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  “Bastard!” she screamed as she pounded against the door. She gave up after a few moments, knowing he would not respond or return.

  Surely she would be able to find a key in his desk. She crossed to it, pulling open the top draw. There was a set of keys on a large brass ring. She tried each one in the lock, but none of them worked.

  In a pique of frustration she threw them across the room, savoring the sound of them hitting the wall and then sliding onto the floor.

  “You will wish you’d never messed with me, Aldis Cummings,” she yelled out. She went back to the divan and plopped down. She curled her hands into fists and tried to calm her mind. If she was angry she would not be able to come up with a plan to get out of here and make sure the men upstairs paid for what they’d done to Vanessa.

  Somehow when Cummings returned she would need to conk him over the head with something so she could make her escape.

  Maisie stood in the center of the room and surveyed the objects. There were many books, but they would never do. The fireplace equipment would render him unconscious, but the poker and shovel were unwieldy, and she was afraid she would not be able to strike him with it before he overtook her. As much as she hated to admit it, he was much stronger than she. If she failed to strike him there was no telling what would happen to her.

  In frustration she picked up a book and threw it against the wall. That’s when she saw something that she hadn’t thought about before—a window.

  Her frustration turned to hopefulness. She hurried to the windows. There were three sets of panes, the ones on the left and right were not the type you could open, but the one in the middle was. She pushed at the sash, praying it would rise. It stayed in place. She wondered if the window had ever opened. She slapped her hand against the pane and heard what she thought was a deep groan. When she pushed on the sash again it seemed to give. One more slap, and another push and it gave way, sliding up slightly. It took some effort for her to lift it high enough so there was enough room for her to get through.

  She could stand on his chair, exit the room and make a run for Bath before he even knew she was out of the room.

  The only real problem at this point in time was how she would be able to convince the authorities that something nefarious was happening at the school for girls, which was really a school for mistresses.

  On the walk into town she would think of the right things to say, that made them realize the seriousness of the situation.

  She was in the process of moving the chair when a rattling noise came from the door. The knob twisted and Maisie froze. She pushed the chair faster, because if she didn’t manage to get out of the room before Mr. Cummings came inside, she was pretty sure he would be using a cane on her bottom the way Vanessa’s patron had used one on hers.

  Chapter 5

  Maisie was halfway out the window when female laughter made her stop. She looked over her shoulder to see Vanessa standing there, smiling and giggling.

  “How are you here?” Maisie asked as she lowered herself to the floor. “Are you all right? You were crying and screaming earlier.”

  “I should be on the stage; don’t you think?” Vanessa closed the door behind her. “They are in the middle of their orgy. I was supposed to stand in the corner, but I’ve never been very good at doing as I was told. Besides, I have someone waiting for me. I just need to collect something from Aldis’s desk.”

  Maisie shook her head. “What are you talking about? They beat you. You were screaming. How can you be laughing now?”

  “Oh the pain was real, but I always manage to get over it quickly.” Vanessa crossed the room and pulled out the top drawer of Aldis’s desk. She uttered an expletive that made Maisie blush.

  “He’s moved it, the little bastard,” Vanessa said. “I don’t have time for this.” She pulled open another drawer.

  “He moved what? What are you looking for?” Maisie asked.

  “The lock for my key,” Vanessa said. She glanced up at Maisie. “Do you have it?”

  Maisie headed for the door. “You people are insane. I’m leaving while I have the chance.”

  “Oh no you’re not.” Vanessa made it to the door before her, and Maisie took a step back. “Do you remember what I asked you the first night we met? Did Jack send you? You know where it is, don’t you?”

  Maisie took a step backward. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Quite the innocent, aren’t you?” Vanessa said. “Maybe you’re the one who should be on the stage. I’ve worked long and hard for that payback, and I want it.”

  Maisie shivered as Vanessa glared at her. There was violence behind the younger woman’s gaze. Maisie needed to stall for time, to figure out exactly what was happening. “It might help if I knew what you were talking about.”

  “Oh Maisie, if Jack sent you and you are lying to me, I will hurt you.” Vanessa shook her head. “This is too important to let it slip through my fingers. Now, I want you to sit on the divan while I search. If you interfere, I assure you I am not afraid to follow through on my earlier words.”

  Maisie could tell that was the truth. She sat on the sofa and watched as Vanessa searched through the desk. With each drawer she seemed to grow angrier, her movements quicker, and more nasty words came out of her mouth.

  Finally she said, “Ah, here it is.” She held up a box, about the size of Maisie’s hand.

  “What is that?” Maisie asked.

  “Oh, I think you know,” Vanessa said. “It’s worth as much as you think it is, no matter what Jack told you.”

  “I am not here because of Jack,” Maisie screamed.

  A noise in the hallway caught both of their attentions.

  “Hell and damnation, I wasted too much time on you,” Vanessa said. “You’ve ruined it all.” She rushed towards Maisie, who had just stood from the couch, and pushed her. Maisie hit the ground, hard, and her head hit the desk. The last thing she remembered seeing was Vanessa’s backside as she climbed out the window.

  “Sit back.” Maisie heard the words, but she didn’t even realize she’d tried to sit up. She opened her eyes to see Mrs. Beale standing over her. At least she thought it was Mrs. Beale. The view was blurry, but the voice was strong.

  “Wake her up,” a male voice said. “We need to know what she knows.”

  “She knows nothing.” Maisie recognized that voice. It was Aldis Cummings.

  “My property is missing!”

  Maisie closed her eyes and tried to drown out the sound. Her head pounded and the sound of rolling waves filled her ears.

  “I told you not to bring it here!” Cummings yelled. “Don’t blame me because you couldn’t control her.”

  “You were the one who told me about her,” the unknown voice said.

  “If I remember right, I told you after the original meeting that taking her on as your mistress was a bad idea,” Cummings said. “You didn’t listen to me. This is your doing, not mine.”

  “Enough!” Mrs. Beale said, her word harsh but her voice low. “This woman has been hurt, and she needs time to adjust. If you want to speak with her, you will have to wait until tomorrow. Now, I must insist that the two of you take your discussion elsewhere and let Mrs. Glover sleep.”

  Maisie heard them leave and then she groaned. “So noisy.”

  “Keep your eyes closed and try to sleep,” Mrs. Beale said.

  “What happened?”

  “Vanessa stole something from Mr. Cummings’s desk,” Mrs. Beale said. “You seem to have been injured in the process.”

  Heated voices sounded in the hallway as Maisie groaned.

  “How did she get down here?” the unknown man said.

  “You tell me,” Mr. Cummings replied. “You were the one who said we should make her stand in the corner instead of stay in the stock. I think you are responsible for the theft.”

  “For the love of all that is good,” Mrs. Beale said. She moved to the hallway. Maisie could hear her whisper, but she couldn�
�t make out the words. “That should take care of it.”

  “What did she take?” Maisie asked.

  “Don’t you worry about it,” Mrs. Beale said. “But I would like to apologize to you for even being here. I told Mr. Cummings it was a bad idea to hire you, but we needed work done, and my hands are not what they used to be. We had thought you would be kept far away from the ladies upstairs. But then you had a run-in with Vanessa, and she told Aldis you were here to cause problems. That Jack had sent you.”

  Maisie tried to sit up. “Sent me for what? What is this place?”

  Mrs. Beale sighed. Maisie opened her eyes and watched as the matron crossed to a basin and poured in water. Then she wet a cloth and brought it back to the bed where Maisie lay. When Mrs. Beale placed the cloth over Maisie’s eyes, Maisie sighed in pleasure. “That feels so good.”

  “I’m very sorry, dear,” Mrs. Beale said. “We didn’t think things through when we hired you. We’ve put you in a horrible position. I assure you the school will compensate you.”

  “I know this isn’t a finishing school,” she said. “How can you work for a place that allows whippings and orgies?”

  Mrs. Beale laughed softly. “My husband and I started this school years ago. When he died the order asked me to stay on.”

  “This makes no sense,” Maisie said.

  “Lie there and let me explain,” Mrs. Beale said. “The order is a group of men who enjoy, shall we say, the heavier side of physical contact. They like women who enjoy their type of pleasure, which includes bondage, spankings, anal sex, and anything else they can think of that is beyond the pale, so to speak.”

  Maisie couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She kept her mouth closed, though, because Mrs. Beale seemed to be getting into the meaty part of the story.

  “If the gentlemen who are a part of the order find a lady to their liking, who is amenable to the lifestyle, they send her here for training.” Mrs. Beale patted the cloth on Maisie’s eyes. “Vanessa was one of those ladies.”

  “With the gentleman who was in here just moments ago?”

  “Yes, Lord James Engleton, a third son or fourth son of a baron, or something, I can never quite keep track of them all,” Mrs. Beale said. “Aldis calls them bored lords. She was here for six months, and we had trouble with her then. She would sneak out and go to the pub.”

  “The Poke and Bear,” Maisie said. Her head felt a little better. “I recognize her from there.”

  “Yes, well when she wasn’t behaving the bored lord sent her back for more training,” Mrs. Beale said. “We had the same trouble. And then Engleton said she’d taken a key, something that opened a box that contained some sort of gift that King Henry VIII had given his family back in the day. And like an idiot, Engleton brought the box with him.”

  Maisie pulled the cloth from her eye. “Why did he bring the box here?”

  “Aldis asked him the same question,” Mrs. Beale said. She took the cloth from Maisie and then went back to the basin. Maisie watched as she dunked it in the water.

  “What did he say?” Maisie asked.

  “He said he was afraid Vanessa was working with a member of his household staff, and if he left the box they would take it,” she said.

  “Sounds to me like he needs new staff members, and a new mistress,” Maisie said.

  Mrs. Beale returned with the cloth. “Lie back.”

  Maisie closed her eyes before Mrs. Beale replaced the cloth.

  “Sounds rather fishy to me,” Maisie said.

  “To Aldis, also,” Mrs. Beale said. “He’s never trusted him, especially since he had us release her after her whipping.”

  Those words made Maisie shiver. She pulled the cloth from her eyes. Remembering the scene she’d witness made her feel ill. “I need to leave.”

  “You cannot leave,” Mrs. Beale said. “For one thing it is after midnight. For another, Aldis will want to speak with you when you’re feeling better. If you are up to it now, I will call him back.”

  “No.” Maisie lay back down. “All I saw was her searching the desk. She said I was in the way. Then she pushed me and I fell. That’s all I remember.”

  “Well, we’ll see what’s what tomorrow,” Mrs. Beale said. “In the meantime I want you to sleep. We’ll go upstairs and I’ll have one of the girls watch over you.”

  Maisie didn’t feel the need to argue. She kept her eyes closed. The pounding in her head had lessened, and the whooshing sound in her ears was not as loud as before.

  “Can’t I just stay here?”

  “We’ll see,” Mrs. Beale said. “Keep your eyes closed.”

  Maisie did as she asked, and soon blissful sleep came upon her.

  Sunlight filled the room when Maisie woke up the next morning. She could hear mumbled voices and she turned her head to see Mrs. Beale and Mr. Cummings talking. She couldn’t make out what they were saying, but they seemed very animated.

  “Hello?” she whispered. Both of them turned to her, but Mrs. Beale hurried out of the room without saying a word.

  “Mrs. Beale has gone to get you some tea and breakfast,” Mr. Cummings said. “How are you feeling?”

  “Very well, thank you.” She sat up and swung her legs to the side of the sofa. Her mind was clear right now, and as she looked around she realized she was still in Mr. Cummings’s office.

  “You fell asleep before we could move you upstairs,” he said. “Mrs. Beale stayed with you to make sure you were safe.”

  “Thank you,” Maisie said. “I need to relieve myself.”

  “Of course,” Mr. Cummings said. “But please come right back when you are finished.”

  Maisie did her business and then returned. She felt better, and stronger, afterward. “I would like to leave this morning,” she said after she’d sat down again.

  “Where will you go?” he asked.

  “Anywhere but here, where a man beats a woman and then there’s an orgy afterward.”

  He was in the chair behind his desk, and as she spoke he looked out the window.

  “I would like you to stay,” he said.

  “I’m sure you would,” Maisie said. “You should know I intend to let the people in this town know this place is not an upper class finishing school.”

  “Yes, well, I’m not overly concerned about that,” he said. “Tell me, how well do you know Vanessa?”

  “I’ve only known her since I’ve been here,” Maisie said.

  “That’s not true, is it?”

  “It is,” Maisie said.

  “You knew her from the Poke and Bear, did you not?”

  Maisie shook her head. But she didn’t immediately answer because Mrs. Beale returned with a tray. She set it on the table near the divan and then poured tea for all three of them. Maisie took it, and some toast, and started to eat.

  “Mrs. Glover, did you know her from the Poke and Bear?” Mr. Cummings asked.

  “She came in there, yes, but I didn’t have contact with her,” Maisie said.

  “You didn’t serve her ale? Or food?”

  “Some yes, but she wouldn’t stay long. She came in and drank, and then she would leave with Jack.”

  Mr. Cummings nodded. Mrs. Beale sat down next to Maisie, and Maisie was happy she was there.

  “Do you think she and Jack were lovers?” he asked.

  Maisie gasped. “I would hope not, she told me they were brother and sister.”

  “Would that be before or after the two of you buried something in the gardens?” he asked.

  “We didn’t bury anything,” she said.

  “You had dirt on your skirt,” he said. “I investigated the spot you showed me and I found a small box, with a key inside. Did the dirt get there when the two of you were hiding the box?”

  “I didn’t hide anything,” Maisie said. Her hands shook as she talked, and her tea spilled from the cup into the saucer; a little got on her hand and she jerked so hard the cup left the saucer and landed on the floor where it shattered.
r />   “I’m sorry,” she said.

  “Not your fault, dear,” Mrs. Beale said. “Aldis, stop badgering the woman. It’s not doing any good.”

  The matron was on her knees, cleaning up the broken cup. When Maisie bent to help, Mrs. Beale shooed her away.

  “You and I both know Vanessa has been nothing but trouble since the day she arrived,” Mrs. Beale said. “When your bored lord sent her back for more training you should have refused him. No one can train that woman. She reveled in causing trouble. And now she’s been caught at being a thief, and she’s put us all in danger. If the item she took is not returned, and Lord Engleton’s father finds out and accuses us, we could all end up in prison.”

  Maisie hadn’t thought of that. Could they accuse her, too? Something told her they could. She clenched her hands into fists.

  “What are you going to do?” she asked.

  “We, what are we going to do,” Mr. Cummings said. “You are going to help us track her down.”

  “Me? I’m a seamstress, not a detective. You need to hire a Peeler, or someone who knows how to find things.”

  Mr. Cummings had started to shake his head the moment she’d started speaking, and she didn’t think he was going to stop anytime soon.

  “What I need is someone who she will speak to,” he said. “And not just her. I need someone to speak with Jack, too.”

  Fear raced through Maisie as she imagined going back to the Poke and Bear. “I can’t,” she managed to say. “He threatened to sell me to his customers. If I go in he will force me to stay.”

  “I will be with you,” Mr. Cummings said. “I will protect you.”

  “Why don’t you talk to him?” she asked.

  “He trusts you,” he said.

  “I ran from him,” she said. “He doesn’t trust me.”

  “Then make him trust you,” he said. “Woman have seductive airs. Use those on him and see if it will make him open his mouth about his sister. By the way, I doubt very seriously that they are siblings. Vanessa is not from here. James found her in London, and she came here to learn to take a spanking. But that’s all she needed to learn. She’s taught the girls things even I never thought about.”