Betrayal Bk. 01

"Understood my Lord." Her father's clerk said, "You will travel to Lord Cavallo's then?"

She felt a slither of hope; had they reported that she had not arrived? He would go and he would find... She faltered. He'd find nothing and in the meantime she'd be stuck in this sweltering box, she'd die in here left alone for the days it'd take him to leave and get back.

"I can't believe it though." She heard him say. She listened intently, hoping she'd hear him say something that might help her. "She was always so... perfect. I can't imagine that she would have been with another man when she was engaged." He said sorrowfully.

She wondered who he was talking about, brow furrowed. When she realised it was her he meant, her eyes widened. She had never! Besides, who was making these claims? She thought for a moment before she came to the conclusion that either Lord Cavallo had sent a message, or someone had sent one on his behalf, making such accusations. That meant that he believed her to be safely at their estate. But if he was travelling there, then that meant he'd find out that someone had deceived him. She bit down on the gag as her heart skipped a beat. Unless they killed him.

"Hammond!" She heard her father yell.

She heard quick footsteps. "Yes my Lord!" He replied quickly with a stamp that said he stood to attention.

"Hammond, I need you to take this chest safely to Lord Barrett's house. I'll give you a letter to take with it." Her heart sank into her stomach. Oh no... "I hope that will be enough. I wish I could go with it, the man would love to gloat over me, more than he'd appreciate the gift I think."

"Sir I swear that it will arrive safely and all its contents will be presented to Lord Barrett." Hammond said.

"Good. I'll travel to Lord Barrett's estate after my business with Lord Cavallo."

Her heart pounded as she tried fruitlessly to scream into the gag. She heard someone leave the room. A voice spoke, next to the chest. "You hear that my Lady?" It spoke quietly, but close enough for her to hear. "You're in my care now. I'll take good care of you." He chuckled as he left the room.

Time passed in the sweltering heat of the box before she heard people approach and the box being lifted up. She tried to scream again. Surely the outside of the box would burn their hands? She felt so hot, she struggled to breath, drenched in sweat, her mouth and throat felt filled with sand. She would do anything for something to quench her thirst or to feel the cool breeze of fresh air on her skin. She settled down, trying to relax and imagine she was somewhere else. She felt the chest being loaded onto a carriage. Men were talking, arranging to set off. She didn't listen to what they were saying, it was taking all she had to hold her mind together right now.

The carriage set off and she felt all threads of hope slipping from her grasp. Her mind raced trying to think of ways she'd be saved. Her father riding up and stopping the carriage. Hammond had mentioned men still loyal, hopefully there were some with them on the journey? They'd find her and free her. She'd point out Hammond, Mace and the other man and they would execute them. Then she could ride home and have a cold bath before going to Lord Cavallo's... But she settled into the fact that these events were unlikely. How would her father find out? Why would Hammond choose anyone who wasn't loyal to him? What seemed like hours passed, with only the bumps of the road and her irrational hopes for company.

They stopped. She felt the chest being moved and then the lid opened and as the box was moved from her face she took in a breath of sweet fresh air. Oh how she'd missed it. It felt cold on her skin and her sweat started to evaporate revealing just how much water she must have lost and explaining her dire thirst. She blinked at the light and managed to open her eyes to reveal the face of Hammond. He smiled at her.

"Morning sweetheart. Hot in there?" He asked as he pushed some of the mess of her hair off of her face where it had become plastered. She flinched away and he laughed. "Now now, if you act like that, I won't give you your drink." He said holding up a travelling skin of water. Her eyes followed it, looking at it with a deep yearning desire. He smiled, "Yes, I thought you might be thirsty." He leant close to her, "Now, I'm going to remove your gag. If you scream, you don't get a drink. Do you understand?"

She nodded and he started to remove her gag as he did she worked her aching jaw open and closed, it had been held agape for so long, she wish she could reach her muscles and rub them free of the pain. "P-Please." She said, her voice hoarse, her mouth and throat so dry. "Let me go." She managed to say.

He silenced her by bringing the water near to her mouth. She opened her mouth again, straining her neck as she reached for it. He chuckled, tormenting her by moving it about, making her follow obediently, mouth held open. She whimpered as he laughed and then poured the water into her mouth. It tasted like the most blessedly sweet drink she'd ever had. Even as she struggled to swallow and coughed, spluttering the water a little. He stopped pouring and let her swallow before she opened her mouth again, he gave her more and repeated the process a couple more times, though she felt far from satisfied. She saw him putting the skin away and pick up the gag, she felt a shuddering wave of fear at the thought of being locked back up in this hellish box.

"Wh-where are we going?" She asked, quickly, even though she knew, she wanted to stall the box being closed and sealing her back inside.

He regarded her for a moment and then smiled, "Lord Barrett's. He pays my wage now, and then some." He grinned, "Betrayal is very profitable."

She kept her revulsion for him hidden, she wanted to curse him and call him an honourless dog. But that would likely be a poor choice in her current situation. "And my father?"

He laughed, "It's too late for you to stop it now anyway." He said, picking up another skin of liquid. "He will be dead before the sun sets."

Her eyes filled with tears and she sobbed, weeping rather noisily, though a small voice in the back of her head chided her for wasting water on the tears.

"Ah, now you're just making me feel like a bad guy." He said, "Here. You need to drink this, it's the herb."

She scowled at him and pressed her lips together, turning away.

He grinned, "If you don't... then think on this. You are in no place to act. Your father is dead. Who will protect your sister from me and my men?"

She frowned and shook her head, "No, please." She said, a look of terror in her eyes.

He nodded, "Then drink." He said more insistently. She opened her mouth and he poured the liquid in. It hit the back of her tongue and she nearly choked. She coughed, but closed her mouth and managed to swallow it with a gag. He'd given it to her neat. She hated it and the tea she had barely hid the taste. She'd not drunk it neat since she was a child and had been given it for a week as punishment for breaking a vase and lying, saying that it was Lisa who had done it. She hadn't lied to her father again after that.

"You promise that my sister will be safe?" She asked hopefully. Though a promise from this man would mean little.

He laughed, "Oh I never said I'd keep her safe. Your house is falling, being pulled over to be torn apart and feasted upon like a bear taken down by a pack of wolves."

She opened her mouth to beg him to look after her sister but he silenced her, pressing the gag into her mouth and fastening it in place. Her eyes widened and she struggled as the box was placed back over her head. She screamed some more as she heard him laugh, closing the chest, the heat slowly rising once again. She could only taste that vile drink in her mouth, wishing he'd given it to her before the water. As the carriage started moving again she wept for her father, for her sister and for her own fate.

****

She had nothing but her thoughts as she was taken towards her destination like a piece of luggage. She had given up struggling, yelling or crying. Instead she escaped into her mind. She thought back over the days she'd spent with her sister. How they'd enjoyed the sun in the garden on a late spring afternoon as young adults, after the engagement with Lord Cavallo was first being set up by her mother.

"He sounds nice." Lisa had said. She held a daisy in her hand, rolling the stem back and forward to make the petals spin.

Emily nodded, "Yes, mother says that he is handsome, well-educated and polite. He's only a year or two older than me."

"That's good. My worst fear is that we'd be set up with someone a couple of decades older; someone old enough to be our father."

They looked over at where their father and brother spoke, by the rifle range and laughed, "Yes, that would be rather scary." Emily replied.

Her sister stretched and lay back with a small sigh, "I wish I could choose who I married though. That I could meet someone and fall in love. Like in stories."

Emily smiled softly and placed her hand on her sister's knee, "Now then. You know such love is passionate at first, but fleeting. You'll fall in love with your husband, much as mother and father have."

Lisa nodded a little, but looked a little discontent, "Have you met Lee?"

"Lee?" Emily asked raising her brow, not liking the way the conversation was going.

Lisa nodded, "Yes, he was the son of the merchant who was at the house meeting with father. We spoke for a while, he seemed really nice."

Emily gave her a thin lipped smile, "Hmm. I'm sure he did. Be careful Lisa, it's okay to have an imagination, just don't... get into any trouble, okay?"

Lisa laughed and threw the flower at her, "Emily! What are you suggesting!?" She said in outrage.

Emily laughed with her until their father cut them off with a shout, "Emily? Come here please."

She made a face at her sister and she laughed. She stood and dusted off her skirt, walking over to where her father and brother stood. "Father?" She said cheerfully.

"Emily. I want to teach you how to shoot." She raised a brow and looked a little sceptical.

"Wh-why?" She asked looking at the rifle her father held. It was worth a fortune, she was sure. It was an original, a relic.

"Because Emily, you are my oldest daughter and..." He hesitated, she, him and her brother all knew what went unsaid. Although her brother was older, he was only half-blooded. She was the oldest full blooded heir. "...and it'll teach you discipline." He finished the sentence.

She sighed and nodded. "Okay father, if you say so."

He smiled at her, "I do say so. And I am your father, so you know that it is true."

She took the rifle as he handed it to her. He showed her how to hold it, explained about the recoil and about how she had to nuzzle it into her shoulder. She listened and nodded. He flipped a switch on the gun and told her to line up the sights as he had shown her and try to fire at the target at the end of the range.

She pulled the trigger and fired. The bullet flew down the range and struck the target in the centre. She blinked and let out a small laugh. "I hit it!"

Her father blew air through his teeth in an approving sound. "A natural." He said; his voice full of pride. "Do that again and we'll have to send you to a competition, see if you can't win our house some ribbons and honour."

She smiled and aimed down the sight again, determined to repeat her performance. She shot and- Hammond's head exploded with a sound, louder than seemed possible, blood flowed from the hole in his head and he crossed his eyes to try and look at it. He held his hand up to the wound and then fell to the ground.

She jumped, well she couldn't jump, but her stomach did as she felt like she was falling. She realised she was still in the box, that she'd been dreaming of better days and fantasising about killing the man who held her prisoner. She realised the carriage had stopped. How long had they been travelling? How many times had Hammond stopped and given her water? She didn't know. She felt the chest being carried and felt a wave of fear pass through her. As much as she wanted to be out of this box, she was terrified of what might wait. Her mind fled from the ideas that came to mind, each more horrifying than the last.

The chest was dropped to the ground with a thud that causes her to squeak. She heard a few men laughing to themselves and fear filled her up anew. She felt her world shift and felt things moving in the chest as the chest was tipped up and place on its end, her head now pointing upwards. She realised that this was the first time she had been upright since she had been put in this damn box and a wave of dizziness passed through her. The chest was opened and the contents poured out, releasing her body from the internment they had condemned her to. The box was removed from her head and she flinched away from the light as it burnt her eyes. Blinking and glancing around as she felt cool air against her body for the first time in days, she saw a man staring at her with an amused expression.

He wore the clothes of a lord and was about the right age to be Lord Barrett. He was completely bald, although it looked as though his head was shaved that way as he was not too old to still have hair. He stared at her with an amused expression.

She heard Hammonds voice. "Lord Crawford has requested that I present to you this token of gratitude and respect. He hopes his offer will help to ease tensions between your two great houses and that you may be able to work together in future ventures. Lord Barrett."

The man grinned from ear to ear and let out a cheerful bellowing laugh. "I'm sure he did, I'm sure he did." He said, wiping a tear of laughter from his eye. He stood and walked over. Emily must have sat upon a table of plinth of some kind because her eyes were level with his as she looked at him with terror in hers. "Do you know why you are here Emily?"

She shook her head. Her eyes held open wide in fear.

"You are here because of your father." His grin faded, "I'm sure you think of him as a good man, he treats you well, so I've heard. But he does not treat others so kindly." Her gaze followed him as he began to pace. "He betrayed business partners and went back on deals. He cost many people money to make his own fortune, but in doing so he has slowly alienated all who would trade with him." Was that why she was here? An argument about money? She furrowed her brow at the thought, but he continued. "If it was just that, then I could forgive him. He was foolish as a young man. His more recent losses would appease me. I'd accept his apologies and his... bribe." He said looking over the contents of the chest strewed around her.

She looked down, she saw several rifles, probably the last originals they had owned. She saw some papers, probably deeds to some properties or small businesses and then medical supplies, some old looking books, a small barrel of gunpowder. Her heart skipped a beat at thinking of that thing pressed against her all this time. She whimpered as she realised that, other than her little sister, this chest really did contain all that was left of the Crawford house.

Lord Barrett shook his head, "But he did not like to be shunned, to have people refuse to do business with him." His voice was more heated now. "He had men killed whilst they slept. He had their children taken hostage until they gave in to his demands. He poisoned those who got in his way, leaving them to suffer a slow agonising death."

She had shaken her head at the accusations, she couldn't imagine her father kidnapping children and having people killed in their sleep. But... she had been the one to slip the poison in the cup and her refusal to accept his word wavered. Perhaps, she thought to herself, she did deserve this fate. She was after all a murderer. She whimpered a little and sobbed.

The lord stood looking out towards something she couldn't see, his eyes filled with sorrow. "My own son died because of him. He was still a young boy, not yet a man." His words caught in his throat a little. "I wanted to kill his son at first in revenge." He gritted his teeth and turned back to her with a savage look. "But that would not be enough! No pain that I could inflict upon him would be enough." He said viciously. "I cannot imagine a way to express the pain I feel upon him... and so I will inflict the most I can imagine. Perhaps then my insatiable need for vengeance will be quelled!" He spat out his words with a look of a rabid dog. She shied away as much as she could; whimpering softly. She cursed her father for crossing this man, this maniac. The anger receded and he relaxed before barking out an order. "Clean her up and put her in the chamber I had set aside for her. You know what needs to be done."

"Yes my Lord." She heard a feminine voice reply.

The guards came back around in front of her and moved the contents of the chest away that had fallen out. Hammond grinned and closed the chest, now empty aside from her, her house was destitute. She felt herself being moved and she sobbed silently.

*****

Chapter 6

Lisa smiled to herself as she walked from her rooms towards the lounge where her guests were waiting. She'd spent a little longer than she'd planned having her maid help her with her make-up and picking out the exact dress that she should wear. She had settled on a light pink dress, it had frills in a band around her chest that gave her an illusion of having a larger chest. She envied her sister's more womanly figure sometimes. The dress left her slender shoulders and arms bare and flowed down from under her chest, showing a hint of curve below. On a larger woman it'd look like it was trying to hide her figure, but she was so petite that it instead suggested more curves below than she might have.

She'd spent so long choosing it carefully and making sure her make-up matched, because of who she'd invited. She knew nothing could come of it, him being just a merchant's son. But she'd always secretly had feelings for Lee Barter, and as she had continued to remain unengaged she could always hope and dream. Her hair was done up in a rather elegant fashion; two small, thin plaits around her head in an almost tiara like fashion whilst the rest flowed free. Whilst her father and sister were away she'd take the opportunity to enjoy herself, hence the party she'd arranged, albeit rather hastily.

She opened the doors and entered the room where her guests were waiting. There were around twenty or thirty and they were all around her age, or a few years older. A couple were the children of smaller houses that were bound to her father's but most were the sons and daughters of wealthy commoners, though she tried not to look down on them as some did. As she entered the group stopped laughing and turned to her, smiling. She felt a little nervous, not quite used to being the centre of attention, her older sister usually being the more attractive, more important of the two.

"Thank you all for coming." She said in a small but cheerful voice, "I hope you all enjoy the hospitality of our house."

They smiled and nodded, saying their thanks for the invitation and welcoming her to the room politely. She took a drink from the tray one of the house staff had laid out and walked over to where she saw Lee standing with a few friends, she had invited a couple but a few were unknown to her.

"...it really is a great windfall for my father and me; we'll be set for life." He was saying. The others around him smiled before turning to Lisa and nodded. Lee looked around and blinked a little, "Ah, Lisa! How are you doing this evening my Lady."

She smiled brightly, "Very well thank you Master Lee..." She scrunched up her nose, "Perhaps we should drop the nuisance of formalities for tonight? I invited you all her as friends not to show me respect all night." She was after all the highest ranked.