The Price of Hannah Blake (34 page)

Her father had looked down at her sleeping face and his own seemed to David anguished. He said, “She was the most virtuous girl. I never doubted she would make a good marriage, her purity could be seen in her face. Now, that monster has ruined a beautiful, innocent woman.”

David was cautious. “What do you expect for her now, what future?”

He shook his head, still gazing at her. “She will never marry any good man.” He looked up and said vehemently, “It is not her fault and she should not suffer, but there is no help for it. She may remain in my home as long as she wishes—forever—and I will care for her. But can a woman be happy in this life—if she cannot be a woman?”

David nodded and he, too, was looking at Hannah’s sleeping face. One could imagine her untroubled—and unsullied. He said, “Blake, I think you know that I am an officer at Scotland Yard and commissioned, as well, in naval intelligence.”

Blake nodded as though not greatly interested. But David continued, “I was graduated from Cambridge University with firsts in natural science and philosophy; I am an educated man.”

Blake nodded, not looking at him.

“And my father’s work, a lifetime against great odds, earned for me a competence. I have 1500 pounds of my own.” Blake looked up; the sum was impressive.

“You are a deserving man,” he said.

“It is true that I am a Jew and in England that sets me apart. For my part, I tolerate all religions.”

“As do I,” said Blake. “I have traveled and fought and laughed with too many men, Christian and Jew, Mohammedan and Hindu, to believe one is born better than the other. It is the man, only the man.”

Relief showed in David’s face, though Blake seemed not to notice. David said, “I have said all this to you because it is right for you to know. It is right because I love your daughter, Hannah…”

Blake’s head jerked up, staring at him.

“I never have loved a woman as I love Hannah and I know I never will. I am asking you for her hand in marriage and, if you consent, that we be wed as soon as possible. I want nothing more in this world so much.” He looked down at Hannah.

“And if you consent, your family will be my family and I will care for them and work for their welfare as I will for Hannah’s—and that will be with all my energy and industry and every ability I may possess.”

Blake had risen to his feet. The sailor’s hard face was working to contain the emotion that seemed to shake him. Slowly, he reached out and took David’s hand, looking into his eyes.

David took the hand, and said, “If that is your consent, Edward Blake, then no happier man breathes tonight under these skies.”

“It is my consent,” Blake managed to say hoarsely.

And David turned to kneel on the deck and to lower his face, as though in prayer, until his lips touched Hannah’s. His arm slipped around her, and, for many moments, he did not move.

Then, he felt her stir and raised his head, gazing down. She whispered, “David, are you here?”

“Yes,” was all he said, “yes.”

The end

Posted chapter by chapter, this novel had its first “publication” on the Web site
http://www.literotica.com
in the second half of 2012. There, first thousands, and then many thousands of readers discovered each chapter. Many made comments that improved the book, but others just cheered me on, chapter by chapter, with expressions of delight, extreme impatience for the next chapter, and compliments on the novel’s plot, characters, and style. To those readers, I am indebted for providing the reassurance that my story ought to reach a wider audience “out in the world” beyond Literotica. Members of Literotica adopt nicknames for their participation in the site so I must thank “LadyParts,” “GoldieWitch,” “KiwiPlum,” “meh4912,” and dozens of others from all over the world for their generosity.

Because of their encouragement, I plan to publish as e-books, and then as paperback books, the three novels I have written and posted on Literotica.
The Price of Hannah Blake
is the first. This novel is explicitly and graphically erotic in many chapters; that will not be to everyone’s liking. I always have enjoyed reading erotica and have written it just for fun all my adult life, but
The Price of Hannah Blake
, while it has erotic elements, is not erotica. At least by intention, the novel is a thriller with a genuine heroine, a hero, and a clash of good and evil.

I deliberately imitated the classic Victorian underground novel, but used it as a platform for a thriller set in England at the twilight of the magnificent Victorian era. In this way, I could add, as yet another level of complexity, an evocation of that historical era—its people, its politicians, its conscience. The actions and words that I attribute to historical characters, however, are entirely imaginary; and, of course, there was no duke who was brother to Queen Victoria. Succession to the throne would have gone to the male.

Above all, however, this is the story of how a heroic young woman faces the unimaginable, and, by loyalty to her values, triumphs against those who view their power as invincible and that of “the girl from Devon” as insignificant. For readers who detect in this novel, for all its righteous championing of the good, a salacious enjoyment of all the kinky fantasy—how could I possibly deny that you are right? Erotic fantasy that remains fantasy, strictly among adults able to know their own minds and desires, and absolutely excluding any element of coercion, always will be a welcome accessory to sexual enjoyment.

Many pages could be devoted to thanking individuals who have encouraged my writing career, but this is not the place to thank them.

I do want to mention that my brother, Roger Donway, my best friend and my life’s boon companion, agreed to edit and proofread the draft of this book solely out of desire to help me. His own literary tastes run to Jane Eyre, not such stuff as this book. My wife, Robin, with the same impulse to help, read the draft and made many comments that improved what I wrote.

Without knowing what I intended to write, Robert Bidinotto, the celebrated author of the thriller,
Hunter
, and a crusader for justice for the victims of crimes, generously helped, again and again, to steer me toward the production and publication of this book. Without him, nothing would have worked.

Readers who share my love for Hannah Blake, and my pleasure in her brave determination to discover her own joy in sexuality--while never forgetting that freedom, in this life, is everything—can help other readers to discover
The Price of Hannah Blake
, and help me to write and publish more books, by leaving a review (the length and detail do not matter) on my Amazon page.

I love you for understanding.