The Claiming (6 page)

Thankfully, Blane had not seemed to expect her to be. He had sent her straight to her room when they arrived at the plantation. When she had come down the following morning, attired in the only clothing she owned, he had choked on his beverage, leapt from his chair and marched her right back upstairs and shown her the clothing that had been provided for her.

Naturally, it had not fit. It had been made to the measurements of the other woman. Jana expected him to be immediately suspicious. Instead, he seemed to have assumed there had been a mistake and sent for a woman to take her measurements and rework the clothing to fit. She was confined to her room until the first was delivered.

Blane met her at the head of the stairs that time, grasped her arm and led her back into her room. She had not donned the clothing properly. The clothing she was wearing was designed to go under other clothing … in layers. He explained that he would have to instruct her to the best of his abilities. It was not allowed to behave in any way as an outsider and there was no female available to call upon. He had also explained that she must never divulge to anyone that he had acted as her lady’s maid—under penalty of death—his--should his brother discover it.

That had frightened Jana witless, but Blane had reassured her. He had explained that it was just an expression, that he was fairly sure Alain wouldn’t kill him, he would only make him wish he were dead.

Jana was not really reassured, but decided Blane must not be completely serious, for he didn’t seem terrified. She would have felt better, though, if he had left the room by the door instead of climbing out of the window.

When she was finally dressed to his satisfaction, he had led her around and explained what everything was, how it worked, and what was expected of her.

The biggest shock—next to the layer upon layer of clothing she had found she was expected to wear every day—had been her discovery of the infants. When she had asked Blane what their purpose was he had only stared at her blankly and scratched his head. Finally, he had explained that they were what happened when a man and woman had sex without birth control … and then hastily added that she was never to mention sex or birth control to anyone at all. These were forbidden subjects.

Jana couldn’t help but think his warning strange. Moreover, he had already given her a list of ‘forbidden’ that was so long she was beginning to have trouble remembering all of them, but she had not been conditioned to dispute orders. She had, to the best of her abilities, committed it to memory.

Still, she was confused about his explanation regarding the infants. She understood the concept of birth control. She had been told that she was genetically engineered to be infertile, but they had stressed that infertile was not sterile. She could not be made sterile and also retain the hormones necessary to achieve maximum desirability. She must use birth control to prevent any unfortunate accidents. She hadn’t realized that this was what they meant by unfortunate accidents.

She still didn’t completely understand the concept, but apparently they were part of her job. She was to provide some of their care. The dark female that Blane had explained was their nurse would also tend to them and would teach her that job.

Surprisingly enough, and despite the fact that she’d quickly learned that they were quite disgustingly uncivilized, she had found them very amusing. Their nurse had explained that they were just beginning to learn to walk, but they obviously had a long way to go. They generally fell as soon as they’d managed to stand upright and had the tendency, if they let go of whatever they’d used to pull themselves up with, to stagger around and bump into things as if they were intoxicated.

They were the same age. The nurse had looked at her strangely when she had asked if they were incubated at the same time or if the female had cured faster. The woman had finally explained that they were carried together inside their mother’s belly, which, of course, was absurd. It sounded like the parables she had been taught in conditioning to demonstrate the horrible consequences that could arise as a result of ignoring the laws of bound-women.

She hadn’t wanted to be rude about it, but she was not a fool. She was quite aware that she was terribly ignorant. It was not policy to teach bound persons any more than was required to perform their role, and naturally enough, once sold, there were few opportunities to learn more.

But she had seen the incubation chambers. She knew very well how humans were produced!

Apparently having decided Jana was far more resistant to shock than she liked, the woman had gravitated from that subject to the death of ‘the master’s first wife’. She had, the nurse explained, died of a miscarriage—which she explained in gory detail. But, the woman had added, it had been a blessing, for the poor lady had broken her neck and had been completely paralyzed.

Dismissing the anxiety the memory brought back, Jana proceeded with great care down the winding staircase to the first floor, holding her long skirts up so that she wouldn’t trip. The smell of food led Jana in the direction of the breakfast parlor.

"Morning sluggard," Blane greeted her cheerfully as she entered the room.

Jana had found Blane’s mannerisms very disconcerting at first, but she had not only grown accustomed to them, she’d come to find them amusing and learned to reciprocate in a suitable manner. She stuck her tongue out at him and turned to help herself from the dishes on the sideboard, settling across the table from him before she replied. "Just because you rose before luncheon today does not give you the right to cast aspersions on my sleeping habits. It is barely half past eight," she responded, pleased she had learned to mimic the local speech patterns so well.

Blane laughed. “Spoken like a lady of Orleans! If not for the tongue thing, no one would ever guess! You’re a quick learner.”

Jana looked self-conscious. “But … you stuck your tongue out at me.”

“I have never done anything that childish!” Blane objected indignantly. “Here I am complimenting you on your progress, and you insult me!”

Jana studied him seriously a moment, but realized almost immediately that he was teasing, something he apparently enjoyed. “Well, it is true, but thank you for the compliment. That was much better than the last compliment you gave me.”

Blane’s brows knit in confusion. "What compliment?"

Her eyes twinkled. "When you called me a nitwit only because I fell off my Zell."

He chuckled ruefully. "No! Did I?"

"You did. Which I thought was most unjust. Could I help it if I took the jump and the Zell didn't?"

He laughed outright at that, but shook his head. "You are undoubtedly the worst rider I've ever seen. Not that you aren't as game a one as I've ever run across. But you'll at least admit that I warned you ahead of time that you couldn't manage that brute."

"You bet me I couldn't!" Jana said indignantly. "Which isn't the same thing at all! You knew very well I wouldn't turn down your wager."

Blane laughed, not the least repentant for her misfortunes. "Say--speaking of riding--you didn't ask me why I came down so early. I've got something to show you," he finished with a touch of excitement.

"What?" Jana asked suspiciously, having learned in the weeks since she’d arrived that Blane’s idea of fun usually resulted in a painful experience for her.

"Ah lass, contain your excitement," he said with gentle irony. "Come. I'll show you."

***

"What is it?" Jana stood in the shade of a tree watching as Blane pushed an odd looking, two wheeled contraption from the barn. The front wheel was smaller than the rear wheel, about thirty inches front, forty back, with wooden spokes and iron rims that were connected by a gracefully curved wooden shaft, atop which rested a small saddle. Two swinging shanks were mounted to the front and connected by way of a pair of rods and levers on either side of the rear wheel.

Blane grinned proudly. "It's a bicycle. I built it from some old plans I found in the library."

Jana frowned. "I've never seen one. What are those crank things for?"

"To propel it, goose."

"You're the one that's a goose if you think you can make it stay up without keeping your feet on the ground," Jana retorted, stung.

“No?” He threw one leg over the body of the vehicle, then pushed off with his foot and began to push the treadles back and forth in a smooth motion that propelled the bicycle forward. Gaining speed as he passed, he threw her an impudent grin and a wave and headed toward the garden. As he approached the garden wall, he angled the front wheel so that the bicycle made a wide arch, then started back toward her. He skidded to a halt when he reached her once more, leapt from the bicycle triumphantly and bowed with a flourish. "Now, it's your turn."

"My turn?" Jana repeated blankly.

"To ride the bicycle," he said, chuckling at her look, which was a comical mixture of dismay, doubt, and delight. "Get on," he urged. "I'll hold it steady for you."

Jana wasn’t at all certain it was something she wanted to try. It had looked enjoyable. I had also looked like something that would not be too difficult. She had learned, however, that no matter how easy something looked when Blane did it, being able to do it herself was another matter entirely. More often than not, it became a painful lesson of ‘Jana can’t do this’, as when Blane had insisted that she must learn how to ride a Zell.

"But … didn’t you say I was only to ride side-saddle? I don't see how I could ride it like that," she said doubtfully.

"Of course not, goose! You have to put one foot on each treadle."

"Oh ... But you said I wasn’t to lift my skirts either!"

Blane sighed in exasperation. “There’s nobody here but you and me and I won’t look. Do you want to ride or not?”

Jana had a sneaking suspicion that this was yet another test and that Blane would treat her to a lecture on proper behavior if she fell for his ploy. It had looked like fun, though. Finally, after looking around guiltily, Jana lifted her skirts and threw a leg over the hobby-horse. Once she’d arranged her skirts she inquired with some trepidation how to proceed.

He turned to grin at her. "Put your hands on the guiding bar and your feet on the treadles. All you have to do is push one forward and then the other. The faster you push, the faster you go."

"I don't think I want to go very fast," Jana said in dismay, suddenly sorry she'd let him convince her to try it.

"Well, if you go too slow, it'll fall over," he warned.

She frowned at him. "If I fall and break something….”

Blane chuckled. "I won't let you break anything."

"Well, I'm quite sure I don't want to be mangled either!"

"I learned to ride it on my own and I'm not mangled," he pointed out cheerfully.

That seemed inarguable and she maintained an apprehensive silence as he began to push the bicycle. Her heart was pounding uncomfortably fast, whether with fear or excitement, she couldn't be sure. She suspected that it was a little of both till, on reaching a speed that was unpleasantly fast, he released his hold and she was sailing along on her own. Then she was absolutely certain it was fear.

"Push the treadles," he shouted after her.

She did, but the bicycle wobbled dangerously since she couldn't seem to concentrate on keeping it level and pushing the treadles at the same time, so she contented herself with gliding along. She was just beginning to enjoy herself when she saw the tree looming before her.

"Blane! What do I do?"

"Turn the front wheel. Use the guiding bar!"

She was somewhat relieved that he didn't sound too far away. She could hear him racing to catch her. She tried to do as he had instructed, but somehow she couldn't turn the bar at all without the machine wobbling frighteningly.

"I can't do it!" She was on a collision course with the tree and she knew it. She couldn't stop and she couldn't turn. She did the next best thing. She closed her eyes.

The arm that shot out and grasped her waist, jerking her off the seat, made her gasp with sudden fear. Her eyes snapped open. In the next instant the world spun dizzily. She slammed eyes shut again as she struck the ground with a force that knocked the wind from her lungs and was crushed by Blane's weight as he landed on top of her. Pain exploded in her head with sharp pin points of light, casting the shooting pains in other parts of her body into insignificance.

"Jana!" Blane rasped in a voice tight with anxiety. "Are you all right?"

She managed to open her eyes a fraction and peered at Blane who still lay atop her. "I'm dead," she managed in an attempt at levity, her lips quivering slightly on a smile.

He laughed shakily. "I've never seen a corpse talk."

"I will be if you don't get off of me. You're crushing me."

"By all means, do. And then you can explain just what the hell's going on here," said a voice of such deadly coldness that Jana's eyes snapped open and Blane bounded off of her as if he’d suddenly grown springs.

***

"Uh ... just teaching Jana to ride the bicycle," Blane stammered. Recovering from his discomfiture somewhat, he knelt and pulled Jana to a sitting position. "That was a close call," he said.

Jana frowned. "You wouldn't say so if you'd been hit by the same cart that hit me."

Blane chuckled shakily. "Is that any way to talk when I risked life and limb to rescue you?"

Jana put her hand to her throbbing head as Blane helped her to her feet and steadied her. Mentally, she surveyed the damages. She discovered, without much surprise, that her ankle hurt when she tried to shift her weight to it. "I'm not at all certain it wouldn't have been less painful if I'd hit the tree."

"Are you hurt?"

Jana glanced up at the stranger who’d spoken and felt her heart trip. A shock wave went through her. Half dazed as she was by her fall, he took her breath, made her heart hammer in double time.

He was tall—she could’ve stood beneath his outstretched arm without brushing it with the top of her head—broad shouldered, and, from the fit of his clothing, a good deal more muscular that Blane, whom she’d found was amazingly strong. His lean face, however, was what captivated her attention. It was more than striking. Admittedly, Jana had a limited number of men to compare him with, but she had never seen a man more pleasing to the eye.