Whiplash (4 page)

“Sh-sh-she he provoked me. She addressed me improperly and I was teaching her some manners, Sir.” 

Not even a second after Vivian finished explaining herself, Julian’s hand snapped up and backhanded her across the right side of her face, sending her spinning and stumbling into a table a few feet away.  She stayed slumped over the table, breathing heavily and gathering her wits.  Then, almost as if she just hadn’t been slapped halfway across the pavilion, she stood up straight and smoothed down her skirts.  With her back still turned to us, she pulled out a little ivory-colored silk handkerchief and dabbed the blood away from her lip and cheek.  By the time she turned around to face us again, she’d completely recovered and had that smug look of hers back on her face.

Julian was still standing beside me – he hadn’t moved and hadn’t taken his eyes off my bloodied lip.  He was clearly angry.  He rolled his neck around, first one way then the other, creating a series of popping sounds as his bones cracked and released pressure. 

“Vivian, you know that I will deal with you later.  Take the rest of my girls back to their barn and lock them back in their stalls.  Number 10 will stay here with me.”

“But, Jul- I mean, Sir you can’t just let her-“  Another slap to the other side of Vivian’s face send her head spinning all over again.  This time, she didn’t even try to hide the blood or her shame.  She just stood there looking at Julian with her mouth agape.

“I SAID TAKE THEM BACK, NOW!”

I’d never seen grown men run so fast.  Julian’s roar cleared the place out, even though most everyone had still been eating.  Vivian gathered the girls and ushered them out toward the courtyard.  She’d just stepped out from under the awning when Julian gave a shrill whistle, prompting Vivian to spin around.

Julian crooked his finger, beckoning her to walk back to where we were.  She stopped three feet away from Julian and looked at him, expecting that he’d say something.  Instead, he crooked his finger again, ordering her closer…and closer… and closer, until her dress touched the fabric of his pants.

With a cool drawl, Julian said, “And for the record, Vivian; neither fucking my daddy for twenty years nor me for ten has earned you any clout around here. You
are
the help, Vivian.  So if at any point in the future you’re in need of a reminder, I’ll be happy to oblige you.  Now get out of my sight.”

Those words sent Vivian scurrying for the barn with her skirts bunched up in her fists.  She was halfway across the courtyard when she stumbled over something, sending her tumbling head-over-heels for several yards.  That tickled me, and I snickered once in amusement.

Julian’s head snapped to look at me, and when his eyes looked at me in surprise at my outburst, it only served to heighten my jovial mood.  I snickered again, covering my mouth with my fingers to try and force my lips to let go of the smile they’d allowed to get out of hand.

He slowly brought his hand up, grabbed hold of my wrist, and gently pulled it downward.  He caught my other wrist on its ascent before my hand could reach my mouth to cover it again.  We stared each other in the eyes, neither one of us willing to buckle under the pressure. 

Julian’s frown was set deep into his eyebrows, and his lips were beginning to turn white from being pressed so hard together.  The freckles on his left cheek began to quiver, followed by the ones on his right cheek.  Lines appeared on either side of his mouth and gradually morphed into dimples.  I knew I had him at a disadvantage – I knew he’d crack – any second…

I’d been right.  His bellowing laughter echoed off the pavilion’s ceiling, sending the sound out in all directions.  Even Vivian heard it. She didn’t break stride on her way to the barn, but she did turn and look over her shoulder at us.  I was laughing along with Julian at that point, and for a few minutes we each set our role aside, allowing the both of us to be as we seldom were - happy.

Once our laughter died down, Julian used his handkerchief to wipe the blood from my mouth and face.  He tucked it back into his pocket while looking all around the open courtyard.  It was mid-morning, which meant that everyone was already well into their work for the day; that is, everyone except for me.

“Come with me,” Julian said, and before I’d even registered what he said, he was walking away from the pavilion over to a saddled, black horse.  He mounted first, and then used one arm to hoist me up and onto the back of the animal. He ‘click-clicked’ with his tongue to get the horse to assume a moderate trot. 

I’d never ridden on the back of a horse before, and the experience was somewhat frightening.  The shiny, black stallion was such a large and powerful animal; had it desired to, it could’ve thrown both Julian and me right to the ground.  The horse’s reins were but an illusion of control; no one could have ever truly controlled that beast.  I wrapped my arms around Julian and clasped my fingers together over his abdomen.  It only took a few minutes to ride to Julian’s cottage, and once we got there, he dismounted then helped me down off the horse.  He led me up the porch steps and through his door.

Inside the house, a pretty white woman was fixing herself a drink.  She must have deemed our presence to be inconsequential, because her back remained turned to us even after we’d entered and closed the door.  She simply stirred her drink gingerly with a long-handled silver spoon, and then drank it all down at once in a few gulps.

“What are you doing here, Colette?” Julian asked.

“Hello, Julian.  I just stopped in for a cool drink before heading on up to the main house.  I was sure you wouldn’t mind,” she said smoothly and with her back still turned to us.

“As a matter of fact, I
do
mind.  This is my house, Colette, and you can’t just happen by unannounced and let yourself in here.  Now let yourself out,” he demanded with barely restrained anger.

She spun around quickly, ready to spit back at him with the same fury, but she saw me first.  She gasped, her face went snow white, and her eyes got big like she was surprised to see me.  The glass in her hand dropped from her grip and shattered into hundreds of tiny pieces all over the wooden floor.

Her trembling fingers rose to cover her lips, and her eyes had gone glassy with unshed tears.  She looked at Julian incredulously and whispered, “What have you done?”

Chapter Three

“Get out of here, Colette.  GO, NOW!” Julian yelled. 

She didn’t move quickly enough to satisfy him, so he charged over to where she was and grabbed her roughly by the arm.  She squealed in protest, but it didn’t stop Julian from dragging her across the room.  By the time they reached the door, Colette’s feet were scraping the floor behind her, and the heel on one of her shoes had come off.    It tumbled over the wooden planks before coming to rest under the couch.

              Julian tossed Colette out the door, sending her stumbling down the porch stairs and onto the ground.  Then, he just closed the door and walked away from it.  He didn’t even look out the window to make sure she was alright. 

He said nothing for a long while.  He went and sat down at a small round breakfast table, resting his head in his hands.  I used the opportunity to take in my surroundings and maybe gain some insight to the man responsible for my captive state.

The cottage was quaint and cozy, just one large room with a short section of wall separating a bed from the sitting area and kitchen.  To my left, Julian sat at a two-seater table in the tiny kitchen area.  The back wall of the kitchen boasted an ornate curio cabinet, filled with crystal glasses of various shapes and sizes, as well as fine porcelain plates, saucers, and cups.  Below the glass door of the cabinet was a drawer, partially opened to reveal a gleaming set of silver cutlery and eating utensils. 

On my right, another wall housed a plush burgundy couch with two matching high-back sitting chairs on either side of it.  A thin layer of dust lightly coated the fabric of all three, indicating that it had been a while since any of them had been used.  Directly in front of me, a big, black, wood-burning stove was situated below a window on the wall opposite the front door.  All the furnishings were set along the outer walls of the cottage, as most of the floor space was occupied by a throw rug on top of which sat a glass case filled with various decanters containing different liquors. 

There weren’t any photographs or niceties around.  Overall, the house was rather tame and ineffectual – not like Julian, at all.

Still with his back turned to me, he got up from the table and walked around the partition that separated his bed from the rest of the house.  I heard what sounded like drawers sliding open and closed, then there was a sound like glass jars tinkering against each other.  After a minute or two, Julian reappeared and started walking toward the table.  He set a jar of ointment and a bottle of iodine on the table and pulled out a chair for him to sit in. 

“Take off your dress, Number 10,” he said without even looking at me.  My apprehension increasing, I slowly pulled the dress up and over my head, leaving me completely naked before him.

He dragged his fingers through the salve, gathering a healthy dollop on the tips.  Slowly, he began to apply the cool, soothing jelly over the welt he’d made the night before with his bullwhip.  His fingers trailed delicately over my collarbone, between the valley of my breasts, and down to my navel.  Once he’d finished tending to the welt, he uncorked the bottle of iodine and tipped it, allowing a small drop of the deeply-red liquid to spill out onto his fingertip.  He painted the medicine onto the corner of my mouth and gently blew air over it to lessen the sting. 

He returned the jars to where he’d pulled them from and rinsed his hands in a basin set up next to the bed.  He still hadn’t made any eye contact with me since we’d encountered Colette, and I wished I’d been able to say why that was.  He pulled a ladle from the drawer of silverware and a glass from the curio and then went outside without a word.  By the time I’d put on my dress, he’d returned with a tall glass of cool, fresh water which he handed over to me before pouring himself a glass of bourbon.  He consumed the entirety of the liquid in one gulp.

“You’d better get going.  Vivian will make trouble for you if you don’t get back there pretty soon.  Drink the water, then leave and go back to the barn.  Speak to
no one
on your way back.  Tell no one what happened here, today.”  Without another word, Julian went back outside, slamming the door shut behind him.

I didn’t know what to think.  Julian’s switch in demeanor since the morning had my thoughts and emotions all jumbled.  Under the pavilion and there in his home, he’d not been the same man I’d encountered the previous night.  Overnight, he’d transformed into something human. I didn’t need to trust him, but I did want to be
able
to.  Maybe if he knew I trusted him, he wouldn’t do anything to destroy that; then, I’d be a little safer.

Deciding the argument in my head was going nowhere, I picked up the glass of water and took a tentative sniff.  It smelled alright to me, so I took a small sip.  I felt the cool, clear liquid slide past my throat and travel down to my belly.  Satisfied that the water was safe to drink, I drank the rest of it slowly, savoring the refreshment.  Once I finished the water, I peeked out of the window, looking for any sign of where Julian had gone.  He wasn’t anywhere in sight, and as much as I wanted to see him again before going back to Vivian and the girls, I figured it best to just head on out.  It was a full mile back to the barn, and I needed to get going if I wanted to eat lunch.

I stepped out of the cottage and onto the porch.  I looked around to see if I could see Julian anywhere, but there was no trace of him. By then, the sun was high in the sky, providing no angle for shadows to be formed.  I looked at the road that would lead me back to the barn and in the distance I saw the heat waves bouncing off the beaten path.  I set out at a moderate pace, and within ten minutes I was nearly back at the barn.

I was rounding the curve that would take me to the courtyard when I heard rustling coming from the cane fields to my left.  At first, it didn’t scare me.  I figured the noise to be from a dog or something of the like, as it wasn’t uncommon for the domesticated animals to roam about the property.  I quickened my step anyway, and as I did, the noises coming from the field became louder and more erratic. 

The rustling turned into swishing and snapping sounds as the stalks bent and broke.  Spotting the barn in the distance, I broke into a full sprint and didn’t stop until I had to bang on the door to be let inside.  Vivian unlatched the door, and upon seeing my panicked state she pulled me hastily inside. She secured the door behind me and spun around to face me, a look of shock and confusion on her face. 

“I’m fine…I’m alright…” I managed to say despite panting for air with my hands resting on my knees. 

Vivian was still standing over by the door, looking at me with suspicion and disdain evident in her eyes.  I knew she wanted to know about what’d happened after she left Julian and me alone, but I wasn’t inclined to placate her. She didn’t press the issue, and instead suggested I go and bathe.  She told me where the pond was, and I wasted no time getting out of there and down to the water.  Given our living conditions, I was prepared to bathe myself in water that was used for animals.  I’d been wrong to assume that, however, and the pond was actually quite lovely and serene. 

It was situated about 30 yards away from the back of the barn.  The ground had been hollowed out into a bowl shape about 40 or 50 feet across.  Tall, thin reeds surrounded it, affording a little bit of privacy.  The water was clear and undisturbed, with tiny dragonflies darting to and fro over the surface.  Looking to make sure no one was around to see me naked, I slowly pulled off my dress and walked down the slope.

The water was surprisingly warm, and its liquid caress worked to soothe my tired, aching muscles.  I leaned back, pulling my legs and torso up to the surface while extending my arms out to either side of me.  Allowing the water to bear all my weight, I floated there with my ears below the surface, the muffled beating of my heart the only sound I could hear.  I closed my eyes, and the pulsing rhythm drummed me to a quiet place, where we could be alone;
just my thoughts and me.

My whole life had been a balancing act on the fine line between life and death, and now that I’d seen a different facet of Julian, I teetered on the edge of sanity as well.  There wasn’t anything that I’d ever had control of; not the loss of my family; not when I ate, drank, or slept; not what I wore; not even my own name.  I felt tears stinging the outer corners of my eyes, and they slid down the side of my face and disappeared below the surface of the water.

I inhaled all the air my lungs could hold, rolled over onto my belly, and dipped below the surface on a slow descent to the bottom.  The water near the floor of the pond was murkier, and it stung my eyes. Little rocks and debris scratched against them, so I closed them and continued blindly to the bottom.  I reached it, allowing my fingers to rake through the mud as I swam my way further and further away from the banks.  If I could make it to the deepest part of the pond, then just maybe I’d run out of breath before I could swim back to the surface. 

My lungs started to burn, so I expelled a little bit of air through my nose.  The bubbles tickled my cheeks as they streamed by it, causing me to snuff out a laugh and expel even more air.  It wasn’t long before my lungs were nearly empty.  I looked up toward the surface and got scared when I assessed the distance - it was a good 30 feet to the surface.  There wasn’t any way for me to make it back up before I ran out of air, leaving me with a choice to make; I could either try to make it up before my lungs were completely empty, or I could just wait at the bottom for blackness to engulf me. 

My decision was reached quickly. I bent my knees, and planted both my hands and feet solidly in the mud.  A second later, I pushed up and exploded off the pond’s bottom.  I shot up through the water at a pretty good pace for about 20 feet, but going so long without oxygen had me feeling lightheaded and fuzzy around the edges.  I looked up to the surface and watched it get further and further away as I sank back down to the bottom.  My eyes closed of their own accord just before I felt something grab me by the elbow and pull me upwards. 

When my face emerged from the water, my mouth opened wide enough to make my jaw pop.  I sucked in the biggest breath of air that I’d ever inhaled and began gasping, coughing, and wheezing in tandem.  My head was leaned back against something hard, but yielding.  Something else thick and rigid wrapped around my body - right under my bust - and it wasn’t until I reached my hand up to touch it that I realized it was an arm.  I lifted my head to look at the sinewy, golden-brown arm. It was littered with scars.  Some of them were big and raised – others were just barely visible. Most notably, the bicep had a patch of raised skin in the shape of a ‘D’ on it.  I wrapped my fingers around the wrist and held on while I was swum back toward the banks.

When we finally reached the more shallow water, I was hoisted up and over a broad shoulder, my hair dripping its water back into the pond.  Once we’d made it out of the water, I was lowered and laid down gently on the banks.  My eyes fluttered open and closed for a few moments as I blinked away the rest of the debris.  A worried face came into focus, and I reached up and placed my hand on the cheek.  It was wet, and its stubble tickled my palm as the man I’d first seen under the pavilion that morning smiled down at me.

He sat me upright and dried me with a shirt that’d been hanging on a reed.  I wasn’t at all ashamed of my nakedness as he inspected my body, his honey-brown eyes looking over every inch of me without lingering anywhere.

“You weren’t hurt, were you?” he asked with accented speech – it sounded like a combination of English and French.

“No, I’m fine.”

“What were you doing?”

“Bathing…” I said questioningly.

“At the bottom of the pond, you were bathing?”  One of his eyebrows arched up in disbelief as he looked me in the eyes, waiting to see if I’d tell him another lie.

I couldn’t.  I didn’t want to. The man had just saved my life, and I owed it to him to be honest.  Since I wasn’t ready to do that, I just didn’t say anything at all.  Instead I looked down at my pruned fingers, pretending to pick at my fingernails.  He didn’t press me to talk about what’d happened.  He just handed me my dress.

“Here - put this on, and get back up to the barn before Eli or Lucas catches you out here and makes an example of you.”  His voice was deep and raspy, and the sense of urgency in it was not lost on me.  I wondered who Eli and Lucas were, but I would have to wait until a better time to find out.

              I moved quickly to pull my dress back on.  I pulled it over my head and then made ready to stand up.  His held his hand out for me to take, and I used it for leverage to pull myself up off the ground. I pulled my dress down over my buttocks and straightened its collar. I rose up on tip-toe and kissed his stubbly cheek lightly.

              “Thank you…for saving me, I mean” I said.

“You’re welcome.  Now get yourself back up the hill.  Go on, now!”

I scaled the slope in a few quick steps.  I made it to the top and turned around to ask my rescuer his name, but he’d already disappeared up the opposite slope and into the cane field.  I heard the stalks bristle and crack as he made his hurried retreat.  Once I couldn’t hear him anymore, I walked back to the barn to get ready to go to supper.