Chapter Twenty Three

 

The Harvest of Revenge

 

Half an hour later the five women were seated together on the straw bales in a corner of the barn, as comfortably as their sore bottoms allowed, huddled under the Major’s carriage blankets.

They had pulled the worst of the thistle spines from their bodies and water had been brought from a nearby horse trough to douche their mustard-filled rectums. Platt had been sent back to the hall to bring back another carriage to transport them all home. While the boys stood guard over a groggy Arabella, the Major was still apologising profusely to Jemima and Miss Newcombe, while trying like a gentleman not to look at the intimate bare parts of them that the blankets did not quite cover.

‘I blame myself for not taking a firmer hand with her earlier,’ he said. ‘To treat bondslaves like this is bad enough, but to inflict such appalling suffering and indignities on two decent free women is utterly beyond my understanding. How can I ever apologise?’

‘Well I don’t blame you in the slightest, Major,’ Jane Newcombe said. ‘We’re just pleased you arrived like the Seventh Cavalry in the nick of time. How did you find us?’

‘By roundabout means,’ he admitted ruefully. ‘Alison Chalmers, my kennel maid, you know, chanced to see a letter on Platt’s desk supposedly sent to Melanie from Mrs Skelton, asking her to come to her house to sort out some matter to do with her post office account. Alison’s a bright girl and she wondered why the postmistress would ask Melanie to go to her house at a time when she would still be at the post office and there would be nobody at home, since she’s a widow. Platt then checked on a call, apparently made from the school saying Melanie had then gone on to your cottage, and found they knew nothing about it. Alerted, Mr Speers went down to School Cottage and discovered signs of a struggle and you and Amber gone. Checking the grounds they also found the old stables unlocked, Elizabeth here missing and Sally Potts and another slave gagged and bound.’

‘Please, Major, are they all right?’ Sue asked anxiously.

‘They’re fine, girl,’ he assured her.

Melanie saw him frown at Sue as he spoke, perhaps wondering if he’d met someone very much like her once before, which of course he had. But the moment passed. Tonight was not the time for further mysteries.

‘It was Sally who said she was sure the voice of the masked woman who seemed to be masterminding the abduction was Arabella’s,’ the Major continued. ‘By that time I had driven over to the school with Platt and heard her statement. I said that was impossible because Arabella was staying with friends in Northumberland but she was adamant. She has spirit that one. The senior boys had been helping in the search and young Jackson over there suggested we question Jemima and Belinda Jenkins, who had been close to Arabella in the past and might know something. These plucky lads insisted on coming along in case we met up with the mystery woman’s henchmen on the way and because they seemed to have a great deal of concern for your safety, Sister, not to mention that of their school slaves. As there was no time to alert the police I agreed. At Jemima’s house we found she was supposed to be staying over with Belinda, but when we checked she was not there. However Belinda was in quite an emotional state and broke down. In confidence she confessed that Arabella had been blackmailing her into finding out who was responsible for her recent humiliation so she could exact revenge. For some reason she had determined it was you, Sister, and Jemima, and that these bondslaves were also somehow implicated. Belinda told us the location of this barn and so we made for Lower Boxley as fast as we could.’

‘You haven’t told Constable Bailey about any of this yet?’ Jane Newcombe asked.

‘There’s been no time. Of course I understand you’ll want to press charges. But first you must have medical attention. I’ll rouse Doctor Gideon as soon as we get back.’

‘I’m sure Mister Platt can take care of us,’ Jane said. ‘I understand he’s had plenty of practice treating injuries that Arabella has inflicted.’

Melanie could see Jane Newcombe’s keen mind calculating the consequences despite what she had just been through. She was certainly a determined woman. She glanced at Melanie, her eyebrow raised slightly. Melanie smiled and nodded.

‘Sometime soon, Major, we must have a long talk about certain matters,’ Jane said. ‘But for now I suspect you would prefer that Arabella’s recent activities were not made public, for the sake of the family name.’

Melanie saw hope flicker in his eyes. ‘Of course, Sister, but this is too serious to ignore.’

‘I don’t mean we ignore it, Major, or that she goes unpunished, only that we adjust the facts slightly.’

‘But too many people know something serious has occurred,’ he pointed out, ‘both at the school and Jemima and Belinda’s homes. They’ll want to know who was behind it all.’

‘We can put it down to one last escapade of the masked slave theft gang, who you and these brave boys have just heroically chased out of the district with sore heads to be seen no more,’ Jane suggested. ‘I’m sure Belinda would go along with such story if she’s made to seem more of a victim than a collaborator.’ She looked across at Jackson. ‘You’d be willing to support such a story, wouldn’t you, Antony?’

The boys suddenly looked unusually contrite for potential heroes. ‘Yes, Sister,’ he said meekly.

‘But what about Miss Moncrief?’ the Major asked, looking sorrowfully at Jemima.

Melanie saw understanding growing in Jemima’s eyes, but she had one reservation. ‘I will as long as Arabella can’t hurt anybody else ever again like she has us,’ she said firmly.

‘But what can I do with her?’ the Major said. ‘I can’t keep her locked up in the Hall without good reason. That would make a nonsense of the whole scheme. Yet she’s clearly not safe to leave unsupervised.’

Melanie said gently: ‘I think Amber knows what we should do with her, Master.’

‘Arabella was deliberately forcing the situation to its limits, Major,’ Amber explained. ‘You know she loves being as close as possible to abject slaves, to experience their pain and fear and submission. Well if you think about it there’s one stage further she could go, except that her upbringing wouldn’t permit it. She kept going on about masks being liberating and talking about herself in the third person, like she was separating herself from her past. I think she was making the transition from master to mastered in the only way her pride would allow, maybe not even admitting it to herself. She wanted to lose so somebody else would make the big decision for her.’

‘Ahh…’ said the Major gravely as he caught her meaning. ‘Yes, I think begin to see now. I have heard of cases like this.’

They all turned to look at Arabella, who was now sitting huddled up in a corner with her face in her hands. Melanie got up and walked stiffly over to her.

‘You know the only way out for you now?’

‘I know,’ Arabella said in an uncharacteristically meek voice.

Melanie extended one foot. Arabella bent over on her hands and knees and kissed it humbly. ‘Thank you for beating me,’ she said.

‘But I still can’t keep her at the Hall,’ the Major said.

‘I can take care of her,’ Jane Newcombe told the Major. ‘If we change her appearance nobody else need know. Just say she’s travelling abroad for a year or two.’ She looked at the Cranborough boys. ‘Don’t worry, they won’t tell.’

Sue asked: ‘Major, does Arabella have a middle name she doesn’t use much...?’