Love Sneaked In (Montgomery Family Trilogy) (37 page)

It would be a miracle if she came out of this situation alive and well. The clothes Louis had given her to wear felt scratchy and rough against her tender skin. Helen felt exhausted and filthy. As she lay there, she wished she’d told Matthew she loved him. If she ended up dead, he would never know. As hard as she fought it, she finally couldn’t stay awake any longer, and she drifted off to sleep.

Helen was rudely awakened as she was jerked up from the pallet where she’d been sleeping. Louis sneered at her. “I’ve found a place for you where no one will ever find you.
You’ll
be spending the rest of your life on your back pleasuring one man after another.”

Helen looked at him with horror in her eyes.

Who could hate her this much that they would cause this to happen?

Oh God, she would rather die than have another man touch her.

Crying and moaning at the thought of what was to happen to her, she shook all over and felt as if she were going to faint. Louis grabbed her, threw her over his shoulder, and carried her out of the room. When he arrived at a carriage, he opened the door and threw her down on the floor as he got in and directed the driver to take them somewhere she’d never heard of before. They had probably traveled for about an hour when she felt the carriage stop. Someone opened the door and said, “So, what do we have here?”

Louis laughed. “Here’s your newest star in your gallery. I’m sure your customers will find her delightful, once you get her cleaned up. She’s a real lady, and the men will all want her. You should be able to make a lot of money.”

The biggest man Helen had ever seen in her life, he must had been almost seven feet tall, pulled her out of the carriage. He carried her inside to a dark corridor, and then up a flight of stairs to a room. The room was decorated in bright red, and there was a huge bed in the middle of it. This man threw her down on the bed and stared at her with a lecherous gleam in his eyes. Trying to avoid his stare, she looked up and saw a mirror on the ceiling. She wondered why anyone would want a mirror above a bed. A woman had followed them into the room. Helen assumed she must be in charge, because she told the man to leave, and he did so immediately.

The woman walked around the bed looking Helen over. “Hello, my dear. You and I are going to become
very
well acquainted.
Here
are my house rules. You will do whatever I say you are to do, and you will do it with a smile on your face, because
that’s
what my customers expect.”

Helen felt chills run up and down her spine.

How could this be happening to her?

What had she ever done to deserve this?

The woman continued speaking. “I suspect you’ll be beautiful once we get you cleaned up. Oh, by the way, don’t even think about trying to get out of here. That great big man is standing right outside this door, and if you’ll notice there are bars on the windows, so there is no escape. You can try to fight this, but in the end, you’ll give up, because they always do.”

Helen’s eyes went to the window and she saw that there were indeed bars there. Her mind wanted to shut down, but she refused to let this woman see her fear. She just had to believe Matthew would find her.

The door opened and the woman said, “Ah, there are the servants with a tub for your bath. I’m going to remove your gag and untie you, but if you know what’s good for you, you won’t make a sound, nor will you try to run. Do I make myself clear? Oh, and you’ll address me as Madame.”

The woman came over to her, removed the gag, and untied her wrists and ankles. Helen felt pins and needles shoot through her limbs. She’d been tied up for what seemed like days. She stayed very still. She didn’t want that man to come back into the room. After the servants carried in the tub, they filled it with water. The Madame told her to undress and get in the tub.

With a look of shock on her tired and wary face, Helen asked, “Can I at least have some privacy? I’ve never undressed in front of anyone other than my husband and my maid.”

“Well, you’d better get used to it, because you’ll be getting undressed in front of a lot of men, and very soon. So get over your modesty, and get those filthy clothes off now, or I’ll have Bernard come back in here and undress you for me. Now, hurry up. I don’t have all night. My customers are already starting to arrive, and I need to be down there to greet them.”

Helen turned her back and undressed. When she was naked, she got into the tub and sank down to where she was covered by the water. There was some heavily perfumed soap for her to wash herself with. She quickly scrubbed herself clean, and then ducked her head under the water so she could wash her hair. Once her hair was clean, the woman had her stand up, and the maid poured warm water over her to rinse all the soap off.

The Madame handed her a towel. When she was dry, she tried to wrap the towel around her, but it just wasn’t big enough. The Madame handed her a transparent night rail. Once she put it on, she was told to go sit on the bed. Someone had brought in some food while she was bathing and set it on the table by the bed.

The Madame turned to her. “You’d better eat. You’re going to need your strength…you have a long night ahead of you. I’m sure there will be quite a few men who will want to sample your charms. Yes, with your beauty, the men will be wild to have you, and you’re going to make me a lot of money.”

Helen frantically searched her mind for some way to keep this from happening to her. “Madame, am I to understand that you expect me to have…uh…intimate relations with…umm…men tonight?” Helen controlled her voice and tried to sound confident as she continued. “I just had twins a short time ago, and I’m not healed yet. Please let me have a couple of weeks to get over the birth of my children. It was a hard delivery, and I need this time to fully recover. I’m sure you wouldn’t want to damage the merchandise.”

“Well, if that’s true then you’re right, but I’ll need to examine you to determine if you’re telling me the truth, so lie down on the bed and spread those pretty pink thighs for me. Remember Bernard is right out this door, and if you prefer I can always let
him
do the examination.”

“M-Madame,” Helen stammered, “if you’ll l-look at my breasts instead, you’ll see that I’ve recently been nursing my babies. Wouldn’t that be enough to show you I’m telling you the t-truth?”

“No, that isn’t good enough. You could have had the baby a year ago and just quit nursing. So do as I say! Lie down and spread your legs right now, or I’ll have Bernard do the examination, and we’ll see how you like that!”

Helen lay down on the bed, spread her legs, and closed her eyes as tears fell down her cheeks. It was the most humiliating experience of her life. The woman probed her and Helen grimaced in pain, as the woman placed her fingers up inside her.

“So…you’re telling the truth. You won’t be any good to me for at least two weeks. Until then, you’ll be locked in this room, and food will be brought to you daily. I’ll check you again in two weeks. I'm sure by then you’ll be fully healed. You have a reprieve, but just remember, once you’re healed, you’ll be expected to take men to your bed many times a night. Well, I’ll leave you now. See you in two weeks.” And the Madame left the room.

Everyone left with the Madame, and finally Helen was alone. At least she was no longer tied up, and she had two weeks to try to figure out how to get out of here. She hoped that Matthew was looking for her. At least she knew now that she was in London. If she could just get away, her brother would protect her. It was maddening that she still didn’t know who had done this to her.

Oh, please God, let my babies be all right.

Please get me out of this horrible situation.

She knew she couldn’t give up hope that Matthew would find her in time, or that she would figure out a way to escape. She would eat the food that was provided so she could gain her strength back.

Helen had been at the brothel for three days, and the only person she had seen was Bernard. He would bring her food three times a day and make lurid comments about what she could expect to happen once her reprieve was up. Since she didn’t have anything to help pass the time, she spent quite a bit of time thinking about Matthew and her sons.

Helen deeply regretted the fact that she’d never told him she loved him. She yearned to feel his arms around her, making her feel safe and protected. Every day she got down on her knees and prayed for the safety of her sons. She asked God to help her stay strong so she could survive this ordeal until she could find a way to escape.

Bernard was starting to be a little careless when he came to bring her food and wasn’t closing the door while he was in the room. If she could get her hands on something that would knock him out, then maybe she could get away before anyone was aware she’d escaped.

The next day, when Bernard came to deliver her food, he was called away. When he left the room, he forgot to lock the door. Helen sneaked out of the door and found the stairwell that led downstairs. Once she was out of the room, she hurried down the stairs and was just getting ready to open the outside door when big arms reached from behind and pulled her back. Bernard cuffed her on the chin, and then she knew…no more.

When Helen regained consciousness, she was back in the room, but now she was tied to the bed. Madame was standing over her, glaring down at her. She raised her arm and slapped her with so much force that Helen felt her lip split. She’d bitten the inside of her mouth at the impact, and she could taste blood from the cut. “I told you not to try to escape, and now you’ll face the consequences of your actions.”

Madame went to the table, picked up a whip, and walked over to the bed. Helen felt so much fear that she was afraid she would faint. “Bernard, untie her and flip her over, then retie her to the bed.”

Bernard came toward her leering at her as he grabbed her arms and untied them. Helen fought to sit up, but Bernard was just too strong. He rubbed his body against her as he untied her feet. He flipped her over, and before Helen could react, he had her retied to the bed. Lying there sprawled across the covers, Helen waited for the first lash.

The Madame swung the whip and Helen felt it tear into her tender flesh. The lashes cut into her buttocks. She tried to keep silent, but the pain was too much for her, and after the third lash, she cried out. Madame hit her over and over again until Helen lost count. Eventually, losing consciousness, she slipped into oblivion.

When Helen woke up, her back felt as if it were on fire. An old woman was smearing a pungent salve all over her lower back, buttocks, and upper thighs. The smell was so horrid that it made Helen gag, and she had to fight the urge to throw up. Helen realized she was now naked and still strapped down to the bed. Bernard was in the room making more of his lewd comments and laughing gleefully at her predicament. Once the old woman was finished spreading the ointment on her, her wounds didn’t burn as badly.

The old woman sympathetically looked at Helen and murmured, “Ye’ll ‘ave t’ lie on yer stomuck fer sev’ral days, and I’ll come back twice a day t’ put more o’ this salve on yer back. It’ll take th’ sting away. The lashes ain’t deep so ye shouldn’t ‘ave much scarin’, but th’ ointment ‘ill ‘elp. I’ll leave ye now.”

Helen watched the old woman depart. Bernard stood up, walked over to the bed, and leaned down. As he reached around her, he grabbed her breast and gave it a hard pinch, then whispered in her ear, “Ye ‘aven’t ‘ad all o’ yer punishment yet. I get t’ ‘ave a go at ye, once Madame says ye’re ‘ealed. I’ll show ye ‘ow a real man swives, and I’ll plow ye so ‘ard and so deep ye’ll wish ye’d never been born and when I’m through…I’ll do ye again and again, till ye scream and plead fer me to stop.”

Helen felt the tears course down her cheeks, and she was shaking all over. She didn’t want to give up hope, but things were definitely looking bad. At this point, death was preferable to what Bernard had in store for her.

They untied her from the bed three times a day to allow her to take care of her personal needs. However, she had to use the chamber pot while Bernard watched, and he would give her an evil grin, reminding her of what was to come. She thought she’d already faced the worst type of humiliation when Madame had examined her, but having Bernard watch was definitely the worst thing she’d ever experienced in her life.

Sanderford House
Early May 1821

It had now been a fortnight since Helen had been taken. They were no closer to finding her now than they’d been when he received the information about her being taken to a brothel in London. Sanderford was treating him with disdain. Melody couldn’t stand to look at him, and he couldn’t blame her. Kathryn cried every time she saw him. The only one who was speaking to him was Peter.

Matthew didn’t know how he could have stood it without Peter. He was amazed at the level of maturity Peter was showing. Matthew thought about moving to his townhouse, but he was afraid that if he left, Sanderford wouldn’t tell him of any progress he’d made. Besides, he looked at all this as a form of punishment for what he’d done to Helen.