Innocence Enslaved

by Maddie Taylor

  His gloating was short-lived as Corbet’s anger overflowed and an uncontrollable growl erupted from his chest. Ervin spun quickly, making good time as he crossed the porch and was down the steps before his small entourage had made a move to follow.

  After the last one had left, Corbet slammed the door and set the bolt, before rushing to Emilia. Dropping onto his knees, he gathered her close. “Forgive me, sweet girl. Are you in much pain? I’ll get Alice to make some of her birch bark tea and we’ll apply the cooling cream.”

  He felt her drag in air, pause a moment, and let it out with a shudder. “I thought he’d never leave. Thank heaven he believed us.”

  “What?”

  “Our play acting.” She leaned back, the beginnings of a smile tipping the corners of her lips despite her tears.

  He stared down at her in amazement. “That was an act?”

  She frowned. “Well, not all of it.” Her hands reached back and gingerly touched her bottom, making her cringe as she did so.

  “I gave you twelve hard strokes with that cane.”

  “Yes, sir. I counted every one in my head.”

  “The shrieks of pain, the pleas for me to stop, and the tears, those were an act too?”

  She shrugged.

  “Emilia!”

  “I haven’t mentioned that I have two older brothers who lived to torment me as a child. I became quite adept at creating a drama that quickly got my parents’ attention and spared me from their incessant teasing.”

  He slumped, his head falling onto her shoulder as he buried his face in her hair. “From your screams, I thought I was killing you.”

  “Oh, don’t mistake me, the heat and sting from that evil stick brought real tears to my eyes and it’s not something I’d like to repeat, but compared to a branding…” She shuddered with revulsion and her pink cheeks paled.

  As he rocked her in his arms, he shook his head slowly in disbelief. “You amaze me, little one.”

  “I must admit, my reactions to the evil earl were quite genuine—the fear, the crying, and how my skin crawled at his touch. He’s a horrible man and this is a terrible place. I can’t wait to see the last of it.” As she entwined her arms around his neck, the metal links of her shackle dragging along the floor made an ominous clanking noise. They both stared at it in dismay. “Can you remove it now, Corbet? It’s starting to choke me.”

  He followed her fingers as they curled around the iron band at her throat.

  “Sweetling,” he murmured, the sadness in his tone drawing her eyes.

  “I don’t like the look on your face.” She began tugging at the collar, ineffectually.

  His hand came up to stay her motions. “Emilia, don’t. You’ll hurt yourself.”

  “Please, take it off,” she begged as she rose to her feet, the heavy chain rattling with the slightest movement. Authentic tears flooded her eyes. The difference between these and those of a few minutes past was clear to him now.

  When he didn’t move to assist her, she spun and started toward the door to the hall. “I’ll go ask Charles.”

  So desperate in her need to be free, with both hands gripping the collar, she began to run in her urgency to find him. Corbet caught her before she went far, his arms wrapping around her waist and lifting her.

  “Let me go. I’ve got to get this off.”

  “If it could be removed so easily, Emilia, I’d take the damn thing off myself.”

  “No,” she cried as she struggled, her breathing becoming fast and erratic as she kicked and fought his hold. “I can’t stand it.”

  “Shh,” he urged while he shifted her, one arm catching her behind the knees as he cradled her against his chest. He moved to a nearby chair and sat, rocking her gently, trying to soothe her. “There is no key. It’s designed so that once it’s locked, it doesn’t come off. At least not without considerable effort.”

  “Make the effort,” she demanded, her words muffled.

  “We don’t dare risk it now. Not when the bastard could return any time, or send one of his minions to spy. I imagine he’ll have us watched anyway having witnessed our preparations for travel. It will have to stay on until we are away from Lancore.”

  She sobbed her despair. “It is truly awful, Corbet. Much worse than I expected.”

  “I know, sweetling,” he crooned while stroking her hair, “it will only be for a short while. Can you endure it long enough for us to get away?”

  Abruptly, she sat up on his lap, wincing as her bottom rubbed his leather braes as she shifted. “What about this new law he mentioned? Can he do that, label you a thief if you take me out of Lancore?”

  “He is lord here, which means he can do as he likes.”

  “Do you think he’d really come after us?”

  “Not him specifically; he’d send troops. His desire for you was written clearly on his face. It’s almost as strong as his need to make me suffer.”

  “And if we are caught?”

  “I won’t let that happen.”

  “But if it does, what could he do to us?”

  He frowned. “A similar law existed long, long ago, in the dark ages, when feudal barons held more power than even Lord Ervin does now. Without special dispensation for the slave to travel beyond the boundary line, both slave and master became fugitives. Often a bounty was issued. Troops were sent to hunt them down and much like the theft of a horse, the owner was charged with a capital crime.”

  Just thinking of it alarmed her. “Surely they wouldn’t hang someone for taking their own property with them when they travelled.”

  “This is Lord Ervin we speak of,” he reminded her drolly. “Surely he would.”

  “And what became of the slave long, long ago?”

  He didn’t answer, his face tightening until a muscle twitched in his jaw.

  “Tell me the worst? Whipped, branded, sold off to the highest bidder?”

  “Why must you dwell on it when I have vowed to protect you?”

  “I can’t help but dwell, please…”

  “In your case, Ervin would take you as his own to further thwart me, he’d use you most cruelly with me as witness before he put me to death. It wouldn’t stop there, however; he would subject you to all manner of vice as he does any other pleasure slave in his household.” His cheeks were hot with anger imagining the things Ervin would do to her if she belonged to him.

  “Then we must stay. We can’t risk it. Forget about taking me home. I’ll stay here as your pleasure slave.”

  “You have no idea what you’re saying.”

  “Yes, I do,” she whispered, softly stroking his forearm. “Nothing has ever seemed so right in all my life.” She turned into him, sliding her hand up Corbet’s shoulder. “I never planned to fall in love, it simply happened. Under the worst of circumstance, granted. I don’t care that I have to be a slave, so long as I am yours.”

  He lifted a hand to her chin, angling her face up while he looked at her for a moment. “I don’t deserve someone like you, Emilia. And you don’t deserve the kind of life you will have as a slave in Lancore.”

  “I like the idea of belonging to you.” She took hold of his hand, pulling it from her chin to place light kisses on the tips of his fingers. “I’ve dreamt about it at night, and daydreamed about it in your absence. My heart swells when I think of being with you and bringing you pleasure.” Her lips still on his fingers opened, her tongue darting out to lick the tip of one before sucking it into her mouth. She thought he might stop her, or yank his hand away; instead, he rewarded her with an ardent moan that made her sex throb.

  “Emilia,” he said with a strained sigh as he pulled his hand away. “I want you, but I fear if I kiss you again, I won’t be able to stop myself.”

  “Then don’t.” She put a hand on the side of his face, letting her thumb graze over his lower lip. The scruff of beard on his face was slightly scratchy, as she imagined it would be. It wasn’t a far leap for her overexcited mind to envision the feel of it on more int
imate places—her nipples, her inner thighs.

  “You are pure temptation, which is why we must risk all to get you away from this awful place. Do you think if you’re here, constantly beneath his nose that he’ll ignore you, leave you be? Leave us be?” His hand moved, his fingers hooking inside her collar. It was snug, yet there was enough space for him to slip in two fingers. He used it to pull her closer, demonstrating another use for the slave collar. “If we stay, you’d be expected to wear this for the rest of your life.”

  She sucked in a chest full of air as realization hit, not having considered that.

  “You’d also be subjected to more of what went on today. People watching us, ready to make accusations in order to satisfy the sick thrill they get at seeing others on display and tortured. I’d have to be cold and harsh with you in public, and whenever we went into town, or barring that, you’d never be able to set foot off this property again. Then there are the severe punishments, like the caning. Having experienced both, you can now attest that the spankings I’ve given you pale in comparison, and the cane is the least of them.”

  “I will endure it for your sake. I won’t have you risking your life for me. I’ll be satisfied staying here and being yours.”

  “You don’t understand, sweetling, Ervin will not be satisfied. Scenes like today energize him. Like ale or opium, he’ll crave more. He’ll torment and harass us whenever he can and will set others to do the same. He’ll demand that I attend him, and send guards to make sure I comply, ensuring I bring you with me. It will continue in that vein until one day, something will happen that will leave you vulnerable or, God forbid, alone.”

  She stared up at him with anguish in her big green eyes. “Is that what he did to you and Sara? Did he come upon her alone? Oh, Corbet.”

  He looked away. “I can’t prove anything. He chanced upon us in town one day and demanded we make an appearance in his hall. I wouldn’t subject Sara to the depravity that goes on behind those walls and sent her on home. I never saw her alive after that, or the two guards, both good men with families, that I sent along to protect her.” He ignored her shocked inhalation and continued, reliving the awful day in his head. “He was enraged that Sara hadn’t accompanied me, threatened that I would rue the day I ever defied him. We discovered their lifeless, broken bodies the next day.”

  She cried for his tragic loss as her arms tightened around him, attempting to provide him some comfort, but he sounded ravaged as he went on.

  “The sheriff determined it was runaway horses that made the buggy careen over the ridge. It was a lie. I saw the heavy hoof prints and the deep ruts in the road from their wheels that signified a chase had occurred.”

  “That’s why you were so upset about the incident with the cart and horses in town the other day,” she exclaimed.

  “The fear of losing you, of getting crushed beneath the cart, and later when I couldn’t locate you in the crowd, it brought back the terror of Sara being missing and finding her dead. Every day I live with the guilt that I didn’t do enough to protect her. I won’t make that same mistake with you and I won’t force you to live under the threat of Ervin’s harassment. The wheels were set in motion when you were captured and made a slave. There’s no turning back from that now, and if we stay, there will be no peace for us in Lancore. We have only one option, which is to flee as planned because I won’t countenance the alternative.”

  “How, if he has spies watching?”

  “I’ll find a way, don’t you worry. Right now, we need to get you seen to.”

  The clearing of a throat from the doorway drew their attention. Alice, Muriel, and Charles all peered in with concerned expressions.

  “Forgive the intrusion, sir,” Alice began. “I thought the lass might need tending. It should be done as soon as possible before the swelling and any bruising set in.”

  “Thank you,” Corbet said as he stood with Emilia in his arms. “Some of your medicinal tea will ease her pain. Make it strong and add a liberal amount of honey.”

  “I have a special salve that will help as well,” she added, stepping aside as Corbet carried her through the door.

  “Not that cooling balm,” Emilia protested. “I don’t think I could suffer through the initial burn, right now.”

  “There’s no liniment in this, girl, only soothing herbs.”

  “Bring it up to my rooms. While I see to her, all of you can continue with your preparations. We leave at first light.”

  “But Corbet,” she protested. “All that you have worked for is here: your inheritance, the house, the land, your business.”

  “Do you think material goods mean more to me than you do?” he asked sharply, brooking no further dissent. “No arguments. As your current master and future husband, you will obey me in this, Emilia.”

  He heard the surprised hums from his servants, yet paid them no heed as he listened for only one person’s agreement.

  “Yes, sir,” she whispered worriedly as she laid her head back down, clinging tightly to him as he climbed the stairs.

  Chapter Eighteen

  In the large master chamber, Corbet set her down to stand by the bedside.

  “Let’s be rid of this ruined shift, sweetling.” He bared her completely, then pulled down the linens and motioned her in. “Lie down on your belly.”

  “I need a nightgown, Corbet.”

  “No. I need to tend to you and as I prefer, you’ll be bare when in my bed.”

  She arched a brow at him, though didn’t protest further as she wound the chain around her wrist and crawled in on hands and knees. Once settled in the center of his wide bed, she slipped her hands beneath the pillow and plumped it up as she turned her head to watch him.

  His gaze swept from the crude collar to her marked backside and his banked anger rekindled. “I could kill him for forcing my hand and making me do this to you.” He put a knee in the mattress and leaned over her, his lips near her scorching bottom as he blew softly across the red inflamed stripes. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered, the anguish in his words, communicating his remorse.

  “It’s not your fault; you did what you had to do to save me. It seems you are forever acting the hero and doing that.”

  There was a brisk knock on the door.

  “Come in,” Corbet called. He wasn’t surprised when Alice entered with a tea tray and set it on the bedside table. As she poured, he advised, “I want you to drink all of this before I massage in the salve.” He assisted her to sit up on a hip, propping the pillows at her side, before pulling up the thin sheet and passing her a steaming mug. “It’s hot, be careful now.”

  “I brought this for the chain.” Alice held out a thick velvet bag with a drawstring. He took it and coiled the heavy links inside.

  “While I’d rather cut the damnable thing off, this will keep your skin from being bumped and bruised as you sleep. Thank you, Alice.”

  “Yes, thank you,” Emilia echoed.

  She nodded; to Corbet she asked, “Might I have a word, sir?”

  “Only a quick one while she drinks her tea.” To Emilia, he murmured, “I’ll be back.” He bent and placed a kiss on her brow before walking to the door and exiting behind Alice.

  In the hall, he pulled the door closed behind them. “What is it?”

  “I’m concerned, if we leave—”

  “We have to. I was a fool to think I could keep her free from Lord Ervin’s twisted games. She will never be safe in Lancore.”

  “You will be imprisoned if we are caught, and not only will Emilia be taken and abused by that wretch, so will Muriel and I. And we’ll be separated again.” Tears spilled abruptly down the woman’s cheeks as she reached for his hand and fell to her knees. “Please, sir. I beg of you, don’t do this. I can’t go back to the manor or to have my daughter endure what I did at his hands, as his pleasure slave. It is too awful to imagine.”

  “Alice, stop.” He clasped her hands and pulled her to her feet, then into his arms. Her body shuddered as s
he cried, like he hadn’t seen since he’d brought her here. “We’ve been together for years. Have I ever let you down in all that time?”

  She sniffled, shaking her head. “No, sir, never.”

  “Then you must trust me in this. I promised to keep you and Muriel safe and I intend to do so. We must get out of this hell Ervin has created. It will be better for us all, you’ll see. You will be a free woman, and your daughter will have a life of her own choosing, to marry without fear, children who aren’t at someone else’s mercy, just as you’ve always dreamed, for you, for Charles, and for her.”

  Her breath hitched as she inhaled deeply. “After all this time, I thought freedom naught but a dream, sir.”

  “Tomorrow it will become a reality.”

  “I pray that it’s so, sir.”

  Brushing away her tears, she looked up at him with a glimmer of hope and a wealth of trust in a face that had seen entirely too much pain. He knew in that instant he’d give his life to get her, Muriel, Charles, and Emilia safely out of Lancore and to a better future.

  “It will be, Alice,” he assured her with an affectionate hug. “Now, I must get back to her.”

  “Yes, she has endured much. I’ll see to the rest of the packing.”

  When he walked back in, he found her staring at the door, eyes wide and luminous. So many tears she’d shed since coming to him. He wanted to see her smile.

  He crossed to her, taking the forgotten teacup from her hands where it was dangerously close to spilling. “You heard.”

  “She was a pleasure slave. I didn’t know. Is that why she took such a dislike to me?”

  “Likely you reminded her of harsh days.”

  “I can’t let you do this. Any of you. It’s best if you let me go. Give me a horse, a few days of food and water, and a map. I’ll find my way home. My father will pay you for all your trouble.”