was
wiser to sit still and wait.
“You will be the keeper of the keys next week, my dear, but for this one
week, you will serve our patrons yourself. I have several in mind that will
prove useful to me.” He smiled. “Besides, I’ve kept you far too exclusive. You
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