Unbound by Kathryn Taylor Read Free Book Online Page B

the end of the hallway, which leads to a large bright room with a kitchenette. It’s not a designer kitchen—it doesn’t even have a proper countertop. It’s just a few old closets, an oven, which is clearly pretty old, a large stainless steel fridge, which looks very modern and doesn’t go with anything else, a wooden table with chairs, and a bench by the window.
    Another young man is standing at the stove with Annie. The two of them have their arms round each other and he’s whispering something in her ear, which is making her laugh. The sight of them astonishes me. Annie didn’t tell me that she was with one of the boys from the apartment, but you can tell she is, just from the way they look at each other, all starry-eyed.
    When they see us coming, they separate and the young man turns to me, smiling. I examine him closely, curious. He’s shorter than Marcus, with a wiry appearance. He has long blond hair tied into a ponytail. There are various piercings along his left ear and, where the T-shirt isn’t covering his skin, I can see tattoos on his arms and on part of his neck.
    “Hello, I’m Ian,” he introduces himself, wiping his hand on a tea towel before holding it out to me. His handshake is firm. “Annie told me that you’re going to be a refugee here for the night.” He sounds like he has a Scottish accent, which I find funny. He seems to be a real character, in fact—unique.
    “That smells delicious,” I say, pointing to the pots he’s stirring.
    “It’s my speciality: curry à la Ian. Go ahead and sit down, it’s almost ready. Marcus, can you open the wine? The bottle’s over there.”
    Marcus tackles his task of opening the bottle of red wine, which is on the sideboard. I side down next to Annie, who’s sitting on the bench at the kitchen table, leafing through a newspaper.
    “Well, do you like your room?” she inquires.
    I nod but I’m still worrying about the question I can’t seem to get out of my head. “Annie, why didn’t you tell me that the woman from the press department, the one you told me about this morning, was a friend of yours?”
    Annie puts the paper away. “Because she wasn’t, that’s why. We lived here together, and she was nice, but I could never really understand her.”
    “Because she fell in love with Jonathan Huntington?”
    “Yes, that too.”
    “How old was she?”
    “Twenty-seven. Someone Ian knew. She came from Edinburgh and she’s gone back there now. She had such a great job here, a real career opportunity. And she gave it up because …” She breaks off.
    “Because what?”
    “Because she couldn’t get that man. Because he …oh, I don’t know. Listen, she didn’t tell anyone exactly what happened but I can tell you one thing: there’s something wrong with Jonathan Huntington. So, as I said before, for the last time, stop thinking about him!”
    “I’m not. Not at all,” I hurriedly defend myself.
    “So why don’t you just let it go then?”
    She’s right. But somehow, I just can’t.
    “Do you think it has something to do with his being an aristocrat?”
    This makes Annie laugh. “Because all English aristocrats are a bit eccentric? Grace, you’ve seen too many films. That really has nothing to do with it. Besides, he’s not an aristocrat at all. He’ll be the next Earl of Lockwood when his father dies. But right now his father is still the Earl and resides at Lockwood Manor in all its glory. Lockwood is a stately home south of here, on the southern coast. Our boss will inherit all of that, together with a seat in the House of Lords, but he won’t actually become a member of the aristocracy till the old Earl departs this life. Viscount is just a courtesy title they give the oldest son, and Jonathan Huntington is actually still a commoner—an ordinary person, like you and me. For now, at least.”
    “I had no idea.” I’m horrified to remember that I addressed him as sir at the airport. God, I made such a fool of