Lessons of Love (40 page)

“
You will be. I
’
ll send word to the Boston buyer, then come right back up here to watch over things.”
Gregor nodded, looking very pleased with how things were turning out before exiting the room to spend t
he n
ight with the sweet Marie.

As soon as Li
ly heard the door of Gregor
’
s room down the hall close, she hurried downstairs to her office. Pulling the ring from her pocket, Lily looked again at the words inscribed on the band.
‘
My heart
’
s love,
Jolie
’
. Her heart pounding, Lily wrote a message to
Cole
.
Cole
,
I think Gregor has brought your wife here. She has a ring.
‘
My heart
’
s love,
Jolie
’
.
Lily
She folded the missive and summoned the messenger boy, sending him off in a fit of urgency, in a direction Gregor never dreamed of, with a silent prayer
that the boy would make it to
Cole
in time.
 

Eighteen
 

The doctor arrived after
Jolie
was back in bed. She had stirred a bit during her bath, but hadn
’
t truly woken up. Now she was warm and clean and buried under a pile of quilts to combat the fever c
aused by her infected arm. Lily was wiping her forehead with a cool rag when Doc Martin approached the bed. She looked up at the distinguished older man and smiled. He was a real charmer and she was glad to see him.
Jolie
was in pretty bad shape thanks to
Gregor, and she knew that if anyone could
help the girl, it was the Doc.

Lily and the doctor were old friends who went way back. He was a quiet gentleman who had never married and enjoyed the company of Lily
’
s girls from time to time over the years. In ti
me, he
’
d become their
‘
family
’
doctor, treating the bumps, bruises, maladies, and unwanted pregnancies that befell girls of such status, all with a smile and a promise of silence. What went on inside Lily
’
s brothel was her b
usiness and her
s alone. No one,
especially their wealthy customers, wanted the world to know the goings on in a whore house. Now here he was again, prepared to mend another
girl with no questions asked.

“
Hey Doc. How ya doin
’
? Got an injured one for ya. She
’
s had it pretty hard. Shot th
rough the arm and dragged across the country. Think you can patch her up? She
’
s got a bump the size
of a goose egg on her skull.”

“
I
’
ll see what I can do.
Is the g
ag really necessary?”

“
I
’
m afraid so. Boss
’
s orders. She and I
’
d both be in trouble if we r
emoved it.”

“
That
’
s ridiculous. How can I possibly give her what she needs? Call for
Cole
this minute
,
and I
’
ll talk some sense into him. I ca
n
’
t believe he
’
d be so cruel.”

“
You ain
’
t dealin
’
with
Cole
. Gregor owns this p
lace now. He
’
s down the hall.”

Do
c Martin was clearly surprised by the news, but wasn
’
t about to be put off. “
Well then call him. This poor girl is dehyd
rated and will need medicine.”

“
I
’
ll get him Doc, but I ain
’
t makin
’
any promises. Gregor
’
s a foul one. He don
’
t much care if she suffe
rs.”

“
Well he must care if she lives or I wouldn
’
t be here. Go get him.”
Lily did as the doctor asked and he turned back to
Jolie
. “
Now then missy, let
’
s see what the problem is.”
Doc Martin carefully folded back the sheets and immediately spotted the wou
nd in
Jolie
’
s arm. He unwrapped the fresh bandages and grimaced when he saw how inflamed it was. Infection was setting in and he would have to work quickly or it could kill her. If they were lucky, a poultice would draw out the poison and help it heal. At
least the bullet had been removed, though it looked as if whomever had done the job had simply
hacked away
at the poor girl.

Leaving her arm for the time being, the doctor held up the lamp and opened
Jolie
’
s eyelids. Her pupils were responsive and that wa
s a good sign. He found her pulse to be weak but steady and her heartbeat to be regular. Her breathing was shallow but also steady. All in all, apart from the infection in her arm and the lump on her head, she was in good shape. If she could shrug off the
infection there was a
good chance of her surviving.

“
Come on now, luv. Why don
’
t you open those eyes for me? If that knock on your head didn
’
t kill you outright you should be able to come out of it. Com
e on, sweet. Open those eyes.”

Jolie
stirred as the
doctor gently struck her cheek. Her brain was full of cotton but it did register the fact that she was warm and dry and that the pounding in her head had diminished a bit. Another voice was coming to her through the fog, this time a man
’
s, and his voice s
o
unded kind. Where was she?

Doc Martin saw
Jolie
’
s eyelids flutter in response to his words. “
That
’
s a girl, come on. Wake up now. Want something cold to drink? How about somethi
ng for the pain in yo
ur head.
”

Something to drink? That sounded wonderful.
Jo
lie
tried to swallow and choked on the rag in her mouth. Her hands fluttered up helplessly and she began to panic
,
as she suddenly felt like she couldn
’
t breath
e
. Strong hands shooed her arms back and held her still, trying to cut through her panic as the r
ag was plucked from her mouth.
Jolie
gasped and coughed as Doc Martin pulled her into a sitting
position and patted her back.

“
There, there, sweet, it
’
s all right. You can breath
e
. How about some water?”

Jolie
clung to him for dear life as the room swirl
ed around her. Her head spun and the hammers of hell beat against her temples as she tried to hold her head up but it was no use. She slumped against the stranger, laying her forehead weakly upon his shoulder and whimpering like a small child. Doc Martin
g
ently laid her back and held up her head
, putting a glass to her lips.

“
Only a sip or two to start with now or it
’
ll come right back up on you. Easy now.”
At that moment Gregor burst into the room. He was furious at being interrupted during his session wi
th Marie and the sight of
Jolie
, gag already removed, made him fly into a rag
e
. He turned to Lily and slapped her hard, making the woman stumble backwards
and grab a chair for support.

“
I told you t
hat ga
g was to stay in place!”

“
Now see here, Gregor. Sh
e told me, but this young woman woke up and was choking. I had to remove it in order for her to breath
e
. Wo
uld you prefer I let her die?”

Gregor stared at the doctor, face flushed with rage, scanning his face to try and determine if
Jolie
had disclosed he
r identity. He turned towards
Jolie
who was lying motionless in the bed, eyes shut, still as stone. Was she faking or was she truly still barely conscious? Well he c
ertainly knew how to find out.

“
Get out, both of you. I
’
l
l call you back in a minute.”

“
That woman is ver
y fragile, Gregor. I
f you... ”

“
Just get out. She valuable
,
and I won
’
t hurt her. She and I just need to have a little chat.”
Lily and Doc Martin left reluctantly, and Gregor approached the bed. He grasped
Jolie
’
s face and squeezed her chi
n,
turning her eyes towards his.

The fog in her head cleared all to quickly at Gregor
’
s familiar touch and
Jolie
opened her eyes to look at her tormentor as a rush of memories about the day she had been abducted came back to her. She tried to close her e
yes, tried to sink back into the blessed blackness of oblivion, but
Gregor would have none of it.

“
Oh no you don
’
t, you little bitch. You have denied me at every turn, but that stops here and now. You
’
ve been caught my little whore and now you
’
ll be sold
to the highest bidder. I may have been denied the pleasure of your body but I won
’
t be denied the gold that will line my pockets when I sell you. Now you listen close to the new rules. Break them and you w
ill suffer. That is a promise.

“
You are to tell no
one who you are. Nobody here will help you,
Jolie
. You are nothing but a whore for sale now. True you will bring a higher price than most because of your breeding, and are intended for a different market than the girls downstairs, but a whore is a whore al
l the same. There will be no plans to escape or cries for help and to ensure your cooperation you should know two things. One,
Cole
knows you
’
re here. He finally got so tired of your shrew
’
s tongue and insolent ways that he decided to wash his hands of you
. Two, Celia is in the next room. You make one move against me and I
’
ll find the most cruel man on earth to buy h
er. Do you und
erstand, bitch?”

Jolie
’
s heart had stopped at Gregor
’
s words.
Cole
knew she was here? He couldn
’
t. He wouldn
’
t. Yes they had fou
ght, but he loved her,
Jolie
was sure of it. Gregor had to be lying. “
You
’
re ... lying.”
Her words were whispered through a throat dry as sand but Gr
egor heard them none the less.

“
Oh you think so do you? Do you want me to tell you everything about the fi
ght you had with your loving husband? How you told him you hated him and didn
’
t want anything to do with him? How you said he was sick and twisted? How you fought him when he touched you?”
Gregor had been witness to all their harsh words while hiding in t
h
e bushes below during their quarrel the night before
Cole
left for Natchez, but
Jolie
couldn
’
t know that and he used it to his full advantage. To
Jolie
, it truly sounded like
Cole
had confided in the monster before her. Her face fell as her heart shattered
, and tears filled her eyes.