Lessons of Love (34 page)

“
Yes, Mi
stress.”
Jolie
took off at a run down the hall towards the back of the house and the stable. The adrenaline caused by her terror pushing the last vestiges of laudanum from her brain. “
Mistress, wait!”
Jolie
paused and turned towards the slave who was rushi
ng after her. “
You shouldn
’
t be going after Master Gregor alone. Master
Jameson
wouldn
’
t allow it. It
’
s too dangerous. Mistre
ss, you should wait for help.”

“
He has Celia! I can
’
t wait! Do as you
’
re told.”
Jolie
didn
’
t wait to see if her orders were going
to be followed. She raced to the stable and shocked the stable hand by going straight to her mare an
d pulling her from her stall.

“
Get her bridle. Now!”
The stunned man looked her over, noting her dressing gown as
Jolie
swung up bare back, legs straddlin
g her horse. The warning bell began to ring and they both turned in the direction of its peal. “
Brid
le her now. Hurry! I must go.”

The young slave hesitated. In the past, the women, the Mistress included, were not to leave the premises. “
Please, I
’
m not e
scaping. Celia has been taken. Please. You won
’
t g
et in trouble for th
is.”
He looked at her with
worry,
then turned and fetched the horse
’
s bridle.
Jolie
grabbed the reins as soon as he was done and kicked her mare hard, shooting out of the stable and r
acing through the yard.

Not knowing exactly where she was going, but knowing she had to do something,
Jolie
began to search the small paths and roads in the surrounding woods for signs of horses. She
’
d grown up here and had spent hours exploring while he
r stepfather was in town and knew the area well. Time past and she heard the sounds of the slaves and the men searching but no voices of triumph. She worried and searched, searched and worried, for close to an hour, over and over but still nothing to show
her where Gregor had gone. Finally a scrap of fabric caught her eye and she discovered a very small trai
l winding through the forest.

A shrill scream up ahead pierced the air, and
Jolie
urged her mare forward praying all the while that the searching men
had heard Celia
’
s cry too. “
Hold on Celia. We
’
re coming.”
She raced down the narrow path and burst into an open meadow, spotting Gregor and Celia struggling atop his horse at the far end.
Jolie
knew she was no match for the giant of a man but that didn
’
t m
ake her slow her wild pursuit. Galloping forward, heedless of the danger, sh
e let out a scream of her own.

“
NNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! Leave her be. Leave her alone or I
’
ll shoot you. I swear I will.”
Both Celia and Gregor stopped their battle, both shocke
d by
Jolie
’
s sudden appearance but in a flash Gregor threw Celia to the ground and turned his horse towards
Jolie
. He raced forward, fifty fee
t, twenty, ten, and pulled up.

‘
Slip
ped your jailer did you bitch? I s
hould have known Thomas wasn
’
t up for the job
.”
Jolie
pulled the revolver out from the folds of her dressing gown a
n
d pointed it at Gregor
’
s head.

“
Come Celia, get on behind me. We
’
re going home. The woods are full of men, Gregor. You
’
d
be a fool to try and stop us.”

Gregor moved his horse between
Celia and
Jolie
and pulled his own gun. “
I may be a fool but I know what I want.
Cole
deserves to suffer for what he
’
s done and the best way to do that is to take you.”
He moved his arm, pointing his gun at Celia. “
Move over here real nice and easy or she
dies.”

“
Mistress, no!”

Gregor made a deep growl of rage and turned on Celia. He closed the distance between them and brought his arm down, striking her in the cheek with his gun. Celia fell to her knees, dazed,
Jolie
’
s screams ringing in her ears.

Jolie
’
s world went red in a sea of fury. She kicked her mare and barreled towards Gregor, gun arm outstretched, riding at full gallop, shooting wildly. Her shot went wide and Gregory spun, bringing up his gun, firing fast before
Jolie
could pull off another shot
.
The bu
llet hit her in the arm, knocking her from her horse, her head hitting a fieldstone with a sickening thud. Celia rose and ran towards her bu
t Gregor cocked his gun again.

“
I
’
ll shoot her here and now bitch. Get on her horse and come here, we
’
re le
aving.”
Celia shook her head. She knew if both she and
Jolie
were taken by Gregor,
the others might not find them. “
Don
’
t tell me no! Do as you
’
r
e told and get on that horse.”

Gregor dismounted and walked to where
Jolie
lay unmoving in the field. He s
et his gun down and felt for a pulse in her neck, nodding in satisfaction when he found one. “
She
’
s alive. Won
’
t cheat me out of my just due by dying.”

Making a split second decision, praying it was the right one, doubting Gregor would seriously hurt his p
rize, Celia mounted
Jolie
’
s horse and raced across the field in the direction
Jolie
had come from, expecting to feel the sting of a bullet in her back at any moment. She knew she couldn
’
t fight Gregor, especially without a gun. The best she could do for
Jo
lie
was to get help, and tell the oth
ers which way Gregor had gone.

Gregor watched her go in a fit of rage, raising his gun, fully prepared to shoot Celia for her brazenness, but thought better of it just as his finger was about to pull the trigger. The t
wo shots already fired would have drawn enough unwanted attention. He had the woman he really wanted la
ying before him at his mercy.

Gregor quickly pushed up the sleeve of
Jolie
’
s dressing gown and examined her arm, scowling when he saw the bullet hadn
’
t
exited as he
’
d hoped. That meant there could be complications. Cursing under his breath, he tore a strip of
Jolie
’
s nightgown and tied it tightly around the wound to staunch the bleeding. The bloodhounds didn
’
t need an extra scent to track them by. Liftin
g her as easily as he would a small child, Gregor scooped
Jolie
up and hoisted her over his shoulder, then mounted, settling her in front of him. His cock growing hard at the feel of her little body pressed against his. E
ven unconscious he wanted
her.

“
So
on you will be mine you little bitch and nothing can save you from the pain that is your due for ruining my life.”
He kicked his horse, urging it forward into the forest and to a small river they would take to his cabin. The water would help mask their sc
e
nt and the twists and turns of the small creeks that were an off-shoot would make it difficult to track them, their trail being washed away by the cur
rent.
 

Sixteen

Celia raced
into the
yard screaming for help as she
’
d done the entire ride. O
nly the house servants were still about and they all rushed out to meet her, wide eyed with fear. “
Quickly, the Mistress has been taken. Someone must follow the road to Natchez and get Monsieur
Jameson
. Where is Jonathan? Is he all right? Is he out searchi
ng for
Jolie
and I?”

No one moved, and Celia turned frantic eyes towards the four people surrounding her. She looked at t
he small h
ouse boy before her. H
e was young but certainly not a baby, quite able to ride. “
Go! You have to tell Monsieur
Jameson
what
has happened. If anyone stops you on the way tell them you have an urgent missive from the Mistress. You are to stop at the inns when it gets late to see if he is there but d
on
’
t rest until you find him.”

“
Yes Ms. Celia.”
To Celia
’
s great relief the boy
ran for the stables, and she turned back to the others. No
w tell me, where is Jonathan?”

“
Everyone
’
s gone to look for you both, Celia, but I haven
’
t seen Master Jonathan.”
Celia
’
s heart dropped. What had Gregor done? The last thing she remembered was gett
ing dizzy on the stairs. Jonathan had been with her then
,
and Celia knew he wouldn
’
t have let Gregor take her away without a fight. Celia said a silent prayer, begging God t
o let her find Jonathan alive.

“
We must split up and search the house. He might be
wounded and bound. I
’
ll... I
’
ll search the cellar. The rest of you go room to room. Look under the beds, in the wardrobes and trunks, under anything else large enough to hold him. We need to find him quickly.”
The thought of going back to the place where
G
regor had hurt and used her made her insides turn to ice but Celia knew it must be done. She turned toward the house calling back over her shoulder for the others to hurry, determined to find the man she loved.
 

~~~~~~~~~
 

Gregor let out a grunt of satis
faction when he entered the clearing surrounding his cabin. He hadn
’
t heard anything except for a very far off shout, in close to a quarter of an hour, meaning his pursuers hadn
’
t found his trail. Even so, Gregor knew he wouldn
’
t be able to keep
Jolie
for
his own forever. His plan was to use her and teach her some manners then deliver her to Lily
’
s after
Cole
had signed over the deed. He was sure
Cole
would never return to the place of his childhood, and he wouldn
’
t think Gregor would be bold enough to take
Jolie
there. No, he would find a buyer for her quickly, someone rich who would spirit her away to a life of sexual slavery as was her just due and
Cole
would never be the wiser. True, he would have to deal with
Cole
, so he would lay low for a short time t
hen work on con
vincing him she had run away.

The fact that the two of them had fought worked to his advantage. Gregor was sure he could convince
Cole
over time that his little wife had run off, hating him for what he
’
d done, and not able to love him beca
use of the man he truly was inside. If Gregor played his cards right,
Cole
would feel all of the old anger and resentment come flooding back in at being deserted by yet another bitch and he would be ready to resume business as usual. Yes he would have his
fun with
Jolie
then get her out of their lives for good. As sweet as she was, she could easily be replaced by
a hundred
more just like her.