they didn’t want to clean up a most
unpleasant mess.”
“ That was
very clever of you,” Garit said. “I don’t know many ladies who
would be so daring.”
“ They
argued among themselves that strangling was a messy business and
they’d have less to clean up after I was dead if they agreed to my
wishes while I was still alive. So they freed my hands and feet.
But all of them stayed with me while I used the chamberpot. They
said modesty didn’t matter to me any longer.
“ Then
they informed me that they had decided to exceed the orders they’d
been given. They were going to rape me – all four of them – and if
I was still alive when they were finished, they’d strangle me as
ordered and toss my body into the sea just as they were supposed to
do.”
“ Dear
heaven!” Garit exclaimed.
“ Why did
they have to take you out to sea to murder you?” Roarke
asked.
“ Isn’t
that obvious?” she responded. “They wanted no sign of my death left
on land to incriminate anyone who was involved. I had the
impression that the ship was bound for a long voyage, perhaps to
the lands south of the Sea of Alboran, and wouldn’t return to its
home port for some time. They were going to dump me far out at
sea.”
“ Who are
you, that anyone who wanted you dead would have to take such
precautions?” Roarke asked. “You must be a person of great
importance – or of great wealth.”
“ I don’t
know,” she insisted. “I wish I did. That knowledge would answer so
many questions, wouldn’t it?”
“ Lady
Jenia, it pains me to ask you,” Garit said, “and I am certain you
find it disturbing to recall your captivity, but what happened?
Obviously, you were not strangled.”
Jenia continued her story, speaking in a low
monotone, trying not to give way to tears or to the rage she still
felt.
“ They
stood me in the midst of them, in that tiny cabin, and they
stripped off all of my clothes except my shift. They said they were
saving that for last. First, they wanted to display me to the other
sailors aboard the ship, to see what they would offer for a ride –
for a few moments with me. They said they’d make a whore of me and
they tore off the neck chain and the little earrings I was
wearing.” She touched one still-sensitive earlobe. “I was so
terrified, I became fearless. That sounds quite mad, doesn’t
it?”
“ No,”
Roarke said, surprising her. “That is the first thing you’ve told
us that makes sense to me. It happens all the time to men in
battle. Fear dissipates and a rush of excitement takes over,
lending strength and courage to those who have nothing left to
lose. Go on, Jenia. Tell us the rest of it.”
“ I’m not
sure how I did it; my memories are only fragments, but somehow I
managed to break free of them. The ship was heaving and rocking in
the storm, so I suppose some of them lost their balance with only a
little push from me, and I know they had been drinking ale. I could
smell it on their breath. I remember screaming at them and trying
to climb up the ladder to the deck while all those clutching hands
pulled me back. And I knew what they would do to me if I didn’t get
away from them.
“ Then,
suddenly, I was on the deck and sliding toward the railing when a
huge wave tilted the ship onto its side. I grabbed the rail and
hauled myself over it. Someone caught my wrist and tried to drag me
back. I saw his face and in that moment I knew drowning would be a
far kinder death than what those men had planned for me. I was
going to die anyway; I preferred to die before they dishonored me.”
She paused to take several breaths in hope of calming her rapid
heartbeats.
“ So, you
went into the sea,” Roarke said in a strange, quiet voice. “Why
didn’t you drown?”
“ I don’t
know,” she said. “I cannot swim, but at least I had sense enough to
hold my breath when the sea closed over me. The water was swirling
and churning and it seemed to buoy me up, so I could
unpleasant mess.”
“ That was
very clever of you,” Garit said. “I don’t know many ladies who
would be so daring.”
“ They
argued among themselves that strangling was a messy business and
they’d have less to clean up after I was dead if they agreed to my
wishes while I was still alive. So they freed my hands and feet.
But all of them stayed with me while I used the chamberpot. They
said modesty didn’t matter to me any longer.
“ Then
they informed me that they had decided to exceed the orders they’d
been given. They were going to rape me – all four of them – and if
I was still alive when they were finished, they’d strangle me as
ordered and toss my body into the sea just as they were supposed to
do.”
“ Dear
heaven!” Garit exclaimed.
“ Why did
they have to take you out to sea to murder you?” Roarke
asked.
“ Isn’t
that obvious?” she responded. “They wanted no sign of my death left
on land to incriminate anyone who was involved. I had the
impression that the ship was bound for a long voyage, perhaps to
the lands south of the Sea of Alboran, and wouldn’t return to its
home port for some time. They were going to dump me far out at
sea.”
“ Who are
you, that anyone who wanted you dead would have to take such
precautions?” Roarke asked. “You must be a person of great
importance – or of great wealth.”
“ I don’t
know,” she insisted. “I wish I did. That knowledge would answer so
many questions, wouldn’t it?”
“ Lady
Jenia, it pains me to ask you,” Garit said, “and I am certain you
find it disturbing to recall your captivity, but what happened?
Obviously, you were not strangled.”
Jenia continued her story, speaking in a low
monotone, trying not to give way to tears or to the rage she still
felt.
“ They
stood me in the midst of them, in that tiny cabin, and they
stripped off all of my clothes except my shift. They said they were
saving that for last. First, they wanted to display me to the other
sailors aboard the ship, to see what they would offer for a ride –
for a few moments with me. They said they’d make a whore of me and
they tore off the neck chain and the little earrings I was
wearing.” She touched one still-sensitive earlobe. “I was so
terrified, I became fearless. That sounds quite mad, doesn’t
it?”
“ No,”
Roarke said, surprising her. “That is the first thing you’ve told
us that makes sense to me. It happens all the time to men in
battle. Fear dissipates and a rush of excitement takes over,
lending strength and courage to those who have nothing left to
lose. Go on, Jenia. Tell us the rest of it.”
“ I’m not
sure how I did it; my memories are only fragments, but somehow I
managed to break free of them. The ship was heaving and rocking in
the storm, so I suppose some of them lost their balance with only a
little push from me, and I know they had been drinking ale. I could
smell it on their breath. I remember screaming at them and trying
to climb up the ladder to the deck while all those clutching hands
pulled me back. And I knew what they would do to me if I didn’t get
away from them.
“ Then,
suddenly, I was on the deck and sliding toward the railing when a
huge wave tilted the ship onto its side. I grabbed the rail and
hauled myself over it. Someone caught my wrist and tried to drag me
back. I saw his face and in that moment I knew drowning would be a
far kinder death than what those men had planned for me. I was
going to die anyway; I preferred to die before they dishonored me.”
She paused to take several breaths in hope of calming her rapid
heartbeats.
“ So, you
went into the sea,” Roarke said in a strange, quiet voice. “Why
didn’t you drown?”
“ I don’t
know,” she said. “I cannot swim, but at least I had sense enough to
hold my breath when the sea closed over me. The water was swirling
and churning and it seemed to buoy me up, so I could
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