Captive Fox
Part One
by Bluebonnet
Disclaimer: Yeah, right, they're mine--NOT!
Rating: NC-17, although not in this part.
Keywords: Sex and discipline, need I say more?
Spoilers: Who knows? Who even cares?
Archive: Only at Persuaders
Summary: In a land where women rule and men are chattel,
young Fox Mulder is about to become Lady Dana Scully's
most prized possession...
Lady Dana Scully gazed around her, surveying the wedding
preparations with satisfaction. All was in readiness.
Tomorrow afternoon, she would take a groom.
She'd had her eye on young Fox Mulder ever since she had
returned from war--she'd been in the village one day, on her
way home from a day of working in her mother's clinic, when
a commotion behind her had drawn her attention. Turning her
horse, Thunder, around, she'd been confronted with a man,
obviously of the nobility but still a male, surrounded by
six or seven of the seediest women in the village. The
young man was sitting astride a fine-looking mare, and the
expression on his face was one of carefully controlled
terror.
"Ladies, please, I must return home now," he said, and Lady
Dana could hear the trembling in his voice that he tried to
hide.
"Not yet, sweetie," one of the women giggled, running her
hand suggestively up his thigh. "Stay and play a bit."
"Please!" the poor young man begged desperately, trying
unsuccessfully to elude the women. "My mother will be
looking for me!"
"Your mother didn't keep too well an eye on you, now did
she?" asked another woman saucily. "And now here you are,
all alone, all ready to be our plaything for the evening."
The women were about to pull Fox from his horse, and Dana
had no illusions about what would happen next. The poor man
would be the unwilling entertainment for the night in a
nearby pub, and his life would be completely ruined.
"Here now!" she called, clapping her hands together sharply.
"Leave the boy alone."
"Aww, my lady," grumbled one of the women, but Lady Dana was
well known in the village, and well feared.
The moment the groping hands had removed themselves from his
body, Fox had set Samantha to a dead run--the boy was gone
without even a 'thank you' to Lady Dana for saving his
virtue.
Shaking her head in exasperation, she questioned one of the
women. "Sally, who is that young man?"
"Why my lady, that's Lord Fox Mulder," Sally replied.
"Didn't you recognize him?"
"I've been away for many years," Dana replied, staring
in the direction the beautiful young man had disappeared.
"He has grown up."
"Indeed he has, my lady," Sally agreed, turning back toward
the pub she managed. "A fine looking lad he turned out to
be."
Dana had returned to her home and immediately begun making
inquiries about the Mulder son. He was available, she
learned to her satisfaction, and had been kept completely
innocent. She had known him as a child, but since they had
reached their teens, they had not come into contact. Lady
Dana had been sent to school, and then to a military
academy, as was the tradition in the Scully family, and
young Fox had apparently been kept quite sheltered by his
mother. He obviously hadn't lost the adventurous streak she
remembered in him from childhood, though, she thought
happily. It would make him an interesting husband.
Soon after, she asked Lady Teena for her son's hand in
marriage, and was accepted. Now the wedding preparations
were well underway, and soon she would take the shy young
virgin Fox to her bed. He was completely unspoiled, and
tonight he would belong to her. She smiled in anticipation.
She turned when she felt a presence behind her, and beheld
her mother's new husband. Lord Walter had been left alone
and unprotected when his wife had died six months ago, and
Maggie Scully, who had often turned an appreciative eye
toward Lord Walter in the past, had offered him a way out of
his dilemma. Lady Maggie's proposal of marriage had been an
answer to Walter's prayers--he'd been close to desperation
after Lady Sharon had died, for his own mother was dead, and
he had no daughters to care for him. Lady Sharon had died
suddenly, and had not left him a free agent in her Last
Requests--thus, his life belonged to the Queen. He was
desperately afraid of being summoned to court, perhaps given
in marriage to one of the London nobility, and never seeing
the town where he had spent his entire life again. When
Lady Maggie came to him, two weeks after Lady Sharon's
death, and asked him to be her husband, he had fallen at her
feet in gratitude. They had been married the very next day,
and Lord Walter was quite happy with the way his life had
turned out.
Dana liked her new step-father. He was an obedient and
loyal husband to her mother, just as a man should be.
"All should be ready by tomorrow afternoon, Lady Dana,"
Walter said, bowing his head deferentially in her direction.
"Young Fox is a lucky man."
Dana smiled. "Thank you, Walter. I consider myself quite
lucky as well-- Fox is the finest young man in these parts."
"He is a credit to his mother, and he'll be a credit to you
as your husband," Lord Walter agreed.
"Are we speaking of my new son?" asked Lady Maggie, coming
up to slide a hand possessively over Walter's behind, so
attractive in his snug breeches. She grinned at his blush,
and pinched him lightly. Walter didn't care for the tight
trousers she made him wear, but Lady Maggie insisted. 'I
like to see your shapely bottom displayed for my enjoyment,'
she had told him, and with a sigh, he had obeyed.
It was, after all, his Lady's right to choose
his clothing.
"Yes, My Lady," Walter murmured, submitting to his wife's
attentions gracefully. Lady Maggie seemed to enjoy caressing
his buttocks, and it was his duty and his pleasure to allow
her liberties with his person. Lady Maggie was much more...
physical in her attentions to him than Lady Sharon had been,
and after Walter had gotten over his initial shock at the
situation, he found himself almost enjoying it. Inwardly,
he was disturbed at his reaction--his own father had told
him that sex was a husband's duty, to be borne as often as
his wife demanded it, but that it was not a particularly
enjoyable task. Sex with Lady Sharon hadn't been repulsive,
but to Walter's gratitude, it had not often been required.
Lady Maggie was a different story--she could exhaust him in
their bed at night and then require his attentions again in
the morning. He felt well used...and well loved.
"Walter," Lady Maggie said seriously when her husband's face
had returned to its normal color. "I'd like you to have a
word with the boy. With his own father dead, I'm sure he's
had nobody to give him manly advice. Perhaps just a little
talk from you to ease his apprehension."
Walter nodded agreement. "Of course, Lady Maggie," he
replied. "I'll assure young Fox that he has nothing to fear
in the hands of a woman with Lady Dana's experience.
"Very good. Leave us now, Walter. I have important
business matters to discuss with my daughter."
Lord Walter bowed to the ladies and took his leave. He knew
exactly what he ought to tell Fox--he should pass on the
advice his own father had given him upon his marriage to
Lady Sharon. The only problem was--since he'd become Lady
Maggie's husband, the advice didn't seem to ring true any
longer.
Fox reigned Samantha to a halt and surveyed the countryside.
The Mulder lands overlooked a charming valley, into which
was nestled the village of Azure, and on the other side of
the valley, climbing the gently rolling hills, sat the
estate of Lady Dana Scully.
Lady Scully had come home recently from the army, and Fox
had not seen her since he was a child. She was living in
the Scully Mansion now, with Lady Maggie and Maggie's new
husband, Lord Walter Scully. Lady Maggie and Lord Walter
had only been married six months, and Fox had heard that
Lady Maggie had her new husband well in hand already.
Not long after she'd returned from battle, Lady Dana had
begun to cast her eyes about the village for a suitable
husband, and although he'd tried all his life to remain
unobtrusive, she had immediately set upon Fox and had asked
his mother for his hand in marriage. To his consternation,
Lady Teena had agreed, and tomorrow the shy Fox Mulder would
become Fox William Scully, Lord Scully the Younger, and he
would move across the valley to reside at the Scully estate.
The Mulder lands would belong to Lady Dana upon his mother's
death, as he had no sister to inherit, and men were not
allowed to own property except in very special
circumstances. His cousin Jake, for instance, owned the
lands his wife, Lady Iris, had left to him. She had
stipulated in her Last Requests that Jake be made a free
agent after her death, that he be allowed to live out his
life on her properties as if they were his own. A woman
could leave her husband with that bit of assurance, if she
was of a mind, and if she was of the nobility, but it all
still existed at the Queen's whim. Should a ranking Lady of
the nobility ask for Jake's hand in marriage, it was up to
the Queen to decide if Jake became the Lady's husband or if
he retained his freedom. If Jake was married again, his
first wife's property would then belong to his new wife, to
be passed on to any daughters they might have. Since Jake
and Lady Iris had had no children, it was in the Queen's
best interest to allow Jake to remain free; upon his death,
all Lady Iris' properties reverted to the Crown.
Lady Teena had impressed upon Fox the importance of marrying
well since he was a young boy. He had been guarded and
sheltered, and had remained pure and untouched, unlike the
boys from the village, some of whom had surrendered their
virginity at shockingly young ages. Fox knew his mother had
been sorely disappointed to never have been given a daughter
by her husband, Lord William Mulder, who had died lo these
five years earlier, and now it was Fox's responsibility to
see to it that the Mulder lands at least stayed within Lady
Teena's bloodline. He must marry and give his wife
daughters. It was expected. It was what a man did, what
men were bred for and taught from the time they were able to
understand the language.
Lady Dana had been a medic in the army, tending to the women
who were wounded in battle, and had seen a bit of combat
herself, if the rumors were to be believed. Now she had
joined with her mother's clinic in the village, where the
name 'Scully' was synonymous with excellent medical care in
these parts, and had been for generations. Fox thought the
tending of those in distress sounded like a wonderful
occupation, but men were not allowed to work. A man must
spend his days keeping his lady's house, supervising her
servants, overseeing her meals and the running of the
household, and raising his lady's children, but he must
never work. For a man to work, unless it was a situation of
dire necessity, was a disgrace upon the man's family name.
The Mulder name had stood proudly in the Azure region for
hundreds of years. Fox simply could not be the first to
sully it, so, with a sigh, he gave up any ideas he had about
interesting work outside his lady's home.
His father had taught Fox how to manage a large estate,
beginning when he was very small and training him well into
his teenage years. Once Lord William had died, Fox had
stepped into his shoes and continued the tradition of a well
run Mulder household. Lady Teena, who had no great
ambitions, and whose 'occupation' consisted of simply
being Lady Teena Mulder, had done her part to gently mold
and shape her son during his formative years. She believed
men should be seen and not heard, and as a result, Fox could
usually be counted upon to remain quiet and at the
background of things, demure and proper as men were expected
to be. He had a wild streak in him, though, and sometimes
Fox simply couldn't resist giving in to the impulses that
raged through his blood.
"You have a bit of your grandmother in you, Fox," Lady Teena
would say, smiling fondly when she was forced to punish him
for some misdeed. "She was an adventurer too. But it is
unbecoming behavior in a man, my dear, and you must learn to
curb your adventuresome side if you ever hope to make a good
match."
Fox would nod, apologetically accepting his well-deserved
punishment, and would remain quiet and sober for the rest of
the day. By all outward appearances, he was reflecting upon
his behavior and how he might improve it in the future, but
in reality, Fox was fuming. Why must a man be such a fool,
he asked himself repeatedly, but no answer was forthcoming.
Indeed, there did not seem to be an answer; it was simply
the way of a woman's world. Men existed to serve women, to
be taken and protected by them, and to give them daughters.
Even the female servants of an estate ranked above the male
members of the family, and Lady Teena had had to speak
sharply to a few of her servants on occasion, when they
would become a little too frisky where Fox was concerned.
Groping a man was one thing, she told them, and certainly to
be understood and forgiven, but to take things to a level
that would deprive Fox of his virginity before marriage
simply would not be tolerated, and would be punished with
the highest penalty allowed. Lady Teena intended her son to
go to his marriage bed pure.
And he would, he reflected. Since Lord William's death, he
had been a virtual prisoner at the Mulder estate, rarely
allowed to leave their lands even to venture down into the
village. Lady Teena had kept him so well protected, he
thought ruefully, that he might as well have taken his vows
to the Church. His reverie was interrupted by the sound of
hoofbeats behind him, and jerking himself back to reality,
Fox nudged Samantha. Perhaps if he rode off in the opposite
direction from the approaching horse, he could escape
detection.
"Fox!" He stopped when he heard his name spoken sharply,
and gave a small sigh. His mother had found him.
"How many times have I told you not to ride about the
grounds without a female escort?" she scolded him as she
drew near. "With your marriage to Lady Dana but one day
away, we must guard your virtue with increased vigilance."
"Yes, Mother," he muttered, dropping his head in shame. He
knew he wasn't supposed to ride alone, but sometimes he just
needed to take Samantha and feel the wind on his face,
without benefit of conversation with another human being.
Sometimes he needed to pretend that he had a modicum of
freedom, especially now, when the loss of what little he had
was imminent. "I'm sorry. I was just..."
Lady Teena smiled at her son, so shy and uneducated in the
ways of the world. "I know, my dear, but you must think of
your safety at all times. Unescorted men are an invitation
to some of the seedier women of the land, and here you sit
in plain sight of the village upon Samantha's back."
"Samantha would protect me from any bad women who might
threaten, Mother," Fox laughed, patting his horse's neck,
but Lady Teena was not amused.
"You must come back to the house at once, Fox," she told
him. "Lord Walter Scully has arrived, and has asked to
speak with you."
Fox looked surprised. "What does Lord Walter wish with me,
Mother?" he asked curiously, turning Samantha toward home.
"I do not know him well."
Lady Teena grinned. "I believe he wishes to have a word
with you before your marriage, man to man, since your own
father is not here to give you advice," she answered. "Lord
Walter has the look of a man tasked with a chore he would
put behind him rather quickly!"
Fox swallowed hard and followed his mother back toward the
Mulder stables. Manly advice. He had heard bits and pieces
of what was expected in a marriage bed, of course--all
children did--but he had no idea how much of it was
accurate, or how much information he might be missing. He
shuddered. The little that he thought he knew of lovemaking
was not pleasant, at least for men. His own father had
often told him that lovemaking was his husbandly duty, that
he was to serve his wife in any way and as often as she
pleased, and that his own thoughts and feelings on the
matter were unimportant.
"It's what we were made for, Fox," his father would tell
him, patting his shoulder gently. "We keep houses and
estates, and raise the children, and we leave the decisions
to the women. Your only concern, as a husband, should be in
pleasing your wife and in giving her daughters."
"But Father, what if I am only able to provide my wife with
sons?" he had asked, confused, for were not sons as
desirable as daughters? Did it not require both someone's
son and someone's daughter to produce another daughter?
Lord William had smiled at his naive son, and sighed. How
to explain the ways of an illogical world to a boy as
straightforward as Fox?
"You will provide both sons and daughters, I hope, Fox," he
answered at last. "Daughters to carry on your wife's name,
and to inherit her estate, and sons to bring you much
pleasure as you have brought me. You have been the joy of
my life, Fox. I only wish it was a fairer world I could
leave you, but such is the way of men in a woman's world.
This will never change. It's our lot to endure."
"Yes, Father," Fox had replied, but he was left with the
uncomfortable feeling that there was much about marriage
Lord William had neglected to tell him. Now, it seemed Lord
Scully would step in to fill the gaps in his knowledge.
"Lord Scully," he greeted the older man, stepping into the
parlor where his visitor awaited.
"Ah, young Fox." Walter Scully turned from the window,
where he had been surveying the Mulder gardens, and surveyed
the shy young man before him. He smiled. Dana had chosen
well.
"My mother says you wish to speak to me?" Fox gestured to a
chair and his guest seated himself.
"I wanted--that is, Lady Maggie has asked me to have a talk
with you, Fox. Before your marriage tomorrow."
Fox gave a wry smile. "The talk my father should have had
with me?"
"Well...yes. Tell me, Fox, are you apprehensive about your
wedding night?"
"No," Fox lied. "Not at all."
Lord Walter pretended to believe the boy. "Really? I was.
Both times."
Fox looked startled. "Both times, Sir?"
Walter nodded. "Oh yes. One woman's lovemaking can be
quite different from another, and I was also kept pure
before my marriage to Lady Sharon."
The young man before him blushed at the frankness of his
speech, and Walter softened.
"Lady Dana is a skilled lover, I'm told," he said earnestly.
"She will be kind and gentle with you, Fox."
"I--I lied, Sir. I am afraid," Fox admitted. "I don't know
what to do, what's expected of me. And I'm afraid of the
pain."
Lord Walter put both hands on Fox's shoulders and met the
boy's elusive gaze.
"The pain, Fox, is nothing to fear, I promise you. As for
the rest...well, I'll pass on the advice my father gave to
me."
"What is that, Sir?"
Lord Walter got a faraway look in his eyes. "Lie there and
think of England, Fox."
"But--"
"Not to worry, my boy. Lady Dana will treat you gently. She
is much looking forward to bedding you."
"Yes, Sir," whispered Fox, staring fixedly at his shoes. The
conversation was simply too embarrassing to be borne!
"Very well, then. I must return home--there are many
preparations to oversee before tomorrow afternoon." Lord
Walter stopped at the door of the parlor and gave Fox one
last, friendly smile. "I'll look forward to having another
man in the family, Fox. I've felt somewhat outnumbered
since my marriage to Lady Maggie."
Fox felt his heart sink a little further. Lady Maggie was
well known for having the randiest female servants in the
district. It was difficult enough for a man as shy as
himself to endure the stares, whispers, and touching from
his mother's servants, but what would the Scully servants do
to him?
Fox shuddered delicately. It could be worse. It could be
Lady Diana.
He was about to leave the parlor when his mother entered the
room, and he bowed respectfully to her.
"Did Walter reassure you, Fox?" Lady Teena asked gently, and
Fox shrugged.
"I'm not sure what he was trying to tell me, Mother," he
said frankly.
"Well," Lady Teena told him, seating herself on a convenient
loveseat, "you must trust your wife to take care of you. And
now, Fox--drop your breeches and get over my knee."
Fox gaped. "What? But why, Mother?"
She glared at him sternly. "You know you are expressly
forbidden to ride out without an escort, Fox, and yet you
deliberately disobeyed me. You took chances with your
safety on the very day before I am to deliver you safely
into Lady Dana's hands, pure and untouched. Had some women
from the village happened to see you, all our plans might
have come to naught."
Fox licked his lips nervously, glancing around as if
wondering about the feasibility of an escape, and then
sighed. He had never escaped his mother when she was bent
on punishing him. There was no reason to believe he could
today. Besides, he thought angrily, should he manage to
elude Lady Teena, every female servant on the estate would
aid in locating him and gleefully dragging him back to his
mother, hoping to witness his punishment for themselves.
"I hate being a man, Mother," he grumbled, hastily lowering
his breeches and arranging himself over her thighs.
"I know, Son, but it is the way of the world," she said,
before bringing her bare hand down sharply upon his upturned
bottom.
"Ow! Mother, please!" Fox yelped, surprised at the ferocity
of the smack.
"Don't 'Mother, please' me, young man," Lady Teena told him,
smacking him again and yet again. "You will not place
yourself in danger again, Fox. Is that clear?"
She had only delivered half a dozen blows to his unprotected
backside, but Fox already felt as if his skin had caught
fire. A no-nonsense woman, was Lady Teena, always getting
right down to business.
"Yes, ma'am, I--I promise!" he cried, his breath hitching as
he bit back a sob. "I won't disobey you again!"
She rained another dozen smacks upon his sensitive flesh
before allowing him to slip off her legs and kneel beside
her on the floor.
"I'm sure you won't, my son," she dimpled, "but come
tomorrow, it's Lady Dana you'll be disobeying on occasion.
You'll be lucky if she doesn't take her strap to you, unless
you learn to control these wild impulses of yours."
Fox was suddenly overcome with dread, and threw himself
against his mother's knees, wrapping his arms around her
legs tightly.
"Mother, I beg of you--don't force me to marry Lady Dana,"
he pleaded.
"Now Fox," she said gently, brushing the tears from his
face, "you have always known the day would come when you
would leave my protection and go to become a husband.
Indeed, you are far older than most men when they are
married, my dear."
"But why do I have to marry at all?" he bargained
desperately. "I'll stay here with you forever, Mother. I
can take care of you."
She laughed. "A man take care of a woman? It's absurd,
Fox. Besides, you are young, and beautiful, and many women
would seek your hand in marriage. It is a fine match with
Lady Scully--I had to turn away several other suitors
because I felt they would be inappropriate wives for you,
but Lady Scully is the perfect match."
"What other suitors, Mother?" he asked, hoping the
respectful tone in his voice would gain him an answer rather
than further punishment; Lady Teena did not like to be
questioned.
Her face darkened for a second, then cleared. Perhaps the
boy did deserve to know--it might make him more appreciative
of his current situation.
"Lady Diana Fowley, for one," she said carelessly, and
smiled inwardly at his shudder. "She offered me much gold
for your hand, and was quite disappointed when I refused."
Fox lay his head weakly against her legs. "Thank you,
Mother," he said gratefully. "Thank you for not giving me
to Lady Fowley. She's quite frightening."
She smoothed his hair tenderly. "Indeed she is, Fox. You
have had a gentle upbringing, and I fear Lady Fowley will
treat her husband badly. She has a reputation for being
quite cruel to her servants."
Fox nodded soberly. He knew about Lady Diana's cruelty to
her servants better than anyone suspected. He still felt
cold chills when he thought of poor Isaac, shivering in the
rain when Fox had found him, naked, a collar around his
neck, a chain attaching him to a stake in the ground as if
he was a dog.
Fox had ridden Samantha out that day, farther than every
before, and had not realized he'd wandered onto Fowley lands
until he came upon the poor man, trapped and miserable. The
man had surveyed him warily as he slipped from Samantha's
back, but had merely lain in the dirt, too weak to move.
"I won't hurt you, Sir," Fox said, and smiled at the look
the captive gave him; he was obviously a servant, and had
probably never been addressed as 'Sir' in his entire life.
Fox had been taught impeccable manners by his father, and
being the kind soul he was, they came naturally to him, no
matter the station of the person to whom he was speaking.
"How did you come to be here?" Fox asked, and the man took
several deep breaths before answering.
"I displeased my mistress."
"You must have angered her greatly, to find yourself in such
a position."
The man shrugged, saying nothing, his eyes averted.
"Who is your mistress?"
"Lady--Lady Diana Fowley," the prisoner told Fox, glancing
about nervously.
Fox did the same, at the unexpected answer, and realized
that he had ridden much farther than he'd realized. This
spot of land didn't look familiar at all, and he felt fear
when he realized he was upon Fowley property. He'd known of
Lady Fowley all his life, and the stories about her cruelty
were legendary.
"What did you do?" Fox asked curiously, examining the collar
which held the poor man. It was of the finest leather, but
had obviously not been well cared for, and was worn in places.
"I--I dropped my lady's supper tray," the man admitted,
shamed. "It was an accident," he added quickly. "I
tripped. I'm not the most graceful of men."
Fox smiled. "This punishment seems excessive," he observed.
"How long are you to remain here?"
The man stared at Fox, as if wondering at his stupidity, and
then realized that Fox was a member of the nobility. Being
a man, no doubt he had been punished before, but he wouldn't
understand the severity with which a male servant was
disciplined.
"They left me here," he said at last. "I'm to stay here."
"For how long?" Fox asked again.
The man sighed. "Are you really that stupid? Until I die!"
Fox's eyes widened, and his jaw dropped. Punishment by
starvation for simply dropping a tray?
"How long have you been here?"
The man closed his eyes weakly. "I don't know," he said at
last. "Days. The rain started this afternoon--I'm hoping
this will be my last day, but I still feel some strength.
I'm afraid I'll last several days longer."
"You'll last considerably longer than that," Fox said
determinedly, and cast his eyes about for a suitable tool.
Cursing the law that forbade males to carry weapons, he at
last located a sharp stone beneath a tree. Coming back to
his new friend, he located the weakest spot in the leather
collar and began sawing at it with the rock.
The man stared at him in disbelief. "Do you realize what
you're doing?" he demanded quietly. "If you're caught--"
"If I'm caught, Lady Fowley could demand that I take your
place," Fox finished for him. "Don't worry, my mother is a
kind Lady--she would never let that happen."
"But you'd still be punished."
"Severely," Fox agreed. "Maybe even publicly. But I will
be able to observe my reflection in the looking glass each
morning. That I could not do, were I to leave you here to
die. Can you walk, do you think?" he asked, helping the now
freed man to his feet.
The man clutched Fox's arm tightly and took a few careful
steps toward Samantha. "I think so," he said gratefully.
"But not far."
Fox removed his cloak and wrapped it around the shivering
man, then helped him climb upon Samantha's back. He mounted
behind the man, and quickly urged Sam onward. He wanted to
put as much distance between Lady Fowley and himself as
possible.
"What is your name?" Fox asked when they had at last escaped
the Fowley lands and were on his own territory again.
"Isaac," the man told him.
"I am Fox Mulder."
The man's back stiffened, and Fox held him steadily to
prevent him falling off the horse. "You're the one!" he
exclaimed.
"The one?"
"Lady Fowley asked for your hand in marriage, and your
mother refused her. She's been in a nasty temper ever
since. We had all learned to hate you," Isaac admitted with
a small smile.
"How odd that you should hate me, since I had no say in the
matter. Indeed, I did not know that Lady Fowley had asked
for me, but I am quite relieved my mother denied her. I
have heard many tales about her cruelty, and now I see they
are true."
Isaac nodded soberly. "You are right to fear her, Lord
Mulder."
Fox smiled. "Please, call me Fox. Nobody calls me Lord
Mulder. Besides, I am only a man--we are largely in the
same situation. I was only lucky enough to be the son of a
Lady instead of a worker. I am still chattel."
"Where will you take me?"
"I'm taking you to a deserted stable on our lands. I'm
sorry for the poor accommodations," he apologized, "but you
won't be detected there. I'll have our groom, Langly, feed
you and care for you until you are well. Then, you must
leave these parts. If Lady Fowley ever finds you, you will
be sentenced to death."
"And if she finds out about your hand in freeing me--"
"She won't find out," Fox said positively. "You needn't
trouble yourself further on that account."
They rode in silence the rest of the way to the stable, and
Fox helped Isaac down from Samantha's back. He settled the
weakened man upon a pile of old, musty straw, again
apologizing for the surroundings.
"I will send Langly to tend to you immediately," he said.
"And now, I must return home. I will be in trouble already,
for I'm not allowed to ride out alone," he grinned.
"My Lor--Fox--your cloak," Isaac said, still shivering with
the luxurious cloak wrapped around his naked body. "You
must take it."
Fox shook his head. "Keep it," he said. "You are in far
worse need of it than I."
"I--I cannot thank you," Isaac began, and Fox smiled again.
"If ever you come upon me, naked and chained, feel free to
assist me," he told the man jovially. Then, taking his
leave, he rode back toward the Mulder mansion. He had to
see to Samantha, inform Langly of their new guest, and then
face the music with his mother. Riding out alone, and
without his cloak, getting caught in a rainstorm--she was
going to be furious.
And she had been, he remembered now. His backside had
suffered much over that incident, but Fox had accepted his
punishment gracefully, comforting himself with the knowledge
that he had saved a life. It was the first truly meaningful
thing he had done in all his years, and he felt curiously
wonderful, even as he kicked and screamed beneath his
mother's punishing hand.
"Enough talk of the Lady Fowley," Lady Teena said tenderly now,
observing the fear that crossed her son's face at the
mention of that Lady's name. "You should spend the rest of
this evening in quiet reflection, Son. You are about to
become a husband. Your duties will be great, but I and your
father have prepared you well for them."
Fox nodded, rising to his feet and taking his leave of his
mother.
'Think of England', he mused as he climbed the stairs toward
his bedroom. 'I shall lie quietly and think of England
while my new wife takes my virginity.'
He shuddered again. He only hoped Lady Dana would be a kind
mistress. He never wanted to find himself chained, naked in
the rain.
End chapter 1