The Touch Of The Outcast

by Amalia Altman

  “Please,” Elise said.

  Polly sighed. “One of his old maids says he talks to himself in his office. She said that he hears voices. She also said—she said that the mansion is haunted,” Polly said.

  A shiver ran through Elise as she thought about the noises upstairs, which had seemed to her to be something other than human. “Why does she think the mansion is haunted?”

  “Because the Lady Ashton died there, and Marcie didn’t think it was an accident.”

  “What do you mean?” Elise asked.

  “She thinks the evil presence did it. Marcie said that it haunted her the whole time she was there and made all sorts of racket. She got spooked and ran in the middle of the night when it attacked her.”

  “Attacked her?”

  “Came right up to her door in the middle of the night and when she opened it, she was attacked.”

  Elise stared at her. “I thought you didn’t know anything about Lord Ashton.”

  “I didn’t want to tell you because I didn’t want to frighten you,” Polly said.

  “I haven’t—I haven’t heard anything,” Elise said. “Nothing strange is going on there.”

  “Marcie could have been making it up,” Polly said, waving her hand dismissively. “She’s terribly dramatic.”

  “That’s probably it,” Elise said, though the doubt was creeping through her. The night she had heard the noises upstairs, they had stopped once the lord of the manor had come down. She had heard a man talking to himself up there, too, and it made her even more suspicious that the rumors might be true.

  “What else do you know?” Elise asked both of the girls, desperate for more and more information. It seemed like the more they answered her questions, the more questions she had for them.

  “That’s about it,” Polly said.

  Elise studied her face, wondering if she was telling the truth. There was no way for Elise to tell, though. Polly was a born actress, good at masking her emotions. It was a skill that a whore had to have, and one reason why Elise would never be able to do the job. Elise stood up then, feeling hot all over, needing some fresh air to cool her skin.

  “Thank you both,” she said. “I appreciate it.”

  “Of course,” Veronica said. “And if you’re really not interested in Lord Ashton, send him over here soon.”

  Elise swallowed, feeling a prick of irritation. When she answered, her voice was a little colder than she had intended it to be. “Okay,” was all she said.

  She said goodbye and left the sitting room, meeting nobody’s eye as she left the brothel. She untied Lovely and mounted her, closing her eyes for a moment as the horse began to walk. Elise took a deep breath, inhaling the crisp air around her. She made her way along the street to the general store, where she’d promised to pick a few things up for Nikola.

  Elise was inside waiting in line to get to the counter. The door opened and she glanced at it, doing a double-take when she saw who it was. Panic ran through her body and she turned her face to the side, hoping that the woman wouldn’t recognize her profile. It was too late, though. Annalynn had caught Elise’s eye and was glaring at her with a disgusted look on her face. Elise recognized that look—it was one that she had seen many times from her family before they’d decided to disown her for her power. It was a look that was burned into her memory forever.

  Annalynn approached her then, her hands on her hips. Elise only prayed that nobody would hear them speaking. Whatever it was Annalynn had to say, Elise knew it wasn’t something that she wanted people to overhear. The girl had never liked Elise in the first place—they had grown up on neighboring farms, and Annalynn had always been resentful of Elise and how outspoken she was. After Elise’s brother had told Annalynn about her powers, her vitriol had only gotten worse until Elise had been forced to flee from home.

  “Hello, Elise,” the woman said stiffly. “Interesting to find you here.”

  “What are you doing here, Annalynn?” Elise asked. She wasn’t going to pretend to be polite to someone who so clearly hated her. That wasn’t how Elise was.

  “I’m just visiting,” said Annalynn, her chin tilting upward, nose in the air. “I happen to be a personal friend of the Duchess Polk.”

  “Wow,” Elise said sarcastically, not bothering to hide the annoyance in her voice. Annalynn gave her a cold smile.

  “I heard about where you’ve been living recently. I can’t say I’m surprised,” she said. Elise stared at her.

  “What are you talking about?” Elise asked.

  “Before you became some lord’s private whore. I heard about that, too. You got lucky there,” Annalynn said, her voice full of poison. “Before that, you were in a brothel.”

  “How do you know that?” Elise asked, feeling cold all over.

  “Word gets around. Everybody was talking about the whore with the pretty red hair. I knew it was you as soon as I heard.”

  “I wasn’t working as a whore,” Elise spat. “I was just staying there until I got a job otherwise. Some of us don’t have the luxury of being supported by a wealthy family.”

  “Speaking of family, yours is going to love hearing about what you’re doing now. They’re still trying to get rid of your stench from that house,” Annalynn said. “I hear it’s hard to cleanse the place of a witch’s evil.”

  Elise tensed at those words, glancing around in desperate hopes that nobody had heard them.

  “I’m not—“

  “You are a witch,” Annalynn said, and the way she looked at Elise made her feel small and weak. “And everybody’s going to know it.”

  “No,” Elise said, knowing that her voice was full of desperation and pleading. “Please, Annalynn—I just want to start over.”

  Annalynn peered at Elise, her face spreading into a slow, wicked smile.

  “I bet you’re getting paid a pretty penny from that lord of yours,” she said. “You don’t really need it, do you? You’re living with him. I’m sure he gives you loads of coin.”

  Elise glared at her, gritting her teeth.

  “Annalynn—“

  “If you don’t pay me what he gives you every week, I’ll tell him what you are. I doubt that he would take kindly to knowing a witch was living on his estate. Especially if you are his whore—I’m surprised his cock hasn’t fallen right off.”

  Elise felt herself go pale. She felt weak on her feet suddenly just thinking about what Lord Ashton’s reaction would be if he knew about her powers.

  “I haven’t even used my—my gift,” Elise said.

  Annalynn wrinkled up her face in disgust.

  “You call it a gift,” she said. “Witch. Give me what coin you have now and you can meet me here in a week.”

  Elise stared at her. She wanted to scream, wanted to hit Annalynn, but that wasn’t her way. She knew that if she drew attention to them, Annalynn would scream her witch accusations as loud as she could. Instead, Elise reached into her bag and pulled out the small sack of coins she carried. She handed the sack over to Annalynn, who opened it and peered inside before putting it in her pocket.

  “You know, I’d be careful if I was you, Elise. There are some people who are already wondering about your so-called gift. I’ve heard rumors…”

  “What do you mean?” Elise said, panic consuming her as quickly as a brush fire. She couldn’t see how it was possible that anybody would have learned of her powers. “Who are you talking about?”

  Annalynn didn’t answer, but smirked. “Nobody you know yet. But I’m sure you’ll find out.”

  “Annalynn, please,” Elise begged, and when Annalynn tilted her nose up at her, Elise grabbed her arm in desperation. She had to know what Annalynn was thinking. Elise closed her eyes as she saw the visions flit through her mind, a man with pale blonde hair and eyes that were nearly black. Elise didn’t recognize him. She didn’t get a chance to see any further before Annalynn snatched her arm away. E
lise opened her eyes to see that the other girl had a stricken look on her face.

  “Don’t touch me, you filthy witch whore,” she spat. “If you ever do that again, I’ll tell everybody I know how evil and wicked you are.”

  Elise stared at her. She desperately wanted to ask Annalynn who the man was, but she knew that the girl wouldn’t answer. Elise struggled to etch his face in her memory, knowing that she needed to find out who he was if he knew about her powers.

  “Ask for more coin next time,” she said to Elise before she turned around and left her alone in the general store. She sighed, wondering how she was going to explain the fact that she wasn’t bringing back what Nikola had asked her to bring. But she had given all of her coin to Annalynn, terrified that the girl would rat on her. Elise left the general store feeling nauseated and overwhelmed with anxiety. Knowing that someone from her past was in town, someone who could destroy everything for her, consumed her with a fear that she didn’t think would ever go away. As she climbed on her horse, she thought briefly about running again, disappearing to Paris maybe. She knew what would happen if she left, though—she’d end up in another brothel, only this time the madam might not be so keen to allow her to stay without selling herself.

  Elise got back to the estate and brought Lovely to the stables, taking a moment to groom and feed the horse before she headed back to the house. She dreaded having to lie to Nikola or Julian, but she had no other choice—there was no way she could tell them about Annalynn without divulging some of her past, something that would be too dangerous to even consider doing.

  When she got inside, she found Nikola in the kitchen with Potts, laughing, her face flushed. Elise watched them together and noticed how sweet Nikola’s smile was when she looked at the cook, how much adoration was in her eyes. It made Elise smile to see them together, clearly in love, and she wondered what their story was and if it was ever something that Nikola would talk about.

  “Hi, Elise,” Nikola said as Elise walked into the kitchen.

  “Hi,” she said bashfully. “Um, I didn’t—I couldn’t pick anything up in town at the general store. I’m sorry.”

  Nikola frowned. “Did something happen?”

  “I was—I was robbed on the way to the general store,” Elise said. “I think. Somebody must have picked my pocket. They took my coin purse.”

  “Oh, dear,” said Nikola. “I’m sorry, Elise. You should tell Lord Ashton. He’ll replace the coin for you.”

  “Oh, no,” insisted Elise. “I couldn’t ask him for that, I—“

  “Why not?” came Julian’s voice from behind her. As usual, it made a warmth spread through her body, starting distractingly between her hips. It was so soft, deep and sensual, and every word he spoke felt almost like a caress.

  Elise turned to look at him over her shoulder. “Hello, my lord.”

  He came into the room then. “I’m going to pay you what you lost, Elise.”

  “You don’t have to,” she said, feeling guilty. She knew that whatever money she got from him, she’d have to give to Annalynn, especially if the girl was demanding more and more. Elise knew Annalynn, knew that she was the type of person who was going to try to milk her extortion for all it was worth. Elise would have to save every penny just to satisfy Annalynn, and Elise wasn’t even sure that what she got would be enough to do the trick.

  “Come to my office,” Julian said. “I want to speak with you, anyway.”

  Elise cast a glance at Potts and Nikola, then turned, taking a deep breath as she followed Lord Ashton up the stairs and to his office.

  Chapter 9

  Julian stared at Elise, who stood near the doorway without moving into the room. He didn’t know why.

  “Elise,” he said., “Have a seat.”

  She looked hesitant as she crossed the room, sitting across from him at his desk. She sat perched at the edge of her chair as if ready to flee.

  “What really happened to you today?” he asked her. He was curious, not only because of the look on her face—one of shifty nervousness that told him she was lying—but because of his curiosity to know more about her. He had been half-tempted to follow her this morning just to get some questions answered, but he had thought better of it. He wasn’t the kind of man to try to control a woman that way, by hiding in the shadows wherever she went. She was his employee, and she was free to do as she pleased, but her expression worried him.

  “I got picked,” she said, shrugging, though she didn’t meet his eye. It was making him frustrated; he wanted very much to look into the green depths of her gaze, to be captivated by it and find the truth behind her plaintive face.

  “Look at me, Elise,” he said firmly. She glanced up at him, meeting his eye. The way she bit her bottom lip made him tense all over, especially when he saw how wet and pink it was, ripe as a fruit. Julian thought about kissing Elise every time he saw her now, and sometimes when he didn’t.

  “What is it, my lord?” she asked. Her voice was on edge, irritated. She didn’t like to be questioned.

  “You were pick-pocketed?”

  “Yes.”

  “When did you find out?”

  “I—I tried to pay for the things at the general store when I noticed my pocket was cut.”

  “Your pocket was cut?” Julian asked. “May I see?”

  “What?” she asked, staring at him blankly.

  “I’d like to see your pocket. Perhaps Nikola could sew it for you—“

  “I know how to sew,” Elise said. “I’ll fix it myself.”

  “Show me,” Julian said, his voice coming out like a command. Elise lifted her eyebrows, staring at him. She crossed her arms over her chest.

  “No.”

  Julian took a deep breath, frustrated. “People do not tell me no, Elise.”

  “I do,” she said hotly. “I’m telling you no.”

  “Where did you go today?”

  “I told you, to the general store,” she said.

  “You went to town for some other reason. What was it?”

  “That’s none of your business, Julian,” Elise said.

  Julian quirked an eyebrow at her.

  “Excuse me?”

  She took a deep breath, shooting him a sarcastic look.

  “My lord,” she said. “I don’t have to tell you that. Unless of course I am your slave here? Am I?”

  “Of course not,” Julian said, gritting his teeth. He knew that she was just trying to frustrate him now, that she was just being obstinate. “I just want to know what happened to you. You seem tense.”

  “You make me tense,” she said.

  “Oh?”

  “Yes,” she said. “You and your eyes and your secrets. Why should I tell you anything if you won’t answer a single question about yourself?”

  “Because I am your employer. It is my right to know certain things about you.”

  “That’s ridiculous,” Elise said, her eyes full of anger. “I’m not telling you anything.”

  Julian found himself standing up, crossing around his desk and kneeling on the floor in front of Elise so that their faces were level. She looked into his eyes, hers wide with surprise as he leaned into her, speaking into her ear. He was careful not to touch her skin, knowing that if he did he wouldn’t stop, that he would take her clothes off to feel every inch of her flesh.

  “You are an impertinent, disrespectful girl,” he said. “Did you know that?”

  “I don’t have to respect you, my lord, as long as I clean your house. Don’t you agree?”

  Julian breathed her in, not speaking, growing angrier and hotter with every word she spoke. She was trembling from her proximity to him, squirming in her chair. Julian put his hands on her thighs, resting them there outside of her dress.

  “I do not agree,” he said, moving his hands upward, sliding them up her thighs as he pulled back to look into her eyes. Her lips were slightly parted,
her eyes half lidded as she stared at him. He searched for the pockets that had been sewn into the dress and slipped his hands inside, touching her hips through the fabric. Her whole body was tense as his fingers searched the pockets for signs of a hole.

  “Did somebody pick your pocket, Elise?” Julian asked softly, holding her gaze. His grip tightened on her hips and he pulled them forward, wishing he could bury his face between them, almost out of control.

  “No,” she breathed.

  “Tell me what happened,” Julian commanded. Her breathing was coming out almost ragged and Julian felt like he could almost hear her heart pounding in her chest. Or maybe that was his own, which was racing, compelling him just to reach up and touch her. He leaned in, his lips close to hers, almost touching, waiting for her to close the gap. Instead, she stood up, carefully avoiding his touch as she moved from around the chair. She was flushed, her skin pink under her collar and on the apples of her high, round cheekbones. Julian couldn’t take his eyes off of her.

  “I’m not giving you answers if you won’t give me any,” she said, standing a few feet away from him, crossing her arms over her chest.

  “What do you want to know, Elise?”

  “What’s on the third floor?” she asked. Julian’s jaw tightened as he stood up.

  “You have a million questions running around that insolent head of yours and that’s the only one you can manage to ask,” he said. “Of course.”

  “Why won’t you tell me?”

  He didn’t answer, but stared at her coldly. His heart was still racing, but he felt nervous now that he wasn’t under the spell of her proximity. Too nervous to answer the question. If Elise knew about the third floor, she wouldn’t hesitate to go up there. And if she went up there, it would all be over—Julian would have no choice but to send her away, far enough so she couldn’t hurt him with the information.

  Elise’s face went hard when she realized that he wasn’t going to answer.