Chapter II: Playing with fire
They walked side by side in silence for a while. The girl ever so often glancing up in suspense-packed apprehension at the man abducting her, which didn't escape his notice.
„You are quite the adventuress. Are you not scared?"
„What me? Nah, why should I be?"
He stopped his pace, leaned down towards her and looked deep into her eyes, penetrating them with menace glaring out of his own.
„I have done some terrible things." he murmured mystifyingly.
„So have I." she responded in the same manner, which caused James to smirk for the first time.
They trotted on.
„So what's your name?"
„James."
„James what?" she asked.
„Delaney."
„Mr. James Delaney." she repeated empathizing the ‚Y'.
„I'm Rosie, Rosie Bell."
He ignored her introduction.
„And what's it you want to use me for then?"
Again she was ignored.
„Where are we going?"
„Listen, you're asking too many questions." he hissed in her direction, which successfully shut her up.
She didn't really care that much anyhow. All she wanted was a dry place to stay at and her belly filled with warm, delicious food. She had spent four long months on board of that cargo vessel in a hideout in the damp and darkness of the forehold heading from one port to the next, never staying too long at a time as for her destination had been London all along.
They stopped in front of grand townhouse with a handsome veneer, which looked unoccupied at first glance, as the windows were boarded up to shut out any views into the inside.
James lead her through the squeaking front door and into a gloomy hallway.
„Brace!" he shouted from the top of his lungs.
An elderly fella poked his head round a door, which seemed to lead into the lounge.
„You've been staying in a birds nest." he remarked with thick accent looking from Rosie to James and back.
„Fix up some breakfast." James demanded. Hesitantly Brace obeyed, shaking his head at the sight of the juvenile newcomer accompanying James.
They stepped into the drawing room only to be greeted by a very histrionic women asking: „Where have you been?" in a high pitched voice.
„None of your business." he answered sliding down on the sofa with his legs widely spread apart, machismo oozing out from every cell of this body.
At this point the women scowled at Rosie.
„Not only have you been gone all night, but you're also bringing wenches around to our house."she spat.
„My house, Miss Bow."
„Missus Delaney!" she pointed out, stemming her hands on her hips.
„Miss Bell, Miss Lorna Bow."James introduced them to one another, never once making an effort to move.
„She your wife?" Rosie asked.
„Oh fuck no." James exclaimed, slightly laughing at that ridiculous notion, which made Lorna's heart sink for a moment.
„Go get into the kitchen and fetch yourself something to eat and tell Bruce to fix up a room for you." James demanded.
As Rosie left Lorna and James to themselves, Lorna again started up a conversation, this time in a much lowered voice.
„I can't believe you're doing this. She looks atrocious."
„I know."he replied displaying his disinterest visibly by focusing on kicking his boots off.
„What are you contemplating?"
„None of your business."
„James."
„I have a task for you." he announced, straightening his posture.
„Turn her into a lady, teach her some etiquette, how to eat, drink, dress, act like a lady."he proposed to her.
„Have you lost your mind? That's preposterous. She is dizzy!" unwilling to meet his request she began to stomp into the direction of the door.
James however jumped up from the sofa and grasped her by the arm. He forced her to face him and pointed a threatening finger directly into her face.
He spoke to her in the most sinister way: „As long as you're living under this roof, which won't be for too long, as you know, you will make yourself useful to me…"
Lorna tried to escape from his firm grip, which only entailed him to tighten it even firmer around her upper arm, surely leaving a bruise in that spot. His furious eyes widened with wrath as he continued:
„You will have turned that girl into a lady before I come back. You have three days."
By now he had loosened his grip. Lorna took the opportunity and left the room.
„Three days!" he yelled after her, dropping back down on the sofa and leaning his head back into his neck.
„She's an actress, how hard can it be?" he sputtered to himself.
At nightfall Brace had put on a fire in one of the spare bedrooms, that once belonged to James's half sister Zilpha and showed it to Rosie. It was astonishingly brightly furnished, at least compared to the rest of the house which was equipped with attired carpets, and battered, old furniture. Even the dusty windows were draped with murky curtains. But Rosie didn't care because for the first time in what seemed like an eternity she would sleep in an actual bed. Oh how she had longed to put her head down on a proper pillow! She stepped out of her worn-out boots, slid out of the disused rags she had kept on for months and warmed her bare skin by the fire before she climbed into the squeaking bed. She pulled the linen over her shoulders, tucked herself in and rejoiced over the prospect of an undisturbed sleep.
It was in the middle of the night when Rosie awoke to a rumbling sound coming from across the hallway. Her curiosity never failing her, she covered her naked body in the bedlinen and ever so carefully opened the door into the dark hallway. Only the cloudy moon provided a bit of light by shining through a thin gap between two drawn curtains as she tiptoed across the aged floorboards into the direction of the room from where the noise was coming.
The door was left ajar. Almost silently she pushed it open a wee bit more to have a peek inside. A fully exposed James crouched in front of a fire place, his back facing her. Very strange black marks, she had never ever seen before in her life, marks which looked like warpaint, graced his back, arms and legs. He muttered to the flames in uncomprehending mumbles and blew ash into them. Mesmerized but also slightly frightened he watched him proceed, not noticing that she had opened the door further, making a dreadful noise.
James swiftly turned around. His savage stare met up with her terrified glance.
„What are you doing?" she half-whispered with a throaty voice. His expression was wild as the fire danced in his radiant eyes. Ashamed she had been caught and bewildered at the same time by the man who had taken her, a stranger, into his home, she clung to the bedlinen around her as if it was a shield to protect her.
He registered the girls distraught expression and spoke to her in a very low, almost affectionate tone.
„Go back to bed. I am not a fit man to be around."
Rosie hesitated, still daunted and paralyzed from what had just taken place.
„Go back to bed." he repeated softly. She did as she was told with no objections and that was the last she saw of him for the next three days.