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-Chapter
4-
Midday
on March 6, 1609
-Liam-
They had arrived in the middle of a
merchant transaction. He had seen the Cirian guards approaching on their black horses
with their swords and knew it was over. It was finally over. An odd sense of
relief rippled through his body.
As the guards
approached, Liam submissively trudged out to meet them. Though he willingly
surrendered, the guards wasted no time in taking him down. With swords drawn and
clubs raised, they beat him into submission. The physical beating was nothing
in comparison to the shame that overwhelmed him. He prayed for a swift end—or
even better, death. Neither happened. The guards whipped him just enough for
him to remain conscious of the beating’s agony. Once they’d had their fill, they
forced him into shackles and chained him behind their horses, ordering him to
keep up behind them.
Liam couldn’t see
where he was going. His eyes were swollen shut from the beating and from the
tears of shame. The only thought of consolation was, It’s over.
Trudging along, dragging
one foot in front of the other, his mind wandered back to how he had arrived
here. How did he, a respected businessman and trader who loved his wife and
family, ever get here? Of all people,
he had been convinced that he would
not succumb to the temptation of the shipyard maidens. He knew what they were. He
knew. He had even shared with Roselyn countless times what an evil influence
they were and how he must keep his distance.
What happened?
Moments of
weakness had happened. He shuddered at the memory of it all. He had thought he
could resist their advances. He thought he was strong enough. But he wasn’t.
It had started out
as innocent flirtation. Opal Shade, a young woman who frequented the shipyard
often, enjoyed doting attention upon Liam. Her father had long worked beside
Liam in the shipyard as a fellow merchant, Liam he knew Opal well. Slim with
long, flowing blonde hair, she certainly caught the attention of many men. She
was not blind to the effect she had on them.
Opal’s father
often sent her on small errands to do business with Liam. He would send her to
collect a fee here or gather a signature there. Opal never objected. She
enjoyed Liam. He always had a kind word of encouragement for her. Soon what
started out as innocent business dealings turned into subtle and then
not-so-subtle flirtations. Young women such as Opal know how to get a man’s
attention. And she began doing so with ease.
Knowing that it to
be against the Cirian court law for an adult man to have relations with a young
unmarried woman without parental consent, Liam was cautious. Then again, he
considered himself safe, for there was no chance of a married man such as
himself ever crossing that line. Looking back now, he shook his head with how wrong
he had been.
It wasn’t long
before Opal formed an unhealthy attachment to Liam. She began to see him as more
than the absent father figure. Before long she was openly drawn to him, wanting
him for her own. To secure him, she enlisted the help of another young woman
from the shipyard. Power in numbers,
Liam later supposed. Atilla was a fiery redhead whose behavior matched the
color of her tresses. Opal’s parents had long since forbidden her from spending
time with Atilla, but Opal paid them no heed. The more time the women spent
together, the more influence Atilla had over Opal. It was Atilla’s idea to
start with the sketches. They began sketching each other and delivering the
sketches to Liam during their business dealings. At first the sketches were
fairly innocent. That quickly changed. Soon Liam was receiving drawings of what
the two women were doing with one another.
At first he was
shocked by such behavior. He couldn’t believe that any young woman would contemplate
doing what they were doing, let alone send him sketches of it. Unsure of what
to do, he contemplated confiding in Opal’s parents about her behavior. His fear
in their reaction prevented him from doing so. There was nothing he could do
besides burn the drawings in the hope that they would soon end. The sketches,
however, kept coming. Each day he received a new drawing deliberately tucked
into his office desk. The shock soon dissipated, to be replaced with intrigue.
Day after day,
month after month, the young women worked at breaking down Liam’s defenses. To
them it was a fun diversion, nothing more than a flirtatious game.
It wasn’t long
before they approached him in the cabin of his ship one weary evening. With his
defenses down, they taunted and teased him until he relinquished. Thinking back
on it now, he should have run. But he didn’t. There, in the cabin of the ship, the
young women joined in performing illicit acts with one another. Yes, he should
have run. But he didn’t. Their behavior, though appalling, awakened within him
an inexorable urge.
Soon it was all
over.
Or at least the
act itself was over. It had left him feeling shallow and empty. Shame crept in.
He looked on in disgust at the maidens as they giggled and dressed themselves.
“Leave now,” he
gruffly commanded.
The girls looked
at him and giggled, relishing in their new sense of conquest. They grabbed their
belongings and traipsed up the cabin stairs. At the top they had the gall to
call out, “Tomorrow, Liam! We’ll be back for more!”
Liam shook his
head, wishing that it had all been a hellish nightmare from which he would
shortly awaken. It wasn’t. The girls came back for more the next night, and the
night after that, and the night after that. To them it was all a game. Liam
wanted out, but his guilt and shame held him there. And his need.
What had started
off as simple flirtation turned into a dark, ongoing relationship. In time
Atilla became bored and moved on. But not Opal. Craving attention, Opal
repeatedly came back to Liam. She used what her friend had taught her. And it
worked.
Liam sank so low
that he thought he was beyond restoration, beyond hope or repair. He knew he
had to call it off for the sake of his marriage, for the sake of Roselyn. She
could never find out the horror of his secret. It would destroy her. But each
time Opal came back, he fell to her advances.
There were occasional
times when he was strong enough to resist them. But Opal was persistent. She
knew what she wanted and knew how to get it. More often than not, Liam caved to
her desires.
He would cave no
longer. Dragged in chains behind the guards’ horses, he couldn’t help but
breathe a shallow breath of relief. He was finally free of the women and their
advances.
