by Amber Flame
“No, madam,” the man said nastily. “I’m afraid you have me confused with someone else. My name is George Farnbuck. I’ve brought your breakfast.”
Ignoring Elizabeth’s look of incredulity, he put the tray on her lap, quickly snatching his hand away as if he did not want to touch her. With a barely perceptible nod, he turned to leave.
“Oh, Mr., uh, Farnbuck,” she called. “I should like to have a bath. Would you bring me a tub and some hot water?” She munched her toast with the attitude of one who is used to being obeyed. The question was just a formality.
“Certainly, madam,” he sneered. His thin, spidery hand opened the door and he left.
Elizabeth sampled all the luscious treats that had been prepared for her eagerly. She hadn’t eaten for almost twenty-four hours, plus look at all the exercise she’d had! Her tray had eggs and toast and muffins and jam and honey and tea and little cakes. She tried everything, found it all very tasty and proceeded to eat every bit of it.
While she ate, Mr. Farnbuck brought in a big metal tub and kettle after kettle of boiling hot water. Every time he came in, Elizabeth appeared very engrossed in her breakfast and no other words were spoken. She didn’t like the reedy little man at all.
When Mr. Farnbuck left for the last time, she put her tray down and padded over to the tub. The water steamed as if still over a fire, but the thought of a hot bath was so appealing that she decided to risk the heat. She dipped one trim toe into the water, let her tingling skin become used to the temperature, then lowered herself in. The hot water stung and reddened her tender skin, but the warmth felt good. After she was sitting in the tub she realized she had no soap, then felt a melted lump on the bottom of the tub. She retrieved the soap, glad and surprised that it was a scented one, very delicate, and scrubbed her body free of the last few days’ wear.
While she washed, she began to think about her position. She was sitting down. She was also still kidnapped by a merciless pirate who had offered her wealth beyond her imagination and had a wonderful wood-pecker. But, she recalled, she was married to the knave’s twin, who was considerably more honorable and probably as rich and who didn’t need gadgets to make her happy. She began to wonder if she would ever see her husband again. For a brief moment she wished desperately for a quiet home with Benjamin, a normal home where she could relax and be gracious and have children. It didn’t look like she would ever have it, though.
Clean at last, she stood and looked about for a towel. There was none. Feeling irritated, she stood naked in the tub, not sure whether she ought to risk Franklin’s ire by walking across to the bed and getting the floor all wet.
Just then, Franklin burst through the door, a towel in hand and a gleam in his eye.
“Well, well,” he said cheerfully.
Elizabeth felt her entire body blushing, and she turned her back on him as her only defense.
“That presents an interesting view,” Franklin said. “Do you know that your rear end is beautiful when it’s red?” He crossed quickly to her and draped the towel across her shoulders, his hand trailing to her lovely red behind. “As a matter of fact,” he said huskily against her ear, “I find it very arousing.”
“No,” she groaned. Here she had just gotten herself clean and he wanted to mess around again. “Can’t you leave me be for any length of time at all?”
“Afraid not, pet,” he answered. He circled her with his arms, under the towel, his hands hot against her already warm skin. “Maybe if your body weren’t so perfectly made for love I could leave you.” He kissed her ear. “But it is and I can’t.” With a quick smooth motion he scooped her up in his arms and left the towel to drop back into the tepid water. Elizabeth felt her body responding to his intent already, and she cursed Franklin because what he said was true.
Franklin quickly crossed to the bunk, but instead of laying her there he sat on the edge and held her in his lap. She could feel his meager manhood trying to make a decent show of it.
“I think perhaps I’ve concentrated my attention too much on one area,” he mused out loud. “I think perhaps it’s time to move on to other things.”
Elizabeth stared at him wide-eyed, not understanding what he meant. She was beginning to be afraid.
“Don’t be frightened, pet,” Franklin cooed. “Here, lay down.” He coaxed her down across his lap, her belly resting on his knees. “You have a lovely back,” he said, stroking her back with a gentle hand. Elizabeth began to tremble. “And such a lovely behind.”
Suddenly Franklin’s hand came down with a stinging slap and Elizabeth felt her bottom flare with pain.
“Oh!” she gasped. The tears sprang instantly to her eyes. Franklin’s hand came down again hard and strong and the pain stung sharply. Then again and again and again. Elizabeth’s eyes filled and overflowed with tears and the pain degraded and humiliated her. She wondered what she had done wrong to make Franklin treat her like this. What had she done to make him angry?
The spanking went on until Franklin tired, and then he sat with his stinging red hand resting on her stinging red behind. She wondered what would happen next.
“That was nice,” he said finally. His voice was tired but satisfied. Elizabeth took the relaxed moment to jump up and skitter away from him. She turned hurt and frightened eyes to him.
“What’s the matter, pet?” he asked. “Haven’t you ever done anything kinky before?”
Elizabeth was uncomprehending.
Franklin got up and stretched his legs. “I guess I’ll have to change my breeches before I go out again.” Elizabeth looked away from him while he did so. Then he came to her and put one finger under her chin. “There is much that I will teach you,” he said.
“There is a lot about love you don’t know, but I will unlock the doors for you.” He kissed her and left.
Elizabeth was frightened. What did he mean by that? She thought she had been taught everything there was about love already t although not by choice. She had been forced into so many odd situations, though, that she could not begin to imagine what might come next.
She tried to relax but found it difficult. One problem was that she had no clothes on. She found her chemise in a jumbled pile but her dress was nowhere around. Finally, she pulled out a piece of red velvet from one of the sea trunks and wrapped it about her like a toga.
That solved one problem, but she was still restless. She roamed about the cabin like a caged tiger in a red velvet toga. Whenever she looked out the porthole, the empty expanse of ocean only served to remind her of how isolated and alone she was. Finally, she found a book in Franklin’s roll top desk and sat down to read.
Shortly, Mr. Farnbuck brought her lunch in to her on a tray. They eyed each other disdainfully t each wary of the other. Farnbuck sat the tray down with a sneer and left without a word. Elizabeth picked at her lunch, wondering what would happen next. She finally thrust the tray away and resumed reading just so she could get her mind off her dilemma.
Later in the afternoon, she was startled by Franklin bursting into the cabin. He stood a little unsteadily and Elizabeth realized he had been drinking. He leered at her and there was a lustful gleam in his eye. She cowered behind her book, fearful of what he was thinking.
”Well, pet,” he said with a slur. “You’ve made yourself right at home in my absence.” He strolled in casually, leaving the door open. That was very forgetful of him, Elizabeth thought.
He came to stand beside her, leering down at her. “That velvet becomes you.” He took her hand and pulled her up to him, letting the book fall to the floor. “I shall have a dress made for you with it. The most beautiful dress you’ve ever seen.” In one swell foop, Franklin caught the velvet and jerked it so it fell from around her. She stood in all her glory and tried vainly to cover herself, but Franklin grabbed her hands and held her firmly. “Oh, no, pet,” he said. “It’s time for another lesson. My star pupil has much to learn, and I have planned the next lesson carefully. Here.”
With a rou
gh jerk, he towed her over to the bed. His grasp on her wrists was harsh and his fingers bit into her flesh. Before she could comprehend what was happening, he had snatched up the sheet and tied it securely around her wrists, then wrapped it around the wood of the bunk.
“What are you doing?” she asked weakly. Wasn’t she prisoner enough on his ship, she wondered. Was he afraid of her trying to sneak out of the cabin? As if she would take her chances with the lustful crew!
“Turn around,” he ordered. Fearful now, she turned away from him toward the bunk. The sheet twisted as she moved, cutting deeper into her wrists. Franklin’s hands caressed her trim ass. “Your ass is beautiful when it’s red.” His voice shifted as he called over his shoulder.
“Farnbuck! Come here!”
The idea of Franklin gazing on her naked body was still foreign to Elizabeth, although she was losing some of her modesty, but the thought of that awful Mr. Farnbuck staring at her like this was panicking to her. She began to struggle furiously, trying desperately to loosen her bonds while at the same time trying to cover herself. She succeeded in neither very well.
Frantic at the sound of footsteps behind her, she glanced over her milky white shoulder and saw Mr. Farnbuck approaching. He had various objects in his arms, the foremost of which was a big black bullwhip. Elizabeth’s eyes opened wide in disbelief and then her struggles increased with new fervor.
Farnbuck dumped his armload of objects on the bunk and chuckled maliciously. Elizabeth noticed thankfully that he then backed away behind Franklin as if awaiting instructions. She peeked over her arms at the array of articles. Except for the bullwhip, they didn’t look harmful, but she knew they boded no good will for her. There was an odd little egg-shaped object with a cord connected to it, two smaller silver balls about the size of ball bearings, a string of pearls, several silk scarves, a Ping-Pong paddle, and a German Shepard. The dog grinned at her.
“Franklin, please,” she said softly. She was already beginning to weaken and she knew her paltry strength was no match against Franklin’s. Her only hope lay in her ability to reason with him and make him release her.
“Don’t fret, pet,” Franklin said jovially. Even though he’d been drinking, he was aware enough so that he was enjoying himself immensely. He began to rifle through the objects on the bed, fingering each thoughtfully. “Hmmmm,” he mused. “I wonder which one....”
“Oh, the whip, Captain!” said Farnbuck excitedly. He began to hop from one foot to the other like a little kid that had to go wee-wee. “The whip! The whip!” he shouted.
“Ohhhh,” Elizabeth moaned. She was beginning to feel faint. She was beginning to feel sick, too. Farnbuck’s crazed high-pitched voice sent shivers down her spine, and Franklin’s thoughtful silence was forbidding. She looked over at him and almost swooned when she saw him pick up the whip.
“God in heaven, Franklin!” she pleaded. “Please don’t use that on me! I’ll do anything else you say, but please don’t use that!”
“This harmless little toy?” Franklin asked. “But it will make your tutu such a lovely red color, and I love a red tutu.”
“Please, Franklin!” she cried. “I’ll do anything!”
“Anything?” Franklin leered.
“The whip! The whip!” Farnbuck shouted.
Franklin fingered the wrapped handle of the whip, tapping his handsome chin with the coil of it. Elizabeth’s skin was clear and smooth, so unmarked. A mad light shone in his eye.
Elizabeth screamed when she saw him rear. The whip soared over his head and cracked behind him, then began to coil forward like a deadly snake. Elizabeth took a big breath and braced herself for the stinging lash.
Instead of the searing pain she expected, she was jolted but not harmed by a great quake of the entire ship. She saw Franklin falter and the whip slither to the ground. Farnbuck buckled to his knees. “Earthquake! Earthquake!” the little man screamed. Amid all the hubbub, Elizabeth could hear the renting tear of wood and the confusion of many voices overhead.
Franklin regained his wits quickly and leaped to the porthole. Anger and dismay twisted his face.
“Benjamin!” he roared.
“Thank God, Benjamin!” Elizabeth breathed.
“Quick, Farnbuck,” Franklin ordered. “On deck! I’ll see that blackguard goody-two-shoes destroyed yet!” Leaving Elizabeth to struggle vainly with her bonds, the two men charged out of the cabin up into the fray.
Blinded by her position, Elizabeth could only speculate on the fighting. She realized quickly that the great lurch of the ship had to have been caused by Benjamin’s own ship ramming theirs. The rest was more difficult to tell. She heard voices, both jubilant and dismayed, and the silvered ping of swords crossing and locking. She heard the thunder of cannon and bombs bursting in air, and occasionally the ship would shiver and quake beneath her.
Then a cannon blasted closer than any she’d heard and the sound of cracking, splintering wood assailed her ears. When she recovered from the jolt, she panicked at the sight of water rooster-tailing into the cabin. The dirty, gray water swirled about her ankles in a furious eddy, like Duane, and the cold gripped her in a panic. She tried to remain calm, but finally could control herself no longer and screamed. And screamed. And screamed.
She didn’t even hear the cabin door kicked open. The first clue she had that she wasn’t alone was when cold water hit her bare back, and she turned and saw Benjamin--or was it Franklin?--coming toward her.
“Elizabeth!” he said and she knew it was her husband. He waded through the knee-deep water and was at her side in a moment. His strong arms went around her and she fell gratefully into them. The last thing she remembered was him untying her hands.
When Elizabeth awoke, she had no idea where she was. There were warm blankets about her and the subtle comfort of dark, wood paneled wails everywhere she looked. Wherever it was it was nice and comfortable and she snuggled down into the blankets.
When the door opened, she was almost afraid to see who it was. She would rather have gone on being alone than be forced to have an exchange with anyone. Too much had happened, and she did not have enough strength to go through another ordeal.
In the darkening twilight, Benjamin’s broad figure came toward her. She tried to wriggle down beneath the blankets, but his eyes caught hers as he sat on the bunk. He looked at her inquiringly.
“Are you all right?” he asked softly. His concern clouded his blue eyes.
Elizabeth mentally took stock of her condition and finally nodded. Benjamin seemed to breathe easier for it.
“What happened?” she asked. She had no idea how long it had been since she had fainted. Was it the same day or the next?
“It’s all over,” Benjamin said. “We crippled Franklin’s ship so that he had to limp into the nearest port or sink. It’ll take some work, but he can repair the damage. We injured some of his men, but not seriously. I was more worried about you than anything.”
“No, I’m all right, I think,” she said. She moved an arm experimentally and found no soreness. “How did you find us?”
“It wasn’t hard,” Benjamin said. “As soon as I got back to port I tried to find you and learned about your father’s debts. From there, 1 figured you would have tried to find me, and I expected you’d be kidnapped by Franklin’s men. They do that frequently. I knew Franklin would head for the Mediterranean and Africa so I followed.”
“I’m so glad,” she said. I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t come.”
“If I hadn’t come, Franklin would have,” he said. “I’m just glad he didn’t hurt you.”
“Luckily, no. But those awful things he had, and that awful Mr. Farnbuck!”
“Yes, I know,” Benjamin soothed. “I told you my brother was a rogue with a bad case of penile-overcompensation. But he does have one redeeming quality about him.”
“What’s that?” Elizabeth asked.
“He looks just like me.”
“That’s true. But
he’s still awful.”
“Well, we won’t have to worry about him anymore.”
“Where are we going?” she asked. Although the danger was passed, she was still not at home or out of difficulty.
“As long as we’re so close to France, we’re going to make a pit stop there, then we’ll go home.”
“Home,” she said quietly. “I have no home. They took it all away from me.” Tears welled up in her eyes.
“Don’t fret about that,” Benjamin said. “We’ll get by.” He patted her arm and got up to leave. “Rest now. You’ve been through an ordeal and I know you’re tired. I’ll check back later.” And he left.
Elizabeth slept a great deal that day and the next few days that followed. She seemed to fall into a semi-conscious state, but she was lying down and didn’t hurt herself. Days melted together into a hodgepodge of awakenings and drifting off, and she was unaware of time.
She slept like a log that first night and didn’t awaken until very early in the morning. As her eyes became accustomed to the dawn light she became aware that Benjamin was sleeping soundly beside her. She had cuddled against him in her sleep and he held her tenderly. At first she would have moved away, but she was fearful of awakening him. And besides, he felt good. She settled against him and fell back asleep.
When she awoke later that day, it was past noon. She ventured out of bed to get up and go to a porthole and look out. The water was very green and pretty, and seemed friendlier than the water outside Franklin’s porthole. She wondered how far they were from France. Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the cabin door opening. She turned to see a thin man backing in with a tray.
“Trevor!” she cried. Her old man servant turned and stood formally, his familiar sour face gazing back at her.
“Lunch, madam,” he announced.
“Oh, just put it anywhere, Trevor,” she said, waving a hand about. “Tell me what happened! How did you get here?”
Trevor set the tray down on Benjamin’s desk and stood before Elizabeth.