Raised By Wolves Volume four- Wolves (81 page)

“Now,” Thorp said eagerly. “We will not be stupid, will

“Now,” Thorp said eagerly. “We will not be stupid, will we? I am going to release the rope about your chest, and you are going to work your arms up over your head until you touch that yoke. If you struggle, I shall hit you until you are stunned, and then when you wake, I will cut on him as your punishment. Do youunderstand?”

I nodded and kept myeyes onGaston. He was alert and not scared. I strived to be the same.
Thorp untied the rope that held myarms at mysides, and I pulled them up my body. Once I had my bound wrists even with my chin, he pressed his knee between my shoulder blades to pin me. I finished extending my arms and touched the yoke. Squatting on my head, he began to tie the length of rope he had removed fromaround myarms to the rope about mywrists.
With a great show of growling, Gaston began to squirm and rollaway.
“Oh no you don’t,” Thorp said, and stood. He kicked down hard between my shoulders, driving the breath from me, and thenhe went to retrieve Gaston.
I sucked air into my lungs in a great gasp and pushed to my knees. Gaston spun and knocked Thorp offhis feet and onto his back. Despite the straw, there was a solid thud as the bastard’s head struck the floor. He cursed and blinked and reached for a knife at his belt. Gaston dove atop him, but with his arms bound at his sides, he was no more than an impeding

worm.I needed a weapon. I supposed I could strangle himwith

 

the rope around mywrists. ThenI spied the dildo. I grabbed it in

 

both hands and bucked my way across the floor to throw myself

both hands and bucked my way across the floor to throw myself onThorp. I planned to hit himwithit, but he opened his mouthto yell and I jammed the dildo there instead. He let out a muffled roar and I pushed the phallus deeper while strugglingto get some of my weight across his body and still maintain leverage with my bound arms. Then my world was reduced to his bucking and struggling beneath our weight as I pushed the pole down his throat, seeking to either strangle himor break his spine. I prayed he had not pulled the knife; and I expected to feelit inmyside or hear Gaston grunt in pain at any moment. Mere inches from mine, Thorp’s eyes were wild and terrified, and increasingly distended. He made muffled roaring sounds. His hands began to claw at me and I stopped worryingabout the knife.

“What the bloody’ell?”came fromthe doorway.

I looked over and found Carmichael and two of the other men standing there with weapons drawn. Thorp reached toward themwitha shakinghand. Theystood transfixed.

I kept pushing. If we could at least kill Thorp, I did not care what theymight do to us.
Thorp stopped bucking and his hands dropped to clutch feebly at the straw. Then even that ceased and the light left his eyes. Finally, he became stilland limp.
I released my desperate grip on the dildo and rolled off the body. Gaston regarded me with relief and satisfaction. I pulled the gag frommy mouth and looked to the men. We could not defend ourselves from the three of them even if I pulled one of Thorp’s knives; and he had left his pistols and sword hanging by the stalldoor—behind the men. My Horse was panicked and wished to trample another enemy. I summoned myWolf. wished to trample another enemy. I summoned myWolf.
“Stand down, we mean you no harm,” I said with authority.
“We were comin’ ta stop him,”Carmichaelsaid.
“And I thank you for that,” I said. “This man wronged me before and he owed me his life for it. I was not about to allow it to happen again. Understand that we are not attempting to escape, though. We wish to go where you are supposed to take us:to myfather, Lord Dorshire.”
They took a step back, and the two behind looked to Carmichael.
“Well, my lord,” he said weakly. He cleared his throat. “That um… Ya wish ta go to yur father? Then um... I suppose that’s what we should do, then.”
“Where are we supposed to go?”I asked.
“Rolland Hall, my lord.” His mien said he was balancing onthe fence ofthe truthand did not like it.
I took a guess as to why. “Is myfather there?”
Carmichaelgrimaced. “Nay, mylord, ’e be inLondon.”
“ThenI would have youtake us there.”
He seemed concerned at this direction, but he did not say anything to counter it. He nodded. “Very good, my lord.” One of the other men whispered. He nodded enthusiastically. “We ’ave proper clothes fer ya.”
“Very good,”I said. “I would like wine, a tub with warm water… Canthat be done? And food.”
They nodded and scurried off. I pulled a blade from Thorp’s belt and cut our bonds.
Gaston threw his arms around me and we held one
Gaston threw his arms around me and we held one another inbreathless wonder at our turnofgood fortune.
“Thank you,” I finally breathed. “I could not have survived that without you.”
“Youwere magnificent.”He kissed me deeply.”’
“Non, youwere. I would have beenhelpless.”
“Never: I only had the advantage because I did not fear him. I only led you past that fear. It was you who rose to the occasion.”He grinned.
I snorted and had to laugh. “I cannot believe I managed that.”I shuddered.
“We willconsider it another task ofHercules.”
“We willnot tellour grandchildrenofit.”
He laughed and then his face shifted to a bemused frown. “My love, there are many things we should not tell our grandchildren.”
“Do tell,”I teased.
Carmichael returned with a box of clothes: replete with coats, wigs, and boots. We picked through that with matching grimaces until he returned again with our bags, boots, and to my amazement, weapons.
“Thank the Gods,” I muttered. “There is the glimmer of life inthe Wayofthe Coast yet.”
Gaston was hugging the musket he had owned for over tenyears like the beloved friend it was.
The men did manage to produce wine, a bowl of soup, and a wash basin and hot kettle. I was going to ask them to leave us alone so that we could bathe, but then I saw Thorp’s body.
^body.
“Canyoudispose ofthat?”I asked Carmichael.
“Dump it inthe alley?”he asked withtrepidation.
“Why not?” I replied. “Be sure to remove any coin or valuables and distribute it amongst yourselves.”
“Thank you, mylord,”Carmichaelsaid withawe.
His comrades bowed deeplyingratitude.
I smiled and waved them out the door as they dragged Thorp away by his heels. Once we were alone, I looked to Gaston. “It seems odd that myfather would onlysend Thorp and four men.”
He frowned. “What are youquestioning?”
“As yousuggested whenfirst yousaw him:that myfather would stilltrust him.”
Gaston nodded thoughtfully. “We must question Carmichaelfurther. And where is that other man?”
We loaded our weapons, and with one eye on the door to the warehouse, took turns quickly bathing and dressing. We were shavingwhenCarmichaelreturned.
“Mister Carmichael, were there not four of you?” I

asked.He nodded and grimaced. “I sent Burt ta fetch Mister

Jenkins. It were afore… um, Mister Thorp, um…”
“Who is Mister Jenkins?”I asked.
“Um, well, ’e manages things like this, er… Um, difficult

things requirin’… discreetin?
Discretion
fer ’Is Lordship. ’E ’ad ta be away: so ’e left Mister Thorp ’ere ta wait on the ship. We were ta tell ’im as soon as ya arrived, but Mister Thorp…” He sighed. “’E were always the troublesome sort. ’E said ’e could manage this well enough on ’is own.” Carmichael shrugged eloquently.

Gastonand I exchanged a look ofconcern.
“Where did yousend Burt to find Jenkins?”I asked. “Rolland Hall,” Carmichael said, seemingly happy to

have aneasyquestionto answer.
“The estate is several days ride to the north,” I told
Gaston. “Londonis one day’s hard ride to the northeast.” He nodded. “Thenlet us find horses.”
I nodded and looked to Carmichael. “We will be riding
to London at once. Do you have horses ready, or were we to
ride inthe wagon?”
“There be a carriage fer the two o’ ya , and then ’orses
fer us; but we were na’ ta leave ’tilMister Jenkins arrived.” We could not have that. “Give us the two best horses.” He frowned.
I sighed. “Mister Carmichael, I understand you are a
loyal and good servant of my father. I appreciate your service to
the family. However, I amsure Mister Jenkins will wish for us to
travel with him to Rolland Hall. We wish to go to London. I do
not wish for anyone other than Thorp to die. Do you understand
mymeaning?”
He heaved a great resigned sigh. “I do, my lord. We’ll
fetchthe ’orses.”
We were on the road traveling as fast as we dared by
torchlight withinthe hour. We had fine animals, and it felt good to
ride; I only wished I could enjoy it without fear of robbers or
other dangers.
As the sky grayed with the dawn, I saw that Gaston
appeared as pensive as I felt.
“Our plan is to confront him and not kill him, oui?” he
asked when he saw me watching him. “We are free now, and

armed.”I thought on it. “Nothing has changed, has it?” I finally

asked. “We are better men for not seeking to kill him; the Gods have done much to bring us here; and even if They had not, things must be resolved with him if we are to live in peace; and so, what else is there except to go and speak with him— whatever the consequences?”

He sighed and smiled weakly.

“However, if you have had a change of heart, speak now. I would love to have another option.”
His smile became more sincere and he looked to me with love. “We must. I am just afraid you will be angry with me for a verylongtime ifthis goes badly.”
I laughed. “At least we will be together to argue the matter for eternity, non?”
He pulled his horse up and I quickly had to do the same and wheelto returnto him.
“Let us pray,” he said. “And promise a temple or some service or whatever youfeelappropriate.”
“Who should we implore? What do we seek?”
He frowned inthought. “Venus?”he offered.
“Youtrulybelieve She was the Goddess angered?”
He nodded. “And if not… Love is what we seek: the freedom to love: the freedom to embrace Her divine gift. And love is what we hold. It is our greatest treasure. Should we not ask Her to safeguard it?”
Myheart ached inanold familiar way. “Oui.”
We rode offthe road and found a grove at the edge of a field. We dismounted, and as the sun broke the horizon, I turned myface skyward and spoke frommyheart.
“Oh Divine Goddess Venus, Aphrodite, Goddess of Love and Beauty; please hear our prayer. We wishto thank You for the bounty ofYour blessing. Your gift has enriched our lives as no other can. Please help us safeguardYour gift inour coming battle. We face a fearsome foe: a man who I feel knows You not. Please let us…
love
: live in love: live to celebrate You: live to spend the rest of our lives in devotion to Your gift. We will build You a temple… Not in a garden or on a hill, but in our home, with our home and the Love it shall hold. Please let us serve as Your disciples and emissaries. And if it is not Your will, or the will of the other Gods, that we should survive this battle, thenplease grant us peace inone another’s arms for alleternity.”
I stood there feeling the sun on my face, and then Gaston’s arms were about me and he was pulling and pushing my clothing off and away. I stripped him as well, and we fell to the grass and made love as if our lives depended upon it, and as if there was no other purpose in life than stepping into Heaven in one another’s arms. The blinding light of that perfection did not leave me inthe aftermath, and I felt goldenand powerful.
“Thank you,”I whispered to the sky—and mylove.
“I thought it an appropriate offering to Her,” Gaston said witha happysmile.
“I feelinvested withHer juju.”
He pushed up to look down at me. “My love, you are

Her juju.”“And youare mine.”

We dressed and rode on. We stopped several times throughout the day to eat and rest our mounts. We watched our fellow inn patrons carefully. Though Jenkins would not have a good description of us save for our hair color, the clothes we had been given were new and did not fit well: that alone would not have made us stand out in the crowded inns, but when we added the anomaly of our muskets—an uncommon weapon for a gentleman in England to casually carry—we did attract attention from other wary men. Still, we made London that eveningwithout incident.

Gastonslowed as we entered the teemingcity.

“Do you know where we are going?” he asked with some trepidation.
“I hope I do,”I said. “We shallhave a bit ofa problemif my father did not rebuild his townhouse where the old one stood before the fire.”
We swung wide to avoid the near-collision of the citybound carriage and a country-bound dray. There was a great deal of cursing and whip cracking. I was silently recalling all I hated about being around so many faceless, yet loud and obnoxious, urban denizens when I saw that Gaston was quite tense. For me, it was an unexpected annoyance, for my matelot, who had ever suffered from over-sensitivity to loud sounds and suddenmovement, it must appear a nightmare.

I went to his side, and onlyrecalled at the last instant that

I went to his side, and onlyrecalled at the last instant that here—in civilized England—I should not bridge the distance betweenus and take his hand.

“My love, look at me,” I said calmly and quietly in French.
His worried gaze shifted to me with gratefulness. “I did not think… to anticipate this. I knew we were ridinginto a city— a
large
city—and I have been in cities… But…” He sighed heavily. “It will be akin to battle.” He regarded the road ahead with dismay. “A battle where I cannot allow my Horse to pick His path.”
I considered how we would manage this obstacle. I could not lead him.
“Your Wolf?”I asked.
He took a steadying breath and considered that with a frown. “I willtry.”
In London, as in every great city, a traveler runs the risk of being waylaid at every alley if he wanders from the welltraveled roads: however, I tried to steer us around the more clamorous streets anyway; without endangering us or becoming lost. I twice had us meander in a circle. It was dark—and late— when we at last reached the place where I thought my father’s house stood.
There was a fine, large, four-story stone house on the lot. Now I sat myhorse—and Horse—withtrepidation.
“This might be it,”I said.
“Youdo not recognize it?”Gastonasked.
“I have not seen it since it was rebuilt. When last I was

here, most of the city had recently burned. The old house was

 

here, most of the city had recently burned. The old house was completelymade ofwood.”