Chapter 3
Derek Lincoln sat staring moodily out the window of his room. That peasant slave really, how could they even imagine linking him up with a girl like that? He scoffed, she was beautiful, but he wouldn’t take her to his bed even if she was offered to him free of charge!His parents had introduced many young ladies to him, but he did not find any of them appealing enough, so he showed no interest in any of them.His parents simply couldn't understand his attitude. His father knew he could be charming and polite if he chose to be because he treated the women in their family with the greatest respect.But Derek just didn't give a damn about other women or what people thought of him. He refused to play the gentleman, no matter how it embarrassed his parents. He had arrived last night from a month's stay at their estate in the country."If you are planning on forcing some more of your different friends daughters on me, I swear I'll leave this town for good!" Derek hissed at his mother when she walked into his room that evening."How many times must I remind you, Mother, that I do not want a wife! I have no desire to have a noble woman under me, I don't need anyone making demands on my time. I have better things to do than contend with a woman."He paced back and forth vigorously."If I want a woman, then I'll take one, but only for a night of pleasure with no strings attached. I don't want to be tied down, Mother. Damn it! Why can't you all understand? When will you get that through your head? "Son, sometimes, most times, love is not planned. But what if you should someday fall in love as I and your father did? You'll be surprised at how glorious the feeling is, you need to give love a try, son""If that day ever comes, when I shall fall in love, then of course I shall marry. But don't get your hopes up, mother. for I've seen all the noble ladies of this town, and I can tell you one thing, that day will never come""I'm afraid you have not seen all there's to see yet, my dear son. And you might just be wowed tonight"Derek was not surprised that his father had been listening from the door all along, they had done this before, over and over again. "I just hope you are not about to force me to another ball, father?""Oh but I am.'' Douglas Lincoln said mischievously. "And wear your best clothes. You want to charm the ladies, don't you? And not forgetting your soon to be father-in-law.?" His father said casually as he closed the door swiftly just as Derek slammed his fist into the wall.His father's boisterous laughter could be heard as he made his way down the hall, Derek turned to his mother who paled now as the door opened again. "What amuses him so, Mother?" Daniel Lincoln, his younger brother asked as he made his way into the room.Glad that her second son was there now, Marylyn replied, "I think your brother will meet his downfall tonight, and he won't even know it," Their mother answered with a teasing smile. "Whatever are you talking about?" Daniel raised one brown brow as he took a seat opposite his elder brother."Nothing, my darling, nothing at all!" Their mother replied with a grin. She picked a glass of wine from the table, took a sip and swung out of the room.Derek Lincoln was annoyed. He had had an argument with his brother only yesterday about women and marriage, and now his parents were at it again."Looks like Father has made plans for you, have you met the unlucky girl yet?" Daniel asked asked, then winked and left the room.Daniel was just twenty five, married since he turned twenty two and now with one child. He was happy in his marriage, and that was because he had married his childhood sweetheart.Derek scoffed, he still blamed his brother for their parents pressure on him to settle down, had he not being married at such a young age, no one would be pressuring him to marry now!“Fuck you, Scarlett for putting me through this misery!”******"Look at all the beauties you can choose from in this ballroom," Daniel was saying with a twinkle in his green eyes. "It's about time you settled down and gave the Lincoln an heir."“Do you really expect me to pick a wife from one of these simpleminded young ladies?" he said sarcastically. "I would rather kiss a duckling!” He scoffed.“Perhaps you could ask Scarlett again, who knows, she might accept you this time.”He glared at his brother for mentioning his mistress, but before he could reply, his mother sauntered towards them and Derek rolled his eyes while Daniel laughed heartily."Why aren't you dancing, Derek?" Their mother asked as she walked up to them. "You shouldn’t be here just watching, Son. I can see the admiration from all these pretty young ladies, they have eyes for you.” She put her arm on Derek's and urged him towards the centre of the room."Not like he would do whatever I say, Mother. Take your son, I have a lovely wife waiting for me on the dance floor" With that, Daniel left them."Come with me, son. There's someone you must meet"He felt his heart skip a beat, this was the moment he dreaded, he knew his parents had planned something for him before dragging him to this horrible ball. Probably another girl whom he was prepared to bluntly reject. They came to a halt in a room and there stood his father, with a man in English tailored suit."Father?” Was all Derek could let out."Ah son, right on time" His father took his hand and led him to the man who was drinking merrily from a glass. "Meet your soon to be father-in-law, Sir Barry Gates"His first response was laughter, he laughed hard and expected his parents to join him, but no one did. He stopped for a moment and lookec from his father to his mother and back to the black man who was wearing a stupid grin."Father, this is a joke right?""No, son. It's not. You are getting married real soon""To his daughter?" He pointed to the man in front of him, disbelief creasing his brows."Of course.”"If I'm not mistaken, his daughter is that measly coffee colored girl?""Correct. I figured you might have a special taste for fiery woman so I arranged it for you, son. All papers have been signed already, you are bethrothed to his daughter, Miss…""It's not going to happen,” he cut in sharply, disgusted at the notion, “Whatever you have arranged, call it off!" He stormed towards the door but halted at the sound of his father's voice."If you walk out of that door, you cease to be my son and the heir to my estates and empire, I'll strip you of every title you hold as a Lincoln and you'll have nothing except those clothes on your back.” His father stated frankly. “You have five minutes to decide what’s more important to you, your stupid pride or your name and title as a Lincoln?”He knew just then that his fate was sealed.Chapter 4For Lydia Gates, marriage was bondage. To some women, it was a gateway to heaven but to her it was not something she wanted for herself, not even her worst enemy if she could help it. She had watched her parent's relationship deteriorate as a child, it had gone from bad to worse. Growing up in the care of her nannies, they told her stories. Stories of how loving their parents had been when they first got married, how inseparable they were, how strong the bond they shared had been. Lydia wanted none of that, and especially not with a man she barely knew. A rich white man would treat her like a piece of trash. Certainly not, she could get everything she wanted and she intended to. Without a man, and certainly not a white one. How her parents had managed to keep the family estate and the legacy going, she could not tell. It was probably the only thing her father still enjoyed doing- working. She had seen him work tirelessly over the years to ensure they maintain the position
Chapter 5Already tired of watching the same thing happen over and over again, she sighed impatiently for the sixth time in five minutes. But she knew she couldn't move, and shouldn't be seen. Sir Roberts had warned her against it, being seen by the crew members would only mean turning herself in as a slave to be sold across the sea or worse, as a sex slave for the crew men on the ship.The kitchen was not exactly the best place to hide, not with all the heat still hanging and the ocean breezes. Once they were out to sea it wouldn't be so bad, but now, with the huge brick ovens radiating heat since before morning, and steam rolling out of pots on the stove from what promised to be a tasty evening meal, it was hot as the devil's welcome.The cook and his two helpers had discarded most of their clothes by the time the crew started wandering in for a quick breakfast, a man or two at a time strolled into the kitchen occasionally, since the hours before takeoff were the busiest time aboard.
Chapter 6With Annoyance, he stalked down the hall, the thought of several ways to escape his father's devilish plans plaguing his mind. Of Course he could not think of any, it was not like his father to make empty threats, if he had said it, and in the presence of that coffee colored old man, then he definitely meant it. Three days had passed already and he had heard nothing concerning the matter from his father or his mother. It was on Daniel, his brother who tried to give him the reassurance that marriage was not as bad as he thought and tried to make him think it could work for him. "The fact that it's working for you should not make you think it will work for everyone, and certainly not me." It was all he could say to make his brother leave him alone, that too seemed not to be working. "You can look at our parent's marriage if you need another instance, Derek. They have been together for…" Derek rolled his eyes, "Spare me the sermon and get out of my room, Daniel. Your wife n
Chapter 7Dressing in a man’s clothes was not as difficult as staying with a man in the same cabin, or pretending to be a man and an errand boy at the same time. Nancy sighed for the umpteenth time, her patience was running thin by the minute, she had been standing by the men who had come in with Sir Roberts that morning, waiting for their breakfast to be over so she could have hers. It came with being a cabin boy, she was told. The men chatted on with no care in the world for the boy standing by them, not the least bit concerned if she had eaten. Only Sir Roberts spared her glances occasionally with pleading eyes urging that she remain silent to prevent the men from seeing through her disguise. Nancy understood perfectly, she was no stranger to hunger or starvation and she could not risk being discovered now. Last night, she had overheard a girl screaming in a distant cabin as men took turns on her. She could tell which class the girl belonged, for even on the ship, there was an hi
Chapter 8For hours after the men left, Nancy was still curled up at a corner in the cabin. She had lost track of time but she knew it was over hours. Victory lay curled in a ball at her feet, she had managed to get up and feed the poor little kitten. She still felt sorry for the way the lousy Luppet had kicked the cat, not like she had a say in the matter, the knot in her chest grew tighter by the minute. They had no regard for women, or blacks for that matter. And she was here, a black young woman, surrounded by men, a group of white slave traders, in search of a woman to satisfy their urges. Nancy had never felt so helpless, how long was she going to keep her disguise? What if Sir Roberts decided to spill? And what had he said about selling her off at the gates? He had said he'll think about it, and by God he would. Every single person on the ship knew what the gates meant, it was their worst nightmare and fear. The place where people were priced and auctioned like pieces of fish
Chapter 9For Nancy, the weeks slipped by really fast, it was like the flight of a butterfly. She had no awareness of the time, spending most of the days in the cabin. She knew that three weeks had gone by already since that started sailing only because she had asked Sir Roberts. She spent most part of the day in the cabin, with Victory being her only companion during the day and Sir Roberts during the night. Over the weeks, the bond between her and Sir Roberts had grown rapidly, it was almost like he was a friend turned brother. After the last night they had the conversation about Luppet, Sir Roberts had not tried to touch or even do anything inappropriate to her. He had even grown to love Victory like his own. When they did not have visitors in the cabin, they would both chat away for most part of the night. It was magical to Nancy, how two people from completely different races could get along so well, it would have been even better if he was a girl. She was convinced they would
Fire in paradiseChapter 10Maybe it was a stupid mistake, running off like that. But there was no way she would be able to take living with Sir Roberts in the same cabin again after what transpired between them that morning. What if he decides to switch on her and hand her back to his lusty friends to do with her as they please? Or what if he decides to damn all odds and take her against her will? Never! She was never going to live to see that day, when a lilly livered man would use her body for his useless pleasure or sell her off as a piece of clothe? Victory's cry of hunger brought her thoughts back to reality. She stared down at the cat with pitiable eyes, they had been walking for hours, she was sure they left the cabin around morning, but right now, she couldn't tell what time it was but she could tell it was evening. The kitten was hungry by now, they had both not eaten a thing after the early breakfast they had all had that morning. "I'm sorry baby, I know you are hungry. M
Chapter 11Nancy was rudely awakened when the good woman burst into the room that morning. "Wake up! Wake up, child, before she returns and finds you here"Just then, the front door opened again and Anna burst into the room too, Nancy raised her head and saw that Victory was no longer beside her. Then she looked at the stern, hard faced woman standing by the bed and shot her a look of contempt. She wondered what the woman would do if she attacked her. She would probably run off screaming to the entire village that the cursed black magician had tried to kill her and she had narrowly escaped, she looked around and saw Mirabel staring curiously at her too, Nancy was yet to learn whether or not she had need to be wary of the child, was she like her mother or her aunt? She would never know."Be quick, child, go and dress yourself," The good woman continued, handing Nancy a rough woolen shift. "This place is not safe for you, the men from yesterday are everywhere now. They seem very convin