Home of the White Dolphin - Segment 12

Chapter 56

March 28, 1846 – Nearing London

Elizabeth sat in the corner of the carriage, the large diary on her lap. She looked over on the opposite seat to make sure Robbie was still sleeping. It had been weeks since she had written what happened the morning after she had attacked Mitchell.

When she opened the diary to the last entry, she read out loud, softly to not awaken Robbie, “March 02, 1846. When Mitchell and I came out of the lodgings this morning, we saw Atwood and Robbie already waiting for us outside the carriage. The odd looks they gave us might have been because of the way we walked. My ass was still sore from Mitchell forcing himself inside repeatedly. In the past, he’d eased himself through my hole a tiny bit, giving me time to stretch before going in all the way. Last night, though, he’d not been gentle at all.

“While he held me down on my stomach, he pulled my chemise up around my waist. I felt so helpless lying there as he straddled my thighs. I couldn’t even move to kick him. When he leaned forward, he twisted my long hair around his fist to make me hold still. I could feel the rough cloth of his britches against my naked skin as he undid the flap’s buttons. Within seconds, the material was gone, and he was shouting, ‘Little girl, this is what Lord Edgeworth was going to do tonight.’ I screamed in pain as he dug into me without warning. Even as I struggled frantically to get free, Mitchell plunged deeper and deeper.

“All the while, I heard him using the most obscene words to describe what Lord Edgeworth would do to me over the next few hours. His weight held me a prisoner on the bed, even after he felt asleep. When he eventually rolled off me and over on his stomach, I was able to slide out of bed.

“What happened next was a blur, but I remember breaking the heavy slat out of a chair and heading back to where Mitchell was now awake and lying on his side watching me. When he smiled, as if the past few hours had not happened, I raised the thick board over my head. Hitting his legs as hard as I could, I heard him yell out in pain. As he moved on his back, about to roll off the other side of the bed, I brought the wood down once again.

“This time, I had aimed for his crotch, hoping to cause a bit more damage. I tried to catch my breath when he doubled over, writhing in agony. He moaned and rolled up into a ball while I knelt on the bed beside him, holding the slat ready if he tried to get away.

“So, dear diary, there we were the next morning, both of us unable to walk without pain. Mitchell did apologize for his actions the night before, shocking me when he said he was Lord Edgeworth’s bastard. I still don’t believe his lies about his father’s treatment of Jane when she was younger, and know the older man would never have hurt me either.

“I just decided to drop the subject and let Mitchell think he’d convinced me of his father’s perversion with young girls.”

Elizabeth stopped reading and put the diary back into her satchel when she saw Robbie waking up. The carriage came to a halt, and she looked out the window to see the rain was once again coming down in torrents. The door opened, and Mitchell swung down from topside and came inside, water dripping off his hair and clothes.

Chapter 57

March 28, 1846 – Nearing London

“Good, you’re both awake,” he said, shoving Elizabeth over to make room for him on the bench seat. “Atwood said we’ll reach London in a few minutes. I’ve told him to bring us right to the White Dolphin.” He grinned over at Robbie. “I’m just damned glad this trip is almost over, and I can get back to sea. I don’t know about you, my boy, but I’m not a landlubber and need the sea under me.”

He turned to face Elizabeth, who had been silent since he entered the carriage. “I’ve been thinking about what to do with you, baby girl. You’ll stay on board until I can see if Artemus Tucker can find you some type of position in London.” He nodded, pleased with himself for coming up with a solution about what to do with her.

Elizabeth’s back became ramrod straight at the thought of someone else deciding her future. “There is no need for Mr. Tucker’s help or for me to be a burden any longer to you. There must be a hotel near the docks I can stay at while finding a ship to take me back to Boston.” She stubbornly raised her chin to say, “I have enough coin for the hotel and the voyage, so please tell Atwood to find me a hotel before you go to your ship.”

Robbie interrupted her. “Sir, she can’t stay at any of those places alone. One of those bastard dock rats would snatch her up quicker than spit on catching sight of her. He wouldn’t care if she’s not a whore.” He looked at Elizabeth, not seeing Mitchell’s frown when he said, “I’ll go with you to let them know you’re a lady. I have the knife Cripton gave me and will protect you with that.”

“Robbie, shut up!” Mitchell snapped, before he turned his sudden anger on Elizabeth. “You are not going to stay at any dockside fleabag of a hotel. You are not going to go back to Boston. You are not going to disobey me when I give you an order, and you will stay on the ship until Artemus finds you a governess position. Is that understood?”

Mitchell hadn’t forgotten the lesson she gave him weeks earlier. Before giving her these instructions, he made sure there was nothing close by that she could use on him. Old habits were hard to overcome, and giving orders came naturally to him. He patted her arm, as he would a recalcitrant child, when Elizabeth stayed silent. “Sulk all you want, Elizabeth, but you’re still have to obey me while you’re under my care. Now, look outside. See where we are? We’ll be at the White Dolphin in a few minutes.”

The carriage rattled over the cobblestones leading to the dock where Mitchell’s ship was berthed. As soon as Atwood brought the horses to a full stop, Robbie jumped out and ran toward the gangplank. “Cripton, we’re back,” he yelled. “Where are you? Can you hear me? We’re back.”

“Robbie me boy,” came a loud voice from the top of the gangplank. “I think everyone in London can hear you.” Cripton slowly walked down to meet the excited youngster. His welcoming smile at seeing Mitchell standing on the dock disappeared when he caught sight of Elizabeth climbing out of the carriage.

Chapter 58

April 19, 1846 – Aboard the White Dolphin

Once aboard the ship, Mitchell had Elizabeth’s belongings taken to his cabin. This was over her strenuous objections and demand for a separate cabin. They hadn’t slept in the same room since the morning she attacked him. He always rented two rooms after that, even after his bruised and swollen genitals had returned to normal.

That night, Elizabeth sat at the table reading, still not ready to get into bed. She jumped at the sound of the door slamming shut when Mitchell came into the cabin. Elizabeth got up and moved backwards as he came toward her. She could see the lust in his eyes when he got closer. “I don’t want you here,” she shouted looking around for something to defend herself with. “You can’t stay.”

"Oh, you’re so wrong there,” Mitchell said softly, while grabbing her around the waist. “I plan to stay all night.” Weeks of celibacy had made him hornier than he’d ever been before. Mitchell still felt guilty because of the way he’d treated Elizabeth during that night, and he was determined to be gentle. “Now, little one, don’t fight me. Behave and let me show you how much I’ve missed you.” He undid the robe’s sash and pulled the sides of the material apart to reveal that was all she was wearing.

He felt his sudden hard arousal and forgot his vow to be gentle with her. He stripped Elizabeth’s robe off and quickly began to remove his own clothes. When she tried to get out of his loose grasp, Mitchell undressed in record time. “I told you not to fight me tonight,” he whispered, his hands moving to slide under her bottom and lifted her up off the floor. In this way, he carried her across the room toward his bed.

Elizabeth fought to get down when she felt his thick shaft pressing against her. “I hate you,” she yelled, just before finding herself flat on her back in the middle of the bed. “You are a liar, and I want you to leave me alone right now.”

Mitchell ignored her and stretched out on top of the struggling girl. Leaning on one elbow to keep his weight off her, he slid his other hand down between their bodies. When his probing fingers felt the soft skin of her inner thighs, he tried to move her thrashing legs apart with his hand. Failing that, he removed his hand and tried to wedge a knee there instead. “Hold still, baby,” Mitchell managed to get out, while trying to ward off the blows Elizabeth was aiming at his head. “I don’t want this to hurt you, so please behave and hold still for me.”

He decided there was only one way to stop her fighting the inevitable. Using both his knee and his hands, he roughly pulled her thighs apart. He guided his penis through her soft pink entrance, groaning at the pleasure this gave him. Her angry movements accomplished nothing except to add to his enjoyment of her. Every time she raised her hips in an attempt to roll him off, Mitchell plunged deeper inside her.

Even as he enjoyed her lower body, Mitchell leaned down to press his mouth against her lips. This effectively cut of her complaints, and his tongue swept inside to taste the sweetness of her mouth. Hearing Elizabeth give a little moan as his tongue mated with hers, Mitchell knew she was through fighting him.

Thus began the long voyage of the White Dolphin as the ship made its way from London over the Atlantic Ocean to the West Indies.

Chapter 59

December 03, 2008 – Early morning in the mansion’s dining room

Walker quickly discovered how unimportant men were in planning a wedding. As soon as he sat down after making the announcement, the table was surrounded by a gaggle of women. All were vying for Samantha’s attention, wishing her good luck and completely ignoring the two men at the table.

“I think we’d better get out of here while the going’s good,” shouted Jack, leaning back behind Edith who was sitting between him and Walker. He had to shout to be heard since a few of the elderly women were standing around the table loudly discussing such things as outfits, decorations, and something called a groom cake.

Walker reached over in the other direction and gently turned Samantha’s face toward him. She looked dazed at the commotion surrounding their table. “Sweetheart, I’m leaving you to do whatever you want for the wedding.” After giving her a passionate kiss, ignoring everyone else in the room, Walker got up from the table. He then bent down to whisper, so only Samantha heard, “This is your present, so just tell Edith what you want, and we’ll make it so. I love you.” Saying those heartfelt three words, Walker softly touched her face. He then followed Jack away from the table and made his way out of the dining room.

Once out in the corridor, Jack waited for his friend and employer, to catch up with him. “Old friend, you might as well learn right now you are in the way, and will be for the next three weeks.” He grinned at the puzzled look on Walker’s face. Being an only child, Walker had no experience with the madness a wedding generated among women.

“So?” asked Walker, glancing back into the dining room, “what do I do?” He caught sight of Samantha’s red hair surrounded by the gray of the many females, including his mother. Even out in the corridor, he could hear the noise from the crowd surrounding that table.

Jack thought for a minute, and then suggested, “I’d like to read more of that sailor’s log. How about it?” Not waiting for Walker to agree, Jack walked down the corridor and across the large entrance room to the glass elevator.

Once inside Walker’s apartment, both men went into the office. There on the desk was Colin’s journal, forgotten when Samantha had returned the night before. Curious, since he’d never seen the journal before, he picked it up.

Walker angrily pulled it out of Jack’s hands. “This is private.” He turned his back on his shocked friend, went behind his desk, and punched the buttons to open his wall safe. “Jack, let me get Whiting’s log, and I’ll meet you in the living room.”

Although he didn’t understand Walker’s anger about the journal, Jack took the not-so-subtle hint to leave. Soon, Walker joined him in the living room holding the thick ship’s log. Colin’s journal once again was locked inside the office safe, away from everyone except Walker. Some day in the future, he would be able to read the horrors written inside the journal, but not yet.

He joined Jack at the table by the large window on the far side of his living room. Jack already had poured coffee for them, and waited to judge Walker’s mood after his angry outburst. Walker opened Mitchell’s log to the point where he’d stopped reading. “He sure doesn’t update this often. He didn’t write anything until July 30, 1846. It looks like they’re out at sea someplace.”

Jack sat quietly, waiting for Walker to start reading. He didn’t have to wait long.

Walker began reading out loud what Mitchell wrote. “I don’t know what’s pissing off Elizabeth, but she’s been snapping at everyone lately. She was unhappy at first when I forced her to come along on the voyage to the British West Indies, and it took weeks for her to get over that.

“I even let her help the cook after the crew started complaining about their meals. This stopped their constant bitching about having a female on board, once they tasted her cooking. These last few days, she’s refused to stay in the galley, yelling it was too hot. Cookie even banned her from his area after she threw an iron frying pan at him. My baby girl sure has a temper, and it’s getting harder and harder to calm her down in my bed. As we neared the windward island of St. Lucia, I hoped being once again on land would improve her sour disposition.”

Walker made a face when he stopped to take a sip of his cold coffee. “He doesn’t write anything until October. Can you get us some more coffee while I keep reading?” Jack nodded and went into the small kitchenette. He returned with a pot and refilled both of their mugs.

“His next entry is for October 17, 1846.” After taking a big gulp of the hot coffee, Walker continued reading, “We’ve been having squalls ever since leaving the islands on our way back to London. Most have been minor, but we look to be heading into a fierce storm. Those storm clouds off in the distance have been piling up and growing darker all day. Cripton had the crew string lines around the deck, and they know to use them if the sea gets any rougher. To be safe, I’ve ordered both Elizabeth and Robbie to stay below.”

Chapter 60

October 17, 1846 – Aboard the White Dolphin

The full force of the storm had overtaken the ship hours earlier, and Mitchell was fighting the wheel in an attempt to keep the White Dolphin from foundering. Even some of the experienced sailors repeatedly crossed themselves whenever one side of the rolling ship and then the other ended close to the savagely tossing water. High waves crashed over the deck, dragging everything not tied down back into the raging sea. Rain had soaked all the men down to their skin, and the wind tore at their clothes. Once fierce gust pushed Mitchell away from the wheel and onto his knees. Unable to help, the sailors a distance away watched Mitchell struggle to his feet and grab the rapidly turning wheel. Beneath his torn and soaked shirt, the muscles in his arms bulged as he fought to regain control of his ship.

Cripton, holding on to the lines for dear life, finally managed to reach Mitchell. Crashing sea water swept over both men, but Cripton strained along with his captain to keep the ship upright. Suddenly, he yelled loud enough for Mitchell to hear over the roaring storm, “Oh criminy, Mitch, what’s that stupid boy doing topside?”

Mitchell looked where Cripton was pointing and saw Robbie at the top of the stairway wildly waving his arms. The wind caught whatever he was yelling and carried his words away. Even from that distance, Mitchell could see the terrified expression on the young boy’s face. Leaving Cripton to fight the storm alone, Mitchell slowly crossed the deck, using the line to keep from being blown overboard.

When he reached the stairway leading below, Mitchell pushed Robbie down the stairs until he could make out what the boy was yelling. “Oh no, not now,” Mitchell moaned, heading toward his cabin with Robbie following closely on his heels. When they burst into Mitchell’s cabin, the sight in front of him almost brought Mitchell once again to his knees.

Continued in next segment

Home of the White Dolphin - Segment 13  (GC) Chapters 61 thru 65 #2091638 by J. A. Buxton