Chapter 14
Chastity pushed herself to her feet. This was what her father wanted. He wanted her to be alone in the fading light, growing more fearful by the moment. She needed to do something. She might as well change her clothes. She had no objection to being female again.
As she began to undress she wondered where Cyn was now.
For a traitorous moment she prayed that he was nearby, planning her rescue.
Then she thrust that thought away. She had to want him to be on his way to Winchester and Verity.
She’d told him, if she should be caught, to cut free and get Verity to a new place.
She stripped naked and hurried into the women’s clothing—silky chemise, taffeta petticoat, and sleeved bodice.
It surprised her that the garments were of such fine quality, but she supposed even Lindle had not been able to find any pauper’s clothes at short notice.
Heaven knows where he’d found these, for the colors were clearly not intended to go together.
The chemise was pink, the petticoat coquelicot scarlet, the bodice green and yellow stripes.
She had to struggle with the hooks at the front of the bodice.
Not only was it too small, but it was indecently low.
No matter how she tried to adjust it, it barely skimmed her nipples, and at the slightest movement they popped free, leaving only the pink chemise to cover them, and that was so fine as to be transparent.
She stuffed them back in and looked down at herself in horror. The colors were tasteless, the bodice indecent, and the petticoat stopped inches above her ankles. This was not by accident. Her father was dressing her like a whore.
She wanted to change back into her male garments, but that would only result in her being stripped by the odious Lindle. She had no doubt that her father and his toady would not return until they had found a way to get rid of Fort.
How strange that her brother, whom she had thought of as the enemy, had now become her bastion.
As no footwear had been provided, she put on her male stockings and boots. They looked ridiculous, but were warm and more decent. Also, for warmth and decency, she draped her coat about her shoulders. Something pricked her fingers.
Rothgar’s pin! Lud, another piece of evidence against her, and it would not fit in the crack behind the mantel.
After a moment she fixed it to the inside of her petticoats.
It should go undetected there even if they stripped her.
If they found it, she could claim it came with the garments.
They were not long off another body. She could smell that.
There was still no sound of approach.
Don’t stand here waiting and worrying, she told herself. Do something. She walked the room thinking about everything that had happened.
Months ago, when Fort had berated her for her behavior, she had seen him as one of the conspiracy bent on her ruin, but now she saw that he too was her father’s victim, though he did not know it. Could she open his eyes?
He’d had reason to believe her unchaste, and now she’d confirmed it, which didn’t help her cause.
He doubtless wouldn’t protest if she were whipped.
But she didn’t think he’d stand by for Walgrave’s calculated cruelty.
The trouble was that the earl would find a way to get rid of him before starting on that tack.
Chastity kept track of time only by the chiming of the distant clock and the fading of the light. Four times she tensed when footsteps came to the door, but no one entered. It was just part of the torment. She tried not to let it weaken her.
Then the key turned. She faced the door, summoning her strength. It turned back. Another trick. She cried then, but forced herself to stop before anyone heard. She applied her mind to seeking solutions instead of straining for footsteps.
Her father could be pushed into losing control. Perhaps he would reveal something in that state, but Chastity shuddered at what he might do to her at the same time. She prayed that Fort refuse to be sent away, but knew it was futile. Fort didn’t realize yet that the earl was the enemy.
It was full dark and the clock had just struck eight when the key turned again. This time the door opened. Her father entered, followed by Lindle bearing a candlestand which he placed in a corner. Fort was not with them. Chastity braced herself.
“Your brother has gone to check on Major Frazer,” said the earl blandly. “He will be back in a little while.” He looked her over. “That jacket hardly matches the outfit. Take it off.”
It was pointless to fight these minor skirmishes, and so Chastity obeyed.
The earl nodded. “You may keep the boots. I wouldn’t want you to catch a chill.” His eyes traveled over her, every touch making her feel unclean. “A most becoming outfit for you, my dear. Lindle, you are to be congratulated.”
“Thank you, my lord.”
“You may now take away those improper clothes, Lindle, and dispose of them.”
Chastity watched in despair as the male garments were removed from the room. She tried again to adjust the striped bodice, then forced herself to stop. Such actions would only give her father satisfaction.
The earl watched her coolly. “You know me by now, daughter. I am not to be denied.”
“And yet I did deny you.”
His eyes narrowed, betraying that her words had hit home. “So, do you think you won?”
“No. But neither did you.”
He raised his cane and she flinched, but he only touched her head. “Your hair is almost becoming bearable, isn’t it? I fear it will have to go before we part.”
Chastity closed her eyes and forced herself not to beg. She couldn’t help remembering what it had been like when it was just a dark stubble, how ugly it had been.
“But you mustn’t think too badly of me, my dear,” purred the earl, which terrified Chastity. “See?”
She opened her eyes. Lindle had returned with a wig, a charming honey-brown wig. It was very like her natural color. She looked sharply at her father.
“Indeed. It is made from your own hair.” The earl hooked it onto the gold knob of his cane and presented it to her. “Tell me where Verity is and you may have it. Come, try it. Lindle, a mirror.”
The earl fitted it tenderly onto her head.
Chastity shuddered at his touch. Lindle appeared with a long mirror which he propped against the wall.
The earl steered Chastity in front of it and for the first time in months she saw herself as she should be.
Thick glossy waves framed her face in an exact reproduction of her natural style, as if the horror had never been . . .
The wig was snatched away and she cried out. She was a freak again. She saw the full effect of her costume. A freak, and an indecent one! She covered her chest with her hands and turned away.
Her father snared her hands and held them tight behind her, forcing her to face the mirror. She closed her eyes. He arched her so her nipples sprang free of the bodice. “The rouge, Lindle.”
Chastity writhed but was helpless as her chemise was pulled down and something rubbed on each areola.
“Look,” said her father.
When she refused, he twisted her arms until she obeyed. The crests of her breasts were a virulent scarlet. She might as well have been naked, despite the chemise.
“How can you do this?” she cried to her father. “How can you let that . . . that creature touch me!”
He showed no remorse, but he released her aching arms. “You bring it all on yourself,” he said as he strolled away.
“I have given you everything that a daughter could desire. I would have ensured your welfare, but you have no trust, no sense of duty to your family, to me your father. Now you see the cost. That rouge, by the way, is a staining one. You will not be able to wash it off. But you may well find it appropriate.”
Chastity turned slowly to face him, recognizing the approach of some new device.
He took out his gold pocket-watch and flicked it open.
“It is now a quarter past eight. Tell me Verity’s location by nine and you may go free.
Remain obstinate, and you will be delivered to a bordello down by the river.
The abbess is eagerly awaiting such a tasty morsel, and assures me she will choose for you only the most interesting customers.
Do you know what that means? A few months ago, I would have thought not, but now I wonder.
What adventures have you been enjoying, daughter, since I unwisely left you at liberty . . . ?”
“You can’t!” she gasped.
“Indeed I can. You are no longer of any use to me.”
The reptilian coldness of it struck Chastity dumb, but on the whole she was relieved.
Her father would keep his word—he always kept his word—and would let her go if she told him where Verity was.
She would do it, just before nine o’clock.
She would be free, and by the time Walgrave or his minions arrived at Winchester, Verity would be gone.
Thank heavens the earl didn’t know there was a third person in all this.
The earl pointed at the wig on the floor. “As a further inducement, if you oblige me, you may have that as a douceur.” He turned toward the door.
Chastity fought hard not to show her relief.
He turned the knob.
She eased out a long breath.
He stopped. “What have I forgotten, Lindle?”
The servant made no reply to this rhetorical question. The earl turned back. “Ah, yes. There is the question of my daughter’s punishment, isn’t there?”
Fear shot through Chastity as a real pain. She’d let him fool her again.