“Theo, this is Joanna. My men have just rescued her. She’s been held captive by the Cavendish brothers for over a year now.”
I raise my eyes from the son to the father. Shock should probably register on my face, but my body is numb to anything by this point. This is the plan, and I must follow it.
“Is that true?” Theo asks, his words still slurred, and his eyes still closing every now and then as he fights to stay alert.
“Yes, sir,” I reply like a programmed robot. Viscount Hamilton smiles at me from behind his son’s back.
“We don’t have much time, Theo. The Cavendish brothers will be searching for us. I need to send them a message.”
“Can I just get my head straight? Why did you have to drug me?”
“I didn’t want to. I didn’t have time to explain. I had to get back here.”
Theo pushes gingerly to his feet and sways. He keeps one hand on the chair but reaches out with the other to me.
“Do you understand what’s happening?” he asks as his hand rests on my shoulder. I can feel weight behind it and know he’s using me, as well as the chair, for support.
I flick my stare quickly to the Viscount, and his eyes darken with the promise of a fury so great it will eclipse anything that has occurred before should I not give the correct answer.
“I don’t fully understand anything at the moment. All I know is I don’t want to go back into that room. I don’t want to be tortured the way I was. I want help, and if what everyone is telling me will give me that, then I’ll do it.” My voice breaks with the honesty of my words and the lies mixed in. A lone tear trickles from the corner of my eye and tumbles down my cheek, following a path of guilt and utter bewilderment at the situation.
“Do it,” Theo instructs the priest without any further thought. He lets go of the chair, and testing how close I’ll let him come to me, he brings me into his arms. We support each other as the priest carries out the ceremony to make us man and wife. Theo signs the marriage documentation with effortless ease, but my hands shake so much my signature is barely legible.
“You’re safe, now,” Theo reassures me. He is becoming more alert as time passes. I want to scream at him that he’s being played for a fool by his father, but I know I can’t. It’s too late to stop what is already in process.
The priest proclaims us man and wife, and the ceremony ends with subdued cheers from the gathered witnesses. It’s not how I pictured my wedding when I was younger. There’s no rejoicing crowds, beautiful bouquets, or a luxurious white silk dress. I don’t love my husband, and I’m terrified of what comes next. Mind you, that’s probably the same for any virgin bride, not that I’m a virgin anymore. I was when this all started, but that changed the day I was bought.
“You should take your wife up to your room to rest,” Viscount Hamilton advises my new husband.
“What?” Theo blinks at his father.
“I’m not sure when she last slept properly.”
“Of course.”
“We’ll talk more tomorrow. It’s been a long day for all of us.”
I look at the grandfather clock standing in a corner of the room when it starts to chime, and I notice it’s just gone past midnight. Three hundred and sixty-six days in captivity, and yesterday wasn’t my last day on this Earth.
Theo takes my hand and stumbles in a dream-like state from the room with me following, and Camilla leading the way. I turn my head back to take one last look at the Viscount before the door closes. He purses his lips together and mouths one word that sends shivers down my spine.
“Baby.”