Lessons of Love (33 page)

“
Yes Mistress. A short walk would be nice. We shall be b
ack in a few minutes.”
Both Celia and Jonathan knew that
Jolie
also needed a minute of privacy to read the letter from
Cole
. The fact that the Monsieur had left for Natchez on his own made it obvious to Jonathan that they
’
d quarreled. That
,
and the fact tha
t
Jolie
had spent the night in her own room.
Cole
hadn
’
t allowed that since
t
he night they were married.

Celia reached for the breakfast things and had to paused for a moment as a wave of dizziness overcame her. Jonathan reached for her immediately but s
he shooed him off, embarrasse
d. “
Celia, are you all right?”

“
I don
’
t know what
’
s wrong with me. I must have
risen too fast. I
’
m fine now.”

“
Let me get that. Perhaps you should stay here.”
Celia glanced at
Jolie
, and thought of the letter again and shook
he
r head.
Jolie
would wan
t privacy in which to read it.

“
I
’
m fine, truly I am
. Lock up behind us Mistress.”

“
I will Celia, thank you.”
Jolie
watched them go then went to her desk and retrieved her letter opener. She crossed thru the dressing room to the
bed, holding the envelope close to her heart. Sitting on the edge, she looked at the letter from
Cole
, running her finger over the flowing script of her name. She was about to slice it open when she was overcome with dizziness. Black spots swarmed before h
er eyes and she raised a hand to her head.
Jolie
took deep breaths, trying to clear her it but it did no good. She inched over onto her side and curled into a ball, her head swimming, the bed seeming to spin under her, closing her eyes as her world went bl
ack.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As
Jolie
was fainting, Celia was below, gripping the banister, dizziness filling her head as well. Jonathan dropped the breakfast dishes with a clatter and reached for her before she fell, scooping the dazed woman up in his arms. He turned, intendin
g to take Celia back upstairs, when a movement behind him caught his eye. His defense however, was hampered by having Celia in his arms. He was struck in the head and sank to his knees, giving a small shou
t before losing consciousness.

“
You were supposed
to be the first one to go down Jonathan. Can
’
t say I mind bashing your skull in a bit
,
though.”
Gregor grinned as he watched a trail of blood seep from Jonathan
’
s temple and drip down his cheek. He fished the key for
Jolie
’
s set of rooms out of the still ma
n
’
s pocket and turned towards the cook. “
Drag him to the cellar and chain him up, don
’
t forget to gag him. I don
’
t want him sounding the alarm. I
’
d cut his throat if I didn
’
t think the others would retaliate. When you
’
re done with him, get
Cole
’
s little bi
tch. She
’
ll be out co
ld if you did your job right.”

“
The laudanum wo
rked on this one, didn
’
t it?”

“
Aye, but it didn
’
t work on Jonathan, so you better shut your yap and hurry up. Meet me at my cabin just like we planned.”
Gregor pulled Celia from Jonatha
n
’
s limp arms and tossed her over his shoulder, grinning lustily at her shapely bottom as he did so. “
Can
’
t wait to finally have a taste of this one. I expect you in less than an hour Thomas, and you aren
’
t to touch
Cole
’
s whore. Not one finger. You can ha
ve Celia when I
’
m don
e, but that bitch is all mine. I
’
ve b
een waiting a long time to teach her some manners. She
’
s going to discov
er a whole new world of pain.”

“
I
’
ll be there, Gregor.”
Thomas lifted Jonathan under the arms and pulled him down the stairs
while Gregor slipped out a side door and carried an unconscious Celia to his horse which was hidden in the woods. He threw her none too gently over its back, then mounted behind her, pulling her up into his arms and running his hands over her body. Gregor
pinched her nipples cruelly and Celia moaned, the pain cutting
through the haze of the drug.

“
That
’
s right my little whore. You moan in pain for me. Pretty soon you
’
ll be screaming.”
He kicked his horse and made his way along a narrow path, heading for a
nearby river. It would take him a long tim
e to reach the cabin he
’
d built
if he followed its waters, but discovery wasn
’
t an option. Gregor had both women in his grasp and he
’
d do nothing to let them slip away. He thought of
Cole
, making his was to Natchez
completely unaware that his little bitch of a wife was being abducted by the very man he wanted to protect her from most, and an evil smile lit his entire face. “
Soon little
Jolie
. Soon you will be at my mercy.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 

Jolie
stirred as she felt
herself being lifted off the bed. She tried to open her eyes but simply couldn
’
t manage even that small bit of movement. Her limbs were like lead. “
Cole
...”
Had he come back early? No, these weren
’
t her husband
’
s arms.
Jolie
again struggled to waken but it
was no use, her head was swimming and the overwhelming pull of the laudanum dr
agged
her back into blackness.

Thomas gazed down at the beauty in his arms. He
’
d admired her from afar on many occasions, dying to get just a touch. In the past, before
Cole
Ja
meson
had a change of heart, he
’
d been able to sample the women who
’
d come through these doors. Now however, things had changed. No more did he have a wench to warm his bed at night, simply as he wished. His fat, pig like features made the women turn away
in disgust, and the only bitches to grace his bed were the ones he cou
ld afford to buy by the hour.

When Gregor had approached him, offering him a chance to start anew and work for him instead of the suddenly soft
Cole
, Thomas had jumped at the chance. H
e was still firmly under the notion that women were here to be used and abused and they were good for nothing more. Gregor had promised him a position as chef at Lily
’
s and the job included his choice of wench each night. Pity this one wouldn
’
t be include
d
in the bargain. Surely just
a touch or two couldn
’
t hurt?

He laid
Jolie
back on the bed and slipped his hand inside her dressing gown, sliding it down, grazing the back of his hand over the soft mounds of her breasts and into the valley between them. He
tugged at the cord that held the gown together and opened it wide to display the woman beneath. The clinging silk of her nightgown did not
h
ing to hide
Jolie
’
s body from Thomas
’
ogling and his mouth watered at the thought of touching her. He bent down and p
ressed his lips to hers, slipping his tongue in her mouth while
squeezing one of her breasts.

Jolie
woke at once and stiffened under his touch, bile rising in her throat at the taste of his filthy mouth. She willed her leaden limbs to move and lashed out
at him, clawing the side of Thomas
’
face as he kissed her. Thomas howled in outrage then snapped his lips together, instantly regretting the noise. He clamped his hand over
Jolie
’
s mouth and grasp
ed
a handful of her hair, h
issing between clenc
hed teeth.

“
Gregor already has your slave, so if you want to see her alive again, you
’
ll keep quiet and do as yer told, understand?”
Jolie
nodded, her eyes full of terror
,
as her heart turned to ice. Gregor had Celia! Where was Jonathan? Was he dead? She had to do som
ething. “
You gonna be nice
to me little missy? Gonna g
ive old Thomas some sweetness?”

Jolie
closed her eyes. Her brain was screaming at her to do something. Thomas
’
lips descended on hers again and his hands fell to her breasts, squeezing and kneading, pi
nching cruelly at her nipples until they hardened in protest of the rough treatment. She went limp in his arms, pretending to faint from her terror, fighting with everything she had to lay still and force down the bile that rose in her throat as his tongu
e
swept
over the inside of her mouth.

Upon feeling the life go out of her, Thomas made a low growl in his throat. The wench
was useless if she
was asleep. H
e patted her cheek sharply then kissed
Jolie
again, trying to rouse her.
Jolie
moaned a little, and
moved her lips under his as her hand snaked along the bed covers, searching for the letter opener. She moved slowly but steadily, never stopping in her quest for the one thing that would give her an advantage over the man attacking her. Finally she found
i
t.

Jolie
moved her hand over the letter opener, fingers searching for the best grip, knowing she
’
d only have one chance to strike out at the man above her. She held her makeshift dagger tightly and slid her other arm around Thomas
’
s neck, kissing him back
a little, pretending to give in to his charms. He made a sound of pleasure in his throat and kissed her harder, hands exploring her body, totally focused on the woman beneath him.
Jolie
raised her other arm and brought the letter opener down into Thomas
’
back with all her might.

He stiffened above her, letting out a strangled cry as the blade pierced him between his shoulders.
Jolie
shoved at him, struggling desperately to heave his massive body off hers while Thomas was still incapacitate
d
. “
Help me. Som
eone please!”
The sound of running footsteps didn
’
t c
ome as she
’
d hoped. “
Help me!”

Jolie
finally managed to wiggle out from under the huge man. She scampered across the bed and looked at the trusted cook. His mouth was opening and closing like a fish out
of water as he gasped for air and
Jolie
knew he must be seriously wounded. Her lower lip trembled at the thought that she might have delivered a fatal blow to another human being but
she resolutely pushed it away.

“
For Celia, I did it to save Celia and
myself. Oh where are you? What
’
s happened?”
Jolie
made her way to the door, flinging it open and running down the stairs two at a time, she ran into
Cole
’
s study and took one of the ornate pistols from the box on his desk, screaming for help the entire tim
e. Two of the house slaves came running, eyes full of fear. “
There
’
s trouble. Gregor has taken Celia. I must find her. Ring the warning bell. Gather the men and get the slaves in from the field. I want everyone out s
earching as soon as possible.”