Chapter 22
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Charlotte was exhausted. From the moment she realized the men were taking her to William Dodd and not her uncle, she increased her struggle.
She needed to get out of the ropes that bound her to the horse.
She tried everything, from wiggling, hoping to loosen the tightness to trying to get her hands free so that she could try to untie herself.
Unfortunately, nothing had worked, and all Charlotte had done was hurt herself.
Her bruises from wiggling hurt every time she scraped against the ropes.
Charlotte did not know if the men were riding so fast because they wanted to ensure their success was not cut short by the Elliotts or to punish her for her insolence.
They had been ordered not to harm her, but surely, they could excuse whatever bruises she got from the horse by saying they wanted to avoid any mishaps.
Her body hurt from being pressed against the hardness of the steed and every time it galloped, she felt like she would throw up.
It made no sense why William would want her as his wife.
Was he so desperate to possess her that even after all that had befallen her, from her father's death, to her burned leg and having a monster for an uncle, he did not feel an atom of guilt and only cared about what he wanted?
Charlotte did not know why she expected any sympathy from the man.
Surely, someone who cared for nothing else other than satisfying his appetites was not a man who would care for her plight.
As they rode closer and closer to the house, Charlotte was filled with a deep feeling of panic.
As much as she wished she had not left the Elliott castle to continue her journey alone, if she had stayed, she would not have felt comfortable, and neither would she be able to look Owen in the eye and not think about what he had done.
She kept her lips from calling for him, her mind from wishing for him and her heart from pining after him.
No, she would not allow herself to forget what he had done just because of the situation she was currently in.
Charlotte had escaped from her uncle, and she was sure she could escape William Dodd all on her own if it could present her with an opportunity.
Charlotte had been so lost in thought that she did not notice that they had arrived until the horses stopped.
She waited as the men hurried to untie her, squirming when she felt their hands on her.
With her hands and legs free, Charlotte kicked and punched blindly, hoping to hit at least one of the men.
She tried screaming through the gag in her mouth, but she was unable to.
She watched the ropes fall to the floor before she was pulled down from the horse and placed on unsteady feet.
She struggled to breathe from the pain around her ribs and chest, but she refused to show any weakness around the men.
She did not have to look at them before knowing that they were waiting for her to keel over in pain, but she would not give them the satisfaction.
She felt ropes on her hands as they tied her hands together behind her, laughing when she once again tried to get away but could not.
Charlotte stood motionless for a minute, losing the fight in her.
She was tempted to make a mad dash for freedom, but now was not the time for any sudden escape plans.
She would only aggravate the men and they would probably tie her feet as well until she could not move without being carried.
Charlotte shivered in disgust at the thought.
She turned around and looked up at the castle. It was large and loomed like a monster, its mouth open and ready to swallow her whole. It was bigger than the Elliott's, and something about it sent unease down her spine. It seemed to be cold and desolate.
Charlotte looked at the lone man standing outside, waiting for them.
He was tall and slender and appeared to be in his thirties.
As she looked at his expressionless face, she wondered if he was every bit as cold as his master.
She shook the thoughts out of her head and looked behind him, expecting to see William Dodd walking towards them with a nasty grin on his face, but it surprised her to see that the doors remained closed, and the man was indeed all alone.
Today seemed to be a day for so many surprises for her, starting from the moment she woke up. She looked at the man who appeared to be a butler, standing there with an impatient look on his face as if he had grown bored with their spectacle already.
"Here, take her off our hands. You do not know how difficult it was to bring her in," the man, whom Charlotte was quite certain was the group's leader, said, turning to scowl at her.
"But watch out, she's a feisty one." He grinned suddenly.
"You know what? After all that we have been through trying to get her here, we want double the original amount. "
"I will speak to my master and see if you will get extra pay," the butler said, still looking bored with the conversation.
"See that you do," he said, the laughter disappearing from his face and voice. "All we were told was to get a girl and not some wild beast in human form."
Charlotte felt so disgusted with how they were bartering over her as if she was goods they went to purchase. Was this what her life had come to in a matter of hours?
She pinched herself discreetly. Maybe she was still sleeping, and all this was just some horrible nightmare.
Pain shot through her, but she remained where she was, still staring at these vile men.
She breathed heavily through her nose and regretted it when her eyes watered.
The rag around her mouth had a terrible smell that she had forgotten in her pain and disgust, but now, as she stood here listening to them talk as if she was not present, she could suddenly feel it suffocating her again.
The butler extended his hand and gestured for the tail end of the rope that had been tied behind her back.
He looped it around her until it was in front, so she did not have to walk with her back to the castle and, without another word to the men, he advanced inside the castle.
Charlotte turned and glared one last time at the men who had brought her here, stumbling slightly when the butler pulled at the rope to get her to move quicker.
Her cheeks burned when the men laughed once more, but she continued forward, not giving them another glance.
The closer they got to the door, the more Charlotte felt like she was about to be swallowed whole.
She jumped when the butler dragged her inside.
He closed the door heavily behind her with a loud bang.
Charlotte looked around, surprised that it was not as dark as she had pictured it in her mind.
They climbed up the stairs to a room where some maids were standing, clearly waiting for her.
Before she met William, who would decide what happened to her just like her uncle had done.
Charlotte felt depressed by her situation.
Was this what her life had become? Passed around from one evil man to another?
She thought of Owen in that moment but distracted herself.
She did not know if he was as vile and did not want to find out.
He had lied to her and hurt her worse than all the others, yet he was never harsh nor cruel. She didn't know which was worse.
"Here. Take care of her. Clean her up and make sure she is presentable," the cold butler said, bringing her out of her thoughts.
She gazed at the three women standing there, looking almost as expressionless as the butler.
Was this the life that she was doomed to live?
A life without love and laughter? Filled with gloom?
The butler handed the rope to one woman and walked away.
"Oh, best to keep the restraints on. She has a reputation for trying to hurt people," he said before disappearing around a corner.
Charlotte talked to the maids. They were women like her, so maybe she could get them to let her go or at least loosen her restraints.
Not that it had worked with her uncle's servants.
She remembered how she had tried for the first few months to convince them to let her go, but they had all turned deaf ears to her pleas.
"I know you probably do not want to be a part of this, so if you can just let me g—" Charlotte broke off when the girl with the rope yanked on it violently.
She stared at her in shock. Before she could say anything, the maids walked to the room, pulling on the rope until Charlotte was forced to go behind them to avoid further bruising on her wrists.
"Where are you taking me?" Charlotte waited for an answer, but the women completely ignored her. "Tell me where you are taking me right now," she demanded, but still no answer.
"Speak to me, will you?" she screamed in frustration.
"You cannot treat me like this." Ignored still.
She shut her mouth, deciding to memorize the bends they took in case an opportunity came for her to escape.
There was no point in wasting time looking around when that would only lead to her getting dragged off again if she managed to escape.
They finally arrived at a door to a secluded wing.
It looked like it had not been visited by anyone except the maids in a very long time.
Charlotte did not know whether it was intentional to intimidate her or to stop her from even thinking of escaping.
They dragged her into the room and tore the clothes from her body before sitting her in the bathtub.
Charlotte felt the cold before she realized what was happening.
She looked up in shock just as another bucket of cold water was dumped on her without care.
The maids immediately picked up oils, soaps, and brushes and began scrubbing away at her skin with no care.
Charlotte felt humiliated in a way that she had never been humiliated before.
She felt like livestock getting cleaned up to be paraded before her buyer, with how they treated her.
Her bruises stung from the scrubbing she was receiving.
They had not cared to be gentle with her bruises.
Charlotte had tried to move her leg out of reach when one maid had touched the leg with the scar, but she had only yanked it back and continued her violent scrubbing.
Her hands were still tied during this ordeal, and she was made to sit there and suffer in a way that left her feeling depressed.
They dumped water over her once again and this time, although the shock of the water was still there, Charlotte was glad as it meant that her skin could finally rest from all the abuse she had experienced in the past minutes.
After they had cleaned her and she dried, they dragged her back into the bedroom and proceeded to dress her up. Charlotte felt awkward about the entire experience. Her eyes watered, but she stopped them before they could fall. She refused to add to her humiliation by letting them see her cry.
Charlotte groaned when they tightened the corset, hurting her already bruised ribs. She almost keeled over as she struggled to breathe, staying up only because the maid still held on tight to the strings. They led her to the table, where they began to paint her face.
Charlotte looked at herself in the mirror and her eyes widened in shock.
What exactly was going on? The butler had said to make her look presentable, but there was nothing presentable about painting her face in a manner that made her look raunchy.
She turned her head for a better look and winced when the maid yanked her hair to straighten her face before she continued. There is something going on, but what?
"What are you preparing me for? What's going on? Where am I going?" she asked them. Charlotte was not surprised when they remained quiet, but she had grown tired of their constant refusal to answer her questions. She had had enough.
"What is wrong with all of you? Why won't you answer my questions?
" Charlotte had had it with them and their vow of silence, and she did not realize she had been screaming until she got to the end of her tirade.
Yet as she looked at them, expecting an answer, all she got in response were collective looks of annoyance and irritation. No word came in return.
The ladies continued painting her face and when they finished with it, they dragged her up from the chair and pushed her until she was lying on the bed before they packed up and left her stunned.
Charlotte felt so much dread as she heard their footsteps receding.
All this time, she had thought that they were preparing her because she was to be taken somewhere, but now, the horrible feeling that they had been preparing her for something instead filled her with so much dread.
The thought had just occurred to Charlotte when she heard a lone pair of footsteps head in her direction. Her heart jumped faster and higher in her chest the closer the sound got to the door.
Charlotte shut her eyes in trepidation as the door slowly swung open.