“You are comely and enticing,” he remarks as his eyes devour my face and body. “I’ve done well.”
“Leave now and no one needs to know this happened.” My eyes are pleading and my voice remarkably persuasive, but they are met by his hard, emerald eyes and a dismissive laugh.
“No, you are mine,” he smiles possessively. “It won’t hurt. You won't even know.”
“I’m sorry I told them where the drugs were from,” I cry out, tears have traitorously started to dribble down my face. “I’m sorry that you hate me this much.”
“I do not hate you, Katherine.” His lips curve into a sinister smile. “Quite the opposite. We are connected. This was meant to be.”
“Rape is not love or connection,” I spit out, forcing myself to look him in his eyes, appeal to his humanity, but I see nothing recognizable there.
“Rape?” he says, rearing his head back, as if he couldn’t possibly imagine how I came to that conclusion as his body straddles mine on the bed. “Will women’s plight at the hands of men never change? No, my dear, I am not here to violate you.”
“What do you want from me?” I demand, only slightly soothed by his claim. He is still restraining me and gazing at me like he is a wolf and I’m the game.
“Patience, Katherine,” he chides.
I am about to unfurl a string of curses, when his face changes. In an instant the calculated malevolence gives way to innocuous confusion as he stares down at me in shock.
His mouth hangs open as he takes in the scene of my body below him on a bed where he bridges over me threateningly. His eyes meet mine and I see the terror there as he jumps off the bed and hugs against the wall.
“Kat, Kat...what have I done?” he whimpers. “What did I do?”
I slowly sit up, gauging the situation. If he is toying with me, I am not eager to play into it just to be tackled onto the floor. Cautiously I scoot to the edge of the bed, letting my feet touch the carpet, poised to run as I look into his eyes again and am greeted this time with unease and fear.
“What the fuck are you playing at?” I demand, as my hands slide behind me looking for anything to use as a weapon to bolster my sprint across the room.
“I’m not in control, Kat. I’d never hurt you,” he whispers, eyes frantic as he looks around.
“Leave!” I scream, to which he nods and dazedly begins backing away, over my piles of clothes and shoes on the floor.
I’m turning to pick up the phone when I hear him begin stuttering, and I turn around quickly to see him shaking violently in place. His eyes are wide and his mouth is mumbling arcane words.
He’s standing in the hallway by the door where I could never possibly get by him and I know my only chance is the phone near my fingers. Before I can raise it his stuttering becomes booming as he struggles to control his mouth.
“Kat,” he yells with a cavernous alarm settling deep in his throat. “Run!”
He throws himself to the side, up against the wall and I don’t hesitate for a moment more, launching myself towards the door.
“I can’t hold it,” he hollers as he watches me fearfully.
I’m just clearing the space next to him when his face changes and I feel his bear-like arms encircle my waist and stop me as though I’m no more than a daisy in a tornado, and my breath becomes strangled as his other arm clutches my neck, stopping me entirely.
Fear grips me and I can no longer wrap my mind around theories of my fate. His hands are decisive and strong and I know by the determination in them that the endgame is near.
He doesn’t utter a word as he grabs something from his pocket and pushes me onto the bed again, tying my hands to the wrought iron bedpost. I summon a scream, but he unceremoniously stifles it by shoving a sock into my mouth that had been laying innocently on my pillow. I recognize it as my beloved “if you can read this bring me wine” pair and close my eyes in fear.
When I open them, he is standing at the foot of the bed appraising me coolly. I try to speak, but I’m silenced by the gag as tears zigzag down my face.
“Be calm, Katherine. It’s almost time,” he coos. “You will fear no longer.”
I watch as he comes close again and touches his nose with mine as he speaks in tongues, the same words chanted over and over as my body relaxes of its own volition. I try to avert my eyes, but I am unable to control them. I am mesmerized by those hard, glowing emeralds. In the torrent of words, I find the green of his eyes start graying and blacken as the world slips away into darkness.
Chapter 17
Mary
1703
Sarah’s plain face was skittish like a rabbit as she looked all around, as though a priest or a devil may spring from behind a tree at any moment to catch her at a witch’s door.
“May I enter, Mrs. Worthe?” she asked, eyes still darting about. “Oh, please let me enter.”
I nodded and opened the door wider, moving aside and motioning her in. I observed her walk in like a frightened doe, as I tried to determine her motivation. Did she know of my affair with her husband? What else could this possibly be about? I straightened my spine and lifted my head imperiously, prepared to accept her confrontation.
“Thank you, Mrs. Worthe,” she said as she wandered about, looking at all the jars I had inherited from Malvina. “I’m so sorry to barge in on you like this, but I had no idea what else to do, you see.”
“What can I help you with?” I asked icily.
“My name is Sarah,” she
