To Love a Horseguard (3 page)

The maid pointed to a small door beside the coal brazier.  “If you need anything I’ll be in my room.”

“Who are you and how did you get here?” Rose wondered out loud.

The maid didn't look at her instead her eyes darted to the door. “My name is Dinah. Sergi hired me, said he was in need of a lady’s maid. A man brought me here.
I… I’m sorry.”

Rose reassured her
, “It is all right. You did not know he was kidnapping me. I am glad you are with me. I am not all alone at least.”

The girl didn’t reply but retreated into her room and shut the door. Rose fin
ished her toast and tea. Little by little the fogginess in her head was clearing. Sliding the tray off her lap, she pushed back the covers and climbed off the swaying bed. It was hard to stand at first until she got her ‘sea legs.’ Once she regained her balance she tiptoed across the room and put an ear to the door. The creak of the ship and men’s voices up on deck where the only sounds so she tried the door knob. It didn’t budge. Next she went to the bookshelf and pulled the cord to draw back the drapes.

Sunlig
ht streamed in the window. Blinking, she adjusted to the light reflecting off the rolling waves. The deep blue sea looked cold and restless. The dark green smudge of England’s coastline against the horizon drew her attention. Her gaze was drawn to the seagulls dipping and gliding alongside the ship and a desperate plan formed in her head. Pushing open one of the windows she leaned out and looked down at the water. With a glance at the door she climbed onto the narrow window ledge. Taking one last deep breath, she jumped.

The shoc
k of the cold water made her gasp and take in a mouthful of salty sea water as she sank beneath the waves. She struggled to the surface, her petticoats pulling her down. Panic set in with the realization she could not fight the weight of her sodden garments.
I am going to drown!
Her lungs began to burn with the need for oxygen. She closed her eyes.

S
omething touched her.
Oh God! I am going to be eaten by some terrible sea creature!
She opened her eyes. A hand grabbed her arm and she was pulled toward the surface. Just when she began to black out her head popped free of the water. Coughing and sputtering she struggled to fill her lungs with air. A wave hit and her petticoats pulled her downward again. There was a splash beside her and then something tugged at her skirts. She kicked with all her might. A hand grabbed her legs and her skirts suddenly floated away. When she bobbed to the surface again she took a big gulp of air. A strong arm wrapped around her chest and pulled her backward. Her attempt to scream only resulted in a waterlogged croak. The ship loomed above her. Exhausted she lay still as she was hoisted over someone’s lap. With a lurch they cleared the water and began to inch up the side of the ship. She coughed up more sea water and lay matching the rasp of the other person’s breathing. Hands reached out and pulled them both over the railing and onto the ship’s deck. Rose swiped a soggy lock of hair from her eyes.

Sergi
crouched beside her on the deck and scowled at her. His clothes clung to his body, water dripping down his face and onto the deck. He grabbed a blanket offered to him by one of his crew. “That…was the most…foolish…thing…I have ever…seen.” He gasped, his chest heaving. “What were you… thinking?”

“I thought...I could swim...to shore,” Rose mumbled, huddling almost
skirt-less under a skimpy blanket a crew member tossed her.

Sergi’s eyes widened. “Next time you might want to try it naked so
you do not drown.” He staggered to his feet towering over her.

Rose lifted her chin and glared at him. “There would not be a next time if you would just turn this ship around and take me home.” Her teeth chattered and she clenched her jaw shut to stifle the noise.

“If I remember correctly you were the one who did not want to marry the French prince.”  He grabbed her by the arm and jerked her to her feet, his eyes glittering with anger. “You should thank me because now you have got your wish.”

Rose pushed her fury
to the surface to hide her fear of him. “I did not ask you to kidnap me or agree to become your prisoner.”

“Well, get used to it P
rincess, because you will be my prisoner until I have no further use for you.” He shoved her into a burly sailor’s arms. “Take her back to her quarters and this time nail those windows shut.” He turned on his heel and stomped off.

“My brother will find you and kill you.” Rose shouted at his retreating back. The men on deck began to snicker and laugh. She glared at them before she was dragged shivering back below deck.

Once back in her bedchamber Dinah helped her out of her soggy costume and into a dry pink morning dress. A couple of sailors entered a few minutes after she had changed, nailed the window shut and then left without a word.

“What am I going to do, Dinah?”

“I don’t know my lady.” The maid tucked her back into bed and then handed her a cup of tea. “Drink this, it will warm you up.”

  Rose took a sip and wrinkled her nose
at the bitter taste. “This tea is terrible.”

  The maid gave her a strange look and shrugged.

  Rose finished the tea finding the warmth soothing to her chilled limbs. She was very tired which seemed strange to her since she had only just woken up. The thought occurred to her just before she fell asleep, that Sergi had probably ordered her drugged again.

* * * *

Clink. Clink.
The noise grated on her nerves and irritated her throbbing head. Rose opened her eyes. Wooden beams greeted her gritty, salt-caked vision. Somewhere china and silverware clattered. She rubbed a hand across her face flinching as the tiny granules of sea residue pricked her skin. A fire flickered in the coal brazier, its burning fingers plucking at the little black lumps of coal. Shadows danced in the corners of the room where the lamps suspended from hooks on the ceiling failed to reach. The older woman she had seen earlier was laying out dishes on the table. Rose’s stomach gurgled at the tantalizing smells wafting from the silver serving tray.

The portly woman looked up from her task with a friendly smile. “You eat.”

Rose eased herself into a sitting position, her head swimming. Clutching the bed chains for support she stood, steadied herself and then walked to the table. The woman pulled out a chair for her; then smiled at Rose and pushed a miniature loaf of coarse looking bread toward her. She nodded before taking her tray and leaving.

Rose
frowned at the bowl of soup and plate of roast fowl, potatoes, and cabbage before her. With a sigh she pushed her chair away from the table. The food is most likely drugged. She wandered over to the bookshelf and peered out the window. The moonlight danced on the undulating waves.
How long have I been asleep, a few hours or days perhaps?
She looked down at the bookshelf. With the door locked and the windows shut there was no escape for now, perhaps a book would entertain her for a while. With a sigh she browsed through the many Russian titles until she came to a section which contained a number of English ones. After perusing them, she pulled out a leather bound volume entitled ‘Lady of the Lake’, which looked interesting and settled into the chair by the fire.

She tried to concentrate on the pages, but was distracted instead by the unfamiliar sounds around her. The waves lapping against the sides of the ship and the creak of the timbers lulled her into a false sense of peace. She soon lost interest in the book and stared into the
fire. Her grandmother would be beside herself with worry, and her brother would probably be tearing the whole city of London apart searching for her. The marquis, well, he was most likely complaining about her lack of consideration for not telling them she had been kidnapped. She dropped the book to the floor in a fit of anger. Why did Sergi want her?  Was it because she had thrown herself at him on the veranda at the ball? How was she, or rather the princess going to help him take over the Russian throne? She sighed. A more pressing question was how was she going to get home? Not that she wanted to go back to the marquis. She would do almost anything to keep from marrying the man. Of course, she reminded herself, that is how she got into this mess in the first place.

A key scraped in the lock. Rose jumped to her feet as Sergi entere
d the room. He paused when he spied her standing there; then shut the door behind him and crossed to the table. He glanced down at her uneaten meal. “Not hungry?”

She shook her head.

He frowned. “You should drink your tea. At the very least you will find it will settle your stomach.”

Rose lifted her chin and glared at him. “I am sure it will more than likely put me to sleep.”

“It will make no difference to me. I like a spirited woman in my bed.” He grinned and sat at the table, propping his legs on her vacated chair.

Bile rose in Rose’s throat at the thought of him defiling her. “I will not sleep with you.”

“I do not see any way for you to prevent it, my dear.” He smirked, taunting her.

She stiffened, clenching her shaking hands at her sides in defiant fists. “I will kill you before I give myself to you!”

Sergi laughed. “And how will you do that? Do you think that you can overpower me? I assure you I can handle a mere woman.” 

Her anger simmered just below the boiling point.
A mere woman am I? I will show him.
“You are a beast.”

He turned those odd
blank eyes on her. “Come here, Princess.”

Rose bit her lip, his voice causing the hairs of the back of her neck to stand up. This man was dangerous and not of normal mind. “No.” Her voice was so strangled with fear she barely forced the word from her lips.

His eyes glittered and the muscle in his jaw twitched. “You can make this easy on yourself, or I could take you by force.”

  Rose swallowed, her knees shaking with fear she was sure he could detect. She eyed the fork on the ta
ble between them and then glanced back at him. With a sweet smile on her lips she walked forward. A grin of satisfaction spread across his face as she approached his chair. When he reached out she leaped into action grabbing the utensil from the table. Before he comprehended what was happening she stabbed the fork into his neck with all her might. He let out a howl and drew his head back, blood spurting from the wound. In desperation Rose brought her foot up to his chest, toppling him backward onto the floor. She darted to the door, but when she tried to open it she found it locked. Panting, her heart thudding with terror she spun around and faced Sergi, the fork extended in front of her.

He staggered to his feet. “You have more pluck than a serving wench, you kno
w that?” He wiped the blood trickling from his neck with the back of his hand, a wicked grin twisting his lips. “I do like a little bed sport though, it adds excitement.”

“Stay away from me!”

“What are you going to do, Princess? Are you going to stab me again? Then what? The door is locked and you are in the middle of the ocean.”

He was right, but her pride refused to allow her body to be taken willingly. She would fight to the death if she had to. Swallowing the terrible thought she tried to steady her shaking hand in an effort to look confident. She backed up as Serg
i advanced on her until the bed pressed against the back of her legs. His eyes glinted with sadistic glee as he reached for her. In desperation she jabbed with the utensil. He avoided it with ease and laughed. She jabbed at him again but realized too late she had leaned too far forward. When she lost her balance on the shifting floor he caught her arm. He squeezed, forcing her fingers open. When she cried out in pain and let go of her makeshift weapon he jerked her to his chest. She fought him with all she had left when he grabbed both wrists and forced her backward onto the bed.

Straddling her hips he pinned her there as she th
rashed and twisted beneath him.

“Why not just accept it, P
rincess?” he taunted. “I will get what I want eventually. If you stop fighting me I promise I will make it enjoyable for you.”

“You will... have to kill me... first,” Rose panted.

He switched his grip to capture both her wrists in one hand and stroked her cheek with the other. “I would not want to have to kill you. It would be a shame after all the trouble I went through to get you.”

Rose clamped her legs together and lay still. Would he really kill her? No, she didn’t think he would. He needed her. Her mind churned, trying to come up with a way out of her predicament.

“That is better.” Sergi grinned down at her.

Someone banged on
the door. “Sergi.” A man called and then spoke in urgent Russian.

Sergi released her and climbed off the bed. “We will finish this later.” He picked up the fork from the carpet and left.

Rose rolled over and buried her head in the pillow sobbing.
Dear God, the man meant to rape me. He had not succeeded this time, but what about the next time? What am I going to do? I have to escape somehow.
Hopelessness crushed her spirit.
There is no escape.