By the time Erin heard the snick of the lock that evening, she had memorized how many boards were in the length of the ceiling, along with the number of knots in said boards. She knew that she had to keep her mind active and busy, that she couldn't afford to give into ennui. That would be her downfall.
Glancing up at the stairs, she saw that Mary was coming downstairs, carrying a tray of food, another duffle bag slung over her shoulders. Erin started to stand up, not hearing the lock reengage and wanting to use that small window of opportunity to escape. She was unable to hide the way her face fell when the lock turned over, and Mary gave her an indulgent smile. "Cathy is over tonight, making supper for us. I brought you your favorite from Panera Bread."
Erin released a long, low breath as she limped over to the table and took a seat, watching Mary set the tray down in front of her. "How is it that you know the way I take my coffee, my favorite order from Panera, my favorite scent?"
"Cathy said that we would have to look for someone who was attached to someone rich and famous. You were the only one that I knew of, given your high profile, due to the Replicator case. So, I started watching you, since it was never my intention to harm you. I want you to be comfortable while you're here, sort of like a sleepover, only, one you can't leave."
Erin nodded a little as she picked up half of the smokehouse turkey panini. She was grateful for the care that Mary was showing her, but it made her all the more wary of the woman, as well. She even knew that Erin preferred to drink the hibiscus iced tea with her meal, along with having a pecan braid for dessert. "I suppose it is like that. What's in the bag?"
"Your book, along with a few others. I don't know how fast of a reader you are, and I didn't want you to get bored. I also brought along your laptop. You won't be able to get on the internet here, I made certain to lock our wi-fi, and there's no way I'll tell you the password. But I thought that you might like to write a story of your own, while you're here. You seem like the type who likes to write." Mary gave her a small smile. "I took a look at the programs you have on there, and I don't think I'll have to worry about you trying to use this to escape."
Erin nodded dumbly as she took another bite of her sandwich before sipping at her iced tea. "I'll put it to good use," she murmured, not looking up at Mary.
"All right, then, I'll get out of your hair. Just, bring the tray to the top of the stairs when you're finished. If it doesn't hurt your ankle too much. It's just a sprain, so it will get better with time, I promise. God bless."
All Erin could do in reply was nod, focusing on her food as she heard Mary drop the duffle bag on the floor and then climb the stairs. Once the door had closed and locked again, she set the sandwich aside and took a deep breath, pressing her palms against her eyes so as not to cry. As the sensation passed, she looked back down at her food and wolfed it down, knowing that she needed to keep her calorie count up, just in case she was afforded the opportunity to escape.
The moment she was finished with her pecan braid, she picked up the cup of tea and the duffle bag, bringing them over to the bed. After setting aside her drink on the nightstand, she pulled the bag onto her lap. Opening it, she found The Shell Seekers on top and she placed it next to her drink. Rooting around a little more, she pulled out a few more books, trying not to smile when she saw that Mary had brought along her favorites. Rebecca, Persuasion, The Four Loves, along with a few others. And then, her fingers closed around the laptop, and she pulled it out, along with the charger. Feeling along the wall next to her, she found an outlet and plugged the charger in, not wanting to lose this connection with the outside world.
And that's what it truly would be. Erin knew that Mary had said that she had locked the wi-fi at the house, that there was no way she could connect, but she hadn't become close with Penelope to not pick up a few tips and tricks along the way. From upstairs, she head a door slam, and wondered if she was being left here alone. The thought unnerved her and she shuddered a little before pulling the blanket over her legs.
Sucking in a few breaths, she opened the laptop and tapped in her password. Once that was done, she called up her control panel and changed her password to something less easy to crack and then clicked on the internet connections. The screen that popped up showed her that Mary was correct, the only available connection was labelled Breslin, and had a small lock next to it. Feeling determined, she clicked on that connection and narrowed her eyes as she tried to think about what the password could possibly be.
"The most obvious answer is Cathy, but I have no idea how her lover spells her name. There are so many variants of the name. Or it could be Cathleen or Catherine," she mused. And then there was the possibility that it was the woman's last name, but that was too simple, and so Erin threw that idea out of her head at once.
"I'll just try Cathy with a C," she muttered, tapping in the letters and pressing connect. She wasn't surprised when she was kicked out and told that the password was incorrect. Shaking her head, she tried another variation of the name, and once more got rejected. Knowing that she couldn't dare try a third time, she went back over to her tray, hoping that Mary had left some small piece of tinfoil that she could use as a signal booster. "Penelope would be so proud of me," she breathed out, as she returned triumphant to the bed. Quickly, she fashioned a crude miniature satellite dish out of the piece of tinfoil. Popping open the CD tray, she pulled out the small rectangle of copper that she and Penelope had made if she was ever in an area that had a poor wi-fi signal.
It didn't take long to get things set up, like Penelope had shown her, but still, there was no unlocked wi-fi signal detected, and she huffed out a frustrated sigh. "Well, fuck," she said loudly, feeling like she had earned the right to curse, and pulled the device out of her laptop, slipping it into the drawer, not wanting to be discovered.
Setting aside the laptop, Erin once more fought to keep from crying, and she snuggled down into the mattress, grabbing hold of The Shell Seekers and opening to where her bookmark was. Soon, she was lost in the world that Rosamunde Pilcher had created, the story allowing her to transcend what was happening to her, even if only for a moment.