Emily (8 page)

It was a spring day and Valeskia lifted her face up to the sun, shutting her eyes against the glare as the warmth spread through her body. She lived in a small village with her father, who owned the local laundry. Most of the work came from a large manor close to the village, which was owned by the Lord Von Weller.

At fifteen Valeskia was tall, she looked older than her years but that was mostly due to the seriousness in which she carried herself. Valeskia’s mother had died when Valeskia was six but her father had insisted on providing her with the very best education he could. While there were no formal schools in the little village, Valeskia’s father would buy or borrow books for her to read. His hope was for her to become a teacher, as it would be an easier life than cleaning clothes in a hot laundry.

Valeskia had proved to have an ear for languages, and from time to time the wealthy families would hire a specialist tutor who Valeskia
’s father would then approach to hire them with the money he saved. From a young age, Valeskia helped her father in the laundry and had taken over the deliveries after he fell and broke his leg the previous summer.

On this particular day she arrived at the Von Weller manor and had presented herself at the staff entrance around the back. Valeskia didn
’t like going to the manor at all as the staff were always unpleasant. They looked unhappy and there were rumours of Lord Von Weller being an agent of the Nazi regime. After pulling the rope that would ring the bell in the kitchen, Valeskia patiently waited. As it was the staff entrance it could take up to half an hour for someone to come.

‘
You girl, what’s your name?’ a man’s voice commanded in a most arrogant tone.

Turning to face the voice, Valeskia saw a man on a horse. He was handsome and for a brief moment she felt an attraction to the man.

‘I have come with the laundry, Lord. My name is Valeskia.’

‘
Turn around girl, I want to see you,’ he ordered. Putting the basket down, Valeskia slowly turned around, flushing red at the command. ‘How old are you?’ he ordered again. He liked what he saw – the girl was stunning.

‘
Fifteen, Sir,’ she replied. Valeskia didn’t like the questions.

‘
Are you married?’ he demanded.

‘
No, Sir, I am unwed.’

The door opened and the old butler came out of the manor.

‘Oh, my Lord, Varrick. I didn’t know you were here.’ The man bowed, waiting for a command.

‘
See to the girl,’ Varrick ordered, ‘and send her to me in the library afterwards.’ Turning the horse towards the stable, Varrick trotted off. He had issued his command and expected compliance.

‘
Come child, we should see about the payment for this week’s laundry.’ The butler placed his hand firmly on her arm.

Knowing that she was in danger, Valeskia pulled her arm from the old butler and said,
‘I’ll get the payment next week, my father is expecting me home now.’ Valeskia turned and ran down the laneway, away from the manor. She was no fool, there were plenty of men in the village who looked at her the way that Varrick just did and it meant only one thing.

Pushing open the door to their small home, Valeskia went straight to the kitchen and began dinner. Cooking was something she loved to do and her father had given her an old notebook that had belonged to a cook who had been a friend of his. In it were all sorts of recipes, which Valeskia would try from time to time. She added her own creations to the notebook as well
– it was her favourite possession. On hearing her return, Valeskia’s father joined her in the kitchen.

‘
I didn’t get this week’s payment from the manor,’ Valeskia confessed to her father.

‘
Were they too busy to give it to you this morning?’ he asked. It wasn’t odd, it happened occasionally.

Not sure how to express what she was feeling, Valeskia turned back to preparing the food and said,
‘I think you should make the delivery to the Von Weller mansion next week.’

‘
I see,’ her father replied. He could see she was upset and guessed why – his daughter was beautiful. As he rested his hand on her shoulder, he said ‘We need to find you a husband, I cannot protect you as I should.’

Turning to face her father, Valeskia
’s voice took on a scolding tone.

‘
We shouldn’t think of such things, we’re a family and I’m staying with you.’

He smiled at her, breaking the mood. While he wanted more than anything to stay forever as a family, he knew it wouldn
’t happen.

‘
After dinner I have a new book for you.’

‘
What’s it about?’ Valeskia was excited and smiled at her father, forgetting the afternoon.

‘
You’ll see. It’s a surprise, something new.’ He was pleased with himself, the book was on the old Roman civilisation and why it had fallen. He knew that after she had read the book they would have many wonderful discussions. He loved her mind and was so proud of her intellect, more than her beauty.
But
, he thought despondently to himself,
I can’t protect her any longer
, and putting his mind to the problem, went back to the laundry room to continue working until supper.

Valeskia stayed up late that night, reading the book her father had given her; it was wonderful. The candle besides her bed had almost burned down and Valeskia knew that she should sleep, but the book was so interesting it made her keep turning the pages. A noise caught her attention and she got out of bed, putting on her dressing gown and slippers. Not hearing anything else, she almost got back into bed but decided to go to the kitchen to get another candle. Tiptoeing quietly down the stairs so she wouldn
’t disturb her father, Valeskia went to a small cupboard by the fireplace. Opening the small door, she reached in for one of the candles that she had made the previous winter. Holding it to her nose she took a deep breath in, it smelled of the lemongrass that she had cut up into small pieces to infuse with the beeswax. It was her favourite scent. She had also put it into a soap that she used on her body and hair, so the smell lingered on her all day.

Suddenly a hand covered her mouth and she was pulled back by strong hands.

A voice said quickly, ‘If you make any noise, I will kill your father.’ Valeskia froze. It was Lord Varrick! ‘Will you keep quiet?’ he asked again, his tone was cold.

She nodded and Varrick released his hand from over her mouth, turning her around to face him. The moon was full and the light shone into the kitchen, making the room quite bright. Valeskia
’s hair was down and Varrick ran his fingers through it, pressing her curls to his nose and smelling the scent of lemongrass. God, she was so beautiful. He hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her the whole day – it confused him. Varrick had used many women for his pleasure before but he had never fancied one.

‘
Why didn’t you come to the library when I asked you to?’ he demanded coldly. He was surprised at how cool the girl was, young girls usually trembled in his presence. But this one just stood calmly in front of him and he found that this excited him.

‘
I didn’t think we were going to read,’ Valeskia replied directly.

Varrick smiled thinking to himself,
good answer
. She was smart.

‘
So, you can read?’ he asked, still playing with her hair. Valeskia decided to get to the point.

‘
Are you going to hurt me?’ Her voice was calm; she knew she was in trouble. What was confusing was that a part of her was very attracted to Varrick but her sixth sense was telling her that she was in extreme danger.

Pausing for a while, Varrick lifted Valeskia
’s curls to his nose before answering.

‘
Yes, I imagine I’ll hurt you.’ And so suddenly that Valeskia didn’t see it coming, he hit her on the side of the head, causing her to instantly become unconscious. He caught her before she hit the floor and threw her over his shoulder. Touching her body was so good that he had to pause for a moment to collect himself. The smell of her skin and her beauty confused him.

Moving quietly out of the house, he gently placed Valeskia in front of him over his horse. He had hit her in a spot that would keep her out for a couple of hours but he didn
’t want to damage her body. He would dispatch his men to kill her father and burn down the house. As far as the neighbours would be concerned, father and daughter would have both died in the fire.

* * *

Waking with her head pounding, Valeskia found herself in a bed. The room was large and luxurious with expensive furniture and drapes, and she guessed that she was in the manor. The fire was lit and as she got out of bed she realised that she was wearing a different gown to the one she’d had on in the house. Going quickly to the door, Valeskia tried the handle and was not surprised that it was locked. Checking the large windows, she saw that they had bars on the outside and she was on the second floor. It was dark outside and she searched the room for a clock, as she didn’t know what time it was. Hearing a key turn in the lock of the door, Valeskia froze. The door opened and Varrick came in with a tray of food.

‘
Good, you are up; I hit you harder than I thought. You have been out a full day.’

Looking at the food on the tray, Valeskia instantly felt nauseous. Her head hurt and she was unsure of what to do. Softly she spoke to Varrick.

‘
Please let me go, my father will be worried about me.’

‘
Don’t worry about your father. I’ve spoken to him, he knows that you’re here.’

This confused Valeskia. Surely if he knew where she was he would demand her release?

‘May I see him?’ she asked.

‘
No.’ Varrick’s tone was firm and he put down the tray on the table adding, ‘That part of your life is over, you belong to me now. Your father understands.’

Valeskia
’s heart sank. She knew that her father wouldn’t give her up and in her heart she knew that he was dead.

‘
What are you going to do with me?’ she asked, tears welling in her eyes.

‘
I plan to breed with you. You look strong.’ He folded his arms and stood looking at her.

‘
Breed? Oh God,’ Valeskia thought,
Why would this man want that?
She had hoped that he would use her and then let her go, but to have his baby!

‘
I am low born, Lord Varrick. Surely you want to have a child from a noble lady?’ Valeskia tried to think of words to persuade Varrick to let her go.

‘
I do not care for rank,’ he replied coldly. He moved closer to Valeskia and she took a step back. The look in her eyes caused Varrick to stop. She was not afraid of him, her whole demeanour was cool and he saw that she was weighing up her options. This pleased him – finally, a challenge. He paused, thinking for a moment about his plans for her. He would arrange for her to have the gene treatment that he had been given by the Continuum and then he would get her pregnant.

The Continuum had approached Varrick two years earlier for his resources. The gene therapy had promised a long life but there had been side effects for some people. Varrick himself had taken the gene therapy but all it had done was to amplify his strength and he healed at a fast rate.
What will happen to you?
Varrick thought, looking at Valeskia. He quickly turned and left the room, before his desire for her became too much.

Calling to one of the guards outside the room he demanded,
‘Get me a girl from the kitchen, the one with the long brown hair, and bring her to my room.’ The guard ran down the hall.

Realising that there was no one to help her, Valeskia broke down and cried. In her heart she knew her father was dead. She was always able to sense the truth so her tears were bitter.
‘Why? My father was a good man!’ She let out a scream.

People from all over the district came to him for advice and as a very young child she had asked him how he knew what to say to people who asked for his help. It was late at night and it was raining. She was sitting on his lap in front of the fire and he had just told her a wonderful story in his warm baritone voice.

‘
I never tell people what to do. I just keep asking them questions until they have the answer. It is so important not to tell people what to do.’

‘
Why, father?’ Valeskia had asked. It had seemed like an important question.

‘
Because our fate can only be changed by the decisions or actions we take. We can help people, but each man,’ and he poked her stomach lightly with his finger, ‘or little girl, needs to live their own lives.’

‘
But how father?’ Valeskia asked. It was exciting to think about how her life might go.

‘
By never giving up.’ And he picked her up and tucked her into bed, rubbing his beard lightly against her face until she laughed.