Daddy's Here(45)

"I have your bath ready. I thought you would want it when you returned. The maids have kept it topped up with hot water."

"Well done." He walked towards the stairs, carrying Laura's prone figure in his arms.

"What happened to her? Is she all right?"

"We will discuss it later Mrs Flanders. For now I must warm her."





Chapter 15





Laura had given up any chance of rescue when Edward found her. She had  walked along the road for as long as she could, the view never seeming  to change. All the while the rain continued to fall and she grew colder.  Her entire body felt numb as she stumbled and slid through the thick  mud.         

     



 

When she fell the first time she was able to get up after some effort  but the second time she tripped, she remained down for some time,  weeping at the injustice of it all. To think that Maria would do all  this just for money. Leave her to die in the middle of nowhere.

It was fury that got Laura up again, kept her moving forwards long after  she should have succumbed. But even fury cannot overpower the elements.  Eventually she stumbled for a final time, her eyes closing. She lay  barely conscious in the mud, rolling onto her side and letting out a low  moan of despair. Go to sleep, her mind whispered to her. It will all be  well after you have had a little nap. You will be warm if you sleep.

She did her best to ignore that whispering voice but her eyes slowly  closed nonetheless. She did not hear the horse approaching until it  stopped and whinnied loudly. Blinking mud from her eyes she lifted her  head and glanced towards it just in time to hear a voice cursing it for  stopping.

"Papa?" she asked, seeing only a dark shadow against the even darker night.

When Edward had swept her up into his arms, she was certain it was the  last dream of her tortured mind, a fantasy to bring warmth to her heart  even as she froze to death. It was long after the journey home had begun  that she realised she was alive. Not only that but he had saved her.

When they reached the house, she was still as cold as ice and the sight  of the bath was like manna from heaven to her eyes. She barely noticed  she was in Edward's bedroom, caring only to thaw her frozen body.

Slowly Edward lifted her into the tub, watching her closely as she sank  under the surface of the water. To think how close she came to death  terrified her and she made herself focus on Edward to distract herself.  He seemed a different person. Gone was the anger and fury that seemed  ever present in his eyes. It had been replaced by concern, as if his  emotional barriers had fallen in the face of the peril she had faced.

At first the water seemed to burn her skin, the heat being barely above  lukewarm but to her freezing limbs almost intolerable. She groaned as  Edward knelt beside her, a cloth in his hand.

"Do not attempt to speak," he said, "just lie still."

She did as he asked, wondering again if this might be a dream. The cloth  was dipped in the water and then he lovingly stroked her face with it,  teasing the mud from her hair with infinite patience, smiling warmly at  her all the while.

"You cannot be Edward," she whispered whilst he continued to remove the thick mud from her cheeks.

"Oh?" he replied. "And why not?"

"You are smiling."

"I am smiling because you are alive."

"Thanks to you."

"Thanks to my horse. He would not let me ride on though Lord knows how he could see you in that darkness."

Laura closed her eyes. "I owe her a carrot," she whispered before falling silent again, the effort of speaking exhausting her.

Edward dipped the cloth in the water again, moving it down to Laura's  chest, stroking it over her breasts until not a trace of mud remained.  She glanced up to see him looking at her nipples as he moved lower  still.

"I will stand for you," she said, getting slowly to her feet and  allowing the water to drip down her, the heat from the nearby fire to  further warm her skin, her fingers and toes thawing rapidly.

Edward moved the cloth to her legs, cleaning each in turn before turning  his attention to her posterior. He worked downwards as she shuffled her  knees apart, rubbing his way between her thighs as she held her breath,  feeling her heart begin to pound. She found herself wishing he would  remain there, rubbing that very spot for all time. But to her  disappointment, he travelled down her legs once more before setting the  cloth down. "Let me get you dry," he said, wrapping a towel around her  shoulders.

He helped her step out of the tub and over to his bed where thick  blankets lay waiting. He caressed every inch of her with the towel  whilst she stood breathing heavily, unable to ask for the one thing she  wanted more than anything, a kiss from her saviour. She trembled again  as he pointed towards his bed. "You will sleep in here tonight, not in  the nursery. The others would have you up all night with their  questions.

"I could not sleep in your bed," she replied, shaking her head. "What would the littles say?"

"I care not for what they say," he replied, pushing her under the covers  and tucking her in. "Tonight you sleep by the fire and keep warm."

"Very well," she replied, smiling as he kissed her forehead. The feel of his lips on her skin made her tingle deep inside.

"What happened out there?" he asked, sitting on the edge of the bed.         

     



 

Briefly, she told him what Maria had done and as she finished, he stood up and walked over to the bedroom door.

"Where are you going?" she asked, her eyes already closing as exhaustion took over her body.

"I wish to have a word with your stepmother."





Chapter 16





The next morning Edward was waiting for Laura to awaken. He wanted her  to see this. He had not slept but tiredness had not yet taken over his  body. He had found Maria back at Rothsfield House, fast asleep.

Making use of the skills he had learned in his childhood, he had sneaked  into the house and tiptoed upstairs, finding her in her own bedroom,  the furthest one from that of Lord Rothsfield. It was easy to tell where  he slumbered by the sound of his snoring.

Into Maria's room, Edward had gone, waiting by her bed for the perfect  moment. It came a minute later. She rolled towards him, the covers  sliding away. As she did so, he slipped the gag over her head, yanking  the knot tightly before she was able to scream. As she blinked awake, he  got hold of her left wrist, tying it to her right in a second and  knotting it in such a way that she could do nothing to free herself.

Pressing himself against her as she fought to rise, he got her ankles  tied and had her body over his shoulder seconds later. Less than a  minute after she had awoken, she was outside with him and being loaded  into his carriage. He tapped on the ceiling and the driver set off,  leaving him to sit at the scowling figure of Maria as she sat bound and  furious on the seat opposite him.

"I suppose I should be grateful," he said as she glared at him. "Without  your endeavours I might not have asked Lord Rothsfield for her hand for  some time."

"Mmmmm mmmm," came the response.

"Oh dear. You should know that you must keep quiet when I am talking."  He reached across and grabbed her wrists, pulling her towards him.  Draping her over his lap, he pulled up the back of her nightdress and  rained smacks on her naked posterior, landing one blow after another as  she screamed into the gag. He did not stop until her bottom was as  crimson as her nightdress. At last he pushed her back to the other side  of the carriage.

"That was for speaking out of turn," he said coldly. "When we arrive  home you will undergo the punishment for attempting to kill my beloved."

When they arrived he carried her inside and up to the playroom, walking  through it in the darkness until he reached the doctor's examination  room.

It was the work of but a few brief moments to bind her to the table and  only then did he relax, stepping back and looking at her prone figure.  "Well good night," he said, walking out and closing the door behind him,  ignoring the muffled moans which echoed through the playroom.

He found Laura fast asleep in his bed and did his best to undress  quietly. Slipping under the covers, he remained a discreet distance from  her, not sure, even after everything that had happened, whether he  would be able to resist taking her. Just knowing she was naked in his  bed was enough to make it a long time before he slept.

He awoke first nonetheless, getting up and dressing before visiting the  playroom. Maria was also asleep, still bound in place. He checked the  bonds were tight enough before returning to Laura, waiting for her to  awaken.

She did so shortly afterwards and as she sat up he passed her a dress.  "Put this on and come with me," he said. "I have something for you."

"What is it?" she yawned, taking the dress from him as she did so.

"Just come with me."