If You're Going to Sell Yourself, Sell It to Me - Chapter 117

There are times when peace feels more frightening.

Just when she was getting used to this comfort, Georgiana feared it might all be a dream and she’d have to return to a muddy reality.

Last night, she dreamt of being dragged to a ballet theater by Willow.

Even though the dream was filled with guns and weapons Locke had taught her to use, she couldn’t resist at all and had to climb onto the stage and be stripped.

Fortunately, she woke before anything worse happened, but the uneasy, ominous feeling lingered, keeping her wide awake until dawn.

Her mouth was dry and scratchy, perhaps from an impending cold.

Not long after the sun rose, she heard bustling movement.

“You’re already up?”

“Are you feeling unwell? You don’t look good.”

Finn and Lily, the maids who had entered to tidy the room, rushed to her side and studied her face closely.

Their round, black eyes were full of worry.

“I didn’t sleep well. But now that morning’s here, I’m feeling a little better.”

Not wanting them to worry, Georgiana patted her pale cheeks and forced a smile.

The girls pulled back the curtains to let in fresh air and helped her change clothes.

At first, she hadn’t been used to this treatment and insisted she could manage on her own, but after hearing them say having nothing to do made them feel anxious, she had purposely given them small tasks.

“I’ll ask for a nourishing breakfast to help you recover. Your body can get worn down when the seasons change like this.”

“That’s right. Back when my parents were alive, they always made sure to get meat around this time of year, even if it was hard. Of course, it was more of a meat soup with lots of vegetables, but eating it kept us from catching colds all winter.”

“Maybe it’s time to switch to a thicker blanket too.”

Listening to the two chatter gave her energy.

They were sisters, two years apart, who originally worked at another plantation. That plantation had been completely burned in a riot, leaving them jobless.

Their employer had fled to the Northwest with only essential staff, and those left behind hadn’t even been properly paid.

It was sheer luck that they met Henry at the hiring office when he was looking for maids. They said lately, many people had been fired in the South.

It made her wonder how such a work-abundant region had ended up this way.

She worried for Raymond’s plantation.

Henry had said news would soon announce the emancipation of slaves and things would stabilize afterward, but in the meantime, arson and looting had continued, and more people were leaving the South each day.

Locke had also returned from town over the past few days with not just food supplies, but weapons. Four more guards had been added to the estate.

All were recently discharged soldiers, familiar faces to Locke and Henry.

Though they joked comfortably with Henry, they turned rigid like stone whenever Locke appeared. Even if Locke had retired as a colonel, the war was over—yet they still kept strict military discipline.

Seeing her confusion, Henry had chuckled.

Yesterday, Locke had brought back large logs to build a stockade, and the sound of construction echoed from the low hill behind the mansion all day.

Heading to the dining room upon hearing breakfast was ready, she ran into Locke and Henry, both looking slightly sun-tanned.

Though still wrapped in bandages, Locke wasn’t the type to rest just because he was told to. She hadn’t seen him use a crutch since arriving.

He was supposed to be examined by the doctor today, so she held back her nagging, deciding to wait until after the checkup.

Shaking her head, Georgiana sat in the chair Locke pulled out for her.

Perhaps Finn and Lily had spoken to the cook, as the morning meal was a hearty stew filled with tender meat.

Just one spoonful warmed her up and made her feel revived. Even her sore throat felt better.

Georgiana smiled gratefully at the maids attending to her.

“I didn’t think you’d actually build a stockade. Are you planning to set up a military post here or something?”

At Henry’s teasing remark, Locke looked at him like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“We can’t take lightly those who are armed with looted weapons. Especially when she’s here. As long as I’m around, I won’t tolerate even the slightest danger.”

Locke glanced toward Georgiana as he added, “Since there’s been a lot of arson, I’m thinking of making a water storage tank today. A nearby winery has agreed to give us some empty barrels. If we fill them and place them around the house, we can put out any fires quickly, so you won’t have to worry.”

“Even the Supreme Commander wouldn’t receive this level of protection.”

At Henry’s words, Georgiana nodded.

A stockade, and now barrels.

She didn’t know whether to be grateful or to tell him to stop already.

Still, she didn’t dislike the things he did for her.

Her heart fluttered again.

“Is there anything I can help with?”

She wasn’t thinking of taking the butler’s work, since it wasn’t a large household. But she felt idle and wanted to ask.

“If you have time, should we continue the training we started the other day? I’ve brought in a new whip.”

Seeing Locke’s eyes light up, she wanted to take her words back.

Just then, the perceptive maids intervened.

“Didn’t you say you were going to choose new curtains today? You need to pick them so we can get them tailored.”

Georgiana quickly nodded to the maids who winked at her.

***

“Where the hell did that bitch disappear to?”

Willow growled as he watched Raymond’s plantation from the bushes.

Security was so tight that he had been hiding like a vagrant in the underbrush for days, but he hadn’t seen a single strand of Georgiana’s hair.

He’d heard she was doing important work at the estate, but not showing herself at all was suspicious.

Still, he hadn’t seen her leave either.

“Didn’t she run away the day after she saw us? That would’ve been her only chance.”

Robert, having just returned from watching Sophie, spat and replied, “Where are we even supposed to look? I told you we should’ve gone into the shop with the police that day instead of following her. You were so sure she’d come quietly—look where that got us.”

Willow snapped viciously, “I told you, if we went to the police, I’d get caught first for the debts I haven’t paid. Do you know how many people are after me?”

“Then who told you to come all the way here and rack up debts? What, are you planning to stay here forever since you can’t go back to the Empire?”

“Once we get that girl back, everything will work out. No matter how much she resists now, once we’ve got her, she won’t have a choice.”

“And how are you going to manage that?”

“I’ve got an idea.”

Robert grinned.

It was a plan he had just come up with.

“She’s not our real daughter anyway. Once we get her back, we’ll drag her to a church and marry her off to you. Whoever she marries, the Supreme Commander will pay as long as we take her, and when she inherits that fortune, it’ll all be yours. If she ends up pregnant, there’ll be no turning back.”

“You’re a genius, Father.”

Willow licked his lips.

He had been holding off on selling her to get a higher price, but if she was the Supreme Commander’s only blood relative, there was no reason to sell her at all.

And with domestic abuse being ignored by the law, once they were married, no one would interfere if he stripped her down or beat her.

Beneath his desire to kill her, what lay deeper was a longing to dominate her completely.

Willow’s trousers bulged as he imagined Georgiana beneath him, crying.

“Should we spend a bit more money? I bet there’s someone who disappeared with her—we can track that person.”

“Didn’t you say you were broke?”

“I saved a little, just in case. This is the absolute last of it.”

Willow reached into his hat and pulled out a crumpled bill.

It was money he’d stashed to escape alone to the Empire if things went south.

But at this point, he was too stubborn to turn back.

Rather than die of rage, he’d rather kill Georgiana and die with her. If he succeeded, he’d have her leash—and her body too. Nothing to lose.

The next day, they bribed a servant and learned that the person who had disappeared with Georgiana on the same day was Locke—and that his home wasn’t far from here.

As they were scheming, a band of rioters happened to pass right in front of them.