Chapter Eight: Swept
Regan couldn't really remember what had happened next. She did remember collapsing to the ground and seeing Lucius peer down at her, but then everything slipped away and she fell into darkness. When she awoke, it was the middle of the night and she was in her bed. Somebody had changed her out of her dress and into a cotton nightgown as well as put her hair up into a loose bun. She inwardly heaved and tried not to think about who had been the one to do it. The lamp beside her bed suddenly clicked on and she was relieved to see Astoria's kind face.
"I'm glad that you're awake, you had me worried." Regan could only blink at her, seeing her smile falter. "Regan…I'm so sorry about your parents."
Regan just stared at her, internally conflicted. The news was shocking, of course, but she wasn't quite sure that she believed it. It was very possible that her parents were dead, she knew that coming here, but Lucius was a snake in the grass and was going to do what he needed to do to keep her here. She had a lot of unanswered questions about what was going through his mind and why he would even want her in the first place. But Lucius was right...she had nowhere else to go...and part of her was trying to make a case for staying, at least for a little while. She had made more here in a week then she had in a year working at the Ministry; it was stupid, she knew that it was stupid, but she needed some sort of security so that she could stand on her own feet when she did leave...if she did leave...
"Don't you worry about a thing," Astoria quickly told her. "I'll help you find employment somewhere else." Regan looked back up at Astoria. Despite Regan's insistence that they shouldn't be friends, Astoria seemed to be going out of her way to be kind to her.
"Why?"
"Well…now that Lucius has told you what he wants from you, we need to get you out of here…to keep you safe." Regan furrowed her brow together. Who was 'we'? She quickly shook her head, feeling the back of her neck throb painfully. She obviously meant her and Draco...right?
"It doesn't matter," Regan told her. "I don't have anywhere to go…I have to just survive now." Astoria firmly shook her head.
"I won't allow it," she stated firmly. "I have a single cousin that lives in Paris. I'll have him come up immediately and he can steal you away; we'll say that it's a whirlwind romance."
Regan slowly sat up, leaning against the headboard and pushing back her heavy comforter. There was worry written across her face. She was almost desperate to get Regan out of this house. Her reasons seemed obvious since Lucius was lusting after her, but there seemed to be something more to the story that Regan didn't know.
"Why are you trying to help me?" She asked quietly. Astoria's face darkened, her eyes flashing to the door almost to make sure that it was closed before she looked back at Regan.
"Why do you think I was originally brought here?" Regan paled as Astoria nervously wrung her hands. "It was a year after Narcissa had left…and Lucius wanted a new wife. It was an arranged marriage that my parents had set up. Initially I was thrilled because…well, he was extremely powerful and at the time I thought that he was very handsome. They sent me to live here for a few weeks before the wedding so I could get to know my future husband. The first night I was here, he tried to-." Her breath caught in her throat as tears pricked in her eyes.
"You don't have to say." Regan quietly told her, recognizing the fear on her face. Astoria let out a shaky sigh, shaking her head as if to return to her senses.
"I refused to marry him, not after that night, but my parents said that I didn't have a choice. I didn't know what to do...so I begged Draco to do something to help me, and I suppose he felt sorry for me. The only plan that he could come up with that would guarantee my safety was if he married me and got me pregnant as soon as possible. I don't know how he managed to do it, but Draco convinced his father that he loved me and demanded that we get married. Two weeks later, we were married and a year later I gave birth to Scorpio."
"And Draco is okay with this?" Regan asked. Astoria shrugged her shoulders.
"We have an understanding," Astoria said. "We've become friends...I know that it's not the most appealing life, but I can promise you that my cousin would treat you very well. He runs a very profitable publishing company in Paris; have you been to Paris? You would love it…and I'll come and visit you when I can." She leaned forward. "Lucius is extremely concerned with his public image. If you're in a committed relationship, he won't come anywhere near you because it would make him look bad." Regan cast her glance away from Astoria's focused eyes.
"I'm not sure…" Regan muttered, biting her lower lip.
"I'll have him come for a visit," Astoria insisted, standing up. "A visit won't hurt. Do you want me to bring you anything to eat before I go to bed?" Regan quickly shook her head.
"No, don't let me keep you up." Astoria offered her a smile before turning and leaving the room. Regan heard the door click after her and she quickly got on edge. She feared that Lucius had been listening to their conversation and would burst into her room at any moment to forbid her from running away with Astoria's cousin. But she was instantly relieved to hear his soft snores to signal his deep slumber. She closed her eyes for a brief moment, letting out a small sigh. If she ran with Astoria's cousin, she wouldn't actually have to marry him. He would take her to Paris and there she would run, probably to Connecticut to try and find her uncle and his family. She would be safe over there, at least for a little while. As long as Lucius didn't come after her, she could hide out in America and be treasured by the locals for her quirky British accent.
It was a good plan…as long as Lucius stayed away from her...but that was extremely doubtful...
Regan curled up in her bed, clicking off her light and hoping that 'out of sight, out of mind' would prove to be an accurate statement.
…
Within two days, Astoria's cousin was on his way. Lucius wasn't thrilled about the prospect of a house guest, but he relented when Astoria made the argument that her favorite cousin had yet to meet her only child. So Lucius had a guest room prepared and the staff was ready to welcome Astoria's cousin.
His name was Oskar Greengrass. Astoria had taken a quick moment to show Regan a wrinkled photograph from five years ago, when she had last seen him. He looked handsome with dark hair and eyes like Astoria, but he was much taller than her with broad shoulders and a thick build. Astoria had said that even though he was in his mid-thirties, he was very active and very kind. Regan didn't tell her that she had no intention of ever marrying her cousin. She felt that if Astoria knew, she would call off the meeting, no matter how inconvenient.
The day that Oskar arrived, the entire staff was assembled in the lobby with their uniforms neatly pressed and their shoes perfectly shined. Regan stood between Draco and Astoria's personal servants, each one of them wearing black. Lucius kept glancing back at her, tapping the snake head of his cane as his eyes glided over her body. She ignored him, especially when Oskar came walking through the doors. He looked very much like the picture, except his hair had begun to thin and he now wore black, fashionable glasses. Astoria hugged him tightly and they spoke a few words to each other in French. They laughed together before she began to slowly introduce him to her new family. Regan was the last to be introduced, though it didn't really surprise her. She could tell that Astoria wanted her to escape, perhaps because she really saw her as a friend. Or maybe Astoria pitied her enough to try and get her out of here. Either way, Regan was grateful for her efforts.
"And this is Regan Westwood, Lucius's personal servant." Oskar's eyes seemed to light up as Regan formally shook his hand.
"Hello Mr. Greengrass, I hope that your trip was enjoyable." Oskar nodded, offering her a kind smile.
"Yes, it was very nice. I'm glad to be here."
And that was all that they said to each other.
Still, Lucius looked upset that they had ever been close to each other. He was clearly being very over protective, especially when he called for Regan to come back to work with him. He hardly spoke to her for the rest of the day, grumbling to himself as he signed documents and wrote letters. Regan didn't do much, mostly sitting and watching him with his ruby cheeks.
He was angry, possibly sexually frustrated, that much was clear.
Still, she just ignored him and waited patiently to be dismissed. When the clock struck five, he waved her away without a word and she quickly left. She went to her room, noticing that it was unusually cold.
Winter must have been coming.
"You're quick," the voice echoed around her as Regan glanced over her shoulder. Oskar was sitting on the bench at the foot of her bed, his elbows resting on his knees. Regan wasn't startled by his presence because she knew that Astoria had probably let him in. Regan faced him square on, but didn't move away from the door. "I hope that you aren't scared, Astoria let me in." Regan slowly nodded.
"I assumed," she whispered. "So, she must have mentioned her…plan?" Oskar nodded, slowly standing up. His body appeared to be very hard, but his facial features were surprisingly soft, wrinkles already starting to dig into his skin.
"She has...and I know that I'm probably older than what you want, but I would treat you well and give you a good home." Regan bit the insides of her cheeks to keep herself from smiling at his sincere words.
"Yes, I believe you." Oskar smiled at her, carefully adjusting his glasses to get a better view of the petite girl in front of him.
"Would you like to go to dinner with me tonight?" He asked. Regan quirked an eyebrow.
"Aren't you expected for dinner?" Oskar shrugged his shoulders.
"I figured that since we're going to get married in the next few weeks, we should probably get to know each other."
"I suppose…" Regan muttered.
"Come on, we'll take my car and go to London."
That actually made Regan smile. Despite the fact that the wizarding world was a dark and foreboding place, the muggle world was still bright and thriving. These people had no knowledge of the death eaters, so they still had a reason to live their lives.
"Should I change?" She asked as Oskar went to open the door that she was still leaning against. His scent overtook her senses and Regan suddenly felt overwhelmed. This man was attractive, but wasn't forcing himself on her; he wanted to prove himself to her and that was oddly…engaging.
"You can if you want, but I think you look just fine." Regan slipped from between him and the door and went to her closet.
"I'll put on a dress." She said before shutting the door. Regan suddenly realized that she was actually very nervous, but she wasn't really sure why. She didn't need to impress him, but something inside of her made her want to impress him; she wanted him to see her as a beautiful person, not just a piece of ass that was worth chasing. Regan made herself just pick a dress, shaking off her nervousness and changing. It was a simple navy blue wrap dress with long sleeves that clung to her arms and swept across her knees. She left her hair up and put on a pair of dark gray round toe pumps with straps across the front to hold her foot in place. When she stepped out, she saw that Oskar was still waiting for her and he smiled again when he saw her.
"Very pretty," he commented. "Let's go before it gets too dark." Regan nodded, taking the arm that he offered and walked with him down the stairs. They walked down the stairs in complete silence, knowing that they would have to sneak out and avoid seeing Lucius. Regan could only imagine the fit that he would throw if he saw her leaving with a man that she had just met.
They made it downstairs and Regan heard Oskar let out a small sigh when he saw that his car had been left in front of the house.
"Didn't really feel like breaking into the garage just to get my car."
"You wouldn't have gotten in, Lucius is very protective of his cars." They stepped outside, quietly shutting the door and heading straight to the car.
"You're the only person in this house that doesn't call him Master Lucius," Oskar noted as he opened the car door for her.
"He doesn't deserve the title." She muttered, stepping into his car and settling into the smooth leather seat. She could see Oskar smirking as he waled to the driver's side and joined her in the car.
Glad to see that he found her to be entertaining…
"I'm glad that I can help you like Draco helped Astoria." Oskar said. Regan glanced up at him, gently biting her lip.
"I…I don't think that I'll be able to marry you so quickly." She admitted. Oskar shrugged his shoulders as he started the car and put it into drive.
"I will take you to Paris and you can stay with me nad work. If we get married, then we get married. If we don't, then at least you'll escape this place, yes?" Regan nodded and leaned back as they peeled out from the driveway.
Unbeknownst to them, from his third story bedroom, Lucius was watching the sleek, small black car drive away from the Manor. He felt the blood rush to his face as he quietly fumed to himself. He wasn't some simple fool; he knew what was going on. This cousin had come to take Regan away, much like Draco had done with Astoria.
No, Lucius was no fool.
Lucius had allowed his son to have Astoria simply because he knew that it was time for Draco to settle down and Astoria was an acceptable choice as a Malfoy bride. But this time, Lucius would not allow this complete stranger to take Regan away. Lucius had been working hard and deserved to have some sort of happiness in his life. Lucius wanted Regan and he would have her, no matter how much she protested.
...
A/N: My paper is done...I am free!
RashaTemple: I feel like at his age, he's not going to play games.
Dragoon Dave: Thank you :)
