If Victor was around, Marie ended up taking her dinner in her room, citing her studies as her reason for not venturing out of her room. Logan's late evenings on campus made him oblivious to Marie's involuntary solitary confinement.
On one Friday evening, Logan was finally able to make it home before dinner. He walked into the dining room and looked at Nora, who was busy setting the table, "Where is Marie?"
"She takes her dinner in her room almost every night. The poor dear is so immersed in her studies, she rarely even leaves her quarters in the evening."
Just then, Victor entered the room, looking just as slimy as ever, "What's for dinner?"
Logan eyed Victor before going up the stairs. He lightly knocked on Marie's door and waited for a response.
Her soft, shaky voice from within responded, "Who is it?"
"Marie...it's me. Won't you be joining us for dinner?"
The door opened slowly and he was greeted by her timid, smiling face, "Oh...hello. I didn't know you were home..."
He smiled back at her. He hadn't realized how long it had been since they'd seen each other until that moment, "Yes, my schedule should be a bit more even now that I've settled into my routine. I have...I have greatly missed your company..."
Marie blushed and looked down, "I've missed yours as well. Please...come in."
At first, Logan wasn't sure if he should. It was not the most proper thing to step into the bed chambers of a single woman, but he wanted to speak to her, so he stepped in and allowed her to close the door behind him.
She motioned toward a seat and sat across from him, "I do hope you're enjoying your new position at Oxford. I must admit...when you told me you would be taking that assistant professorship, I was disappointed that I didn't have any classes in the biology department."
Logan raised his eyebrows, "Really?"
She nodded and smiled, "I know I may not act it, but I look forward to seeing you every day."
"Oh Marie..." he muttered, probably a bit more huskily than he should have. "Seeing you has become the best part of my day..." They looked into each others eyes for some time before he slowly took her hand, "I...I was hoping-"
A sudden knock on her door interrupted them, making him quickly release her hand. He cleared his throat as Marie stood and made her way over to the door. She opened it, "Nora...hello. Is something the matter?"
Nora peeked over Marie's shoulder and raised her brow, "No, nothing's the matter. I just wanted to let you know that dinner has been served. Will you be joining us this evening Marie?"
Marie glanced back at Logan before turning to Nora and nodding, "Yes. I look forward to it."
That night, Marie had dinner in uncomfortable silence with both Logan and Victor. Afterwards, Logan escorted her back to her room, kissed her hand and left. Less than five minutes later, she heard a knock on her door.
Believing it was Logan, she opened it without question, and was horrified to find Victor standing there. Before she could stop him, he pushed his way inside of her room. She backed up to the opposite side of the room, "What are you doing here?"
"You've been avoiding me Miss Marie...if I didn't know any better, I'd take it personally."
She glared, "Well it's obvious you don't know any better. I was hoping you would take it personally."
He smirked and began advancing on her, but she rushed over to her bed, jumped over it and ran to the door. She made it to the hallway before he grabbed her from behind and covered her mouth, pressing his large frame against her back. She heard him take a deep whiff of her scent before grinding his erection against her from behind.
Marie cried out against his hand as he pinned her against the wall, but the change in position made him move his hand just slightly. She took the opportunity to bite down on his hand hard, making him cry out in the process.
Footsteps in the darkness forced Victor to let go of her and quickly flee the scene. Down the hall, Logan's room door opened and he stepped out to see a shaken Marie, panting and leaning against the wall.
"I heard a commotion...are you alright?"
Marie nodded and slowly stuttered, "I thought I saw a spider in my room."
"Oh, you did? Where? I can handle that for you."
Marie cleared her throat and motioned toward the bed, "On the canopy."
Logan walked into her room and began examining the bed, but found nothing. Marie sunk down into a chair and ran a hand through her hair.
"Well, I don't see anything, but feel free to knock on my door if it makes a reappearance...are you certain you're alright?"
Marie nodded and offered him a shaky smile, "Yes...yes. I'm fine."
"Alright, well...goodnight."
"Goodnight."
As soon as he was gone, she locked the door behind him and collapsed onto the bed, crying.
The next morning, Marie entered the dining room to find Victor and Logan already sitting down eating. Victor's hand was bandaged, covering the bite mark she'd given him the night before. She muttered a greeting before sitting down and helping herself to her food.
Victor broke the silence, "Is no one going to ask me about my injury?"
Logan glanced up from his plate and rolled his eyes, "Fine...dear brother, however did you damage your delicate hand?"
"I was bitten by a wild animal."
That got Logan's attention, "An animal? Was it rabid? How far from the stables was it? I don't want it to pose a risk to the horses."
Victor waved him off, "Don't worry little brother...I'll put it down son enough..."
Marie gulped and stood, "Well, if you'll excuse me, I have a lecture to attend...I do hope you both have a lovely day."
Logan jumped up and jogged after her, "Marie. I have a class this morning...would you like to ride together?"
She gave him a relieved smile, "I'd like that..."
"Wonderful. I'll get my waist coat. One moment..."
Marie watched as Logan rushed off, but soon she was joined by Victor, "It's too bad about that wild animal..."
She narrowed her eyes, "I am not some little weakling you can intimidate so easily. You may possess physical strength that I don't, but I have intelligence and I have heart...which counts for far more than your barbaric ignorance."
He started to retort, but Logan arrived with his umbrella and coat, "Are we ready to go?"
Marie gave a sharp nod before walking away. The fact that she failed to say goodbye to Victor didn't go unnoticed by Logan.
As they trotted away from the estate, Logan spoke up, "Has my brother...bothered you in anyway?"
She stuttered, "Wh-wh-at do you mean?"
"Victor has a troubled history with women. He's not very easy to get along with and I don't want you to get mixed up with his...impulsive behavior."
Marie nodded, "It's admirable that you recognize your brother's flaws. For most people, it's very hard to admit that those they love have flaws."
Logan sighed, "I've spent my whole life being the good son...covering for my brother...cleaning up his misdeeds. He never deserved that. I am tired and I don't believe I'll ever be able to trust him again."
"But you love him..."
He glanced at her, "I believe its more so because I have to...not because I want to."
Marie pursed her lips and grappled with the idea of telling him about her encounters with Victor, but before she could finally make up her mind, they'd made it to Oxford. Logan stabled their horses and bid her goodbye before leaving for his first class of the day.
By lunch time, Marie's lecture was over and she returned to the estate to eat. When she entered, she was happy to see servants buzzing about, cleaning and tidying. Victor was nowhere to be found, much to her relief.
After eating lunch with Nora, Marie returned to the stables to take Rogue on a vigorous, open field ride, then returned her to her stable, where she began brushing her. Just as she closed the stall, Marie saw Victor entering the stable.
Without a word, she turned around and quickly began walking out of the other side of the stable, but he followed. Sensing his presence, she broke out into a run toward the edge of the woods with him hot on her heels.
She cursed the damned dress for slowing her down. If she'd been wearing trousers, she would have left him in the dust.
It didn't take long before he tackled her from behind, sending them both crashing to the forest floor. Marie kicked away and attempted to crawl out from beneath him, but he grabbed her ankle and slid her back toward him across the leaf covered forest floor.
As soon as he flipped her over, Marie favored Victor with a hard punch to the side of his face. Surprised and angry, he retaliated with a slap that stung, but, didn't stop her from swinging at him again. He backhanded her and actually succeeded in stalling her fight, since the strike had stunned her and cut her lip.
He took advantage of her brief period of stillness and ripped open the top of her dress, revealing her undergarments and corset underneath. Victor grinned, "You are so beautiful Marie...I'll try not to spoil you too badly."
He attempted to lean down to kiss the soft, pillow mounds that billowed atop her corset, but she began fighting again, clearly recovering from the backhand he'd favored her with mere moments prior. He growled and grabbed her wrists before pinning them to the ground. He attempted to use his knee to part her legs, but she was surprisingly strong.
Victor chuckled, "You know you want this...resistance is just a waste of time, my dear."
Marie saw a rock just to the side of where they lay. She raised her brow and panted, "How do you know I want this? I never asked for it! My body has never yearned for a man...ever!"
He leaned down and looked into her eyes, "I believe I can change that."
"Not likely! If you can make me want this, I will willingly give myself to you whenever it pleases you."
Victor raised a brow, "Anytime? You will give yourself to me whenever I want you?" She nodded as he leaned down and ran a tongue over the tops of her breasts, "Challenge accepted."
He suddenly buried his face in her neck, licking, sucking and biting, all while keeping his hold on her wrists firm, much to her disappointment. He ravished her chest and neck with kisses, then finally succeeded in forcing her legs open with his knee.
Victor carefully gathered her wrists in one hand before reaching down to yank up the multiple layers of fabric that made up her dress so that he could grind himself against her. Marie gasped involuntarily at the violating contact. He kissed her roughly and whispered, "Do you feel that hardness pressing against you? That is what you do to me, Marie...that is all for you."
She could feel that his hold on her wrists was still inescapable...she knew she had to do something to escape before he took this to the point of no return...
All at once, she lifted her head up and caught his lips in a biting, hungry kiss, which Victor eagerly returned as he continued dry humping her against the forest floor. Between kisses, Victor murmured, "Oh yes...I knew it...I knew you wanted me..."
When Marie arched her hips up against his, Victor released her wrists and reached down to unfasten his pants. She immediately grasped the rock and struck him on the side of the head.
"Gaah!" he cried as he fell off of her, holding his bleeding head.
She scrambled to her feet and began running back to the estate. She started to run past the stable, but she was caught by Logan, who had just arrived home from campus. Marie collapsed in a crying fit in his arms.
Noting her emotional distress, leaf-strewn hair, bloodied lip and ripped dress, he began to realize exactly what she had been running from. He'd witnessed at least two other women in the same state.
"Marie! What happened? Where is Victor?"
She desperately attempted to quiet her sobs as she looked up at him with wet eyes, "Just inside the tree line...I'm sorry I didn't tell you before...I didn't want to come between you...I'm so sorry..."
Logan shushed her and protectively cradled her against his chest. He turned toward the stable boy, "Fetch Nora! Quickly!"
Nora arrived quickly and gasped, "Oh my dear! What happened?"
"Do not bother her with questions now, Nora. Marie is in need of some cleaning up and a hot pot of tea. Take her to her room, help her into clean clothes and tend to her wounds. I will be with you in a moment."
When Marie was out of sight, he turned to the stable boy, "Come with me."
Logan and the stable boy entered the woods and found Victor lying unconscious next to a couple of pieces of torn fabric, which he recognized as part of Marie's dress. He made the stable boy help drag him back to the stable, where they placed him in a stall and locked him there while Logan sent word into town for the detective inspector.
Night had fallen by the time Victor awoke in his stall. He stood up and looked at his surroundings as he attempted to gain his bearings.
A voice out of the darkness snapped Victor to attention, "I'm sure you're wondering where you are."
"It looks like a stall...are you going to let me out?"
"Not until the authorities get here."
Victor's eyes widened briefly, but the confident, cheshire grin returned to his face, "You're bluffing."
"I know what you did to her! What you tried to do! You've gone unpunished long enough! She is a good person. She is respectable, intelligent, polite and too good for the likes of you!"
"Even if that were true...what makes her so different from the others? Rose, Emily...Jane...the ones you and father turned a blind eye to."
Logan stood up and took a step closer to the bars on the stall, "They deserve justice just as much as Marie does...the fact that they've gone this long without it is partially my fault...but I promise you this, you will pay for all the wrong you have done."
Victor let out a bellowing laugh, "Will I? I'm untouchable, little brother. I may not have gotten to your precious little Marie yet, but I'll bed her...whether she likes it or not...just like I bedded Rose, Emily and Jane. It's their word against mine!"
"Not anymore, it isn't", a third voice announced, stepping from directly outside of the stable. It was the town's detective inspector with a team of officers, ready and waiting to take Victor away.
Logan watched as Victor's cocky exterior melted away and was replaced by disbelief and panic, "No...no...where did they come from? Were they listening the whole time?"
As they opened the stall and took him out, Victor struggled, "This is a misunderstanding! I...my family has money...Logan...tell them you'll fix this. Tell them!"
For the first time in his entire life, Logan turned his back on his brother and walked away.
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