Chapter 5: His Name

The rapist jerked away from me suddenly and ran away to his horse, jumping on the beast and speeding away into the night.

I was left alone with the gentleman.

I got off the ground and did the best I could to shield my bodice away from the gentleman's eyes; I didn't have to try though, his attention was still on the spot the rapist had been. He was just so quiet and just so focused.

"Are you hurt?" I was almost startled when I heard him speak. Hurt? Was he worried about me?

"I am alright. My dress is..."

"I told you not to try running away!" He suddenly yelled, looking up at me for the first time, anger purely written on his face.

"I..."

"What if you were raped?! What if he killed you? How could you be so reckless with your life?!" Why was he so angry? He wasn't any different from the rapist anyway.

"I was trying to get away from you!" I shot back. "If you are so caring about my life, you would let me return to Durnca. You made me leave my pa in that state and... and Hailey would be so worried when she can't find me." I trailed off and looked away.

"Do you really want to make me your wife? I have a gentleman I am in love with and he loves me too. If I leave with you and become your wife, I could never love you as my heart belongs to another." I looked back at him. "Do you want that? A wife who doesn't love you?" He scoffed, smiling painfully and it didn't reach his eyes.

"What do you know about love? A young lad gives you a few kisses and you believe you are in love with him?" He chuckled. "I don't care for your love, you can keep harbouring feelings for your gentleman. But, you will not disobey me again or I just might lose my patience with you." With that said, he left, not even minding that I may run away again. But of course I couldn't, I didn't want to meet that rapist again and who knows if the gentleman would save me a second time?

I followed him, walking slowly behind him, shielding my bosom with my hands. Couldn't he offer me his shirt and save me the embarrassment? Oh, yes... He didn't have a shirt on. What happened to his clothes? Was he robbed? 

I watched his slick back as water droplets rolled down. Why was he wet? Did he take a bath? 

He abruptly made a turn for a dark alley, walking gingerly. I didn't know if I should follow or wait, after all, the inn wasn't that way. But standing alone in the cold night, half naked and scared of another drunk who might jump on me and finish what his friend started was too terrifying that my legs automatically ran after the gentleman. A little past the alley was a part of the woods but it had a flowing stream. The gentleman was bent close to the stream picking up something I couldn't very well see. It was when he walked past me to the street that I saw it was his clothes; his shirt and coat.

Maybe he had stopped there to take a dip when he heard my scream and came running. Could that be it?

He ignored me until we got to the inn; the matron was still awake and her only reaction to me was a soft smile as I followed the gentleman up to our room. It was the same, nothing was out of place which told me he hadn't been to the room yet.

"Take a bath and change out of those clothes." He said to me, not meeting my eyes, not even looking at me.

"You whisked me off with only this one dress on my back, what do you expect me to change into? My birthday suit?" I was rude and it wasn't fair to someone who had just saved my life but I wouldn't be in a mess in the first place if it weren't for him, so he didn't deserve me being nice.

"Must be a sight." He grinned, finally meeting my eyes. His eyes trailed over my body, having a strange glint in them, like how a predator would look at a prey.

"How dare you?!" I raised my hand to slap him across the face but he easily stopped me, holding my hand.

"I should cut off this hand..." He said slowly, studying my hand as a butcher would study a meat.

"I'm not scared of you!" I yelled at him. "My life is already over as I'm involved with you. Whether as your slave or as your pitiful wife, my future can't be worth more than a prisoner's." I raised my other hand to hit him, not minding that it left my bosom exposed. He caught that hand too and just held them both. I began struggling to get free so I could hit him anyhow.

"Let go of me you...you..."

"Julien." He said softly and I stopped.

"What?"

"My name is Julien." He dropped my hands and I moved away from him.

"I don't care for your name, I care for my freedom. I want to be in Durnca, with my pa and my best friend. A free and happy maiden I was... I had very low chances of finding a good enough groom for myself but I was content with my life. Albert would surely get to know my pa and he would like him and I would marry him." A lump appeared in my throat and I did nothing to hold back the tears.

"I should have listened to Hailey, I shouldn't have gone to the pub at all..." I trailed off, hugging my breasts as I slipped to the floor, sobbing.

"Tell me your name." He said in a voice that didn't sound like I was ordered, rather requested to.

"Gwendolyn Crutoe." I replied.

"Gwendolyn..." I heard him walk over to the bed and sit on it.

"I haven't been honest with you..." When I looked up at him, wanting to know what he meant, he exhaled and tapped the space beside him.

"Come sit and I will tell you." I looked into his eyes first, not sure if I should trust his new behaviour, but his eyes were soft and inviting and they made me feel warm all over, especially... I wiped my eyes and got of the floor, scolding myself for having lewd thoughts again.

I sat beside him but farther away, almost an arm's length.

"I shouldn't have taken you away like that. Yes, you do belong to me but I should have let you take a few things and say goodbye to your friend and even take care of your father and make sure he's warm first, but I didn't have that patience. My wife died of a fever and she left me three little children..." I held my hands tightly together. Three children?! He looked so young, you wouldn't even believe he was ever married... and children?! I would not only be a new wife but a mother to three children?!

"With the nature of my business, I can't watch over them properly, so I've hired governesses upon governesses for them but the boys manage to scare them away one after another. I know they are trying to get my attention but my business won't permit it, so I decided to get them a mother. If they had someone taking care of them in my stead that they could call theirs, they won't need me so much." He paused and turned to me.

"They have a governess right now but I don't know how long she will last. I've been traveling through towns looking for a lady to make my wife but they all keep shying away when they find out I have children. When I saw the opportunity of making you my wife and being sure you can't refuse, I seized it. They are little children with the oldest a little over six, I had to hurry back to them." He stopped and just stared at me. What would I say to that? He is worried about his children after all, I had nothing to say. I belong to him now and knowing he wasn't an unfeeling man made it harder for me to resist.