Against Her Will

by Nicole Sturgill

  Temperance wondered what his story was. She hated the war that had taken so much from the men who served in it. She wondered if this man had been the man who had taken the life of her brothers and father. Men and their wars. The addlebrained fools were always so eager to go put bullets in one another and didn’t bother to worry about the damage done to everyone else in the process.

  Seeing that there was nothing that could be done for the man tonight, Temperance curled up on the floor and covered herself with a thin blanket. She hated the silence and missed the sounds of the slave quarters. Forcing herself to close her eyes, Temperance turned off her mind and willed sleep to come.

  ***

  Tanner groaned and cursed his mind for disturbing his sleep. The nightmares were getting worse and while he was glad to have woken up before this one got too intense, he still cursed it because he’d been having the best rest he’d had in a long, long time.

  The bed beneath him was soft, the pillows plush, and the blankets warm. It wasn’t mud, it wasn’t stones or dirt, and it wasn’t rough wooden planks. He shifted on the mattress and clicked his dry tongue against the roof of his mouth.

  A hand touched his arm and Tanner reacted on pure instinct. His hand shot out and he gripped his attacker by the throat, only to realize that the throat was quite delicate…

  Tanner’s eyes flew open and he found himself staring up at a beautiful face. Skin darkened by work in the sun and sprinkled with freckles, flaming hair of red and orange, dainty features more fit for a doll, perfect bow shaped lips and green eyes that were the colors of the emeralds.

  Those eyes also gave him pause. While they were beautiful, they were also… dead. There was no life and no emotion in them. The woman didn’t look scared, angry, or any of the other things a woman should look when a man assaulted her.

  Quickly Tanner released his hold on her and dropped his arm to the bed. “Sorry, miss,” he whispered. “You startled me. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

  Her expression was one of surprise, but she didn’t speak. Instead, she turned and left the room without ever uttering a word. Tanner frowned at her attire of a burlap sack dress.

  Who in the world was she and what was she doing here?

  Tanner had been gone five long years. Five long years his bully of a brother had been in charge here. Tanner had seen the slaves still outside looking unkempt and uncared for and he wasn’t pleased. Now there was this mystery woman, who had clearly gone without several meals.

  Trevor was a jackass, but going against him would mean one hell of a fight and right now, Tanner’s starved and battered body couldn’t even get out of this bed. And honestly, he didn’t know that he had the strength of mind left to go after his brother.

  Those union soldiers had taken away any and all he had ever had when they chained, beaten, starved, and tortured him for three years straight. It was only by the grace of God that a higher-ranking official stumbled upon the camp he’d been held in and released him a month ago. The war had long since been over, but as a prisoner of war from the Confederacy, he’d still been seen as United States of America property.

  Tanner felt exhaustion once again creeping in. He pulled the blanket tighter around himself and fell back into a fitful sleep full of dreams of his torture.

  ***

  Temperance went to Trevor’s office and knocked on the door. She stood with her hands folded and her head down waiting on him to answer.

  “What the hell do you want?” Trevor demanded as the door flew open.

  “He is awake, Master. I am on my way to get his breakfast. I thought you would want to know that he woke up.”

  Trevor gripped her upper arm and gave her a shake. “When I want to know something I will ask,” he growled. “Before you get breakfast for him, I want you to get a bath and change into one of your nice dresses. You are moving back into the manor and you’ll no longer be permitted to have any contact with the outside servants. Is that understood?”

  Temperance shook her head. “But, Master…”

  The back of Trevor’s hand fell sharply across her cheek. “I want my wife in my home with me! Is that understood?”

  “Yes, Master.”

  “And you’ll call me by my name when in the presence of my brother…” Trevor added.

  Temperance frowned. Was that fear she heard in his voice? Fear of Tanner?

  “Yes, sir,” Temperance nodded.

  “Good,” Trevor released his hold on her and motioned down the hall. “Now go get a bath and change your clothes before you worry about my brother’s stomach.”

  Temperance scurried off to do as he bid before she received another punishment. Her mind was racing. Trevor was afraid of Tanner and it made sense. This plantation belonged to Tanner on paper and from what Temperance had heard of the man, he wouldn’t appreciate what his brother had done with the place.

  Temperance thought of Tanner then. His eyes had been blue and gray all warring together. They were nice eyes, but something inside them had been gone… dead. She wondered what he’d seen since he’d left his plantation to go fight the war.

  What shocked her the most was that he had apologized to her for grabbing her neck when she had startled him. Temperance hadn’t realized that men still knew how to apologize to women.

  Temperance shook her head to clear the direction her thoughts were taking. Tanner was not now and would not be her savior. There were no such things as saviors. Temperance had learned that lesson the hard way.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Trevor was feeling more than a little confused as he sat in his office and stared down at his desk. Tanner was alive. How in the hell was Tanner alive?

  Tanner had been gone for five years. Trevor had happily sent the man off to war with the hope that he wouldn’t return and he had thought for sure that his hopes had become reality. He had gone so far as to have his brother declared dead and have the deed to the plantation put into his own name.

  Now that Tanner was back and alive he could take the plantation away from Trevor if he chose to do so. Trevor’s only hope was that Tanner would not want to. Trevor had always been good at controlling his brother and getting the man to do what he wanted and this would be no different.

  It would be easier to let Tanner die… to finish him off himself, but Trevor knew he wouldn’t do that. Not because he loved his brother too much to kill him, but because the one person Trevor had loved in his life, their mother, would come back from the dead and be heartbroken. Trevor wouldn’t go out of his way to save Tanner, he wouldn’t get the man a doctor or care for him himself. If somehow Temperance was able to nurse the man back to health then Trevor would simply use the powers of persuasion he’d been born with and convince his brother that he didn’t want the plantation put back into his name.

  It shouldn’t be hard. Tanner had never wanted the job of running the plantation to begin with. Trevor smiled and tapped his fingers on the desk. He always loved a chance to prove himself.

  ***

  Temperance would be lying if she said the warm bath didn’t feel good to her tired body and she would be lying further if she acted as if the soft gingham dress she pulled on didn’t feel good against her skin. She had nicer dresses made of silks and lace, but they would not be practical for caring for a sick man or working in the kitchen.

  When Temperance entered the kitchen to get Tanner a plate she was bombarded by questions from Wilma and Mary, who were preparing Trevor’s breakfast.

  “Is Tanner awake?”

  “Did the Master move you back into the house?”

  “Is he going to help us all?”

  Temperance held up her hands to stop the flow of questions and both women stomped their feet impatiently. “Speak, child!” Wilma scolded.

  “Tanner was awake when I left the room, though I don’t see how he can be any help to us all when he is lying half dead and unable to even lift his own head. And yes, the Master moved me back into the house and banned me from having any contact with a
ny of the staff outside the home.”

  “Oh…” Mary’s eyes were sad. “Everyone is going to miss you. You were bright spot for us all out there.”

  Temperance sighed. “I’ll miss everyone as well, but one day we will all leave from here. We will find a way to escape this place and we will not be dependent upon anyone else to do it…”

  Footsteps silenced Temperance and she busied herself making a plate of biscuits, gravy, bacon, and canned apples for Tanner.

  One of Trevor’s hired guns, Emerson, a man in his upper thirties with a scarred face and a mean disposition stepped into the kitchen. Mary and Wilma instantly became engrossed in their work and Emerson chuckled. “Well, well, well. What do we have here?”

  “We’re quite busy preparing breakfast,” Temperance warned. “If you’ll excuse us…”

  “You are a mouthy one, aren’t you?” Emerson clicked his tongue, “How would Trevor feel if I told him how you speak to me?”

  “How would Trevor feel if I told him you forced me to lay with you? Do you believe his pride and his temper would forgive you if he knew what you had done to me more than once?”

  Temperance knew that she had won because Emerson’s face paled slightly beneath the scars. “I don’t have to lay with a skinny little white girl, anyhow. Not when I have all these little chocolate treats working around here.”

  Emerson grabbed Wilma’s backside and squeezed roughly. Wilma stiffened, but gave no other reaction and this seemed to anger Emerson. He grabbed her hair and jerked her head back before sucking roughly on her neck.

  Temperance watched on in horror as Emerson ripped Wilma’s underclothes from her body and threw her down to her knees. Mary ran out the back door, leaving the kitchen and the home, and Temperance knew she was saving herself from the rape that was coming. She didn’t blame the girl.

  Emerson freed his thick, bulbous cock from his pants and Wilma simply remained on her hands and knees with her eyes locked on the stove. Her face was expressionless and her brown eyes dead.

  Emerson shoved himself inside her and began thrusting and grunting. Something inside Temperance snapped. The spirit that Trevor and Yancy had tried so hard to break came raging to life and she knew that she had to stop Emerson.

  Temperance grabbed the cast iron skillet from the wall and swung with all her might. It came down hard upon the back of Emerson’s head and the man stiffened before falling upon Wilma with a grunt.

  Temperance shoved the man off the other woman and helped Wilma to her feet, “What have ya done?!” Wilma cried. “Master is going to kill ya, child! Ya should have known better than to do somethin’ like that!”

  “I don’t know…” Temperance stared down at Emerson and prayed she’d killed him. “I couldn’t let him do that to you! It’s not right that these men here think they can do that to us whenever they please!”

  “But they can, child….” Wilma insisted.

  Temperance shook her head, “No, they can’t. Trevor cannot do it to me and these thugs cannot do it to you. It’s time we stop allowing it.”

  Emerson groaned and sat up slowly. He rubbed at his head and his enraged gaze fell upon Temperance, “I’ll kill you, you no good little bitch!”

  “Run Temperance!” Wilma exclaimed and Temperance didn’t have to be told twice.

  She grabbed Tanner’s plate in her hand and dashed away. She could hear Emerson stumbling along behind her, but she was much quicker than him in his addled state.

  Temperance honestly had no idea why she ran into Tanner’s room. She had no idea what possessed her to enter that room in hopes of escape, but that’s where she found herself. She put his breakfast tray on the chair beside the door and slammed the door behind her. Before she could engage the lock, the door was thrown open and an enraged Emerson stood there glaring down at her.

  Temperance swallowed hard and glanced at the bed. Tanner’s eyes were closed, she would get no help from him. Not that she had learned to count on men to be much help in any situation.

  “I’m going to have some fun with you, bitch. If you think Trevor will take your side over mine then you’re wrong. He doesn’t give a shit about you…”

  Temperance knew he was wrong, Trevor would see he was punished for touching her because it went against his rules, but he would also see that she was punished for her outburst and behavior… She knew she would be punished now no matter what she did so she figured she may as well make it worth it.

  Temperance dove for the tray and grabbed the knife from it. She turned quickly and the blade sank into Emerson’s side as he moved to grab her.

  The man let out a roar of pain and yanked the knife away before tossing it to the rug. Temperance cursed her luck. Of course, she would have hit him in place that wouldn’t kill him. It seemed that God was never on her side.

  Temperance tried to run, but Emerson grabbed her hair and yanked her back. She let out a cry and swatted behind her desperately, feeling her nails rake across his face.

  Emerson roared with rage and threw her to the floor as he came down on top of her. Temperance tried to fight him as he reached up her skirt and she felt her foot connect with flesh, but it wasn’t enough.

  His hand brushed against her womanhood through her underclothes and Temperance’s body tensed as her struggles increased. “I’m going to enjoy this,” Emerson hissed.

  Temperance felt her underclothes be torn away and her skirts raised. She felt the blunt, rounded head of Emerson’s cock against her backside and then suddenly, there was a movement to their left and Emerson stiffened behind her.

  His breathing became garbled and it sounded as if he were choking on liquid. Temperance turned her head to see Tanner standing weak legged beside the bed with a bloody knife in his hand. She scurried away from Emerson and threw herself against the wall as she took in the sight of him clawing at Tanner with his throat wide open and blood pouring down his chest. Emerson seemed desperate to reach the other man, but Tanner seemed unafraid. He kicked out his foot, catching Emerson in the forehead and knocking him to his back on the floor.

  Tanner collapsed onto the bed and dropped the knife to the floor as he sat there staring at Emerson’s dead body. Temperance couldn’t take her eyes off of Tanner. Shock coursed through her veins just the same as blood.

  “You… you saved me,” she whispered.

  Tanner’s blue gray eyes met hers and something passed between them. Temperance didn’t know what it was, but there was a familiarity in the dull light behind his gaze that she had recognized so many times in the mirror.

  “You appeared to be in need of some assistance, ma’am.”

  Temperance opened her mouth to speak, but was silenced when boot steps pounded to the door and Trevor’s angry voice filled the air, “What the hell is going on here?!”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Temperance was terrified.

  Trevor was beyond enraged.

  She quickly got to her feet and held out her hands to him in earnest. “I’m sorry!” she gasped. “He was trying to force me.” She pointed down to Emerson, “He chased me up here and I tried to fight him off, but he wouldn’t listen. I’m sorry, Mas… Trevor.” Temperance’s gaze flitted to Tanner and then back to Trevor. “I’m so sorry…”

  Tanner scooped the knife from the floor and stood again. “Why are you apologizing?” he demanded gently.

  That tenderness was like a rock through the glass defenses Temperance had spent the last year building up. Tears built behind her eyes and she chewed her lip furiously in an attempt to fight them back.

  Keeping her focus on Trevor who was standing there with clenched fists and trembling with rage, Temperance stepped toward him. “He came in the kitchen while I was getting Tanner his breakfast, Trevor, and he tried to force me.” Temperance knew she was lying, but thankfully Emerson was dead and could not tell his side, “I ran away and made it up here. I tried to fight back, but he was too strong and so Tanner took care of him. I’m sorry.”

  Tanner’s
hand closed around Temperance’s wrist and it was as if she’d been struck by a bolt of lightning. She looked up at him. He was six feet tall compared to her just over five foot frame and while he was thin and frail it was clear that there had once been strength in his body and with a little time and food, that strength would return.

  Tanner frowned down at her. “You don’t have to apologize for what happened, miss. No woman should ever be forced and any man that dares force a woman deserves just what Emerson got.”

  Even your brother? Temperance thought ruefully.

  Trevor’s jaw popped when he opened his mouth to speak. “Temperance, get to your room now. I know you must be tired, dear wife, and you need rest. I’ll tend to Tanner.”

  Temperance quickly pulled her arm from Tanner’s grasp and rushed from the room, shivering when she passed by Trevor and felt the rage rolling off him in waves.

  She went to her room, crawled into the bed and pulled her knees into her chest. Her body was trembling. She wanted to be brave and fight back against these men, but Trevor was going to be so angry… It was hard to be brave when a man capable of the things that Trevor was capable of doing wanted to see you punished.

  And Tanner was a problem. He seemed so different from his brother, or was it all an act. How could someone who shared blood with a monster be anything but a monster as well? And he had fought for the Confederacy! He, or men like him, had killed her father and brothers and led to all of this.

  But mostly, Tanner gave her hope and Temperance had learned in the last year that hope was a dangerous and fleeting thing that did nothing but set you up for more pain, heart ache and loss.

  Slowly, Temperance breathed in and out, forcing her mind to shut down as she stared at the closed door. It didn’t take long before her eyes saw nothing and her ears heard nothing. All that was left to do was wait for punishment.

  ***

  Tanner’s legs wanted to give out beneath him, but sheer stubborn grit and nothing else kept him on his feet. “What the hell is going on, Trevor? Why did your wife feel as if she needed to apologize so profusely to you when it was this man that tried to take her by force?”