Lessons of Love (13 page)

Cole
broke the kiss and
Jolie
emitted a little s
igh of longing. She pressed her forehead against his chest and slipped her arms around his waist trying to still her pounding heart.
Jolie
closed her eyes breathing in the male scent of him, feeling lost. How did this man spark such an intense range of emo
tions in her? One second she despised him, and the next she felt
she would be lost without him.

Cole
picked her up and set her before him. He kissed her gently once more, trying to ignore the need pulsing through his body. Yes, he was truly bewitched by th
is little imp. " I swear to you that I'm telling the truth when I say I care for you, little one. Never doubt that for a mome
nt. I shall bring Celia now. As I said before, I
will escort you t
o dinner at 7:00."

A minute later her door was opened and a very
nervous Celia stepped in.
Jolie
heard
Cole
whisper something to the woman, and she entered the room far enough so he could close and lock the door behind her. Both sets of eyes went to the door as the key made its resounding click. To an outsider things wo
uld look normal, a lady and her maid, set to discuss arrangements and duties of the day, but both women knew things were anything but.
Jolie
rose and extended her hands. This woman before her was frightened and apprehensive.
Jolie
wanted to re
assure her as
best she could.

"Celia I promise you have nothing to fear from me, and I believe my husband when he says the men shall not touch you. We are both…
well we both find ourselves here under difficult circumstances and right now I need a friend more than a ch
ambermaid. I swear I will treat you with respect and make your life as pleasant as possible. I'm sorry for what my husband did.
I wish I could…
I'm so sorry
.
"

Jolie
bit her tongue and the unspoken wish hung in the air. There was to be no talk of how they c
ame to be here or how they longed to help each other escape the prison they were now in. After much hesitation Celia took
Jolie
's hands. She nodded, a single tear sliding down her bruised cheek. She wiped it away with the back of her hand, trying to mainta
in contr
ol of her turbulent emotions.

“
Celia it
’
s okay to be devastated by the loss of your family and life. I understand.”
Jolie
pulled Celia to her and the woman broke down in a flood of tears.
Jolie
held Celia close as she cried out the pain and horror
of the past day. Her shoulders shook with great gasping sobs at the memory of Gregor and the hellish things he
’
d forced her to do. Shame filled her, she didn
’
t know if she would ever feel clean again. Perhaps it was best that she wasn
’
t returning to her
f
amily, she would
surely bring shame upon them.

Celia was shaking so badly that
Jolie
feared she would crumple to the floor. She led her to the small table in the sitting room and pressed her into a chair. Celia looked up at her with s
hattered eyes, their d
ark brown
irises made brighter by her tears
. “
He... the giant man he ...”

“
You don
’
t have to
tell me Celia. I
’
m so sorry.”

“
Yes I do, I... it was horrible. He stared at me with those evil black eyes, running a whip through his fingers while he watched me t
ake off my clothes. When I was bare, he whipped me even though I did everything he asked. Then he strip
p
ed off his breeches and made me touch him, and he...he made me take his awful thing in my mouth. I... I couldn
’
t breath
e
and he laughed. I fought for ai
r but he held me by my hair and slapped me when I tried to stop. I
’
m a good girl Mistress, truly I am. I never let a man touch me. My mama and papa taught me better. I tried to stop h
im.”

Jolie
put her arms around Celia. The poor girl had suffered worse th
an she had.
Jolie
made a silent vow that she would be protected from now on. “
I swear it will be okay, Celia. Gregor is an evil, vicious devil. It wasn
’
t your fault. You
’
ll be safe now. I promise you will.”
Jolie
held her until her tears
abated;
marveling
at how both their lives had changed so drastically in the past day. She would make
Cole
give his solemn oath that this poor woman would be treated with dignity and respect, but she would also keep her own eyes on Gregor.

A key in the lock startled both wom
en into silence, e
ach dreading the new intruder, n
either had any desire to see Gregor again. To their surprise a man entered with a covered tray, He strode into the room and set it upon the table where they sat, pausing to look over both beauties before hi
m. His lustful stare enraged
Jolie
and she held his gaze with
a look that could freeze hell,
when he finally pulled his wandering eyes from their assessment of her
body.

“
If you
’
re quite finish
ed
we
’
d like you to leave.”
Jolie
’
s voice was icy and commandin
g. She wasn
’
t about to be trod upon by yet another member of
Cole
’
s household.

“
As a matter of fact my ...
’
lady
’
, I
’
m not finished
. I
’
m to show Celia her room.”

“
S
he will be staying with me.”

“
I think not. I
have been given instructions.”

“
I don
’
t care. C
elia isn
’
t going anywhere. I will speak to
Cole
.”

“
Gregor told the truth when he spoke of you sharp tongue. Shut your mo
uth woman. You, come with me.”

Jolie
rose and stood as a barrier between Celia and the menacing man. “
She will not. Leave us alone. Celi
a stays with me unt
il I can speak to my husband.”

The man narrowed his eyes and his lip turned up in a sneer.
Jolie
saw his hands were fisted at his side and hoped he wouldn
’
t hit her. There was no way she was backing down. She would fight him if she had t
o. Celia was going to be safe and she didn
’
t care what
Cole
thought. Let him punish her. It would be worth it if it saved Celi
a from being locked up alone.

“
You are an uppity little bitch. Your husband will hear of your behavior. He
’
s not one who takes ki
ndly to anyone disobeying him, especially a woman.”
The tone in which he said the word woman made
Jolie
cringe. Everywhere she turned in this house, she was faced with hatred and brutality. Both women watch as the vulgar man retreated and breathed a sigh o
f relief whe
n the lock turned in the door.

“
Mistress, you will surely be punished for doing that
. I would have gone with him.”

“
Celia I swore I would keep you safe, and I will.
Cole
will be angry, but he won
’
t punish me severely.”
Jolie
hoped her words wer
e true. She knew damn well that he wanted her to be submissive. He had emphasized his point quite
thoroughly only an hour before.

“
It will be all right Celia, really it will. Let
’
s see what he brought for us.”
The women talked the rest of the day, forming
a powerful bond of friendship and loyalty. Both were scared and at the mercy of the man who ran the house they now lived in, and both understood the other
’
s longing to be free. They shared the common bond of uncertain
ty and fear of the unknown.

Later on, C
elia helped a nervous
Jolie
prepare for dinner with her husband. The new chambermaid wondered at the combination of fear and fire in her young Mistress
’
eyes. She knew
Jolie
was not here by choice, but was she finding the charms of the
Master of the planta
tion too hard to resist? She knew her Mistress had been crying right before the Monsieur brought her in, and Celia hoped her new friend would tread with caution. There had
been kindness in Monsieur Jameson
’
s eyes, but there had also been danger.

Seven

Cole
arrived at
Jolie
's chambers precisely at 7:00. He knocked
,
and waited to be bade entry before unlocking the door. The vision that met his eyes caused his heart to skip a beat.
Jolie
looked ravishing. It was evident that she had taken time and effort
with her appearance and this fact pleased him greatly. Her hair was swept up into a flowing cascade of curls that tumbled over one side while leaving her slender neck visible on the other. The urge to trail kisses down that graceful expanse of white skin
and across her throat was almost overwhelming. Her gown was a lovely creation of white taffeta. It had a low scooped neckline, revealing the tops of her breasts. It was sleeveless and sat low on her shoulders.
Cole
wondered immediately as to how it came to
be in her possession. He'd thought all her gowns
were horrid prim concoctions.

The question must have shone in his eyes because
Jolie
's eyes sparkled wickedly. "Do you like it? My stepfather had to buy it for the debutante ball. He knew he couldn't keep
me home and I couldn't very well show up in my usual smothering attire. I swear it just about killed him. He hated it when I looked pretty or attracted attention. It was sinful…
"
Jolie
's voice turned somber as she stood before him recalling her stepfather'
s hate. She hung her head and tried to s
wallow the lump in her throat.

Cole
would have none of it. He went to her and pulled her close, kissing her temple, still fighting the urge to nibble her neck and trail kisses across the tops of her breasts.
Jolie
fe
ll into his arms desperately needing to feel cared for. Hank hadn
’
t utter
ed
a single kind word to her after her mother died and his harshness had left her h
eart bruised.

"You look beautiful love, and you don't have an ounce of sin in your body. You are all
uring, feisty, and insufferably willful, but never ever sinful. Com
e along now. Dinner is ready."

Jolie
pulled back and looked up at him nervously. She had to demand a safe place for Celia. “
Cole
, did the man you sent to bring our lunch tell you anything?”
The expression on
Jolie
’
s fa
ce was one of an errant child.

“
No love, he did not. I was away most of the day but I have a feeling I would be angry if he had judg
ing by the look on your face.”

“
I wouldn
’
t let him take Celia away. We both are uneasy, and I
w
ish for her to stay with me.”

“
She will not be staying with you at night little
one, no matter how you plead.”

“
Cole
, she
’
s terrified of Gregor. You can
’
t lock her in a room somewhere. What if that beast got the key? That horrid man did unspeakable things.
She must stay in my chambers where it is safe and I...I want the key.”
Jolie
’
s eyes were hard with determination.
She wasn
’
t going to back down.