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The only problem with all these riches was—she wasn’t allowed to enjoy them.
The house belonged to Harrison, the dresses were hers as long as she stayed. The servants only did Harrison’s bidding regardless of how it looked and the money he claimed to be paying her was put away—for safekeeping, he’d said.
She had it all—and the cost was dear.
She’d not only lost Aaron but she’d lost Samuel as well. She only saw him when Harrison was being generous. The children’s nurse he’d hired to tend to him was also a wet nurse, one who provided for her son to the point he didn’t need her for anything. And the heartbreak was too much to bear. She felt as if she were dying every time she thought of her baby being cuddled and fed by some strange woman. Of her sweet baby looking up at someone else with eyes exactly like his father’s.
Every day the sun shined through the windows, she felt her soul crumble a fraction more. She’d lost Aaron and Samuel and she was being held prisoner by a man who gave her angelic smiles while lying to her daily with his serpent’s tongue.
She’d lost count of how long she’d been here. A few weeks, if she had to guess, and the small hope she’d had of Ben coming for her died with every new day. He wasn’t coming and she needed to accept that. He didn’t know who took her and Samuel and if Aaron truly was dead—
A lump lodged in her throat at the thought. As often as she tried to convince herself that he lived, a part of her knew he hadn’t. There had been too much blood. He wouldn’t have beenfound quick enough. He would have bled out by the time Ben pulled his sorry behind from that saloon and came home.
Betsey looked at the food she’d been given and turned away. She’d lost her appetite on that train ride out here and she couldn’t seem to get it back. Probably wouldn’t at this rate. Her dresses were in a constant state of alteration. She was losing more flesh every day and at this point, she didn’t even care. Her milk had nearly dried up so even her breasts were losing their fullness, not that it mattered. She wasn’t allowed to feed Samuel anyway so why did she need to produce milk?
She stared out the window, watching the busy street below and wondered for the thousandth time how she’d get out of this situation. She wanted her life back. She wanted Aaron and Samuel back.
A key jingled in the lock on the door. She didn’t bother to turn to see who it was. She could tell it was Harrison by the sound of his footsteps.
“Agnes said you were up here brooding again and I see she was right.” He crossed the room and stopped beside her, looking out the window briefly before turning to face her. “Don’t look so glum. This is what you wanted. In another month the whole of California will know your name.”
“I don’t care.” She tore her gaze from the street below. “I want to go home.”
“I’m afraid I can’t let you do that.” He leaned back against the window frame. “The theater has been packed since you started singing, just as I knew it would be.” He grinned. “You’re about to make me a very rich man.” His gaze roamed her face. “My investment is paying off and I’m not about to let all the time and effort I put into getting you ready to play your role go to waste.”
Harrison reached out and brushed her braid off her shoulder, his hand lingering before moving to her face. He brushed the back of two fingers along her jaw, his voice soft, barely over a whisper. “I’d rather share the rewards of this venture with youthan have to keep you locked up in here.” One finger traced the outline of her bottom lip. “We could have it all, Elisabeth. We could travel the world. Would you like that? Would you like to see Paris in the spring? I can take you. Just say the word and I’ll arrange it tomorrow.”
“And why would you do that?”
“Because—I want you.”
Betsey tilted her head to move away from his roaming hand. “Want me? You don’t even know me.”
“We have time.”
“No, we don’t. I don’t want to be here, Harrison. I don’t want to go to Paris. I want my son back and I want to go home. I want to go to Willow Creek.”
He dropped his hand as if burned, fire burning in his eyes as he pushed away from the window frame and stepped into her personal space, grabbing a handful of her hair in one fist. “You’ll do exactly as I say and I say you’ll never see that pitiful little backwater town again. You are mine, now, Elisabeth and I’m not about to let you go.”
Betsey grabbed his hand, trying to free her hair.
“And if you refuse, the baby you so desperately want with you night and day will be sent to the nearest orphanage and left on the stoop with nothing but the clothes on his back.”
Her mouth flew open to scream what a deceitful bastard he was but he crushed his mouth to hers, his tongue sliding past her lips as he kissed her hard, holding her head trapped by her hair still in his fist before she had a chance. It was nothing more than a kiss but she felt violated in ways she’d never wanted to experience.
When he let her go, he smiled, brushed his thumb against her lip and said, “If you want to see that boy of yours, I suggest the next time I kiss you, you pretend to enjoy it and kiss me back.”
He left, locking the door behind him and Betsey’s knees gave out. She hit the floor and huddled by the window as tears burnedher eyes, her heart breaking into so many tiny pieces she wasn’t sure she’d ever put it back together again. When the first tear fell, sobs wracked her body until she felt hollowed out inside. She wanted Aaron. She wanted her baby and as she cried, she realized she’d probably never see either of them ever again.
Aaron had never seen somany people in one place. He and Ben were jostled and pushed as the crowd on the ferry all tried to get off at the same time. He finally managed to find a side rail and get out of the line of traffic.
“There are too many people here and every damn one of them is rude.”
Ben agreed. “Why would anyone want to live in a place this crowded?”
“Got me,” Aaron said, watching as the passengers of the Clinton, the ferry they’d taken from Oakland into San Francisco, slowly emptied.
The past two weeks was the longest of his life. After paying the livery stable in Missoula to deliver their horses back to Willow Creek, they’d grabbed a quick meal and jumped on the next stagecoach out and been in constant motion since. He’d seen more of the country than he ever thought he would and as beautiful as it was, he hadn’t enjoyed a second of it. His thoughts were too consumed with Betsey and Samuel and what was happening to them to relax enough to take it all in. Now that he was here—so close to finding them—he was on edge, his nerves rattled until he was ready to bellow at everyone in his path to get out of his way.
