He turned and walked away from her.
“Master?” she called after him.
“I am not your master,” Branford said, snapping at the girl. “You are free to do as you will.”
“Free?”
“Yes, free,” he said again. “I have acquired you and done with you as I will, and that was to set you free. You may…”—he waved his hand around in the air—“do as you wish.”
Branford walked over toward Vanquish and Michael, and Janet’s gaze met mine.
“What do I do?” she asked, her eyes wide. “Where do I go?”
My mouth opened and closed soundlessly, for I had no words to give her. I shook my head slowly and watched her look over to Sir Leland’s retreating form with longing. I wondered if she would truly consider returning to that horrid man if she had no other options.
Janet walked slowly away from us as I wondered what the answers to her questions would be. Where she would go, and what she would do, indeed? My thoughts all along had been to save her from her abusive master, but what would life bring her next? What would even stop Sir Leland or another equally vile man from taking her again?
After Branford’s wounds were attended to and pronounced to be not as bad as they appeared, Branford gathered up his belongings and began walking back to the castle. It would soon be time to return to Silverhelm, and he seemed to be wasting no time getting ready to leave. I walked quickly to catch up with his long strides and reached for his arm. He stopped and turned toward me.
“Branford, we cannot just leave her here,” I said as he began walking again.
“Why not?”
My eyes widened, and I was surprised by his lack of understanding of her plight.
“Where will she go? What will she do?”
“That is not my concern,” he replied with a short shake of his head.
“She is one of your subjects.”
“Only in the most general way, Alexandra,” he said with a sigh. “She can find work here somewhere if anyone can look past her former status.”
“And what if they cannot? What will she do then?”
Branford stopped walking and put his hands on his hips as he looked to the ground.
“What else is it you think I should do?”
“She could…” I paused. I was almost afraid to utter the words. “She could come back to Silverhelm with us.”
“Absolutely not!”
“Why, Branford?” I asked as I reached out and wrapped my fingers around his arm. “Why can we not find work for her there?”
“I know nothing of her, Alexandra,” he said. “From where does she even hail?”
“We could ask her,” I suggested. “Can we just give her a chance? If you decide she is not what you want, we could at least—”
“For the love of God,” Branford suddenly yelled, and I took a step back, releasing his arm and preparing for the worst. He gripped his hair, and his eyes narrowed and darkened at me. He then let out a heavy breath through his nose and closed his eyes for a moment. “Fine.”
He stomped over toward the stands where Janet still sat, her hands in her lap and her head bowed. Branford approached and stared down at her. She looked up in trepidation and worry.
“My wife is in need of a handmaid,” he said. “Can you perform such duties?”
“Y…y…yes! Yes, sire!” the girl exclaimed.
“Then you may return to Silverhelm with us.”