Daddy's Here(70)

“Good little girl,” he said, a flicker of a smile appearing on his lips.

Despite her discomfort, something inside Laura sparked at the thought of pleasing him. She shook the thought away, knowing she hated him more than anyone else in the world, more than her stepmother in fact.

With little ceremony, he lifted her legs and shoved the cloth under her posterior. With one hand he yanked her left leg sideways, revealing the core of her body to him as she felt utter humiliation. He seemed not to notice the sight, his attention entirely focussed on gathering the corners of the cloth and tying them around her hips. Only when he was done did he allow her to stand up.

She slid down the bed and stood before him, feeling the cloth thick and heavy between her legs. She went to move the knot by her right hip and he growled at her. “I warn you that if you cross me you will pay the consequences.”

“You will be the one that pays for this,” she replied. “When father finds out what you have done.”

He raised his eyebrows at her. “Are you so sure?”

She watched as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. The writing that covered it was so small as to be barely legible but she clearly recognised her father’s signature at the bottom. “What is this?”

“A legally binding contract that makes me your papa and you my little. Until I deem you ready, you are under my jurisdiction. I have full say over everything that happens to you. You will be punished if you disobey me and your father has agreed to my terms in full.”

“He wouldn’t…”

“He would and he did. Now get dressed for the day draws on and we have wasted enough time as it is.”

“Get dressed? With you standing there watching me?”

“You will get used to far more. Modesty is for adults. You have proved yourself a selfish brat, not an adult. As such you are not to be trusted on your own.”

“I will not change with you in the room.”

“Very well.” He grabbed her wrist in an insanely firm grip and dragged her over to the wardrobe, ignoring her protests. Reaching inside he pulled out the first dress he found, a light summer frock that she had not worn in years. “Let go of me,” she snapped, attempting to pull away from him.

He turned towards her, leaning closely towards her face. “You will stand perfectly still there and not make a sound.”

She felt utterly terrified by the sound of his voice. It was cold and yet full of anger, rage that seemed to tremble just below the surface, and heaven help anyone who was around when it erupted. Her heart pounded as he stared unblinking at her, his teeth bared just enough to make her wonder if he might bit her like a wild animal if she chose to disobey him.

She did as he asked, standing perfectly still even after he had let go of her wrist. He pulled her nightdress up her body and off her shoulders, watching her closely as he did so.

Fighting to keep her emotions in check, she did her best to avoid thinking about the fact she was naked in front of a virtual stranger. He did not seem to care for the sight of her though, pushing her head through the frock and sliding it down her body a moment later as if he were dressing a mannequin, not a human being.

“We are leaving,” he said, grabbing a pair of stockings from the bottom of the wardrobe and turning for the door.

“You might be,” she managed to say, terrified by how he might respond. “I am going nowhere. Father!”

“So be it,” he replied, grabbing her wrist once more and dragging her from the room. She screamed for help but none came and soon she was being shoved out of the front door, wincing as her bare feet hit the gravel lining the drive. “Get in,” Edward snapped, shoving her towards the carriage.

“I will not go with you. Father!”

“It is too late to call for father. You should have thought of him all the times you whined and stamped your feet, all those demands and never once thinking of him. You are a brat and you are going to learn your lesson.”

He grabbed her round the waist and shoved her into the open door of the carriage, making her wince as her arm banged into the wood. As she called for her father again, Edward climbed into the carriage after her and called out, “Drive on.”

The wheels began to turn as Laura screamed. “You are kidnapping me. I shall see you hang at the next Assizes for this.”

“I have the consent of your father. I have a legally binding document confirming you are my little until I say otherwise. This is not a kidnapping. This is the beginning of your treatment. You shall return here quite different, I promise you that.”

“I demand you stop the carriage this instant.”