Desperate (Harris Trilogy Book One)

by Teresa Greene

  He wrapped his hand around her wrist and dragged her to an upstairs room locking her inside. Ear to the door, she listened for his retreating footsteps. She tested the door, found it locked. With her back against the door she studied the room. There was nothing but a bed, a small table, and a rocking chair. Moving to the window, she raised it, leaned over the windowsill, but couldn’t risk jumping from the second floor. It might cause her to lose her baby. She felt so helpless. Determined not to succumb to Bob Lewis, she began looking for something to pick the lock. She had to escape and find her way home.

  ****

  Half an hour later, Tilley arrived. She was still upset from witnessing a murder because her eyes were as big as saucers. Two huge slaves followed her into the room obediently carrying a sitting tub. They deposited it in the middle of the room and then began bringing in buckets of steaming hot water. She couldn’t wait to take a bath since she flat out refused to bathe with Slade watching her. Grime stuck to her skin making her feel sticky. Her hair was so filthy she wondered if she would ever get it clean.

  When the slaves had accomplished their task, they left the room locking the door behind them. Now alone with Tilley she felt renewed hope.

  Tilley assisted her undressing. She felt pity for the young slave. It was obvious Lewis had been abusing her.

  Too impatient to delay her chance for escape any longer, she pleaded, “If you help me get away, I’ll take you with me. If we can make it back to Richmond, I promise you’ll be well taken care of. My fiancé will make sure Mr. Lewis is put behind bars. He’ll never be able to bother us again.”

  Hope glimmered in her eyes. She had known nothing but abuse and pain at Bob’s hands. “Master Lewis has promised to kill me if I ever try to leave. Now that you are here he’ll leave me be. I’m tired of what he does to me. It makes me feel so dirty.” She shuddered.

  “I don’t want him to touch me either. I have a fiancé in Richmond. If you help me get back to him, I swear he will protect you from Bob Lewis. He is a doctor and very rich. Please, Tilley help me. He had me kidnapped. I don’t want to marry him. I’m here against my will.”

  Tilley replied sadly, “I want to help you, but I’m afraid. When Master is angry, I’m scared he’ll kill me. He has a terrible temper.”

  It almost broke her heart to bring up more pain, but she was desperate. “He was going to let Slade lay with you. How do you know he won’t let another man touch you?”

  A catch in her voice, tears swimming in her eyes, she whispered, “I’m afraid.”

  Perhaps she needed to have patience. Maybe if she gave Tilley some time to think about her circumstances, she would help her. Lewis said they would be married tomorrow. Hopefully, he would not touch her tonight.

  She considered telling him she was pregnant, but was afraid he would kill her knowing she carried another man’s baby. She hoped Jacob had figured out where she was and would rescue her soon. If she couldn’t convince Tilley to help her, Jacob would be her only hope.

  She languished in the tub until the water began to cool. Tilley washed her thick, filthy hair. It was pure heaven. Nimble fingers rubbed the dirt away causing Kate to moan with pleasure. When her hair was clean, she held her head down while Tilley poured a bucket of water rinsing the soap from her hair. “Thank you, I feel almost human again. It’s been so long since I have enjoyed a bath this much. Again, thank you.”

  “You’re welcome, ma’am.” She waited while Kate toweled her skin dry and then wrapped her in a warm blanket. There was a fire in the hearth so Kate moved forward to sit in the rocker, and bask in the warmth. Tilley followed and brushed her hair free of tangles. Her hair had grown quick and seemed even thicker.

  Almost asleep in the rocker, she jumped when there was a knock at the door. She automatically cringed. Bob Lewis unlocked the door and entered filling the room with his huge size. The two slaves who had brought in the buckets of water and tub entered behind him and carried away everything.

  “I hope you enjoyed your bath. You look absolutely ravishing.” It was all she could do to stand there while his eyes raked over her. Pulling the blanket tightly up to her neck with white-knuckled fingers, she blushed. She pressed her body against the chair as he came closer. He picked up a lock of her hair. “Why did you cut your hair?” When she did not answer, he replied, “It does not matter. It will grow back.”

  It took every ounce of strength Kate possessed not to pull away as Lewis wrapped the lock of hair around his fat finger. Her hands trembled as she wondered how she would tolerate his touches if she were not rescued in time. “I have been through a terrible ordeal over the past few days, Mr. Lewis. I’m extremely tired and would like to rest. I haven’t had a decent nights sleep since I was kidnapped. We will talk tomorrow, after I have had some sleep.”

  “I agree, Kate. I’m so glad to have you here where you belong.” His fingers grazed her bruised cheek. “I can wait one more night to enjoy your body.” She could scarcely stand his presence or his lewd remarks. “Besides, I want you rested and rejuvenated.”

  He stepped to the oak mantel, propped his elbow on the edge, and gazed at her. “The preacher will arrive tomorrow to marry us. If you don’t cooperate, I promise you will be sorry.”

  However much she detested him, she was sure there would be unsavory consequences if she told the preacher she was there against her will. Worse he might even kill the preacher. He had already shown he was capable of murder.

  “Rest tonight and we will work out the details of the nuptials in the morning during breakfast. Tilley will bring you some clothes in the morning. I feel you might be more apt to stay if you don’t have proper attire for traveling.”

  “You know someone will come for me. My fiancé will not rest until he finds me.”

  Angry eyes latched on to her. “By the time anyone comes for you, we will have already consummated our marriage. I doubt your fiancé will want you after you are no longer chaste.”

  The comment caused her to flinch. Pink color spread across her cheek bones. “Mr. Lewis I will not lay with you willingly. If you force me, I promise you will regret your actions. I advise you to reconsider and let me go back to Richmond.”

  “You belong with me. Don’t think for one minute I’ll ever let you go.” He took a long breath and tried to control his rising anger. “Come, Tilley. Let’s leave our guest alone so she can get some sleep.” Back stiff, he took Tilley’s hand and led her toward the door.

  Kate could see the dread in her eyes at the thought of being alone with Lewis. She could only imagine the treatment she had been subjected to at the hands of such a brute. After tonight she would be getting all his unwanted advances if she did not find a way to escape.

  After they left, she tried the door. It was securely locked. She tried shaking it, but it was strong and well built. Again she made another sweep of the room looking for something to pick the lock, but found nothing. Finally, she gave up and fell on the bed. Sadness over took her as she wrapped her naked body in the blanket, and tried to imagine Jacob rescuing her. But as usual the face she saw was David’s.

  ****

  Rays of sun filtered through the window. Kate blinked and rolled to her back. It took her a few moments to realize she was locked in a room at Bob Lewis’ plantation. On the verge of tears, she beat her fists against the pillow until she tired. Because she was so depressed she did not want to get out of bed. If Jacob did not come soon, she was going to have to do something herself. Her mind was spinning with plans to escape Bob Lewis.

  She heard someone outside the door. The door swung open and Tilley crossed the threshold. “Good morning, Miss Monroe. I hope you got some rest last night.” Her voice sounded cheerful, leading Kate to believe she was trying to ease her depression.

  “Yes Tilley, I am so exhausted from the days of travel that I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. How about you, did you sleep well?”

  Her expression changed as she forced the corners of her mouth to turn up. “I sl
ept fine.” She placed a dress, chemise, and underwear on the end of the bed.

  A bold face lie. Underneath the smile, Kate saw and felt the sorrow. Hope had her bolting out of bed. She draped the blanket over her shoulders to cover her nudity. Taking one of Tilley’s hands she begged, “Tilley, we can leave this terrible place together. You don’t have to stay and put up with someone so evil. I have family who will take you in, and treat you better than you thought possible. Please Tilley, I want to go home. If you could find me a pistol, or anything that I could use as a weapon I can get us out of here. I don’t want to kill Mr. Lewis, but I will not stay here and become his wife.”

  “I’m afraid, Miss. I’m afraid he will kill me if I help you. I want to leave here so bad, and I hate the thoughts of him doing to you what he does to me.” She pulled her hand away. “You seem to be so sweet, but I can’t do nothing. He is too mean. If he knew I was even talking to you about helping you escape, he would beat me to an inch of my life.”

  White as a sheet, Kate let out a little scream. Tilley twirled around to find Lewis standing in the doorway. From his violent expression he had heard enough of the conversation to anger him. “Tilley, will you please leave us alone?”

  At first she did not move. “Get out now!” His voice was so full of heat, she ran from the room like a frightened kitten.

  Fear overwhelmed her. Her stomach lurched as she held the blanket even tighter around her. He closed the door and crept into the room. She raced to the table standing in the middle of the room, putting it between her and Bob.

  “What do you expect me to do? Accept my fate of being your wife! I don’t think so. I’m in love with someone else, Mr. Lewis. I don’t love you and I never will. This is the first place Jacob will look for me. I told him you were the reason I was forced to leave my home. I told him you are obsessed with me. Any minute now someone will come for me.”

  “You will marry me in a few hours, Kate. You will be mine forever. Forget this man you say you are in love with. You will never see him again. Maybe I need to take you now. Maybe then you will forget about trying to leave me.” He reached his hand out and motioned for her to come to him. “It is futile to fight me.”

  Shaking her head, she yelled, “No, I will not let you touch me!”

  He reached across the table with a big beefy hand causing her to back up until she felt the wall to her back. The table flew across the room and smashed against the wall. He caught her by the hair as she tried to run around him and bolt for the door.

  She screamed out in pain. “Turn me loose! You’re Lucifer himself! You can’t force me to marry you. I’d rather die.”

  He picked her up by the waist and threw her on the bed. “Maybe my baby will be growing in your belly by the time someone comes to your rescue. Then you will have no other choice but to stay.”

  To keep her nudity from his view, she clutched the blanket to her chest. She began to shout at Lewis. “I hate you! If I get the chance, I’ll kill you!”

  Kate struggled to get off the bed, but Lewis pushed her back down into the mattress. He straddled her holding her arms down with his knees and began to unbutton his shirt. “I was hoping to make love to you for the first time with a gentle hand since you are a virgin, but it seems you give me no other choice. If rough is what you want, rough is what you’ll get.”

  She was squirming and fighting so violently that he couldn’t keep her pinned down. All he had been able to remove was his shirt revealing his fat chest and flabby belly. She thought she was going to retch. He clutched her shoulders trying to hold her still.

  Panic made her reckless. “Virgin, I’m no virgin. In fact, I’m pregnant. Do you still want to marry me with another man’s baby in my stomach?”

  He pierced her with his dark eyes. “You’re lying.”

  “Am I? You wouldn’t believe the things I’ve done. I dressed as a man and joined the infantry. I would rather have been raped by a hundred men than to have stayed here and been forced to marry the likes of you. You asked why I cut my hair. I cut it to look like a man.” Furious tears spewed down her face.

  He was livid. He slapped her across the face. “Pregnant or not, you are about to be bedded by me.”

  Kate began to fight like a wildcat. She scratched, bit, and punched with all the strength she had. Maybe she couldn’t stop him from raping her, but she would not submit either.

  ****

  Following the tracks of the two horses, David trudged ahead. Not once had he stopped to rest or sleep since he left Scott and Terry. He was so exhausted, but all he could think about was saving Kate. He had pushed himself and his horse to their limits. It was a miracle the tired horse had gotten him this far.

  The morning light lifted the fog and he saw the plantation looming ahead of him. It had to be Bob Lewis’. Something told him Kate was in danger and he needed to hurry. He nudged his horse urging a little more speed.

  ****

  Tilley sat in Lewis’ bedroom with her hands over her ears. She couldn’t bear to hear Kate’s screams. It did no good. Horrible screams vibrated through the whole house, and she hated herself for not doing something. But what could she do? Bob was a huge, strong man. If she attempted to stop him, he would kill her.

  Unable to tolerate Kate’s screams any longer, Tilley decided she had to do something. She crawled off the bed, and rummaged through the drawers of the bureau looking for a gun. Frantic, she threw clothes all over the room as she searched. She couldn’t find one. Legs trembling, she sank to the floor. There in the corner was a big gun, but she did not know how to use it. Never in her life had she fired a weapon. She grabbed it anyway and ran to the room where Bob was attacking Kate.

  When she entered, she could see Kate under Bob and he was trying to rip the blanket from her nude body. She clutched the blanket with one hand while trying to fight him off with the other. She called him every vile name she could think of. Tilley pointed the gun toward Lewis and tried to fire it, but nothing happened. After several attempts, she gave up, turned it around gripping it by the barrel, and hit Bob on the head with all the strength she could summon. Immediately, all of his heavy weight collapsed onto Kate. She kept the gun raised in the air ready to hit him again but he never moved.

  Face covered with tears, Kate pushed and shoved trying to get Bob’s heavy body off her, but he weighed too much. Tilley dropped the gun on the floor and gripped Bob’s arm with both hands and tugged. His prone body fell with a thud to the floor. Blood oozed from a gash on his head.

  Frightened, Tilley could do no more than stare at him lying on the floor. Eyes huge and full of dread, she wondered if she had killed him. Thoughts of being hung for killing her master plagued her mind. How could she have done something so stupid? She had signed her own death certificate.

  ****

  Kate bolted off the bed in case Bob regained consciousness. She considered hitting him over the head with the gun until she was sure he was dead, but it all sounded too gory.

  Tilley asked, “Do you think I killed him?”

  “We’re probably not that lucky. Come on, we’ll lock him in.” Kate prayed Bob would not be able to escape the room giving them enough time to get to town and seek help from the sheriff.

  Deciding not to leave the gun, she tucked it under her arm. It was possible he would blast his way out of the room if they left it behind. Taking Tilley by the hand, Kate pulled her from the room and locked the door behind them with shaking hands. Her heart was racing from her struggle with Bob.

  “I need some clothes, Tilley. Do you have something for me to wear? I left the clothes you brought me in there, and I’m not about to go in and get them.” She was breathing so hard she could hardly talk.

  “Follow me.” Together they raced down the stairs to Tilley’s room off from the kitchen.

  Still in shock, Tilley stood unmoving while Kate rummaged through the bureau for something to wear. Then as reality sat in she began to blubber. “I’ve never attacked a person in my life. I attacked
a white person. I’m gonna’ be in some powerful trouble since the law don’t look too kindly on slaves going again’ their masters.” Terrified, she rubbed a hand over her chest. “They gonna hang me.”

  Kate put her hands on Tilley’s shoulders and gazed into her frightened eyes. “I swear I will protect you. I’ll tell the sheriff I hit Mr. Lewis over the head. Trust me.”

  That seemed to calm Tilley’s nerves a little. Kate held up a skirt. “You are so tall. I’ll trip over the hem.” She let out a little giggle. Five minutes ago she was almost raped and now she was worrying about what to wear. While she slipped the skirt over her hips, plans circled in her head. “Are there any horses in the barn?” They would need fresh mounts to make the trek to town to notify the sheriff. The two horses she and Slade rode in on would still be too tired for the seven mile trip.

  “Yes, there are three left. Soldiers came a week ago and took all the rest for the war. What if Master comes after us?”

  Kate rolled the skirt up around her waist until she was satisfied with the length. “We’ll take all the horses and release them a few miles up the road. We’ll be long gone before Mr. Lewis finds a way to follow.”

  “Pack as little as possible. I’ll go to the kitchen and secure some provisions for our trip. I was too nervous to eat last night and suddenly I’m starving. Will anyone in the house try to stop me?”

  “No, the only slaves left are May, the housekeeper and her two sons. They hate Master and would have left a long time ago, but May is too old to travel and her sons would not leave without her.”

  “Come to the barn as soon as you are packed so we can saddle the horses.”

  “I don’t know much about horses, Miss Kate. I haven’t ridden, but maybe two times.”

  “It’s okay, Tilley. The worst is over. Riding a horse will be the easy part. All you’ll have to do is hang on. Mr. Lewis should be out a while after that knock on the head you gave him. Let’s hurry though. The more miles we put between us and him the better.”