The Duke and the Dressmaker (The St. James Series) (23 page)

S
ara searched for reasonable thought. There had to be a way out. “Well, my husband owed someone money, but he is dead now, and I paid up what he owed. They cannot do this to me. They should be arrested. This is illegal.” She tugged at her bindings again, frustrated and powerless.

“Calm down, now. I know it is hard to accept
, but once you step foot in this house, there isn’t no duke that’s gonna want you no more. You are one of us now. The faster you accept it, the easier it will be for you. Don’t fight them, or they will beat you even worse. He beats everyone into submission. Please, don’t fight Candie. She loves to use her whip. I don’t want to have to fix you up. You are too pretty for that.”

Sara c
ould not believe her ears. Accept that she was in a house of prostitution? Accept that someone else controlled her now? There was no possibility that she could accept such a situation. The more she thought, the more furious she became.

“May I have another sip of tea, please?” She had to keep her strength up. If she was going to fight, she had to be strong. “What’s your name
?” she asked as she sipped from the cup.

“Well, my real name is
Alyssa, but they wouldn’t let me keep that name. Here, I am Kitty. I hate it. I am no cat. You can call me Alyssa if you want. Just don’t let anybody hear you call me that. I think we could be friends. Most of the other girls here are older than me and mean. I need a new friend.” She smiled at Sara as she brushed the hair off her forehead.

S
ara stared at Alyssa in shock. Whenever she had thought of prostitutes, she had thought it was their choice. How could she have been so wrong? This poor girl was forced into this by her own father? How would she have felt if her own father had done the same to her?

“
Alyssa, I am so sorry. But I can help you. I promise to help get you away if you help me. You don’t want to stay here, do you?”

Alyssa
shook her head. “I never said I enjoyed it. I accept it, for I have no choice. Who would take me away? My own father turned his back on me. Some customers aren’t so bad. And if you are real nice to the good ones, they come back to you regular and you don’t have so many bad ones. Where would I go? I have no other family. And no man would ever marry me.”

“You could work for me. I am a
dressmaker. Someday I will need someone to help me sew. Can you sew at all? I will hire you. I will teach you. Just get me away from here, and I will help you.” Her eyes pleaded with Alyssa’s.

Alyssa
jumped up. “They are coming back. I have to go. I will think about it if I can. But it really is not so bad here. I get to wear pretty clothes.” Alyssa turned and ran out the door.

A few minutes later, t
he door flew open and Stinky strode into the room mumbling.

“Ah, you’re awake I see, you stupid bitch! You have caused me nothing but trouble. I will make you pay before this is over.” He sneered with his stubby teeth showing as he groped her breast.

She screamed and tried to bite him, but he was too quick for her. He slapped her hard. “Shut up! Just cause you had to talk to the duke, now I have to lose my easy money. Well, I’ll still get a prime price for you; I’ll send you across the ocean if I have to, just to get my money. See if I don’t. A little more medicine to put you to sleep is what you need. Who knows where you will be when you wake up.” Stinky cackled as he grabbed a cup from the chest.

He
pinched her nose in an attempt to force her mouth open for the medication. She tossed her head back and forth to prevent him from grabbing her face, but he held strong and poured a foul-tasting concoction down her throat. She tried to spit it out, but choked instead and had no choice but to swallow the bitter liquid. Her eyes filled with tears as her world blurred.

P
owerless again.

C
hapter Thirty-Two

Philip could not stop pacing in his library. Gone? How could she be gone? Where the hell was she? He had to find her, he just had to. She was to be his wife, the mother of his children. He wanted her on his arm forever. She would sleep in his bed, not in her own as Caroline had done. He wanted her in his arms every night so he could make slow passionate love to her, or maybe mad passionate love. Which would be better?

“
Brentwood, are you listening?” the Earl of Ardleigh yelled at him.

“What? Yes, of course I am listening. What was it you said?”
He realized his thoughts had been far away. He chastised himself for not paying attention when he needed to most. He would find her. London was about to be torn apart, brothel by brothel, game hell by game hell, until he found out what he needed. It was almost dark and they hadn’t started yet.

“I said I was outside the shop when she went in, Your Grace. When she didn’t come out, I went around back in time to see a cart turning at the end of the road as I entered. I was on foot, so I could not catch them. But I managed to see where they were headed. I think he took her
down near the brothels.” The investigator nodded his head to let him know how proud he was of himself.

“
Near the brothels, is that all you have?” He stared at Ridley.

“
Brentwood, at least we know what direction she is in. This is a huge help to us.” Ardleigh handed several coins over to the investigator.

“And do you recall,
Ardleigh, how many brothels there are in London? It will take us days to search them all. They all have plenty of bully-boys to throw us out as well. I don’t imagine too many of them will just allow us to search the premises. The day is getting late. We need to make a plan and make haste.” He ran a hand through his hair for the tenth time.

Graham spoke up
. “We need to divide up. There are six of us now. Philip, they will not dare touch you or the Earl. I will go with Ardleigh and Adam can go with you. We can go in the front door while Ridley and Ben sneak in the back door of some of the places.”

“
Adam is definitely going with me. You know the area the best. Who ever thought all your rakehelling would prove to be helpful?” Philip drawled.

Adam grinned
. “I can’t help it if I have the best boyish looks in the family, can I? I have to push them away sometimes. Beauties flock to me, and I haven’t the heart to turn them away.”

Philip rolled his eyes
. “All right, fine. We need to get going. Get your pistols.”

Stevens stuck his head in the door. “Your Grace,
Eli, Charles and I would like to help. We can check the streets while you are inside. Lady Downey is quite a graceful lady. We would like to assist.”

Philip nodded to his butler. Sara had apparently made some friends along the way. How could anyone not like her? She did have a heart of gold and a smile that lit up any room she was in. “Thank you, Stevens, but I will need you to stay here with the women.
We’ll take two vehicles, the phaeton and the carriage. Six of us should do it for now.

“Let’s
hurry. We have no time to waste.” He headed out the door.

As they gathered their weapons, Philip turned to Stevens. “Send a messenger to the Horse Patrol
. We could use some extra help in the area.”

“Yes,
Your Grace. Consider it done.” Stevens held the door as the group left.

The
duchess stood in the doorway as they exited. “Do be quick about it, Philip. The longer she is out there, the worse her chances are.”

***

Sara awoke in a carriage, gagged, with her feet bound together. Her good hand was bound to her broken one in front. Every jarring bounce forced unbearable pain through her. Stinky had to be nearby as the stench was suffocating. After a short ride, they rolled to a stop, and Stinky jumped out without a comment.

“I will be right back, don’t let anyone inside. You know I will pay you well for
keeping your yap shut,” Stinky said to his driver before she heard the sharp click of his heels on cobblestone fade away.

Where could she be now?
Hope flickered in her mind. Now that she was away from Candie’s, perhaps she wouldn’t be sold as a prostitute. What else could he do with her? The “get rid of her” comment replayed in her head over and over. Was he going to kill her?
Philip, where are you? Please find me. I will never put myself at risk again. I thought he was in Newgate.
One slow tear ran down the side of her face. How could she have known he was free? They said he had been apprehended.

Stinky
had her right where he wanted her now. Every inch of movement caused excruciating pain in her broken arm and fingers. Exhaustion threatened to overtake her. How much more could she endure?
Stay strong, my Sara.
That’s what her papa used to say to her.

She dozed briefly. Whatever the medicine Stinky had given her, it was strong.
Fighting to stay awake, the sounds of the outdoors came to her. Where could she be? At times, she thought she heard the sound of waves slapping against wood. At the wharf? Why would he take her to the wharf? Yes, that must be it. She heard men shouting along with loud, banging noises as if they were moving things or stacking large objects. Could she be near the harbor? Were they loading a large ship? The language was a bit crude, if she could understand it at all.

The door jerked open
, and two men entered the carriage. Sara lifted her gaze in the hopes of seeing a familiar face. Unfortunately, Stinky appeared with a stranger.

“She is a beauty, my lord, and she is feisty, too. She will give you a good ride, I think
. You won’t find many better than this one.”

“Shut up, fool, and take yourself outside while I check the merchandise. I cannot tolerate your stench.”
The man’s fingers rubbed under his nostrils.

“Fine, but not a sterling under three hundred pounds for her.
She is prime flesh. Yes sir, she is. Check that skin of hers.”

“Get out, I said!” The man shoved the door shut behind Stinky.

Sara stared up into a pair of cruel eyes. His hair was blonde, rather long, but no hair astray. He had a ruffled shirt with a plum velvet jacket. Numerous large jewels adorned his fingers. A dandy? Isn’t that what they called men like this?

He ran his finger down her cheek.
She pulled back in revulsion. His touch roiled her insides.

“Oh, you are a
spirited thing, aren’t you?” He tugged her gag off.

“I want to see your teeth, smile for me
.” He held her face on both sides. His hands were soft and smelled like raw fish.

She
attempted to bite him.

He grabbed her broken finger and twisted it. “Here now, we shan’t act like that again, shall we?”
She shrieked, but stilled instantly as the pain ricocheted to her shoulder and her head at the same time. She closed her eyes so she wouldn’t see the pleasure he gained from tormenting her.

“Ah,
lovey, you are a pretty one. I might just have to have you, in every way I can think of.” He chuckled as he ran his hand up under her skirt to her bottom. “Oh, such long slender legs, too. Imagine what I could do with those.”

Sara bucked in revulsion.

He leaned into her with a rabid grin. “You think you are too good for me? We will see about that. You will learn to never look at me like that again.”

He reached down and twisted her breast.
“Nice tits, too. I will so enjoy breaking you.” He tied the gag back on her before he reached down and twisted her nipple. She groaned in pain.

“Don’t worry, my dear. It won’t be long before you will feel my cock inside you, in
so many places!” He licked the side of her face before he departed.

“One hundred pounds, my friend.
I will have to beat her to get her to do my bidding.”

Stinky’s
agitated voice reached her ears. “She is not going for anything under two hundred pounds. She’s prime, she is.”

“Where did you find her?”

“She’s a widow, a dressmaker. She has no family. Gel was fool enough to live in her shop alone at night. No one will come for her. You won’t find one that beautiful inside a brothel and you know it.”

Sara’s stomach churned as
the bartering continued between the two men.

“All right, get her to my cabin before the ship sails
, and I will give you one hundred and fifty pounds. Take it or leave it.”

A ship! She was going to be put on a ship!
Her senses clamored for some calm. She was being sold like a slave? Where was she going? Philip could never save her if she was on a ship. How would he know which ship she was on and where they were bound? How many countries could he search?

Hot tears burned her lashes. How could she ever
be saved? The man was disgusting. He had caused her immense pain in less than two minutes. She would never survive him. The futility of her situation overtook her.

She couldn’t get
Stinky’s sentence out of her head: all because she chose to live in the shop? How could that be? A woman could just be kidnapped and sold into slavery? Her dreams of a wonderful life with Philip St. James had just turned to a complete nightmare.
Oh, Philip! What have I done? Please don’t give up. Search for me. I love you.

***

Philip’s nerves were about to totally unravel. How many courtesans had he talked to? Adam had searched rooms, and they had questioned many, but to no avail. He hoped Ardleigh was having better luck.

This was the last one on this street. He and Adam
strode in the front door. The madam greeted him quickly.

“Why,
Your Grace. How pleased we are to have you. How can I help you? Come see all my lovely girls.”

Philip and Adam followed the woman
into a bawdy tavern room where several courtesans consorted with a few customers. He searched the room for rich, chestnut locks, but found none. He shook his head.

“None you like here? Follow me and see our specials in the back.
” The woman leaned toward him to give him an ample view of her bosom, nipples included. “This is where I keep all my new ones, all the young ones, the little touched, the most beautiful. I am sure you will find one that meets your needs in this room.”

If
he’d had any food in his stomach, he would have lost it. At the same time, he hoped Sara sat in the room of specials, although the thought of any other man touching her made him see red. If he found her on the lap of another man, he would surely kill the scum, but not before putting his fist in his face first.

Adam and Philip stepped into the room.
Six women of varying sizes and ages lounged inside. No Sara. His heart fell again. They were running out of options. The madam droned on and he rubbed his hand on his forehead, overcome with despair. Adam quickly sauntered over to a petite blonde. Before Philip could open his mouth, Adam disappeared behind a curtain with the blonde. He turned to give Philip a wink before exiting the room.

“Surely one of these lovelies is to your liking, Your Grace?”

Philip shook his head and turned to leave, but then turned back to the madam. “The woman I am looking for is not here. My fiancée was kidnapped. I beg you.” He described Sara. “I will pay you a large sum of money if you have any information about her.”

“She is a lucky woman, Your Grace. Clearly, you are in love with her. I wish I could help you, but I don’t know anything about such a woman.”
Her gaze dropped to his groin in an attempt to distract him.

Philip left the establishment,
his shoulders sagging. He didn’t realize after Candie shut the door, she leaned against it with a long sigh of relief.

He had just missed Sara.