CHAPTER12
Daisy hadn’t meant to tell them. She was never going to mention to them what Thomas had done to her, but she couldn’t keep it a secret any longer. After the beautiful marriage proposal, the shopping, the way they treated her like a queen, they needed to know the truth.
Maybe they wouldn’t want to marry her. Maybe they would ban her and send her back to Charleston, but it wasn’t right for them not to know. To understand why sometimes she tensed or jumped or had to get away.
More than anything she wanted this marriage to work and there could be no secrets between them.
The two men sat at a table across from her. In shame, she hung her head. She had been so innocent, so naïve, and the perfect victim for Thomas.
“Four months before I left Charleston, I was the belle of the ball. In some ways, I felt like I had the world at my feet. What I wanted, I received. When I attended a soiree or ball, my dance card was always full. Until Thomas Jones began to court me. He was the son of the richest man in Charleston. The most sought after by all the debutantes and I was thrilled that he wanted me.”
Closing her eyes, she tried to remember how naive she’d been. How she believed in him and never dreamed he would hurt her.
“We were the most sought-after couple in Charleston. Any day, I expected him to go to my papa and request my hand in marriage. Any day, I thought we would be announcing our engagement. Instead, I soon learned what kind of man he really was.”
She thought back to that horrible night, a shiver racing down her spine, and she gave a little shake unable to ward it off. Lee picked up her hand as did Ellis.
“A woman tried to warn me, but I thought she was crazy. She must be mistaken. My Thomas would never try to be inappropriate with me or any other woman.” A tear trickled down her cheek. “But she was right.”
She swallowed the memory returning with a kick, like it had just happened yesterday.
“At the biggest ball of the season, he took me outside. I thought he just wanted to steal a kiss and then we would return to the party, but he wrenched my hands above my head and tied them to a tree. Then he ripped the bodice of my dress to reach my breasts. The entire time I was begging him to stop until he finally slapped me twice, nearly knocking me unconscious. Then he lifted my skirts, yanking down my bloomers.”
She had to stop for a moment, the thought of what he did next so frightening. “His hands, his fingers were everywhere, and he kept telling me to stop my whining and enjoy what he was going to do to me. But I was begging him to stop.”
With a deep breath, she continued. “He yanked his pants down, lifted my legs, and was about to enter me when a couple came outside into the garden and saw us.”
Unable to stop herself, she began to shake.
“The man started to laugh and the woman ran in and told everyone to come outside. Thomas quickly untied my hands and pulled up his pants. In a matter of seconds, the garden was filled with curious people, including my mother and sisters who led me away.”
It all seemed like only yesterday, each time she thought about that night. The humiliation, the disappointment, the way she’d gone from being the belle of the ball to nothing but a street urchin.
“My family took me home. I expected Thomas to come to our house, apologize, and ask my father for my hand. But he did not. My father went to his house and asked him what happened. Thomas lied and told him that I was the one who insisted on going into the garden and that I let him get so far that he took my virginity. That he was no longer interested in me. That I was an easy woman, that any man could take me.”
Tears flowed freely down her cheeks.
“The worst part was that Papa believed him. When he came home, he immediately forced me out of the house. While my mother stood in the corner and cried, he told me that I had to leave right then. That he could not let me tarnish my sisters’ good names or let my evilness rub off on them.”
With a sigh, she gazed at the two men who had offered to marry her. Now they would no longer want her. Now they would send her packing.
“What did you do?” Lee asked, his face dark, his eyes flashing with anger.
“I spent the night in the park. For a week, I hid from the police, the brothel owner, and anyone else searching for me. Sleeping beneath the bushes in the park with an old blanket I found in the trash to keep me warm. Eating anything I could find. Still wearing my battered silk gown until I saw Mrs. Ida Newton, the matchmaker, putting up posters about needing mail-order brides. Then I joined her.”
Ellis looked like he was ready to kill her. And Lee’s face was red and filled with rage. They didn’t believe her and now they would no longer want her. All their fury was directed at her for being so easy.
She had done nothing wrong and yet she was the one who continued to suffer because of what Thomas had done to her. Once again, she’d lose everything.
“Have you spoken to your family?”
“No,” she said. “They don’t know where I am.”
“What happened to Thomas?”
Since they were going to send her home, she might as well tell them what she did with Blanche’s help.
“The night before we were leaving, I painted a sign that said ‘Beware Defiler Rapist. Guard Your Daughters.’ That night, I went to his house and left that sign on the big fancy gate to his estate. It was a small thing, but I had to warn other women away from him.”
Lee started to laugh. He glanced at Ellis who had a smile on his face.
“The next morning as we were boarding the train, the police stopped me and asked me if I had placed the sign there, and I lied telling them I was exhausted from getting ready to leave. Thank God, they let me go.”
With a sigh, she stood. “I’ll put the dresses back. You don’t have to marry me and if you want to send me back to Charleston. I understand.”
Ellis’s eyes grew wide. “What are you saying? You don’t want to marry us?”
Unable to stop them, the tears started to flow down her face again. “Of course, I do, but you don’t want a woman who has been touched by scandal.”
Lee shook his head. “If Charleston wasn’t so far away, I’d go there and kill Thomas Jones for you. I’d have a word with your family about how in the world could they turn their back on you and throw you into the streets. And then I would walk you through town in the most elegant clothes. You’re a lady. If you will have me, I will be your husband, protect you, and I promise no man would ever get away treating you like that again.”
Warmth filled her as she gazed at Lee and Ellis.