Bound by Grace

Bound by Grace

Book 3 of The Gift Series

Barbara Cutrera

Copyright © 2015 by Barbara J. Cutrera

All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the photocopying, scanning, uploading and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property.

Published by On My Way Up, LLC at Smashwords

www.onmywayuponline.com

This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are the result of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

For Cathy, my sweet friend who gives so completely of herself in everything she does.

Table of Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Epilogue

About the Author

Other Books by Barbara Cutrera

Chapter One

Tabitha lay shivering in an unfamiliar, dark, dank room, trying to remember how she’d gotten there. The room rocked back and forth, and her head throbbed from…what? She remembered receiving a surprise blow from behind. Then, she realized that the rocking sensation wasn’t a result of her injury. She was on a boat.

Panic seized her. She rose as quickly as she could and staggered slightly. Putting out her hands in an attempt to prevent herself from tripping or walking into anything, Tabitha moved slowly around the small room until she encountered a damp wall. She edged to her right until she reached a corner. Following the wall, she came to a door. Even though she anticipated that it would be locked, she tried to open it. It was.

The room was cold, and Tabitha wasn’t dressed for such conditions. In the city of Rianne, which was located on the coast of her home country of Amare, it had been a lovely early autumn day. She’d donned a lightweight green dress with a straight skirt. The dress was long, but the sleeves were short as was currently the fashion. Slender and delicate, Tabitha had been comfortable that warm fall morning. But here, she was chilled to the bone.

She combed through her long, blonde hair with her fingers, being mindful of the sore spot on the back of her head. Her curls were tangled, and she couldn’t tie them back. She had no cord or ribbon. She wished the long mass could help to warm her.

Feeling her way back to the corner, Tabitha attempted to clear her head. The last thing she remembered was being in the city of Rianne with her parents, Noah and Jordan, and her twin sister, Rose. Her parents had gone to the port to purchase some new equipment that would make farming easier for those working their lands. She and Rose had set out to explore the waterfront market while their parents took care of business. A dirty little boy of about seven had approached Tabitha while Rose was looking at flowers being sold by a vendor on the street. Tabitha had asked the crying child if he was lost.

Yes, mistress, he’d replied. I want my mummy! She was right here only a moment ago!

Tabitha had taken his hand and said, She can’t be far then. We’ll look around here and see if we can find her. Don’t worry. Everything will be all right.

They hadn’t gone far when the boy broke away from her and darted down an alley. Tabitha had called out for him to wait. When he hadn’t stopped, she’d rushed after him. That was when she’d felt an excruciating blow to her head, and everything had gone black. She’d awakened in the darkness of the room.

A ship, she thought with a renewed swell of fear. Mother, Father, and Rose will never find me. There are dozens of boats in the port. How long have I been unconscious? If it hasn’t been too long, then perhaps I can escape, jump overboard, and swim to shore.

She blinked back tears, knowing that would be impossible. With the way the boat was swaying, it had to be far from land. She’d never be able to swim that far in her dress. But even if she’d been naked, she didn’t have the strength or stamina to swim for long in cold, rough waters. Unless her captors returned her to Rianne, she was gone from her family forever.

Where on Etherea could they be taking me? Tabitha wondered. Do they mean to ask Grandfather Theodore for a ransom? He is the King of Amare after all. What if they don’t wish to return me to my homeland? What else could they want?

Refusing to accept this bleak future, Tabitha considered possible options regarding escape. All of them seemed implausible. She would have to wait for her captors to open the door before she could assess her true situation. Then, perhaps she could formulate a plan and eventually return to Rianne and later to her family’s home in Varnan, which was a week’s ride by wagon from the coast.

Maybe Grandfather Theodore will be able to send people to find me, Tabitha thought. He is the King, after all. Perhaps he’ll know men who can track those who took me. Then I can go home.

She knew that what she hoped for was unreasonable. There were simply too many ships going in too many different directions for anyone to find her if they’d sailed far. Unless she could get herself home, Tabitha was not going back.

Beginning to cry, she hugged herself for comfort and warmth, attempting not to think of the possibility that she might be raped. Tabitha knew about what men and women did when they came together. Having a mother who was a healer meant that she and Rose had learned from an early age quite a lot about the bodies of human beings. They’d been told when they turned twelve what making love involved and that it usually resulted in the conception and birth of children. The girls had attended several births with their mother during the past year and understood that the pleasure involved in making love resulted in the pain of childbirth and the joy of new life. Rose wanted nothing more than to find a loving husband and have a family. Tabitha longed for love and children, but she also had dreams of becoming an established artist who made her living by accepting commissions to paint or sketch.

My work has been lauded by professional artists and laymen alike, she thought. If I’m a prisoner, then I may never be allowed to paint or sketch again. I may never marry and have children. Who has taken me and why?

The lock on her door turned. Wiping at her tears, Tabitha got to her feet and attempted not to allow her fear to overtake her capacity for rational thought. She had to stay focused. Whatever the motives of those who’d taken her, she needed to keep her wits about her. She had to make the wisest decisions possible – no matter the circumstances.

She squinted as light poured into the blackness of her cell. A short, heavyset, bearded man carrying a lantern entered. He was followed by a large, muscular man who wore no shirt but did have what looked like an animal’s collar around his neck. His dark hair was so closely cropped that he appeared almost bald. Without uttering a word, the shirtless man grabbed Tabitha by one arm and dragged her towards the open door. She protested and struggled to pull away. But the man with the collar towered over her, his strength greatly outmatching hers. Realizing that she was wasting energy fighting him, Tabitha relented and allowed him to pull her into a narrow passage.

As they moved down the long hallway, Tabitha noted that the ship must be large and appeared to be constructed entirely of dark wood. They passed closed door after closed door. Tabitha became aware of the faint sounds of young girls and women crying, yelling, and pleading behind those doors. These sounds heightened her fears, but she was beginning to accept the reality of her predicament.

She and the man with the collar followed the heavyset lackey up some stairs to another level of the ship. Their guide halted in front of one door and tentatively knocked. A woman called for them to enter. The man with the collar went forward, taking Tabitha with him.

The room, lit by lanterns, was not spacious, but it was well-appointed. There was a bed that was large enough for two people to sleep comfortably, a solid, but small desk, a heavy chair, and a lovely patterned rug on the floor. A porthole was on the far wall, although Tabitha wasn’t close enough to look through it. She could, however, tell that it was daytime.

A woman who appeared to be approximately forty years of age sat at the desk with a pen in her hand. The tip was poised over the paper in front of her, but she lifted her head and glanced at Tabitha; then she laid the pen down in a depression on one side of the desk. She smiled, but it was not a reassuring smile. The hairs on the back of Tabitha’s neck stood on end.

What a lovely young thing you are, the woman murmured, rising and brushing back a lock of brown hair that had fallen from the clasp at the back of her head. As she smoothed the front of her beautiful, red silk dress, she asked, How old are you?

What difference does that make? Tabitha asked quietly, trying hard to keep her voice steady.

In certain situations, it makes all the difference in the world, the woman replied. She asked more harshly, How old?

Eighteen.

Hm. Are you a virgin?

When Tabitha’s face burned with embarrassment, the woman laughed and said, I have my answer, don’t I? Moving closer, she ordered, Take off your clothing.

What? No! There are men present, and you’re all strangers regardless! I don’t undress in front of anyone, save for my mother and sister.

You do now, the woman countered. Take off your dress, or I’ll have my pet do it for you.

Your pet?

The woman inclined her head towards the man with the collar and said, He’s been my slave since he was your age. That was ten years ago. He serves me well, both in my bed and out of it.

Your…slave?

Yes. I bought him at auction in a country far from yours.

Bought him?

The woman gave her a sinister smile and said, Yes, my dear. I bought him, just as someone will buy you.

I’ll be no one’s slave!

Then I’ll have my pet throw you overboard after he rapes you. With a shrug, she added, Your choice.

Aghast, Tabitha asked, Who are you? What led you to this?

"You’ll address me as Madam. As for what led me to this, I’m a businesswoman who saw the potential for profit in selling items difficult to procure: people. It’s a trade I learned from my father. He was a good businessman, and I was an eager student. The life I lead gives me money, control, and the freedom to go where I wish and live as I please."

You gain your freedom by stealing the freedom of others?

Enough talk, Madam hissed. Take off your clothing.

Tabitha swallowed hard and said softly, No.

The woman nodded to the man with the collar. He released Tabitha’s arm, placed his hands on the top of her dress at the back where the buttons were, and proceeded to rip the garment apart. Tabitha cried out for him to stop. He didn’t until she stood naked in front of the two men and the woman. Tears were streaming down her cheeks.

Get used to it, my dear, the woman directed. Unless you’re bought at the first auction, you’ll be displayed for many men and women to see. She paused, as she allowed her gaze to roam over Tabitha’s body then said, You’re unusually lovely. You might be bought right away. That long, blonde hair…your delicate features and limbs…the firm breasts…your age and virginity….

Madam, she has a defect! the heavyset man interjected. Look on the back of her left shoulder!

The woman moved swiftly around to see what her henchman was studying. When she saw the birthmarks on the back of Tabitha’s left shoulder, she swore but stayed behind the girl. Tabitha could only assume she was surveying her body from the rear and prayed for a miracle. She imagined men climbing onto the ship to rescue her and the others. But nothing happened.

The birthmarks on your flesh resemble the two moons that rise above our planet of Etherea each night, Madam said, as she came back around to stand in front of Tabitha. Actually, they’re quite pretty. However, in my line of work, they only serve to mar your otherwise flawless skin and attractive body. Depending on which countries we travel to, you may be considered a witch because of them or they might be considered inconsequential. Regardless, they’re a brand of sorts. They will make you harder to sell.

Then return me to where I came from or leave me somewhere so I may find my way home.

I can’t do that. You’ll either be sold or killed. That is our way. I’d much rather see you sold. It would be a shame to waste such beauty. You obviously have an education and know how to carry yourself despite these circumstances. Do you have other skills?

I’m an artist. I know a great deal about healing and managing households and lands, thanks to my parents. I also know how to cook, clean, and am good with people and animals.

Madam nodded and murmured, Not a noble but of a noble family.

My father is King Theodore’s bastard son. My mother’s father was the bastard son of a noble.

The woman laughed heartily, and Tabitha blinked in surprise before asking what was so funny.

Oh, but I’ve done it right this time! the woman said with a grin. I’ve captured the granddaughter of the King of Amare. What a prize!

But I’m not of royal blood! Tabitha insisted. My sister and I were adopted.

That doesn’t matter. Everyone knows what a good ruler and a kind man King Theodore is. Whether you’re his blood relation or not, you’re his granddaughter. How exquisite! Touching Tabitha on one temple, she said, "And you’re wrong. You are of noble blood. I’ve learned how to tell this over almost twenty years of buying and selling people. Both of your birth parents were nobles. I’d wager one of them was a King or Queen, while the other was almost as high in station."

No! They were regular people! They weren’t royals.

Believe what you like. I know the truth. You were adopted. How much do you really know about those who created you?

Tabitha stared at her feet. When they’d been deemed old enough, she and Rose had been told how their mother had died in childbirth along with their brother. Their father, completely devastated, had turned the girls over to Noah and Jordan before wandering off and ultimately taking his own life. Yet, there had always been something not quite right about the story. Tabitha and Rose were not identical twins but both had blonde hair and brown eyes. However, as much as she loved her sister, Tabitha had always suspected that Rose was not her twin. Her parents were honorable people, but she’d wondered if they weren’t telling the complete truth about her parentage. Accepting that they must have great reason to hide the truth from her and everyone else, Tabitha had kept her suspicions to herself. She adored Noah and Jordan and knew they adored her and Rose. They would die for their daughters if need be. Whatever the reality surrounding the identities of her birth parents, Tabitha’s adoptive parents were obviously shielding her from something terrible. She trusted their judgment implicitly and had never pursued the matter.

What will happen to me now? she asked Madam.

We’ll sail for several days. When we arrive at a suitable port, you’ll be taken somewhere secret, cleaned, and prepared for viewing at auction. If you’re not bought there, you’ll return to the ship and all will be repeated at the next available opportunity. This will go on as long as I see fit. If you cause problems or don’t sell at auction after an extended length of time, I’ll sell you to a house of prostitution.

None of that will happen, thought Tabitha. I’ll escape wherever I can, whenever I can.

If you disobey me, I won’t have you beaten. It wouldn’t do to mar your pretty self.

But there would be consequences, Tabitha surmised.

"Of