Chapter Twenty-Two

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I am tempted to say that I have no idea as to how much time passes while I am in here. However, Master Phillip regularly sneaks in and informs me of how many times the sun has risen and set. I have been held hostage here for three days now. Master Phillip tells me of what is happening in the house and makes sure to sneak me food at least once every day.

The sun has risen for a fourth day when Master Phillip eases himself into my prison, locking the door behind himself with a key he managed to obtain from somewhere. He is holding a few sheets of paper and a quill pen. Today, he has an air of frantic joy about him. I am sitting, backed up against the wall, just like I have been these past days.

"Eloise, my dear, what a beautiful day!" Master Phillip sings. "My, my, what a wonderful world we live in!"

I sigh. "Master Phillip, need I remind you of my situation?"

I am back to calling Master Phillip by his name. I have not called him Father since Emmanuel forbade me to.

Disgruntled, Master Phillip huffs, "I was talking about nature, not the people who exist beside it!"

Shaking my head fondly, I gesture to the papers. "What are these for?"

"Oh, yes!" Master Phillip sits on the ground opposite me. "I have something very important for you, something that will make you forget all your worries and take away all your pain! You won't even remember where you are!"

"Master Phillip!" I chide softly. "Please, stop beating around the bush. Tell me!"

Master Phillip beams and then takes the topmost paper from the pile and says, "This paper... is a letter from Damon."

My heart lurches into my throat and I reach out to grab it, snatching it from Master Phillip, my eyes devouring it hungrily.

Dear Eloise,

I am sorry I have not been in contact with you earlier. My attentions have been diverted elsewhere, in my efforts for your rescue. I am no longer at Kempston Manor and neither is your dear Mary. We are both in a village just five miles away from Stonegate.

I hope you are well. Emmanuel is not being too much of a brute, is he? If there are any problems, please tell me. I will do everything in my power to get to you as soon as possible, I will not allow you to be in any more agony. I will save you. Remember that, Eloise. Hold that near to you, when you lose all hope.

The plan is going well. So far, everything has been going smoothly. It will take a little time for me to get to the point to where I am ready to come and get you. You have be patient, Ellie. We both do.

I miss you. It pains me so much every day, when I awaken and face the fact that I have to spend another day without you. But we will be together soon, that I promise you, my love. We will be together without a threat over our heads and a price at our names.

Please reply to this letter. Master Phillip will ensure I receive your response. I love you, Eloise Jane Kempston. I love you more than the night sky loves the moon. I love you. I will see you soon, if it is the last thing I do.

Yours, Damon

I look tearfully at the letter and then clutch it tightly to my chest. This is the closest thing I have to Damon's voice, to his thoughts. I will treasure this with my life. Folding up the paper neatly and evenly, I tuck it securely between the folds of my skirts, where Emmanuel or his family will never find it.

Wiping my tears roughly, I hold my hand out to Master Phillip. "Master Phillip, I will write my response now."

"Eloise, write whatever is in your heart but do not reveal to him your predicament. It will worry him and he will rush himself. You do not want anything unfortunate to happen, right?"

I shake my head slowly.

"Right. Then we must hide this from him, okay? For his safety." Once I have nodded in agreement, Master Phillip hands me the quill pen and the papers. I juggle the papers on my lap and begin my letter. I write:

Dearest Damon,

I am well, just like you hoped. I trust Mary is well. I miss her a lot. Give her my love, the old biddy. She is ever so dear to me.

I understand that you were preoccupied, I would have it no other way. I trust you and I trust your capability. You are more than capable of getting me out of here. Emmanuel is rather brutish, however, I have Master Phillip to relieve me of his animalistic tendencies, so I am safe. You need not worry, I have also invented my own methods of frustrating Emmanuel to the point where he surrenders. It is rather amusing, Damon, I must admit. I know you will save me. If there is one that helps me wake up in the morning, it is the belief that you will come for me and you will save me.

I miss you just as much as you miss me, if not more. I hate being without you, Damon, it is too painful and too miserable. It is a life I am not accustomed to and a life I do not wish to be accustomed to. Why must this happen to us? Why must we suffer this way? It is not fair. I trust you, Damon. I know we will be together. I will not be asking 'why me?' for much longer, not when you are here. Not when you are around.

I love you too, Damon. I love you more than the dawn loves the rising sun. I hope to see you soon. The sooner, the better, right?

Yours, Eloise

I put the pen down and hand the precious paper to Master Phillip.

He smiles gently at me and says, "I will ensure this gets to Damon. I will also try my best to get you out of here as soon as possibly. You cannot survive on a measly slice of bread everyday. My son is being unreasonably stubborn!"

"Thank you, Master Phillip." I call as he leaves.

The next morning, I am freed.

I have been in the house for less than five minutes when Emmanuel walks into his chambers, where I have been seated. He hands me a simple grey gown.

"This is what you will wear for the next week." He states. "This is your night gown, your day gown, your evening gown. This dress is all you wear."

I stare at him in disbelief. "You expect me to wear one dress for seven days?! Are you crazy?!"

Emmanuel glares, gritting his teeth. "Every action has it's consequence, Eloise. This is the consequence of your actions."

"What about your actions?" I demand, standing up. "What about the consequences of your actions?"

Emmanuel stuffs his paws into his pockets. "What have I done?"

I gape, my eyes going wide. "What have you done? Are you asking me that, Emmanuel? What have you done?! You have taken my life away from me, you have given me no reason to live, you have broken my soul, you have torn me away from everything and everyone I love and you have the nerve to ask me what you have done?!"

I take a wrenching breath and continue. "Do not ask me that question, Emmanuel, because my reply will not be fitting enough for the catastrophe you have thrown my way!"

Emmanuel just stands there calmly. "Wear the dress, Eloise. I do not have time for your nonsense."

I glower at him, "I refuse to."

"Wear it, Eloise. You have a choice. Wear the dress or surrender yourself."

Bracing myself against hot tears, I grab the dress and retreat to the restroom, slipping my body angrily into the shapeless dress.

When I emerge into the room, Emmanuel is gone. I walk down the winding staircase to the parlour. Lady Elizabeth are seated by the fireplace. My mother-in-law glares at me and then smirks at my attire. I fight the - rather violent - urge to slap the smirk from her face and raise my head a little higher, refusing to let her make me feel bad about myself.

In my head, I chant 'Damon will save me' and trust that it will keep me calm.

"Hopefully, this will teach you a lesson. You do not oppose my son or me!" Lady Elizabeth calls, her nose sticking out like an eagle's beak.

Too late. The chant has gone. My calm demeanour is lost. Fury bubbles in me. I have had enough of her.

"You listen to me!" I point a finger at Lady Elizabeth. "I have no lesson to learn! I will oppose your son. I will oppose him for as long as I need to! You are not my mother, you do not tell me what to do! You are just a beak-nosed woman who loves to stick her nose into everybody's business!"

Lady Elizabeth just gasps, her hand flying to her chest, as though protecting her ever-so-fragile heart from my vicious words.

***

Three days later, Emmanuel returns my clothes and apologises for being 'overly harsh' to me.

"You must understand, Eloise." He says after I have dressed in my own clothes once more. "I am trying to make you happy here, but you do not let me. You always try to escape. How can you be happy if you do not give me a chance?"

"Do you remember what happened the first time I gave you a chance, Emmanuel?" I ask. "No? Well, I shall tell you. The first time I gave you a chance, you threw it away. You called Damon a servant-boy."

"Eloise!" Emmanuel groans. "Please, the past is the past. Let me love you."

"Emmanuel, you cannot possibly ask me that after what has happened these past seven days! You locked me in a shed for four days and forced me to wear one dress for three days! I have a rash on my arms!"

"I apologise for that, I do." Emmanuel insists. "To show you how sorry I really am, I have a surprise for you."

"And what is that?"

"Just close your eyes and come with me."

I sigh, "Emmanuel, what is this?"

Emmanuel drags me into a standing position and covers my eyes with his hand, his chest brushing against my back. We shuffle across a hallway (I think) and a door opens. I see a pinkish light behind my eyelids so I presume we are outside.

"Nearly there." Emmanuel's voice brushes against the side of my face.

I just obey, letting him steer me to wherever he wants me to go. If he has anything planned, I will be ready. I will defend myself if necessary.

"Okay, we're here." Emmanuel says and he removes his hand from my eyes. It takes a few moments for my eyes to adjust to the light.

I hear a familiar neighing and my breath hitches. We are at the stables where I saw Richard riding his horse. In the distance, waiting patiently, is a horse.

She neighs again when she sees me.

"Chastity." I whisper softly. Then, I cry out, "Chastity!" and begin running to my beloved horse. She gallops towards me. I trip over my dress in my haste, but refuse to fall. I need to get to her. I cannot believe she is here.

When she's a few feet away, Chastity stops and sits down. I run to her, jumping on to her bare back and throwing my arms around her slender neck, holding her as tight as I can. Chastity rises to her feet, dashing to and fro in an excited frenzy, whinnying and neighing.

I laugh, "Chastity! How did you get here, you beautiful girl! I've missed you so much!"

At the sound of my voice, Chastity rears up on her hind legs and throws me off. I hit the ground roughly, but unharmed.

I can't help but to giggle at her enthusiasm. Chastity turns and nudges me with her nose softly, saying sorry and urging me to get up at the same time. I push myself on to my feet and run my hand up her long nose.

"I'm so happy you're here, girl. Things are going to get so much better now we're together."

I lean my head against her nose and Chastity rubs her nose against my head gently, her way of saying 'I love you' ever since I first found her.

"I love you too, Chastity." I say. I can't stop smiling and my heart feels as though it's ready to burst.

I hear foosteps approaching. I turn my head to see Emmanuel. Chastity takes the opportunity to rest her head on my shoulder.

Emmanuel smiles at me.

I smile back. "Thank you, Emmanuel."

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