The Proletarian of Mayfair

Chapter Seventeen

"I can only give what I have, not anything more."
The Secret Journal of B.T.

Olivia wished she could scream. The tears had already fallen and her nose had run with the sadness that had seeped into her bones. Tied across her mouth was a fabric that prevented her from being able to speak.

If that wasn't enough, the people who had snatched her away had not given her a sip of water or a bite of food.

She did not bother with trying to break free of her restraints. It was no use; she had no energy to do so. It was of as little use this morning as it was last night, when she rubbed her wrists raw trying to get free.

In the last twelve hours, at least three pairs of hands had wandered across her body, touching places she had never touched. It made her sick to think of what they might do once they woke from their drunken slumber. The alcohol was present on their breaths last night as they toyed with her.

Somehow, she was still intact, but she suspected a large amount of drink was to thank for that more than their self-restraint.

Through a small window close to the ceiling, the first wisps of dawn filtered through the bush in front of it.

Against her better judgement, the pain of her failed attempts the previous night, and her lack of energy, she tugged at the ropes as much as she could. They loosened enough for her to slip one hand through. The rope holding her hands fell to the floor. She pulled at the gag in front of her mouth, stood up, and looked to the window a foot above her head.

There had to be a way out of this place.

Thank you, God, for allowing me to be free of this place, Olivia thought and turned around to see a set of wooden steps that led up to ground level. She took them carefully and stepped lightly to prevent creaking.

Anything could potentially wake them or, worse, alert them to her now free status.

She crept the door open until it was wide enough to get through with her filthy dress and bare feet.

At some point during the night, she lost her nice shoes, but it was not the time to dawdle over such an unimportant loss when she could have lost far more.

Her bare feet stumbled over the cobblestone she could hardly see with the rays of the sunrise. However, it managed to cause her to stumble directly into someone she had not seen.

She did not even realize it was Benjamin until she looked into his eyes. His soft eyes were filled with tears, but were otherwise the same caring blue-green she had come to love over the past couple of months.

"Are you all right, Olivia?" Ben asked as he pulled her close.

She knew she was filthy and getting his suit just as dirty, but she could not deny how wonderful his hug felt to her.

"I have been better, but I am unharmed." She did not wish to have to admit that there was a possibility of her losing her purity, so she left it unsaid. He could not have known she was taken by horrible men with far worse plans in mind for her.

However, it did make her question their early-morning liaisons. They could not happen anymore. She was terrified those men would come to find her and finish the job they had started.

"I was terrified for you," he admitted into her dirt-filled locks. "I saw what had occurred, but they were gone so quickly, I did not know what to do."

What he said next surprised her even more than that (which did surprise her immensely as there were very few people in the square when the kidnapping occurred. "I do not know what I would have done if you did not come back."