"That occurred to me as well. I thought perhaps we could say we were servants. I imagine it would be easy enough for mix ups to happen with servants," Mercy said.
"Though they might not let mixed up servants into the house," Sophronia said.
"And we certainly could not pass as servants in our clothes," Mercy said.
They had given up their skins and returned to the clothes they had arrived in. They were not their best finery but the clothes did label them as well bred ladies. Two well bred ladies out for a ride would arouse much less interest or suspicion than two women with their complexion riding around in animal skins.
"Then, I remembered that in one of Jane Austen's books a woman becomes ill and the man she had met was forced to put her up in his home until she recovered. I thought we could say that we were friends of Seidel and that one of us had fallen ill. Adam did say that the butler was a chivalrous man. He would not turn us away if we were women friends of Seidel in distress," Mercy said.
"He would perhaps be too chivalrous and send for a doctor and rouse the household," Sophronia said.
"I have no other ideas. Perhaps by the time we get to Seidel's house one of us will really have fallen ill and the butler can fetch a doctor while the other of us is tended to," Mercy said. Sophronia could hear the merriment in her voice and knew she was teasing.
"Suppose we were two women in distress but not of the nature that would require a doctor or any intervention at all," Sophronia said.
"Have you thought of something?" Mercy asked.
It was a crazy idea but it was so crazy that perhaps it might work.
"I have. Though once we are in I do not know what we can do. I dare not leave Vivian to come after us or reveal us to whatever bandits she is working with. It will be days before we can enlist the help of Adam and Una," Sophronia said.
"The docks are not far from where Seidel lives. Perhaps, for the right sum, I know someone who would assist us," Mercy said.
"Will they put their lives at stake to help us rescue Nathaniel?"
"I doubt they will. They are the kinds who want to live to spend their money. Getting Nathaniel out will be all up to us but I believe they will help us keep Vivian and my brother safe until the full moon is over and we can turn Vivian over to Una and her werebears for safe keeping until my father arrives.
Chapter 29
Nathaniel glared at Vivian. In that moment he could not believe he had ever cared for such a vile creature. All he wanted was to get as far away from her as possible though currently that was only across the room.
The door was thick and even though he screamed and fought Vivian assured him that no one would let him out. They would assume she had succumbed to some female madness. He could not believe that the servants of the house were so stupid as to believe her tale though he supposed they would find the truth much more unreal.
There was perhaps another hour before darkness. He did not believe they would skin him in the night. At least, not this night. Firstly, his arrival had been a surprise and the men who made their living skinning were-creatures were likely out and about looking for were-creature encampments. Vivian and her mother were unlikely to murder him so long as he remained passive towards them. It would not do for them to mar his fur. He could not keep the bitterness from his thoughts. He had cared for Vivian. He had almost bedded the minx.
"Why did you do this?" Nathaniel asked. He did not really expect an answer. He was in no position to demand anything. He was curious of her motives though it would likely do little to save him. He was not counting on a were-bear rescue and the message to his father likely would not have yet arrived.
"Why did I do what?" Vivian asked. She flipped her hair as she sat on a log that had been cut into a chair.
"Why betray your people?"
"The werewolves have grown weak. I saw a chance to join ranks with the strong. It is not so difficult to understand. Seidel works for one of the richest and most powerful men in the world," Vivian said.
"A man who makes his fortune in death," Nathaniel said.
"Most men who are rich and powerful do," Vivian said.
"You brought his hunters into our camps."
"I did."
"Did you intend to kill your own father?"
"My father would have never consented to my marriage to Seidel. He wanted to marry me off to that fool Daniel. The boy was younger than I and still puppy eyed over your sister. I would have spent my life whelping his pups and nothing more. There was no power in that. My mother and I wanted more for me," Vivian said.
Nathaniel turned to Vivian's mother. "I thought you were dead."
"When you skin a werewolf corpse it becomes unrecognizable. The body of another was brought in and my death was assumed because of my absence."
"Whose corpse was it?"
"A tenant from another land. She was someone no one knew and so she was not considered. She was not part of any of the packs and as a servant she was nearly invisible. My husband would have been the only one who would have noted her absence but he was dead beside her."
"It was part of the agreement with Seidel. My mother was not to be harmed. When I told her of the affair she was rightly pleased," Vivian said.
"And what of the willow tree?" Nathaniel asked. She had tried to make him an adulterer when she planned to marry Seidel and kill a fellow werewolf. It made him sick.
"Do you know what is more valuable than a werewolf pelt? A werewolf pup. I might give Seidel a pup or two but it would be difficult to guess which of his children were werewolves. If I had a child with you he was almost guaranteed to be a werewolf. Have you any idea what Astor would pay to adopt a werewolf child? Not only could the boy infiltrate packs across the globe and lead our hunters to easy kills but with proper training he could start his own pack headed by Astor and following Astor's commands. No king in history has managed to do that. It would be a feat. Seidel and I would be set for life if I could present a werewolf pup to Astor. I tried to seduce Daniel before he was killed but like you he refused me. It does not matter now though. Seidel has found a rogue werewolf who will assist us. It is rather a shame. I was not lying when I said I wanted you," Vivian said. Her coquettish smile made him nauseated. He wished that it was only she and him in the room. If her mother was absent he might have been able to take just Vivian in a werewolf fight to the death. He would be punished for killing a werewolf, even one who was a traitor, but he would take the punishment if it meant the rest of the werewolves were safe from her evil plans. He understood why Una had taken Sophronia into her custody. He hoped that she would be safe in the werebear encampment until his father and brother came to take her home. He must not let his child fall into Vivian's clutches. She needed a were-child to hand over to Astor. At least he could die in the knowledge that his child was safe.
He felt the pull of the moon. Tonight might be the last night he survived being a werewolf.
Sophronia took a deep breath before knocking on the front door of Seidel's home. She and Mercy both looked bedraggled but that fit in well with the story they were about to tell.
For a terrible moment she wondered if their plotting had been in vain as no one responded to the knock. She knocked again. Mercy reached for her hand and they clung together to steady each other. If they could not enter by subterfuge then they would need to enter by force and she did not think they would succeed if they tried.
Just as she was about to turn away and scout the layout of the house the door opened. The man who answered was an elderly man. The fact that he looked a bit like the character in Cervantes novel helped her picture herself trying to plead to Mr. Quixote for help.
"Please, is Mr. Seidel here?" Sophronia asked. She was glad of the tremble in her voice that came from her terror at the situation. She doubted she could fake such a thing.
"He is away," the butler said.
Beside her, Mercy burst into tears.
"Are you in need of some sort of assistance?" the butler asked.
> "We met Mr. Seidel several weeks ago and he said we could call on him. I hoped he would assist us in this most wretched hour. This is my spinster cousin. We were just on our way to meet a potential suitor for luncheon. We decided to ride because of the fineness of the day but her horse startled dreadfully and threw her to the ground. I climbed down to assist her and my horse joined his fellow," Sophronia said.
"I have no spare horses but I can send for a hack," the butler said.
"That is kind of you but our date is not too far to walk the rest of the way. I would not want to make the first impression by arriving in a hack. The real issue is that in the fall my cousin tore the seam of her corset. If we could only come in and borrow a sewing kit I know I can repair the damage. I worry that if I leave it the hole will only widen and by the time we meet with the suitor my cousin will look dreadful. His mother is to be there as well. She is said to be a keen eyed matron. What will she think of my cousin if she notices her corset is misshapen?" Sophronia said. She let the panic she was feeling reflect in her voice. The butler might think them ridiculous females but she hoped he would assist them anyways.
"Of course, we have a room you can use and a sewing kit. I will send a maid up to assist you at once," the butler said.
He led them to a room and went to fetch the maid. Sophronia pulled up her skirts and unsheathed the dagger she had hidden there. Mercy had just pulled out the pistol when the maid entered the room.
Sophronia rushed forward and clamped her mouth over the maid’s mouth as Adam had done to her.
"We will not harm you if you do as we say. We need to see Vivian. You have been told she is not to be disturbed due to madness but she is holding my husband captive," Sophronia said.
"Her husband is my brother. You will take us where we need and you will be unharmed. If you try to get help or reveal us I will shoot you with this gun. It should cause enough chaos for us to locate him on our own," Mercy said. Sophronia hoped the maid would cooperate. She really did not want to hurt anyone. Equally, she did not want the whole household after them when they had only a pistol and a dagger.
Nathaniel felt exhausted but he dared not close his eyes. The sun had risen and they were all back in human form and dressed for the sake of modesty. He had sat against the furthest wall trying to find some means of escaping before Vivian called whatever brutes skinned werewolves to her.
In wolf form he had sniffed every nook and cranny of the room for weaknesses but he had found none. He had tried by force to break the door and wall but they were too strong and Vivian had pounced on him and restrained him as soon as she realized his intentions. Now, Vivian was asleep and her mother was guarding him though she was exhausted as well from the night in wolf form.
He caught the scent just a moment before the door slammed open and cursed.
Vivian's mother had caught the scent of something amiss but had not recognized it. Sophronia pushed a young woman in maid's clothes forward at Vivian’s mother making her stumble backwards in her weakened state. The commotion awoke Vivian who rushed forward at Sophronia. He leapt to stop Vivian from making contact with his wife but he saw the glint of metal and changed course. Vivian fell on Sophronia and he heard the sound of metal slicing flesh. The smell of blood filled his nostrils exciting his wolf and horrifying him.
He could not believe that Sophronia was there. He wanted to kiss her and shout at her all at once. She had come to rescue him but she had also put the life of their child in jeopardy. They could quarrel about that if they lived through this.
Vivian yelped in pain and fell backwards. The blood was flowing from her belly. In a normal human the slash might have been fatal but in a werewolf it should heal.
Mercy trained her pistol on Vivian's mother.
"I have silver bullets. If you move I will end you," Mercy said. Nathaniel wondered where in the world she had gotten silver bullets and furthermore who had fitted them to fit the pistol they had brought.
The maid looked stunned and terrified. She had crawled into a corner and was whimpering pitiably.
"Now, we are going to all walk out of here casually. My knife will be at your back. If you resist I will shove it into your kidneys. It is a silver dagger so I assure you it will do damage even if the wound is not mortal," Sophronia said. Vivian was holding her belly and looking up at Sophronia with pure hatred. Sophronia reached out a hand and spun her around. She laid the point of the dagger along Vivian's back. It was not quite at her kidneys but he doubted that either Vivian or Sophronia cared about that small detail at the moment.
Vivian's stomach wound was no longer bleeding and he thought it would close in a few moments. A silver dagger might slow down the healing process but as long as it was removed from her the damage could heal.
Sophronia ordered the maid to get her mistress a shawl. Nathaniel wondered if the maid would run for help but surprisingly she appeared a moment later. Sophronia arranged the shawl on Vivian's back to hide her blade and on the front to cover the blood from the gut wound.
"And my pistol will be against your spine," Mercy said to Vivian's mother.
"Lead us out of the house," Sophronia ordered the maid. The girl whimpered but then led them down the servant’s staircase and out of the back door. They met no one along the way and Nathaniel guessed that most of the servants were at the house party with Seidel.
Once outside the house Nathaniel was surprised to see three seamen who he recognized. They were smoking pipes and leaning against fencing as if they were waiting to deliver loads of goods.
Sophronia dismissed the maid with a warning.
The seamen stepped forward and helped Mercy and Sophronia lead Vivian and her mother into a waiting cart. Nathaniel joined the seamen in pulling the cart as Sophronia and Mercy kept their weapons discreetly trained on their captives.
The women put up no fight but with silver weapons and six opponents against just the two they likely thought it was better to avoid struggle. Sophronia may not know the pack rules about killing werewolf but Mercy did. Vivian would know that if she came calmly she would give no cause for Mercy and Sophronia to harm her and she would live to plead her case before the werewolf pack. Or perhaps she thought she would escape the seamen and whoever else Mercy and Sophronia had recruited to assist them.
He had never been so happy to see anyone or anything as he was when the harbor came into view. Captain Snow stood on the deck of his ship and signaled for a gangplank to be lowered.
"We best get you into a reinforced room," he said calmly.
"Not together," Sophronia said.
Captain Snow had only one room which could contain a werewolf. Vivian and her mother were placed there.
"I can get us a steel cage. We have used it to transport bears, tigers, and other dangerous animals. I can put it in the cargo hold. Perhaps your sister can guard you there," Captain Snow said hesitantly.
"Not my sister. I want my wife with me," Nathaniel said.
"Are you sure?" Mercy asked. She looked horrified. She had the pistol and silver bullets. She had grown up with a werewolf family and knew much more about them than Sophronia.
"I can smell my child in her. There is no way I could ever harm her. The scent should keep me calm and grounded. That is, if you are willing to be with me during a wolf night," Nathaniel said.
"I am willing," Sophronia said.
It took time for everything to be prepared but two hours before sundown the cage was set up beneath the ship in the cargo hold. A bed of straw was placed on the bottom of the cage for him to lie in. Sophronia was seated across from him on a makeshift bed of blankets and pillows piled on the floor.
She laid the silver dagger down beside the blankets though it was sheathed.
"I am surprised you did not opt for the pistol and silver bullets," Nathaniel said. It did show quite a bit of faith in him for her to lay across the room from him with only a dagger for protection.
"Perhaps I would if we had them. There is a pistol but the silver bullets
were pure bluff. Your sister's idea," Sophronia said. He was not sure whether he should laugh or scold her for such disregard for her own safety and that of his child. If things had turned out poorly he might have been furious with her but at the moment all he could feel was a deep love and affection for her. He could not wait until the full moon was over and he could return to Una's camp with his wife. He wanted to hold her so tight she felt he would never let her go. Then, he wanted to bury himself deep within her.
Sophronia was surprised by her own level of calm. For a time Nathaniel lay naked on a bed of straw and it made her body ache for him. Then, his body transformed into a muscled shaggy creature that was big and powerful and that had terrified her the day she had run away.
She was not sure what she had expected of him. Perhaps she had thought he would foam at the mouth and paw at the cage or howl through the night. He did none of those things.
Nathaniel sniffed the air and shook his head as if orienting himself to the strangeness around him.
He must have been right about the scent from their child calming him because he lay down in the straw as docile as one of his draft dogs. Part of her wanted to pet his head and scratch his belly but she was not so foolish.
Instead, she talked to him in a soothing voice. She doubted he would remember any of what she said and she was not even sure he could understand her speech in his state but that did not matter all that much to her.
"I think this child is going to be a boy. I feel different than I did with Keturah though I suppose that is no proof and there is nothing to go on but my own intuition.
I know the right and proper thing to do would be to let you choose a name for our son. You might even want him called after yourself or perhaps after your father.
But, if there is no name you insist on, I want to call him Victor."
Nathaniel tilted his head as if questioning her though she realized that it could be nothing more than the hard letter of the V catching his attention.
The Wolf's Pregnant Bride Page 20
