Love Sneaked In (Montgomery Family Trilogy)
Page 27
Henry shook his head, and with a look of utter exhaustion on his face, he replied, “I’ve searched every brothel in London, and there’s no sign of her anywhere. I don’t know where else to look.”
“Oh God!!” Matthew exclaimed, “Where could she be?”
Wearily shaking his head, Henry asked, “This thug couldn’t give you a name or anything? I’ve had several of my friends out looking with me, but I’m at a loss on what direction we should take. So far, no one knows she’s missing except for Weston and Hayden. The scandal would be unbearable if word gets out about Helen being in a brothel. I feel we need to hire a Bow Street Runner. They’re trained to handle situations like this.”
“That’s an excellent idea! How do we go about getting one? Whatever it costs, I’ll pay. I have to get Helen back! The word is out back in Devonshire about Helen being abducted, but no one knows she’s been taken to a brothel. I’m not concerned about a scandal for me, but I know Helen would be devastated if she were no longer accepted by the ton.”
God, this was so frustrating.
They needed to find her now!
Henry rubbed the day’s growth of beard on his face, looking utterly exhausted. “Do you have any idea who could be behind this? Do you have any enemies that would want to get to you through Helen?”
Matthew began pacing the room. “I’ve been racking my brain trying to figure out who could be behind this. From the description given to me by the thug who took my sons, he has brown hair and is portly, but no identifying features at all. He did say the man who hired them was probably a gentleman.”
“Well, I’ll send word around to Bow Street for the runner,” Henry explained. “We’ll tell him what you do know. Hopefully getting one of them on the case will help.”
The Bow Street Runner arrived, and Matthew told him everything he knew. Kathryn had a miniature she had painted of Helen last year, so they gave it to the runner. That way he would know what Helen looked like. He told them he would get right on it, assuring them that he would find her as soon as possible.
After two days of continuous searching, there was still no sign of Helen. She’d been missing for eight days now, and they didn’t have a clue where she could be. Obviously, she hadn’t been taken for ransom, since there had been no demands for money. Matthew couldn’t imagine who could be behind this.
Who would hate Helen this much?
Wait a minute!
Oh God…he had a sick feeling in his stomach.
There was someone who hated Helen vehemently…Cecilia. Surely, she couldn’t be involved in this. She would have to have had help. He’d better tell Sanderford about Cecilia and he was definitely not looking forward to that conversation.
Rushing into Henry’s study, Matthew took a deep breath, and then blurted out, “Sanderford…I need to talk to you about something. I’ve thought of someone who has a grudge against me. I can’t believe she would be involved, but she does feel she has a reason to hate Helen.” God, he didn’t want to tell Sanderford this, but he knew he had to, if there was a chance it could help find Helen. “I…I had a mistress when I first married Helen.”
Henry stood up so fast his chair fell over. “You what? You’re telling me you had a mistress when you married my sister? How could you do something like that?”
He knew Sanderford would react this way, and he didn’t blame him a bit. If it were his sister, he’d be angry too. “I know how stupid I was. I broke it off with her just as soon as I got back to Collingswood, but my mistress didn’t take it well at all. Afterward, Cecilia treated Helen badly every time we saw her socially. So, right before Christmas, Helen confronted me, and I told her the whole sordid story. I love my wife, and I’ve been paying for my stupidity ever since she found out about Cecilia. She’s the only one I can think of who could be behind this.”
Henry looked at Matthew. His blue eyes had turned to ice. “We need to tell the runner about this so he can investigate this possible lead. But I’m telling you right now Collingswood, if one hair on her head is hurt, you are a dead man.”
“Believe me,” Matthew replied, “if she’s been hurt in any way at all, I’ll give you the gun to shoot me with.”
Oh God, please let Helen be all right.
They sent a message to the runner, and he came over straightaway. Matthew had to tell the whole ignominious story all over again, and he could see the look of disdain in Sanderford’s eyes as he retold his story.
The Bow Street Runner stroked his chin. “This woman is probably behind this. There’s no fury like a woman scorned. She probably thinks that if your wife is out of the picture you’ll come back to her. I meant to ask you earlier, has anything else happened to your wife that’s suspicious?”
Oh God, he really didn’t want to tell this!
He knew how Sanderford was going to react.
“Helen fell off her horse last fall…the girth had been cut.” Matthew looked over at Henry and reminded him, “Remember, you came and even tried to help figure out what had happened?”
Henry shouted, “Are you telling me that the riding accident was an attempt on Helen’s life? Has anything else happened that we need to know about?”
Matthew hung his head as he answered, “Helen was in a carriage accident right before Christmas and the wheel came off. When we checked out the carriage…it looked as if the wheel had been tampered with.”
Sanderford grabbed him by the throat, threw him up against the wall, and pounded his fists into Matthew’s face. The Bow Street Runner tried to pull him off, but Henry was in such a rage that it was impossible. Matthew did nothing to defend himself, because he knew he deserved every punch that Sanderford threw. Melody came rushing into the room and saw Matthew and Henry fighting.
Running over to Henry, Melody shouted, “What is going on in here? Henry, stop this right now! Why are you hitting Matthew?”
Henry let go of Matthew, and he slid to the floor. Sanderford looked at Matthew with such venom that he knew he would hate him forever. “I’ll tell you why! This bastard is the reason Helen’s been taken. He had a mistress when he married Helen, and evidently the woman has decided that it’s Helen’s fault that this idiot didn’t marry her instead!”
Melody’s eyes filled with tears as she looked over at Matthew, shaking her head. “I knew they were having some problems, but Helen never gave me any details in her letters. All she said was that they were working them out. Oh Matthew, how could you do something like that? Helen didn’t deserve such shabby treatment. She’d already been hurt by someone else, and then to be hurt again by her husband.”
“I know, this is all my fault,” Matthew replied. “Oh God…I’ll die if anything has happened to her!”
With tears in her eyes, Melody said, “We’ve got to find her immediately. It’s only been three weeks since she had the twins. She could be dreadfully injured if she does end up in a brothel and is forced to have…have…” With an embarrassed expression on her face, she continued, “Uh…umm…relations with a man. Not to mention the emotional damage that itwould cause.”
Melody was right. And any harm that came to her would be his doing.
Oh, why did he have to be such an idiot!
He should have broken up with Cecilia before he ever went to London. That was one mistake that he’d have to live with for the rest of his life and if anything happened to Helen, he didn’t think he could go on. When he saw the look in Melody’s eyes, it almost brought him to his knees. Even if they did get Helen back, she would probably never want to see him again. Helen would certainly hate him for putting her through this hell.
Everyone turned their back on him. Matthew hung his head, and quietly left the room.
Chapter 23
April 1821
Helen woke up to find herself bound, gagged, and in a hovel. She didn’t have any idea where she was. She just knew they’d traveled for days. Louis had given her some food, but she couldn’t eat for worry over her children. All he would tell her was that t
hey were safe, and that he wouldn’t hurt them as long as she cooperated.
Oh Lord, please keep my children safe, and help Matthew find me, she prayed.
She wondered what Matthew was doing. She knew he must be frantic with all of them gone. He wouldn’t even know she’d been separated from their sons. She hoped he would find her soon, because she had a bad feeling about what Louis had planned for her.
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.
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.”