by C.P. Murphy
Chapter Seven
The next afternoon brought Thomas to the Samuels house as planned to pick up Amelia. She showed no interest to be going with him but yet felt a sense of security knowing that David would be there. He’d be hiding somewhere and ready to protect her if needed. Her father had left the house earlier to speak to her brother. Amelia thought for sure that everything was set. Thomas met her at the door to escort her to the carriage. Anna stood to see them off. As she waved goodbye, she asked if Amelia would be home in time to help with the evening meal. Amelia knew that her sister was just trying to get the young man to return her in a timely manner. Thomas assured Anna that they would be gone for only two hours and as they drove away, Amelia mouthed, “Thank you,” to Anna.
It seemed like an eternity before they reached their destination. Amelia was eager to get off of the carriage so they could get the picnic over and done with. Thomas came around to her side and helped her down. He put his arms around her. She wiggled herself free and reached for the basket in the back of the carriage. “I’ll set everything up,” she mumbled.
Moments later the two of them sat down on the blanket she had laid out. To Amelia’s surprise, Thomas sat a couple of feet away from her. He leaned backwards and used his arms to support him. Thomas talked to her, he wanted to be friendly so she would open to him. He would make his move when she relaxed and had her guard down. “I suppose you know all about Jacob asking Emma to court him. They are going to the social dance together.”
“Oh bully for her! I know that she admires Jacob.” Amelia didn’t bother to tell Thomas that she had heard that straight from Emma’s mouth. She allowed him to think he was informing her of what was going on around the village. It gave him a false sense of importance and the thought made her smile.
“Then why can’t you admire me? Jacob and I are best chums.”
All she could do was shake her head. True, they might have been the best of friends but they were as different as night and day. She told him that, hoping that maybe she could change him. “You, Mr. Van Martin, are nothing like your friend. Perhaps if you were,” she wanted to continue, but he didn’t let her.
“What if I were?” Thomas interrupted. Jacob was too kind, too gentle, and Thomas knew that being like him would get him nowhere in life.
Amelia prepared their plates as she said, “You are arrogant and rude and selfish. If you were kind, like Jacob, and if you cared about anyone other than yourself, then maybe you would be a better mate for me.”
Thomas sat up straight and moved closer to Amelia. “I need not be, now do I? We’re already betrothed so why should I change?” He leaned closer to kiss her, but she backed up and he fell flat onto the ground. She tried so hard to get away from him and that only made him angry. She would give into him, he thought, and it would start today. After she received his magical touch, she would never turn his kisses down again.
“Don’t you care about making anyone happy?”
“I’m trying to make you happy but you keep moving away.” She put his plate in his hand and told him to eat. “Fine, we’ll continue this after our meal,” he said so low she couldn’t hear him.
As Amelia ate, she wondered where David was hiding. He was doing a good job at not being seen and was being silent. She was looking around when she heard Thomas ask her what she was looking for and she told him she was just watching for birds. Believing her, he continued to eat. When they finished, Amelia wanted to go back to the village but Thomas insisted that they should relax before heading back home. He knew what he was doing by bringing her out this far for the picnic. They were completely alone and he could do what he wanted to her. He glanced over at her. She was almost as beautiful as he was. He licked his lips and could still taste her from when he kissed her the day before. He longed to taste her lips again, and he gave into his temptation. Before she got away from him, he leaned over and forced her onto her back and then straddled on top of her.
“Get off of me,” she insisted but Thomas put his disgusting mouth on her lips. She squirmed to get free and wondered how long it would take her brother to rescue her. He must have been hiding several yards away and was why it was taking so long to reach her.
“Relax,” Thomas said to her when taking a breath from kissing her. “We’re engaged, we’re not doing anything wrong.” As she struggled to get away from him, he became curious why she acted the way she did. He knew other girls would love to be in her position. “Why won’t you let me love you?” He asked in anger.
Tears filled her eyes. “What do you know about love?” She snapped at him as she used all her might to shove him off of her. It was doing no good though because he wasn’t budging. “You said yourself that you don’t love me. You know this marriage is nothing more than a business deal between our fathers and I will get out of it. So take your hands off of me, now!” She was afraid of what he would try while they were in a secluded area. She wanted to cry out for David, he had to be almost there to help her, but she couldn’t because again Thomas’ lips covered hers. He took his hand and placed it on her jaw, opening her mouth. She tried to turn her head but his hand was too strong. With his mouth still on hers, he slid his tongue inside. She could feel his wetness as he choked her and she wanted to throw up. She tried to get out from underneath him but it was doing no good. The harder she tried to free herself, the tighter he held her close. She would have never guessed his strength, but she was learning what he hid for so long. She was alarmed when he took his free hand and rubbed her breast and she shook her body to get him to stop but it wasn’t working. Where was her brother?
Thomas was enjoying himself all to pieces. He would finally have his way with her. She was protesting, he could feel her fighting but the more she tried to escape, the more excited he became. Her breast overflowed his hand, but he greedily tried to grab as much as he could. It wouldn’t be long now, he decided, for he couldn’t wait to take her.
Tears streamed down her face as she realized that David would not help her. It was no wonder why she couldn’t see him when she searched for him; he hadn’t come. Now she was in trouble and she didn’t know what to do. She could feel Thomas’ tongue gushing around as his lips pressed hard into hers and she felt his other hand squeezing her breast. He let go of her breast and took his hand and placed it under her dress. Rubbing his hand up her inner thigh, she knew that his hands were moving towards for her most treasured private spot. She didn’t know what to do but knew that she had to do something quick to stop him. She gagged as she felt his tongue exploring the inner most part of her mouth and then thought of a way out of the horrible experience. Before he could defend himself, she bit down as hard as she could on his slimy tongue.
Thomas jolted off of Amelia in pain. Anger came over him like a hurricane and he wanted nothing more than to punish her. “You little quim,” he yelled but then realized that she was running away.
Amelia jumped up the minute she felt the pressure of him off of her. She didn’t hesitate to run to get as far away from him as she could. It wasn’t long before she heard his footsteps behind her so she picked up her pace and ran faster. She could feel his blood in her mouth and knew that she must have bit him hard. Amelia wiped it as she ran and noticed that she no longer heard him behind her. She stopped to check and sure enough he was gone. Fear came over her again though because she knew he must have gone back for the carriage and there was no way she could out run a horse.
She came to a split in the road and turned. It wouldn’t be long before she reached residential houses and if he caught up with her, she would only have to scream and someone would be around to help her. Still she didn’t stop running.
Thomas grabbed the blanket and basket and threw them in the back of the carriage. He prepared the horse as fast as he could and then climbed aboard the carriage to chase Amelia. He needed to make sure she didn’t get far, needed to keep her away from the residential area.
Thomas was no longer in the mood to enjoy her body but wanted
to punish her instead. He whipped the horse and started after her but couldn’t find her right away. She was faster than he gave her credit for. Finally he spotted her but it was too late, she was too close to someone’s house and he knew that he couldn’t lay a hand on her there. Thomas had no choice but to settle this some other time. He stopped the horse and turned the carriage around and continued to go home the way he had come. He knew that she wouldn’t remain quiet about what just happened and thought of things to say to her father to cover up his behavior.
Amelia glanced back and saw Thomas on the carriage. She was afraid of what he would do if he caught her. Then she noticed him turning around and giving up. She didn’t trust him and thought he was up to something. She slowed down, relieved to see him leave the area, and walked. She wiped her eyes and the rest of Thomas’ blood from her mouth as her thoughts returned to David. It hurt her to think that her big brother couldn’t be there to protect her like their father asked. She went straight to his house and ask him what was going on.
Still shaking when she arrived at David’s house, she could barely knock on the door but knocked hard enough for someone to hear her. Beth answered the door and asked her to come in. Once inside Amelia realized that she shouldn’t say anything in front of his wife but her anger was overwhelming. “David,” she exclaimed with fresh tears in her eyes, “Why didn’t you do as Father had asked you this morning?”
David looked over at Beth who also seemed concerned about Amelia then he went up to his sister and placed his hand on her shoulder. “Amelia, what is wrong?”
“Father said that you would be there, David,” she explained but was to upset. She needed to catch her breath.
He shook his head in confusion and guided his sister to a chair to have a seat. “I don’t know what you mean. I haven’t seen Father at all today.”
Amelia looked stunned. She remembered her father saying he was going straight to David’s asking for his protection. Then it hit her; her father had lied. She cried as hard as she could and she felt her brother wrap his arms around her.
“Drink this, Amelia,” Beth said to her as she handed her a glass of water. She knew that everyone wanted her to leave the room when something was wrong but now she saw her sister-in-law shaking and in tears, there was no way she was going anywhere. She glanced over at her husband who knew not to argue with her about it and urged him to sort this out.
David understood what his wife was motioning. “Tell me what happened.”
Amelia now knew that none of this was David’s fault and decided that she needed someone to talk to. Nothing like this had ever happened to her before but who better to talk to than her older brother.
Amelia explained everything and David was dumbfounded and furious. What was his father thinking to let her go with Thomas even after she explained that the boy had forced kisses on her before? Why would he tell her he would have her brother’s protection when he didn’t plan on that? He wondered what was going on with his father to make him disregard his daughter the way he had been. “I’m so sorry for you. Please know that I would have been there if I knew.”
Beth sat on the other side of Amelia and rubbed her back to comfort her. “He is telling the truth. Your father hasn’t been here at all today.” She cared for Amelia and wanted what was best for her. She knew, the best thing was to help get her sister-in-law calm.
Amelia looked over at the two of them and smiled. None of this was their fault. Her problems were with her father and the man he was making her marry. She embraced David and Beth and thanked them for their concern. Then she stood and told them she would take care of everything though she didn’t know where to even begin.
David offered to talk to their father and tell him all that had happened to her but Amelia asked him not to. She felt it would only make things worse. She said goodbye to them and then left their house. Standing out in the street, she thought about her father lying to her. Breaking promises was something he would never have done to her before. There had to be a reason he was treating her this way. She ran all the way home and then up into her room where she landed on her bed and cried again. She heard Anna rush into the room and ask her what was wrong. She told her young sister to leave her alone and then she fell asleep; tired from running and tired from crying.
After returning the carriage to his father’s stall in the stable, Thomas decided not to wait until Henry came to him for an explanation. He knew that Amelia was angry for the way he behaved with her but also knew that she would be too ashamed to tell her father. He wanted to make sure she was punished for biting him and knew who he needed to talk to. He walked up the street and went into her father’s store and hoped that he would be there. He was in luck as he saw the older man talking to his employee.
Henry looked across the room and noticed that Thomas had walked in. The boy looked a mess, and he wondered where his daughter was. He let his employee go home and waited until he left before greeting Thomas. “Where is Amelia?”
Thomas took a deep breath and thought of the right words to say. He knew from Henry’s question he hadn’t seen Amelia. He was glad, now he could say whatever it took to get Amelia in trouble. “That is what I’m here to talk to you about; I didn’t think she would be so difficult. Perhaps we should change our plans.” Thomas knew that Henry would rather see his daughter unhappy than be reported. He knew that the elder would make sure everything turned out fine. There would either be a wedding or a necktie social; Henry was too smart for that.
Henry wasn’t happy with what the boy had just said. If Amelia had made Thomas change his mind about the marriage, Daniel would tell the authorities everything he knew. “Tell me, what is going on?”
Thomas thought for a second to make what he was about to say sound real. “We were having a nice time, but she still said that she didn’t want to marry me. She said that she wanted to find someone else to marry.”
“That doesn’t surprise me any, my daughter has been clear about her thoughts on marriage.” Henry knew that in time she would come around but was a little concerned about her hurting the boy by being so blunt with him. “Don’t worry; she will do as I tell her, she’ll be your wife.”
Thomas shook his head and continued to tell lies. “I’m not too sure. I asked her if I could kiss her. I wanted to show her a little of my affection. That is when she took me off guard.”
Henry tilted his head to the side and wondered what the boy meant. Amelia had told him that Thomas had tried kissing her before; still he couldn’t figure out what was wrong. “What do you mean about her taking you off guard?”
Thomas grinned on the inside. On his way over to the store he had forced himself to bite his own lip enough to make it bleed. He wanted to tell her father about her biting him but didn’t want to tell him exactly what he was doing. “Well, she surprised me and said that I could kiss her but when I leaned in she bit my lip and ran away.”
Henry didn’t know whether to believe Thomas but as he moved closer, he could see a little fresh blood around Thomas’ lip. “Thomas, I’m very sorry for my daughter’s behavior.” He was now angry and upset with the lengths she would get out of their marriage. He wouldn’t let her behave that way and planned to take care of the problem right away. “Don’t worry either, she will marry you.”
Henry hurried home and called for Amelia as soon as he stepped inside. Anna told him where she was and he flew up the stairs. “I’m calling you girl,” he growled as he barged through her bedroom door.
Amelia’s back was towards him when she jumped up off the bed. She heard him call out to her and was about to go downstairs but waited until she wiped all the tears from her eyes. She was surprised to see him come to her. “I’m sorry Father; I was just on my way down.”
Henry could see her bloodshot eyes but decided it best to not let her soften him. “I saw Thomas,” he started. “Give me one good reason why you would bite him.”
“He was being improper,” Amelia snapped.
Henry
mistook her statement as a confession but didn’t believe her reasoning. “Don’t lie. I know that he asked for your permission.”
It was then that Amelia knew that Thomas had embellished the story in his favor. “I haven’t lied, that is what you do best.”
Without a thought, Henry reached over and back-handed her across the cheek. Right away she held her hand over the sore spot he struck. “You’ll make no more attempts to get out of your engagement, do you understand?”
Amelia’s heart broke from his behavior towards her. She wanted to cry but at the moment was too angry to let him see how she felt on the inside., and she knew that he was the reason behind it all. “No, I don’t understand,” she squealed. “I don’t understand how you can turn your back on your daughter. I don’t even know you anymore.”
“You will marry Thomas and you’re just going to have to adjust.” Henry left his reply unanswered as he stormed out of her room and entered his own. Sitting on the bed, he could feel his body shake from guilt. He stretched his hand out in front of him and could see her face still embossed on it. Henry placed his hand over his heart and leaned back onto the bed. She’d forgive him if she knew, he thought, but he was too shameful to admit what he’d done.
