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been shocked that she had stabbed him, but it got
her point across well enough. He didn't seem deterred in the
slightest, though, having locked her in her room straight after.
He even refused to feed her until she agreed to marry him.
    The bloody sod, she thought miserably as she dropped
from the tree branch. The fact that he was the only family she
had left was the only reason she hadn't run him through with
the end of her blade. Although, as her stomach rumbled
angrily, she seriously regretted that decision. Her stepfather
was a disgusting excuse for a man, and it certainly wasn't a
secret that her mother hadn't loved him. But, she married him
to protect Kristen.
    The story her mother told her growing up was always
riddled with holes, but when Kristen pressed for details, her
mother told her there would be a time to discuss it when she
was older. Kristen had always suspected that Ashby resented
her and her mother for how things turned out for him. Despite
the fact that Marie, Kristen's mother, had paid off Ashby's
gambling debts, he hadn't wanted to get married. But, as he
began to rack up debt again over the years, Marie had refused
to pay them off. Ashby had grown angry and threatened to
expose them for who they really were, but Marie brushed it off
each time, promising he would not like the consequences of
doing so. Nevertheless, Kristen's mother most likely suspected
Ashby's intentions, and if Kristen had to guess, that was why
she created the marriage contract with the Shane's. Since
Derrick had refused her, Kristen had to proceed with her
original plan.
    Now that she had reached the ground, she gathered
her bundle and headed for the cliffs, where she intended to
stay the night and then call upon her dearest friend at a
decent hour. Meloney Atchkinson would know exactly what to
do. Kristen's mother left her plenty of money, and she could
certainly take care of herself. But, at nineteen, she hadn't met
many gentleman, a circumstance she could lay at her
stepfather's feet. Her only recourse would be to find a
husband. It wouldn't be a match for love, but perhaps she
could find someone that she at least liked. That would solve
Kristen's immediate problem with her stepfather.
    When Kristen reached the cliffs, she made her way
across the familiar terrain until she reached the cave she had
found some time back. She thought the cave was already in
use when she stumbled upon it, but Kristen had returned
every night for the last two weeks and had not seen any signs
that it was occupied beyond the crates. There were several
large trunks of silk from China, a material Kristen adored,
crates of tobacco from the Americas, cans of chocolate and
other small trinkets of value. She wondered why they were
there since trade was banned with America, and most other
trade items came from the docks throughout the day. The only
plausible explanation was that someone used the cave as
their smuggling din, but Kristen had her own troubles, so she
didn't spend too much time thinking about it.
    When she entered the cave, she stood against the wall
for a moment to allow her eyes to adjust to the darkness.
Once they adjusted, she walked in and frowned as she ran
into a crate she was certain hadn't been there the night before.
She looked around her small cave and became aware of
several more large crates that hadn't been there the night
before.
    "Drat! I find a terrific hiding place and some other oaf
decides to move in. The bloody sod, as if I didn't have enough
to worry about." She cursed as she shifted the crates to make
walking space.
    Of course, it never occurred to her that the person who
had moved in was the same person who'd put the crates there
in the first place. She was too focused on her situation to
notice much beyond the fact that more crates were in her way.
But, a shuffling noise in the dark is quite loud, and Kristen
froze when she heard it. She spun around only to run directly
into what felt like a brick wall, but