Chapter 13

Upstairs, Jim had been tied to the bed at the wrists, and wondered how Fogg was faring. The little Irish cavalryman looked gleeful when he led Fogg away. He was also concerned about what the doctor had meant about his own questioning.

Then there was the lady. She hadn't said a word and excused herself after Fogg was taken away. What did she have to do with this?

The little man knows how to play an audience. There has been plenty of distrust for foreigners to go around. Playing on it shut me down completely. Now, I will have to deal with Johnson more directly, away from Loveless, so he can't confuse things again.

A few minutes passed before his door opened again. The woman who had been with Loveless and Johnson came in with a tray of food. She sat down at the head of the bed near his tied hands and uncovered a simple meal of finger sandwiches.

"Thank you. Forgive me if I don't rise," James said with a smile.

If she understood his sarcasm, she didn't show it. "I knew you would be tied, so I will feed you." She picked up a bite-sized sandwich and held it out for him.

Jim didn't accept, thinking the food might be drugged.

"Oh, come now, I made them myself," Helen said.

When he refused a second time, she seemed to understand his hesitance. She ate the sandwich herself. "See, perfectly harmless sandwiches."

At that reassurance, Jim accepted. They sat in silence for several minutes as he ate. "Is my friend being treated to this service, too?"

"Your friend is in the kitchen pantry, and I do not think he will be up to a meal until supper time," Helen said. "I heard some of his interrogation when I was in the kitchens." Her otherwise serene features showed a moment of distaste before resuming their earlier serene status. She handed him another sandwich. Jim took it in his mouth along with the ends of her fingers this time, lightly kissing them before she pulled back. Another momentary crack in her quiet demeanor was seen.

"What are you doing here?" Jim asked, taking advantage of her loss of composure. "You don't belong with these people."

"I belong with Dr. Loveless," she said. "I go wherever he goes as his assistant."

"For how long?" Jim asked. He accepted another sandwich.

"It has always been this way," she said, leaving her fingers in his mouth a moment longer than the first time. "There has never been a time I have not been with him. He taught me my duties and gave me my lessons. Everything I know is from him."

"You must have family somewhere?" Jim said.

"Family?" Helen repeated, looking puzzled. "All I… Dr. Loveless is all there has ever been. I came with him from France. In France, there was only the doctor and his work. He took me places… sometimes to teach me things."

This conversation puzzled Helen as much as it did her audience. No one had ever questioned her about herself before. The soldiers of the League had treated her like furniture. It had been the same in France. Only Dr. Loveless ever spoke to her in any way other than an order. It felt rather odd answering questions, but pleasing, too.

Jim wasn't sure about what he was hearing, but he could tell he was affecting her. Her reactions to his overtures were those of an innocent child, yet she looked to be at least twenty-five. Jim knew very little about how the League of Darkness operated. But he knew women. He turned on the West charm and sat up, throwing his legs off the bed.

"There is more to life than this plantation and the doctor," he said. "A woman as beautiful as you could do anything and go anywhere. What would you do if you didn't work here?"

Helen drew back when he sat up beside her. She had not thought he could move that much. His words confused her. "There is no, not working here. There is no, not being with Dr. Loveless."

While Helen tried to think of an answer, she didn't notice Jim West scooting closer to her until he had her pinned between him and the bedposts. He was sitting on Helen's skirts to keep her from standing. He raised an arm and encircled her. Now that she could not get away without a major struggle, he leaned forward and kissed her.

Out of shock, Helen was rooted in place. Thoughts scattered as the man sucked on her tongue. She could not push him away without dropping the tray that sat in her lap. That move would make the delicate china. Lost and trapped, Helen had no option but to stay seated until he let her go.

In those long minutes, Jim accomplished several things. He reached the saw in his cuff, cut himself loose, retrieved a fair length of rope from his bindings, and removed the tray from Helen's lap. With her hands now free and reaching out to push him away, Jim took them in his and tied them together.

The sudden feel of ropes on her wrists tore Helen out of her distracted state. She pulled sharply out of the kiss, bumming her head on the bedpost. Helen tried to get her hands free, but West had them held tight,

"You tricked me!" She said in a childish, hurt tone.

"Yes, I did," Jim admitted. "When I get back, we will have a long talk about what you could do instead of working for Dr. Loveless. But for now, you are going to stay right here and sit quietly."

Helen might have protested, but he did not give her a chance. Jim pulled his cravat off and used it to cover her pretty soft mouth. After he tied her by her dress sash to the bedpost. He gave her a conciliatory kiss on the forehead and left the room.

The hall was empty. Jim carefully slipped down the hall to the main stairs and looked over the rail. A few servants were walking about with boxes and trunks.

Too much traffic.

The plantation was being abandoned. That meant he had to get out of the house before someone came for him and found Helen tied up. Heading in the opposite direction, West found the servant's stairway. There was no noise in this part of the house. Jim descended to the ground floor, leaving the house by the back door.