Chapter 001

KATE'S POV

Something was happening, there were voices, I struggled with the overpowering drowsiness. The room was lading away sleeping.

Someone was close, looking at me. Someone had taken my hands. I felt myself lifted up. Then I was completely lost in darkness.

I awoke suddenly. I did not know where I am, I was in a strange room. I was lying naked on a bed and my hair was loose.

I tried to lift myself, but my head was swimming and I felt dizzy. I was dreaming and this was some sort of nightmare.

Where am I? I could not remember what could have brought me here.

I tried again, but something stirred beside me,

I gave a little scream. My eyes had grown accustomed now to the darkness. I saw a window with bars across and my eyes could make out the outline of pieces of furniture.

I fought off the dizziness and sat up. Immediately hands were pulling me down, strong hands.

A voice said "Kate, my beautiful Kate..." it was a voice I knew. A voice I had often thought of, it convinced me that I was in some sort of nightmare.

I caught my breath and as I did so, he pulled me down; he forced himself down on me. I cried out in disbelieving horror.

This could not be happening to me. It was indeed a nightmare. I must wake up quickly.

But I did not wake up. I heard his triumphant laugh, and it was in truth the Baron who was misusing me and something told me that he had always intended to do this and that at the back of my mind, I had known it, feared it, dreaded it and - the shame of it - half wanted it. I tried to shout out, but his mouth was over mine pressing down on me. I was aware of the strength of him and was powerless. I tried to struggle but my limbs were leaden.

There was nothing I could do to resist him.

It was a shattering experience. I felt as though I were floating above the Earth into a world which was quite unknown to me. Strange, I was not resisting any more. I felt myself to be part of him, and I was fighting against a sense of exhilaration that threatened to overwhelm me.

It was over almost as soon as it had begun. He drew away from me. but his lips were still on my face and he was kissing me almost tenderly.

"Dear Kate," he murmured.

I was struggling back to reality. I put out my hands and felt his body. I was trying to collect my thoughts as they eluded me. The heavy drowsiness was still with me and I felt a great urge to close my eyes and lie there trying to recapture

that strange sensation which I had just experienced.

His arms were about me. They felt like iron bands. I heard his voice whispering words which seemed strange coming from him. "Kate sweet Kate ... Oh Kate," and I heard myself say, "this is a nightmare."

"It's a heavenly dream," he corrected me.

"Kate." His mouth was close to my ear. He nibbled it gently. "Don't try to think now, you can't. You're still in a state of blissful pleasure. Don't try to wake yourself out of it yet."

Now was the time for me to wake up, to find myself in bed at the castle, perhaps, since that had been where I was remembering I had been going. No doubt I had arrived late and so tired that I had slept heavily ... and being in the

castle had had this strange dream.

"Sleep! dear Kate," he said soothingly and he gathered me up in his arms as though I were a baby.

I must have slept, for when I woke up it was morning. My head had cleared and I sat up in bed and looked about me, I was alone. I realized that I was naked and when I saw the bars across the windows, the monstrous happenings of the

previous night came flooding back to me.

I looked about the room. It was like a part of the castle - large, with a high vaulted roof supported by strong stone pillars. There was a great fireplace and the embers there showed that there had been a fire last night. The bed was large and had velvet curtains about it and there were carpets on the floor. In spite of this it was like a medieval stronghold.

I had undergone a change. I felt bruised and unclean. I had to face the truth. He had brought me up here; he had taken off my clothes, put me into this bed and committed rape.

I put my hands over my face as the hot flush spread there.

Nothing would ever be the same again. Since I had come to France everything had changed.

The cosy world of Farringdon was slipping away from me and I had been plunged into intrigue and rape, the sort of thing that had happened

centuries ago And there was one man who was responsible for this. I could not get his face out of my mind. I realized I had been seeing it ever since I had left the castle. I had seen it in the gargoyles of Notre Dame. I had seen it in my dreams. I

wondered briefly if he had some supernatural power - a lot passed on from those pirate forebears.

I had to be calm, I had to consider the position in which I found myself. I think I had always known that he had desired me. There was something in the way he had looked at me right from the beginning. I should have been warned, for

when he desired a woman he thought he had the right to take her, whether she was willing or not. That was what the marauding Normans had done, and he lived up to the old traditions.

I should never feel the same again. I should never feel clean. He had defiled me and gloried in it. He thought that because he had humiliated me, he had made me his slave.

I had to get out of here quickly. Then I would think about revenge. Nowadays no man should be allowed to act as he had done. It was all very well to make love to a woman if she Consented. But to snare a virtuous woman and drug her and then take advantage of the situation, that was how the

cowards and demons worked.

My hatred was so intense that I was shaking. I must get out of here. That was the first thing.

I would go down to the woman who had given me a drugged wine. I would tell her that I was going to the police.

I imagined he controlled most things round here. He would say: "She spent the night with me willingly. . ." For he is capable of anything. Lies would be second nature to him.

I would dress immediately.

I stepped out of bed. I looked at the pillow still indented where his head had been. I punched it in sudden fury and was then ashamed of my childish gesture. It was an act of petulant folly and in spite of what happened I prided myself on being a sensible woman.

I had been betrayed. I had been raped. My attacker had been the one man in the world whom I hated most. But it was done. I had been violated. My body ... my mind .. my freedom to act had been taken into his control. I had been forced.

But now. .. the first thing was to get out of this place. I looked for my clothes. I could not find them. They were all gone, my shoes, everything.

There was a counterpane on the bed and I wrapped this round me. Then I set out to explore.

To my momentary delight the door was not locked. I was on a kind of landing and before me was a small flight of stone stairs, the usual

spiral kind Cut out of the wall, wide at one end

and narrowing by the post. I saw that there was one room in which there were toilet facilities. I caught sight of a mirror on a table

I saw that there was another room, In this were a table, basin and ewer. There were cupboards. I thought my clothes might be in one of them, so I opened them all, and there were towels and such things, but no clothes.

I saw that there was another room, in this we're a table and chairs. It might have been a dining room. But there were no clothes.

Cautiously I descended the stairs, a big door as facing me, it had iron studs in it and looked very strong. I tried to open it but was locked

I looked about me, barred windows everywhere, a heavy locked door, and no clothes. I was indeed the prisoner of the Baron's pleasure.

How long will he keep me here? Would he come again?