Chapter Thirty

Serena welcomed Emma back from the long trip to the city. “Tell me, did you see him?”

“Yes, mistress, I have a message.” Serena clasped her hands in front of her smiling face. “Tell me again what he told you. Emma, he did say marry? Are you sure?”

“Mistress, I heard him say to prepare to marry him or attend his funeral,” she repeated.

“His funeral?”

“Yes, mistress, he is willing to die in order to save you.”

“Oh, no, I could never attend Geoffrey’s funeral. You would have to bury me alongside his casket. I will not be parted from him. These weeks have been torture.”

Just the thought of Geoffrey in a crypt frightened her. It must not be. She would pray harder. She must not think such a thought.

“I do need to believe there is hope. He said he loved me?” A sigh of pleasure escaped her lips. Wrapped in a silken cocoon of happiness, she smiled. “When will this happen?” Serena paced the cold stone floor.

A key placed in the lock in the early morning signaled she and Emma could leave the room. They stopped speaking. Serena opened the door, saw no one, and then closed it. She and Emma continued to speak in whispers near the far window.

“I do not know, mistress. Lord Geoffrey gathers his men and they will discuss their strategies. However, it could be any time. What plans do we have?”

“If they have to fight their way to this suite, up these narrow dark hallways, someone is bound to be injured, Emma.”

Serena stood, her back against the frigid wall. “What are we to do? That beast LeBran will not enslave me.” She wrung her hands.

****

The evening torchlight on the walls cast an eerie shadow. Serena went toward her chamber. Alone in her thoughts and anxious to hear news from Geoffrey, she did not see LeBran until he stood at the landing barring her way.

“Good evening, Serena. Do you still atone for your sins?” His voice slurred, his breath laced with alcohol.

“My lord—” Before she could finish the sentence, his hands were upon her. “No.” She attempted to wrest herself from his arms. His height and girth prevented her from moving. The steps were now behind her.

“Do you dare think you are too good for me?” His face contorted, his lips snarled. Lord LeBran pulled her tight to him.

Through her thin skirt she felt his arousal. He leaned to kiss her and she wriggled away. His hand palmed her breast. Terrified, she twisted beneath his arm and away from the stairs.

He grabbed her wrist. “You’re a Jezebel who flaunts herself to entice me when I am at a weak moment,” he hissed.

“Please, Lord LeBran. We aren’t yet married. It would not be proper.” With her free arm, she pushed him away and an unintended fingernail scratched his jaw. His drew his hand back then slammed it into her cheek.

Serena fell to the floor.

“Whore, you sought to make me desire you, but I am stronger than you think.” He buried his hands into her disheveled hair, grabbed her arm, and dragged Serena across the stone walkway to her room. She managed to get to her knees and scrambled inside. She sighted the brass candlestick and grasped it, poised to strike him if he dared come near her again.

Without looking back, he roared in drunken laughter, stumbled out and slammed the door shut.

Awakened at the noise, Emma asked, “What happened, my lady? Did he strike you? Your cheek is marked.” She wiped tears from Serena’s cheeks.

“The drunken lout tried to accost me. In my attempt to get away from him, I scratched him.” Her body trembled.

How would she ever wrest the key to her door from him?

“Come, mistress. Let’s get to bed.” Emma embraced Serena to steady her quaking. “I meet John tomorrow. Perhaps there will be good news I can report to you. Do not give up hope. LeBran wins if you do.”

“I need to find a weapon to protect myself next time he tries to force me to his will. He will not stop until he has broken me. This willow cannot bend much further without breaking.”

Head down, shoulders slouched, Serena removed her clothes and donned a warm nightgown and went to bed. Sleep didn’t come easy.

The next morning, the wind blustered through a light rain. A key opened the door and Madame Yolanda stormed in, her steel-like eyes glared. She did not greet Serena. “My son tells me you tried to tempt him last night with your wicked ways. That will not do in this household. Do I make myself clear?” She pounded her foot against the floor.

“Nothing could be farther from the truth, Madame Yolanda. I did not provoke him.”

“You lie, Serena. My son would never tell me an untruth. You have three more days until your wedding. I suggest you pray harder to calm your urges until your marriage night. I am most disappointed in you.” She turned and marched out, leaving the door unlocked.

His mother had the second key.

Serena reviewed her plans for escape. All she needed was the key. She could get away with Emma. It would have to be during the night after the house retired. They would leave through the kitchen, which would be unoccupied. According to Emma that door was not always locked. Travel in the darkness posed a difficulty; a shielded lantern would be needed. They would run over the land to the village, perhaps hire a horse and carriage in town with one of the coins in her cape. Yet another coin to silence any inquirers.

Jolted out of her thoughts, a knock sounded, “May I come in?” Josephine asked.

Serena opened the door. “I heard what mother said and I know it is not true. Last night I heard voices and opened my door. I saw everything he did. It horrified me, and I regret I did not come to help, but we both would have been beaten.”

“Josephine, come in. Come to the far window where the wind will muffle our voices.” Serena motioned for her to sit on the small settee. She took the girl’s hands in hers. “Has your brother beaten you before? You can tell me the truth.”

“Yes, he says it will make me stronger. He has not done it for a while.” She fidgeted and lowered her gaze to her clasped hands.

“Has your mother beaten you?” Serena asked.

“No, but sometimes she locks me in my room.”

“Since this is a centuries-old home, do you think it is possible one key could unlock all the bedrooms?” Serena prayed hard for the answer to be yes.

“I do not know for sure, but I will try to find out.” She placed a finger to her chin.

Josephine embraced Serena. “I know you are unhappy with your prospects here at the fortress. I feel the same desperation.”

Josephine touched the palm of her hand to Serena’s cheek. “I will not hide in the dark again if you need my help, Serena. I am ashamed I did not help you.”

“Just the thought that you wanted to comforts me, dear Josephine.”