“You can have seconds,” Miss Champe said. “We’ll hold the auction on Friday night and I expect her to be very busy that night. All that glorious auburn hair is going to be a big attraction for the men.”
The man reached out and tried to grab her breast, but she moved out of his reach and quickly put on her chemise. She’d never been so humiliated.
The madam walked to the door. “Ben,” she called. A big burly man appeared at the entry just as she finished dressing. Did these people not have any shame? “Take Miss Tuttle to her boarding house to pack her belongings. Stand outside her door and do not let her escape. Make certain she gets back here within the hour.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said.
“She’s going to be one of the new girls. If she escapes, you will be punished.”
Pearl wiped her eyes, grabbed her reticule, and made for the door. She was going to do her best to escape from the hellish life they had planned for her.
“Pearl, don’t try to get away or you will be disciplined. I’d hate to auction you off with your ass striped. Do you understand?”
“Yes,” she said not looking at the woman, knowing she had to make an attempt to save herself.
“I expect you back here in one hour,” she said. “Now, get going.”
It was all Pearl could do not to spit at the woman, but that would only get her another beating.
“Welcome to the family, Pearl,” Mr. Wiggins said, laughing. “I can’t wait to fuck you.”
Without a word, she hurried out the door, her eyes swimming with tears. Her love of gambling had ruined her. Somehow she had to free herself.
CHAPTER2
When she walked into the boarding house, Mrs. Jones stared at the big man who followed her through the door.
“Pearl,” she said, her eyes wide with concern.
Unable to answer her, Pearl shook her head, her cheeks wet with tears. The woman had been so kind to her and now she had to leave.
The bodyguard followed her right up to the door of her small room. “I’ll wait right out here while you pack.”
“Get out of my way,” Mrs. Jones told the man and followed Pearl into her bedroom and shut the door.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
“I made a terrible mistake.” For the next ten minutes, she sobbed on the woman’s shoulder.
“Stop. Let me help you,” she said, pulling a flyer out of her pocket and handing it to her. “I saw this on a pole. I thought of you immediately.”
“Mail-order brides?” Pearl asked, staring at the information. Could she marry a man she’d never met?
How desperate did a man have to be to order a bride?
Mrs. Jones looked excited for her. “It would be a fresh start. A chance to find a good husband and have your own family. A place to begin again. A new town where you wouldn’t have to become a whore.”
“But that man is out there.”
The woman smiled. “I’m going to give him some of my famous desserts. You sneak out that window and run as fast as you can to the address on the flyer. Don’t stop for anything and stay off the main roads.”
Pearl sniffed. “Thank you for helping me. He won’t hurt you?”
“Why? I didn’t know you were planning on sneaking out the window.”
Hope filled Pearl and she pulled out her lone carpetbag from under the bed.
“Now hurry,” Mrs. Jones said. “I’m going to offer him a cup of coffee and a slice of warm apple pie.”