Passage of a Desolate Woman (#2, the Winds of Misery Victorian Romance) (A Family Saga Novel)

by Dorothy Green

“So you are alone?” He asked.

  Her green eyes grew wide again. “I did not say that.”

  “No, but you said I thought it was a shortcut, not we thought it was a shortcut. That means it is just you. I will not ask what a young girl is doing walking the Old Roman Road alone at night. For now, we just need to get you some help.”

  “Perhaps if you can take me to the Hertfordshire Inn.”

  “No! I cannot do that.” Jacob said knowing that he could not show his face anywhere tonight. He needed an alibi and that meant he needed to be at home in his cottage, not anywhere near the Old Roman Road and the carriage that he had just robbed. He looked toward his leather bag.

  “But if it is just two miles, then why not...”

  “I said no. I cannot go there, and I will not take you there. I could take you back to my cottage and we could see to that ankle. If you are well by morning, you could continue on your journey,” He said.

  “Your cottage? What do you take me for? I am no harlot!”

  “I do not think that you are a harlot, you are nothing but a child.”

  “Child? I am not a child, I am seven and ten years of age.”

  Jacob cocked his head to the side, as though to say that he considered that age very young, a child. Indeed the girl held beauty, but a child nonetheless. At his age of five and twenty, he held no improper thoughts for this young woman.

  “My point, madame, is that I have no intention of treating you like a harlot. I did not think that of you at all. I am merely was offering my hospitality for the night, seeing that you are injured and in the middle of the Black Forest by yourself. It is not safe here.”

  Jacob saw her glance over at the bag.

  “What is in that bag? It made an awful lot of noise,” She said.

  “That, madame, is none of your concern.” Jacob had enough. “Look child, you could come with me and be in a warm home for the night, or you can stay here and let the wild beasts have you for a late supper. It is not as though you are going to get up and run from them, are you?”

  Once again, those big round green eyes grew rounder as this information settled inside her mind. The night was growing colder. Even in late summer, the English nights could be harsh. Jacob could see her limbs trembled, possibly from the cold, but as well as from the pain. Even though he did not know this young woman, he did not like to see someone as young as she in distress.

  He sighed. “You are trembling.” He untied the cloak from his neck.

  “No, I am not.” She said in defiance.

  “Yes, you are. Are you always this argumentative?” He wrapped the cloak around her shoulders, and pulled the hood over her head, and then tied it around her small pale neck.

  “What is it going to be? Are you coming or not?” he asked.

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  chapter

  0 7

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  Jennifer did not expect that the sound in the woods would turn out to be a tall gorgeous man with blond hair, blue eyes, and a broad physique. He simply appeared in the night like a phantom. He dressed in all black, including a black handkerchief that was tied around his neck, a black hooded cloak hung off his shoulders, and only added to the mysterious and dangerous look he created. In truth she found him very attractive, but also frightening. For she knew exactly what happened when men had a young woman alone; something the butcher had showed her quite vividly.

  Jennifer also knew that something did not sit quite rightly. This man hid something private and he possessed no inclinations of a gentleman. For what would a gentleman be doing in the Black Forest in this manner?

  The way he reacted when she enquired about the brown leather bag confirmed that he indeed hid something mysterious, adding to her distrust.

  Because of this, Jennifer’s held hesitation in her heart. How could she accept his offer? First of all, she knew a lady would not proceed to the home of a stranger in the night, especially one that showed up in the woods with a dark and mysterious look to him.

  Why to did he refuse to take me to the Inn if it were but two miles?

  All of these questions she wanted answered before she would accept his help, but she knew that he would not. With a twisted ankle, this stranger was her only choice. But she could not give in so easily.

  “How can I trust you? You are a man that has come to me in the dark in the woods.”

  “How can I trust you? You are a bewitching young woman in the dark in the woods... this could be some sort of trap,” he replied.

  Indeed, she could not argue with that point. It must be very strange that he found a young woman in the woods, sitting on the ground no less. She looked at him and tried to make out his character. Was he truly a man that only wanted to help? Or was he going to switch into a very dark beast once he had her alone in his cottage?

  It occurred to Jennifer that he had her alone now, in the woods. So far, he had done nothing to hurt her, or make her feel like he would touch her inappropriately.

  “What is your name, sir?”

  “It is probably best that you do not know my name, madame.”

  “You expect me to go with you to your home in the night, and be alone, and yet you will not tell me your name?”

  “Who said I would be alone in my home? Why do you not think that I have a wife?”

  Jennifer bit her lip, for she had not thought of that. She just assumed that he wanted to take her and be alone with her. But if there was a wife, then that changed everything. The wife would surely look after her, yet a small tinge of jealousy had crept into her heart hearing that this gorgeous man already had a partner.

  “Because you have not mentioned a wife, sir. Surely if you had one, you would have said allow me to take you home so that my wife could tend to you. You said no such thing,” Jennifer said, feeling very proud of herself. For she had played his own game right back at him, being observant with the conversation.

  “That is very clever indeed. That is good of you to have noticed my wording. That would come in handy in your life, I can promise you that. You have guessed correctly, I do not have a wife. I do indeed live alone in my cottage. There, I hid nothing from you.”

  She smiled at hearing this. Something gave her pleasure in knowing that he approved of her playing the game and being smart. In reaction to her smile, he smiled and returned flashing white teeth at her. She felt a small stirring inside of her as she saw just how attractive his features were. Together they looked at each other, and a moment passed. Jennifer had never felt this flutter inside of her before, not with any man she knew in the village where she lived. This feeling surprised her.

  Bark. Bark.

  Suddenly the sound of barking dogs in the distance broke the gaze they shared. The stranger turned in that direction. Panic appeared on his face, and Jennifer knew this could not be good.

  “I must go. Either you stay or you come with me, but you must decide now.” His voice was stern. He picked up the leather bag and draped the strap across his body diagonally. He looked to her. Her eyes were wide.

  “I am safe. I have told you this already. I will not harm you. I cannot say the same thing about those men coming this way. They are in the woods after all, and who knows what they are capable of if they find a young girl unable to move in the middle of the Black Forest. That is if their dogs do not get to you first, and tear you to pieces before those men can catch up to them and call them off,” He spoke fast, not wasting any time. This only made Jennifer feel more panicked.

  The vivid image of being torn to pieces by dogs was enough to get her to make a decision.

  “Alright, I will come with you. I cannot stand,” she said.

  With one swift movement, the stranger leaned down and scooped her up into his arms, carrying her like a baby across his body. Jennifer placed her arms around his neck, feeling the warmth of his strong body. She had never been carried by a man before. It felt exciting and exhilarating, but the sound of dogs grew closer. Danger filled her and created panic in her belly.
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br />   He walked with purpose down a path just a few steps away, from the direction that he had emerged. It was then that Jennifer saw a horse tied to a branch, lazily eating the grass. She was glad for it, for she did not want him to carry her for a very long way. She didn't know if she could handle being this close to this attractive man without continuing to inhale his manly scent.

  “Here, hold on.” He hoisted her onto the horse. Quickly, he pulled the leather bag from his body and pushed it down into a saddlebag on the horse. Then he grabbed the reins and quickly started to lead the horse in a fast walk down a path that only he seemed able to find.

  “Keep your head low, there are branches. Hug Champion’s neck,” He said. Jennifer could only assume that Champion was the name of the horse. It was a lovely horse.

  She leaned down onto the neck, holding on to it. The horse gave a quiet purr, as though he approved of this embrace.

  Jennifer watched as the stranger led the horse down a sloping embankment that led down to a creek bed with running water. The sound of dogs barking grew louder and louder, and now she heard the voices of men shouting to each other. “Go this way, you go that way!”

  They obviously searched for someone, and she knew deep down they searched for the dark stranger.

  Suddenly, he stopped and turned to her. His hands embraced her small waist and her green eyes grew wide at his fondling and a small squeal escaped her lips. But he merely pushed her forward on the saddle. Then he hoisted himself onto the saddle directly behind her.

  “Hold on,” He said, as one strong arm wrapped around her waist, holding her. She felt the strength in his arm as well as the hard body behind her as he jolted the horse into a run.

  Champion ran down the creek and splashed water. It hit her face, cold and wet. This was unlike anything she had ever experienced. It felt dangerous, and exhilarating. It was the most excitement she had ever had in her life; she should be terrified, but instead she could not stop being distracted by his strong arm around her waist. He kept her her from sliding off the horse, and his strong body behind her supported her... enveloped her. Who was this stranger? And where was he taking me?

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  chapter

  0 8

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  Jennifer held on for dear life. Indeed, she was quite frightened to be on such a fast horse with a stranger pressed against her. She experienced the odd sensation of going back and forth between feeling excited, and in fear. She could not decide on which one was the stronger of the two feelings. But she was very glad indeed to not be spending the night on the forest floor with a hurt ankle. The thought of being torn to pieces by dogs was the most frightening thought she had ever had.

  The very fast black stallion, that the dark stranger referred to as Champion, darted out of the forest, suddenly they emerged onto a green pasture.

  “Ay!” he shouted and held on tight, as Champion lept into the air and hurdled a low fence.

  Jennifer was beside herself. This happened all too quickly!

  The full moon cast its bright light down on the grass. With this, she saw just how dark the forest to the left had been. No wonder it was called the Black Forest.

  They rode hard. Jennifer did not know how much time had passed since she had been hoisted onto the saddle, but it felt like an eternity. Just then when she thought she couldn't hold on any longer with her fingers growing cold, the stranger brought the horse to a slow trot, until it came to a walking pace. Then it moved even slower, and she heard the heavy breath of the horse. Instinctively she rubbed its neck, as though rewarding it for a job well done. The horse gave her a purr in return.

  “Are you all right?” He asked.

  “Yes, just a little jostled, and my hands are cold. But I am fine, thank you.” She realized that the cloak he gave her kept her very warm, and that it smelled like him. She could breathe in this scent all day, every day.

  “We are almost there. You did well.” He said.

  In the distance on the horizon she could see two small buildings that they headed for. But they were not on any sort of path; they were travelling across the green grass of the pasture. Another mysterious notion of this mysterious and dark stranger. But indeed their path headed for the structures. This must be the cottage he spoke of.

  Finally they arrived. These structures included a small stable, and a small cottage set delightfully against a row of trees. It was quaint and lovely, even in the moonlight. The stranger stopped the horse directly in front of the door of the cottage.

  “Hold on. I will need to unlock the door.” He climbed down, making sure that she was still on the horse securely. The jostling of metal let her know that he indeed was unlocking the door, and not breaking into some place that he did not possess, which she would not put past him at this point.

  The door opened, and she could see that it was dark inside.

  “All right, miss. Put your arm around me,” He said as he slid her off the horse, and carried her.

  Once again she had that feeling. A feeling of safety, with wrapped arms around his neck, looking up at his chiseled jaw as he moved into the dark cottage. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust, but it was very dark inside indeed. It was not until she felt a soft mattress underneath her bottom that a small breath of air escaped her mouth in panic.

  “Do not worry. I have already told you that I am not here to harm you. But I must set you down on the bed, you are injured. And as you will see it is only a one-room cottage.” He grabbed her arm and pulled it away from his shoulder, and moved away from her.

  Jennifer felt silly indeed. But no one could blame her for being mistrustful of a man laying her on his bed. A stranger at that!

  “I am just going to light the fire.” He moved across the room, in the dark.

  Indeed she could not see anything. A match lit the room, and she watched as the tall stranger lit two candles, finally creating some real light. Then he set to work lighting the fire. He made quick work of it, and the room was fairly bright, considering it was not a lot of space to be lit in the first place. Then he turned toward her.

  Shock crossed her face. This man was attractive in the dark of the Black Forest, but now that she saw him in the light, he was incredibly handsome, more than any man she had ever laid eyes upon before. His blond locks were a bit longer in the front, hanging low over his brow. His blue eyes were almost an almond shape, giving him a mysterious look. A slender nose led down to full pink lips and a square jaw. He was tall, that much she already knew, but the broad shoulders made sense of why he was able to envelope her so efficiently on the horse, they were very broad indeed. He wore a black tunic tucked into black trousers and brown and black riding boots. There was not one thing about him that could be called unsightly. For the first time, Jennifer felt inadequate about her appearance. She must be dirty, possibly covered in mud, and she did not feel like a woman in his presence, but just a girl. No, this kind of man would want a proper fully grown woman, one of his equal in attractiveness.

  She felt ashamed and averted her eyes looking away. But she could still feel his stare on her.

  “It should warm up rather quickly, you will see. I must go back outside and stable Champion.” He said.

  “Wait,” Jennifer stopped the man.

  “Yes?”

  “Are we still in Hertfordshire?”

  A big grin came across his face that could have stopped her heart, so attractive.

  “Yes, indeed we are. No need to worry, I did not take you far from your path. I will return, stay off that foot.”

  Then he walked out. She watched him walk, ashamed that she did so, staring at his backside. She had never done that to a man before, but she had never seen one so handsome before, either.

  The cottage was indeed small, but she felt grateful for it, because she could feel the warmth from the fire all the way to the bed. She rubbed her hands together, getting them warm, very glad that she was not on the ground in the forest still trying to figure out how to get to the Inn.r />
  It would have been very cold indeed wandering around that Black Forest, practically crawling. It was good luck that this handsome stranger came upon her. Still, she wondered who he was. When she enquired about his name, he was quick to dismiss her question, saying that it was better that she did not know. Something deep down inside told her that he was a man that did not follow the law. The leather bag contained something that he did not want her to see. He did not bring it into the cottage with him. Was he hiding it in the stable?

  Minutes went by and he still did not return. She knew a thing or two about stabling an animal, and it did not take long to remove the saddle, feed and water a horse, and make sure it was secure and happy for the night. A substantial amount of time had passed to make sure of all these things, now he was doing something else, and she assumed it had to do with the leather bag he carried. She could still hear the sound of it now, tinkling about as though coins or trinkets lay inside.

  Jennifer repositioned herself on the bed and as she did so, a shooting pain shot up her leg.

  “Dear Jennifer. What have you done?”

  She reached down and pulled on the laces of her boot and slowly and carefully slipped it off her foot. Even through the stocking she could tell that it was already twice its normal size. She looked toward the door; it was not moving yet. So, she hiked up her dress to her knee and reached to her thigh and pulled her stocking down, rolling it down her thigh, over her knee, until it was completely off her foot. Her ankle was turning purple and blue, and seemed to be turning into a ball. She frowned as she pressed on it. The pain made her wince.

  “Let me take a look at that,” the deep voice said. Jennifer turned in surprise. How long had he been standing in the doorway? She did not hear it open. He was very quiet, just like a thief.

  “Oh no, that won't be necessary. It should be right as rain tomorrow.” She was not sure if she wanted this handsome gentleman to be fondling her ankle.

  He ignored her and walked straight toward her, making quick work of the distance between the door and the bed. He looked down at it.