Conquered by the Ghost
The Conquered, Book Three
Pippa Greathouse
Ruby Caine
Blushing Books
Contents
What’s Inside
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Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Epilogue
Pippa Greathouse
Ruby Caine
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Pippa Greathouse and Ruby Caine
Conquered by the Ghost
EBook ISBN: 978-1-61258-754-7
Cover Art by ABCD Graphics & Design
This book is intended for adults only. Spanking and other sexual activities represented in this book are fantasies only, intended for adults. Nothing in this book should be interpreted as Blushing Books’ or the author’s advocating any non-consensual spanking activity or the spanking of minors.
What’s Inside
Feeling the sway of the coach as they drove quickly around the corner, she could still hear Arabella’s cry, “Chloe! Chloe!” Gregory’s bellow of rage joined his wife’s, along with Benny’s desperate shout from the crow’s nest.
She felt it as Purrsnickety jumped out of her arms, fearing the kitten would be hurt in the struggle. Chloe heard the gasp of profanity from above her head. One arm released her, but only for a second.
“Bloody cat,” her captor swore softly under his breath. “I’ll throw him out if he does that again.”
“Don’t you dare hurt my cat!” she managed to scream before a gag was brought around her head and across her mouth and another cloth was put across her eyes. Her hands, however, were still free, and she immediately reached up to grab the blindfold and yank it off. Her wrists were seized, and it was tightened again.
“Be still,” he growled. “Or I’ll bind your wrists and ankles next.” He brought her wrists down and restrained them with his arm.
Loud hisses filled the coach, and she started fighting even more earnestly. As if realizing her concern centered on the safety of the cat, her kidnapper showed a bit of mercy.
A heavy sigh was slowly drawn out behind her, and a voice said deeply, “All right. But he’d better not do that again. I hate cats.”
The hissing stopped, and so did her struggling. Chloe was no longer able to move her arms but turned her palms upward, as if waiting for the kitten to come back to her. A brief moment later, she felt Purr land in her arms, as if someone had just picked her up and set her there.
The arms about her pulled her back further into his lap. He leaned down into her ear. “Quiet now,” he said, his voice almost gentle. “I have no plans to hurt you. I’m trying to save your life.”
Purr safely back in her care, Chloe started struggling again. Save her? Had the man who just yanked her into a moving vehicle, blindfolded and gagged her just claimed he was trying to save her? She was still trying to scream and used her foot to stomp down on his heavy boot.
She shouldn’t have wasted her energy. He held her more tightly and scolded her as if she were a wayward child. “Be quiet, my girl, before I find it necessary to take you in hand.”
He sounded mean enough to do it, Chloe decided. Holding the little cat closely again, so she couldn’t get away, she leaned back and forced herself to relax, saving her energy for the first chance she got to escape. But her fear rose like bile in her throat, the further they traveled. Chloe didn’t know whether she’d be heard. But she took a deep breath and screamed with all her might. Muffled sounds barely escaped the cloth binding her mouth.
“You couldn’t make things easy for us all, eh?” She could feel her kidnapper’s breath on her ear, suddenly. His voice was firm, and she felt herself lifted off his lap as he placed five hard swats on her bottom.
A first, she was shocked. One expected a villain to resort to physical harm when challenged, but she anticipated a smack across the face instead of a hiding. Maybe her captor had some semblance of a heart she could appeal to. “Please let me go,” she begged through the gag.
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Chapter 1
August of 1850
Plots afoot…
Her nimble fingers moved about as she styled Lady Arabella’s hair, fashioning the most intricate pattern of curls in preparation for the evening meal. Skilled at the task, Chloe’s mind wandered off as she worked. Flashes of memories cluttered her thoughts.
She was looking down from a perch, watching the surprised, wide dark eyes of a handsome man. Seconds before, she had been determined to do him grave harm, but something about his brown eyes had her experiencing great regret. Only a moment before, there had been a hard line to his thin, pale lips, as if he’d been the devil himself. A few strands of rich brown hair escaped his cap.
“…and Mama is just as concerned about Papa’s behavior as I am. She admitted as much when we spoke earlier. A few times, I found him trailing after Gregory, as if he were trying to get him alone to ask him
something of importance.” Chloe’s mistress and best friend’s words did not register until Bella started giggling. “Chloe, have you heard a single word I’ve spoken? From the frown on your face, whatever has your attention displeases you.”
Meeting Bella’s eyes in the vanity, Chloe took a moment to consider the words. Embarrassed to have been caught daydreaming again, she offered a blushed apology. “I’m so sorry, Bella. You must think me the worst lady’s maid in all of England.”
“I don’t consider you a lady’s maid at all, my dear friend. It is you who insists on continuing that farce since we left the ship. Both Gregory and I consider you a family member.”
“Who happens to live off the good graces of her relatives?” Chloe smiled. Her taupe complexion stood in dark contrast to Bella’s fair features, mocking any suggestion they were blood relatives. But a year before, the two forged a bond on a fateful voyage to America which went well beyond friendship. “Helping you dress and styling your hair is little compensation for all you and your husband have done—and continue to do—for me.”
Bella took her friend’s small hands into her own. “Won’t you reconsider joining us tonight? Celebrating my first wedding anniversary won’t be the same without you there. Admit it. If my mother and father were not visiting, you would take your evening meal in the main dining area with us like you always do.”
“It’s best to keep in the shadows when others visit, Bella. I know you like to pretend I wasn’t a stowaway on your husband’s ship, escaping a life of servitude to the highest bidder, but it’s the truth.”
“I wouldn’t consent for you to go back to slavery, Chloe. Ever. Nor would Gregory.” Standing up, Bella smoothed the material on her dress as Chloe finished fastening the back. “Are you sure I shouldn’t wear the corset? It was designed for expectant mothers, you know. I feel so huge without it.”
“Binding your expanding waist is the last thing the babe in your womb needs right now, Bella. Don’t make me tell Gregory you have been trying to talk me into helping you secure one in place. You are just now able to sit down without wincing.” Walking around her mistress, Chloe nodded with approval. “You are glowing, dear friend. How I envy you. You are living a dream, married to a wonderful, brave man, mistress of a grand manor and expecting a new babe in five months.”
“Six months!” Bella chided, putting a finger to her friend’s lips and checking to make sure her husband was not about. Whispering frantically, she continued. “He barely agreed to let me go on the next voyage. If he knew I was four months along, instead of three, he would leave me behind.”
“I will not lie to the captain, Bella. If he asks me directly, I will be honest about how far along you are. I fear you might be even more seasick this time around than the first time we travelled. Gregory knows what is best for you. You should trust him.”
“Men are contrary creatures. Darby, one of the most reasonable of them, refuses to let Lily and their baby come along on this trip, claiming it is too dangerous for them. You are just lucky you managed to return to England without a new husband.” Giggling, she pushed her friend into the bench by the vanity and started fixing her long red hair into soft curls with pins. When she finished, she secured them with bright jeweled combs.
“You and Lily stole the only decent men aboard,” Chloe smirked. “No, that’s not true. I fancied myself in love with another man on the voyage, but you wouldn’t believe me if I told you who it was.” She stared seriously at Bella, wondering why she even mentioned it. Dreams were better left private, especially unrealistic ones.
“Who?” Bella met her eyes in the mirror. “Chloe, tell me which of the men caught your eye. Maybe I can make sure Gregory has the gentleman join us at the captain’s table. Mayhap we can have a wedding before returning to England.”
Chloe was desperately thinking now and wishing she hadn’t mentioned it at all. Deciding to keep this last bit of herself private, she broke eye contact. “It’s the man from the crow’s nest. You remember him, don’t you?” She kept her eyes averted, trying to remember what he’d looked like. “After all, you climbed all the way up to see him on our first voyage. His name fails me, but his look of astonishment when he rushed down the rope to complain about your presence will stay with me for a lifetime. Then again, the captain’s expression was also quite remarkable.”
Bella stared at her. “Come now. You fell for him, but you don’t even remember his name? Something tells me you’re not being completely honest, Chloe.”
Her mistress tugged on a tendril of red hair playfully before changing the subject. “Gregory promised we could make a quick visit with Lily and the baby before we sail next week. They say Jillian is the very image of her mother, you know. Including her red hair. But if the baby has her disposition, I doubt Lord Darby will have much rest. Keeping Lily in line must exhaust him, as it is. And Rebekah, her lady’s maid, is planning to quit and is looking for a position as a governess. Lily’s quite disappointed about that.”
“Couldn’t she be governess of baby Jillian?”
“That seems the obvious answer, doesn’t it? But Lily plans on traveling on ship with her, and Rebekah is terribly prone to vertigo. Voyages are out of the question for her. Be still, Chloe. I’m trying to get this last comb to stay in place.”
But Bella’s voice was concerned as she continued. “I wish you would join us tonight. My father’s disposition concerns me, Chloe. As I was explaining earlier, when you were daydreaming about your hero from the crow’s nest, even my mother says something serious is afoot. She is worried that he’s deep in debt again. But if he is, he won’t talk about it.”
“I still have some packing to do before our voyage. I have a few letters to Sarah I was planning to ask the captain to deliver before I found out we would be allowed to sail with him this time. I want to reread them, since I will be able to talk to her about their contents in person now.”
Bella reluctantly accepted Chloe’s decision and rushed to the meal. Her husband, Captain Gregory Smythe, frowned upon being late, especially for meals. He was a man of order, running a tight schedule both on ship and at home. Back in her own quarters, Chloe pulled out a handful of missives and pondered their contents. Sarah and Benny had taken her under their protective wing when she had been betrayed by her stepmother and sold into slavery. Bitter at being forced into a life of servitude instead of enjoying the once pampered existence she’d had when her father was alive, Chloe had been thankful for the couple she now referred to as her ‘parents’.
Sarah, especially, had taken the time to get to know her, listen to her concerns, and help her face her future instead of living in the past. They were close, so close, in fact, that Chloe often referred to Sarah as her mother. There were few secrets between them. The letters she clutched to her chest now were filled with thoughts and desires she had never spoken aloud before, even to her friends Bella or Lily. Embarrassed by her feelings, she could only express them to Sarah, and then only because miles separated them.
Now she was going to see dear Sarah again. Should she tell her about the images that lingered in her mind constantly? Of the deep brown eyes, strong jaw, and dark hair that belonged to a man she could never kiss, never touch? Oh, dear God, she thought. Probably not. Sarah might think she had lost her mind. She walked to the fire and knelt in front of it, reading each page one more time before tossing it into the flames and watching as it was reduced to ashes.
But she could not bring herself to burn the last letter. Destroying it would mean admitting her dreams were never to be fulfilled. She was not ready to give up on them. Not yet. Walking to her wardrobe, she tucked the remaining letter into her coat pocket, where she could pull it out and share her imaginings, if only with herself.
Hints…
“The meal is surprisingly delicious,” Bella’s father announced. “The shipping business no doubt affords you the opportunity and funds necessary to employ the best.”
Gregory raised his glass. “I’ll convey your
appreciation to the cook.”
“I understand you have a slave,” the older man continued, ignoring the sharp intake of breath from his daughter. “Might she be the person who prepared the meal?”
“There are no slaves here, sir. The staff is paid and serve here of their own accord.” Gregory’s voice left little doubt of his feelings at the subject.
“While her skin is more caramel than black, you cannot expect me to believe Bella’s lady’s maid is not of mixed race. How did she come into your employment?”
Arabella replied before Gregory could respond. “The lady’s maid you hired last year to accompany me on my journey to Louisiana did not show up before we departed. Gregory returned your funds for her passage, if you will remember. Chloe came back from America with us.”
Originally, Chloe, a stowaway on Gregory’s ship, had been masqueraded as the missing servant, but there was no need for her father to know such delicate information. Ignoring her husband’s warning glance, she continued. “She is not a slave, father. She is free and more of a friend than a servant. She is also very talented and quite an asset to us.”
“Talented?” Her father took a sip of his wine. “What talents could the chit possibly possess?”
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