Life Is Good, I Can't Complain (c)

[Tag Along]

Lillian watched him like a hawk, letting out a breath when he got the one screw out.

[Specs]

Ryan felt the screw finally moving and with one more flick of the knife, he had successfully unhinged the whole door. Placing the knife on a nearby shelf, he grabbed both ends of the door and gently pushed it, opening just enough for the both of them to go through.

"Go!" muttered Ryan as he held the door open for her, hoping it wouldn't fall anytime soon.

[Tag Along]

Lillian wasted no time. She darted through the door, her heart racing.

Once she got out, she set the sherry down on a nearby table and raced to the kitchen door. She opened it and stepped outside, breathing in the fresh air deeply and making note of the wide, open space around her.

[Specs]

Ryan gently scooted out of the pantry, placing the door against the doorframe. He really hoped no one would get mad. Then again, he simply unhinged it rather than breaking through. Letting out a relieved sigh, he scanned the hallway for Lillian, finding her by the kitchen.

"You alright?" he asked sincerely, gently touching her shoulder.

[Tag Along]

Lillian nodded, still breathing deeply.

"Thank you." She said, matching his sincerity. She was finding it hard to hate him at the moment, now that he'd saved her sanity and all. And didn't make fun of her for freaking out.

[Specs]

Ryan smiled, amazed at how civil they were to each other. "You're welcome. That sherry better be worth it," he said, pointing to the bottle. "You need water or anything? You took a huge swig of champagne and I don't think your family would like to see you inebriated."

[Tag Along]

"Okay, I'm not that much of a lightweight." She replied, finding that some irritation was poking its head out.

"I must go take that sherry up now, though." Lillian went back into the kitchen, grabbed the bottle, and began to make her way upstairs.

[Specs]

Ryan shook his head and watched her go, laughing to himself. Once he heard the servants muttering about the door, he quickly darted out of the kitchen and back towards the hallway to see if there was anything interesting to do. He had to admit though, just leave it to Lillian to make things fun.

[Tag Along]

Lillian went back to her guests, making up some cockamamie story about what had taken her so long. She served the sherry to the woman before excusing herself yet again. She'd interrupted their rousing game of charades and now had no desire to play.

She walked back out into the foyer, a million thoughts swimming around in her head. The most disturbing of all was that she really wanted Ryan to appear out of nowhere and kiss her.

[Specs]

Ryan was taking in the night air as he stared up into the sky. Hearing footsteps behind him, he turned to look and found that it was none other than Lillian.

"Now, you're following me?" he teased, smirking at her.

[Tag Along]

"Oh, I thought you were Lord Westcliff." She said, sounding surprised and disappointed. Lord Westcliff was easily the most eligible bachelor in England. Everyone suspected him and Lillian to marry since they both came from extremely rich and powerful families.

[Specs]

"Disappointed?" he smirked, turning around to face her. She looked beautiful under the moonlight but he wasn't about to admit that in front of her anytime soon.

[Tag Along]

"Well, you aren't Lord Westcliff, are you?" She wasn't sure how that was supposed to be an answer to his question. But she was having trouble admitting to herself that she wasn't disappointed. She'd wanted to see him, and she had no idea why.

[Specs]

"I'm so much more fun that Lord Westcliff," he smirked. "I'm sure he didn't have the finesse to do what I did in the pantry back there. He probably would've ended up knocking the whole thing down."

[Tag Along]

Lillian immediately turned away from him.

"Pantry? I have no idea what you're talking about."