“We are going to have to change her identity now that she is one of us,” Rolf insisted to Matthew.
“I know that,” he responded, quietly. “I am married to her…what more do we need to change?”
“But what to? A lot more.”
“I have not figured that one out yet. Perhaps her middle name or something along those lines.”
I was leaning against him on the horse, pretending to be in a deep sleep. He had wrapped a cloak about me, and was now keeping one arm around me so that I would not fall off the horse. I could tell that Rolf was riding beside us for his voice was very close.
“She asleep?” he asked my husband.
“Yes, she has had a couple of rough nights being kidnapped and all.”
“I do not think that is all she is tired from.”
“Hush. If she heard you talking about our nights together she would be infuriated.”
“Matthew, she is nothing but a woman.”
“A woman with an attitude.”
“Come on. Give me the details.”
“I do not think so.”
“Afraid of a woman are we?”
He tightened his grip around my waist causing me to move a bit. “See my lip? She drew blood with her teeth.”
“I would bite you too if you were forcing me,” Rolf commented. “And stop trying to wake her so I will have to be silent as the grave.”
“I am not.”
“Sure, and I am James Leroux.”
“Do not say that name.”
“Why? Was she his fiancé or something?”
I felt him nod his head. Did Rolf have anything to do with the murder I had witnessed? I was tempted to ask.
“Did she love him?”
“No.”
Heck no! I wanted to scream at him. How could anyone love that girly man? But that did not matter anymore. He was dead.
“Does she love you?”
My husband was silent, pretty much giving himself away. I wanted to say yes for I knew what was coming. But before I could lie, the man cried out, “You forced her to marry you too?”
Uh oh, I thought. Here it comes. Matthew is either going to explode with anger or worse, kill him. I had to do something to keep it from coming. So I did the only thing I could do.
“Matthew?” I asked, raising my head up off his shoulder. I placed my left hand on the right side of his face, forcing him to look at me. Disgust whelmed up inside of me for what I was about to do.
“Yes, darling?” he responded, trying to hide his anger with a serious expression.
I winked at him a second before my lips met his. He now knew I had heard what Rolf said, and was kissing me passionately just as I was him. We were both trying to make him look like a fool or at least make him feel like one.
Minutes later, my husband ended the kiss, but I could tell he was forcing himself to do so. Then while smiling at me, said, “I have to watch the road for horse robbers. Wait until we reach the inn.”
“Cannot your friends do that?” I questioned with another wink.
“No.”
“How far till the inn?”
“About another hour or so.”
“Can we take a rest then?”
“Maybe…if you behave.”
“Fine.”
Glad that we were not stopping, I placed my head back on his shoulder. It was not until a little while later that Rolf spoke. “I guess I was wrong.” He paused for a moment. “Is she always like that?”
“That is my secret,” Matthew replied, resting his head against mine.
“Are you going to share?”
I stiffened and dug my nails into his back. He took in a sharp breath of pain.
“No, she is my wife…and not anyone’s play thing.”
“She has a sister?” He was excited.
“No.”
I took my fingernails from his back, actually beginning to doze off. I was about to be asleep when he asked Matthew, “Is she any good?”
“Any good? What do you mean?”
“Good in bed.”
My eyes shot open and I breathed in sharply. This had better stop, I thought to myself. Or I am about to get extremely violent. So violent that not even my husband would be able to hold me back from stringing the man’s neck.
“Rolf, I cannot talk to you about that sort of thing,’ he responded quickly.
“Why not?”
I raised my head from off Matthew’s shoulder causing the man to look a bit startled. I looked him in the eyes saying, “Because if he does I will kill both him and the person he tells.”
Rolf was silent as the grave.
Chapter Nine:
It was nightfall when we reached Sunshine Inn. I did not feel like walking so I pretended to be asleep. So I was carried to our room while the men paid for the rooms.
My husband walked up to a door, lifted one leg, jabbing a knee into my back, and kicked the door handle. There was a click before he pushed the door open with his shoulder.
Matthew kicked the door shut behind us, and went through an open doorway. He laid me down on a bed. There was the sound of something being shut, and locked.
It was then that I felt the weight on the bed as he sat on the edge of it. There was one thud, then another seconds later as he dropped his shoes to the floor.
“Mary Jane, wake up,” he said so close to my face that I jumped. My eyes flew open.
“Yes?”
“We have to discuss that kiss.”
“I know,” I stated. “I did not want him to think….”
He placed a single finger against my lips. “Do not kiss me like that unless you mean it or I kissed you that way first.”
“Fine. It is not like I want to anyway. Is that it?”
“No.”
“Well?”
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“Kissing me.”
“You are welcome…I think.”
He chuckled before kissing me on the cheek and then slowly to my lips. He laid down next to me, still in the kiss. I ended it quickly. I knew where he was going with that kiss of his. I did not want to go there. I for sure did not want to end up without clothing on the floor again.
“Something wrong?” he asked, running his hand across my stomach.
“Yes, there is in fact something wrong…we cannot do this,” I answered, pulling away from him.
“Do what exactly?”
“This! You, me acting like a happy couple.”
“But are we not?”
“No. Matthew, you kidnapped, raped, and forced me to marry you. We do not know each other or anything for that matter.”
He sat up looking at me in amazement. He did not say anything to warn me of what was going to happen. So I was not prepared for what was about to take place.
My husband grabbed me by the forearm and roughly gave it a jerk. I slid across the silk sheets into him. I was scooped up into his arms gently. He then carried me across the room to the mirror and basin.
“Matthew, what on earth are you doing?” I questioned with panic. I began to wonder if he planned on drowning me in the basin or something.
“Well, it is like I said at the manor, if you came with us, we would have to change your identity, and well, that is just what we are doing. Or else we are going to be identified as kidnappers,” he insisted, seating me into the chair at the basin.
“Matthew, please do not.”
“Have to.”
“I do not want to be someone else.”
“That is too bad because you are.”
I watched in horror at the sight of him pulling out his sword. He pulled the pins from my hair and tossing them onto the table. My hair fell to my waist.
“Do not move,” he ordered, taking my hair in his fist. He doubled the hold as he raised the sword.
I closed my eyes tightly, not wanting to see my hair being shortened by his sword. I felt, as my hair became lighter and lighter. I was afraid to open my eyes in fear of finding that he was going for my neck to kill me.
“You can open your eyes now.”
I slowly opened them to find that my hair went as far as my shoulder blades. It no longer had that long silky looking texture I had worked so hard for to keep. I gasped.
“It will take some time to get used to,” he agreed, resting his hands on my shoulders. “We will have to change quiet a bit about you.”
“But why my hair?”
“The governor’s daughter is known for her long hair that everyone wants. It is sickening that all the women on this blasted island tries to get her hair to be exactly as yours.”
I sat there looking at my reflection wondering if there was a search party out looking for me. I was sure there was one. I prayed that I would be found.
* * *
“Men, I present to you the newest member of our team, Nicole Bromley,” Matthew said arrogantly a few days later.
I stepped out of the room in the inn dressed in black, leather breeches and a tight-fitting bodice with sleeves to the elbows that were laced with frills. Then there was my velvet black boots. My usually pinned up hair was curling around my shoulders. I felt like a dirty tramp. Then men had not seen me in days.
“Whoa,” Jack muttered with a look of disbelief.
The other men looked at me with astonished looks and gaping at the sight of me in such clothing as this attire. I for sure did not look like Mary Jane Pendleton anymore.
I walked to the man responsible for the new look I had. The one I hated with a passion. He had even changed my identity by calling me by my middle name. I hated the new me as much as I hated him.
“Well, now that this has been taken care of…let us go to the horses,” he said, smiling at me. He liked the changes he had made to my appearance.
“Sir?” Frank questioned. “Shall we continue on our work?”
“Indeed. And make sure you find my wife something nice.”
They left us standing in the hall. I turned to my husband who was smiling down at me.
“Matthew, do I have to be Nicole?”
“Only when people are around.”
I frowned. I did not like this at all.
“Lighten up, Mary Jane. It is not all that bad,” he said, placing a hand on my arm. “Shall I kiss the frown away?”
I looked away from him to the open doorway. I was so unhappy. I did not want to be Nicole Bromley.
“Mary Jane?” Matthew placed a kiss on my lips. When I did not return it, he stepped back. “Darling, I know you are unhappy, but that does not mean you will be allowed to reject me.” He then paused. “Want to try again?”
“No. Leave me alone.”
“Wrong answer.”
My husband angrily pushed me into the room. He came in and shut the door behind him. Then I was in his arms, he was glaring at me before he pressed his lips against mine.
I began to fight him, but my strength was nothing compared to his. It was useless. He backed me up against the bed before forcing me down onto it. I bit him, but it did no good. Now, I tasted blood…his blood.
He slapped me hard across the face and started undoing my clothes with quick fingers. “You will obey me, Mary Jane Pendleton whether you like it or not. If you refuse to listen I will make you.”
I had never seen him so violent before. It scared me.
“Matthew, you are hurting me,” I whispered when he sat up to unfasten the rest of my clothes.
“Tell me you will not reject me.”
He grabbed hold of my throat with both hands. He was going to strangle me if I did not tell him so. I did not want to die by being strangled or much less by him. I had the night before we were wed, but now it was different, for I now knew without the shadow of a doubt that I would be found. I had to be found…I just had to be.
“I will not reject you.”
“Promise?”
“Yes.”
“Prove it.”
I lay there looking at him in fear, afraid to moved as he grabbed hold of my arms and held them down. I did not want him to harm me anymore.
“I said, ‘prove it,” he snapped.
“Kiss me.”
That is exactly what he did and I forced myself to return it. As much as it killed me to give in to his will and be less of the person I was, I for some unknown reason wanted to please him.
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