Saving Simona (Alone In The World Trilogy) Page 2

  Once Molly’s hair was complete, Gia turned back around so that her own hair could be pinned up. However, as it was, there were not any mirrors in the dingy room, so Gia was unable to see what Molly’s final work looked like in comparison to what Gia’s hair would have looked like if she had done it herself, like she had done for so many nights over the years. Leander had become so particular with his luxury girls’ appearances that the brunette had been forced to learn what it was that he expected of her. She ran her fingers lightly over her hair to see if it felt correct. Fortunately, it seemed as though Molly had taken notice of what Gia’s hair had normally looked like, and was able to recreate it almost perfectly.

  “Get dressed, everyone!” Rhody exclaimed. The red head glanced at the pocket watch sitting beside her, her eyes growing wide. “If the time is true, then Leander should be here within the quarter!” She finished doing the hair of the youth in front of her, and quickly ushered the rest of the women to the far wall of the room, where mounds of dressed and corsets of every shape and size were thrown beneath the single boarded window, the gowns damp from the rotting and leaking wood that made up the wall.

  Gia rushed over as quickly as she could, desperately hoping that tonight she would be able to grab one of the few corsets that fit her full breasts. For nearly a full moon, Gia had been unlucky enough to get one of the corsets designed for the younger women, and had often found herself struggling to breathe as she made love to one of her many customers. Occasionally, there would be a man here or there who encouraged her to remove her bindings but, on a normal night, she was only required to remove her petticoat and pantalets so that her customer could access his purchase with the easiest of access.

  Gia considered herself lucky in terms of her life, though. After the first initial year of selling herself on the street and making Leander as much money as she could, Gia had been pulled from the streets and exchanged into a more luxurious business due to the shape that her body had developed into. Any of the girls who grew with a much more womanly figure than the rest had been assumed to make more money, and therefore pulled for Leander’s gain. There were multiple girls like them in their room: the girls who Leander sold out to the wealthy men who came into the town off the ships from faraway lands, the men who were only staying in Leeds for two or three personal days away from their wives and children back home.

  Sure, these girls were still exposed to a different man nearly every night, but Leander took much more care in the health of the men before he would agree to sell them any of these girls. It was also these same girls who were awarded the bedrolls and occasional presents from Leander, such as the woolen stocking warming Gia’s feet. The girls were also occasionally gifted presents by their more prestigious lovers when they felt especially pleased with their purchase.

  One of these men specifically had taken quite an interest in Gia, and had been requesting her for four or five nights during his weeklong stay every other month. His name was Owen Boyd, and he was the son of a wealthy factory owner in Bristol. Owen swore up and down every time that he purchased Gia for a night that this stay would be the final time that he would purchase her as a lover, and that he was saving up enough money so that he could pay Leander a large sum of money that Father required for one of his daughters to be married. Gia always laughed and agreed with everything that Owen said, out of fear that the man would report her for being insubordinate, but she never believed that he would really bother with purchasing a girl like her. He may have felt a connection to her, but she was not worth the tens of thousands of pounds required for her hand.

  Gia shook the thoughts away as she felt another girl lunge towards her, trying as well to get to the corsets. Gia pushed through, though, and managed to snag the one correct-fitting shaper that was left in the pile. She let out a sigh of relief before she leaned over and snatched a dress off the top of the closest pile in order to find her usual dress below it, the damp material from one dress bleeding into the next around Gia’s hand until her fingers looked as though she had been playing in the grass first thing after the morning dew had fallen. Fortunately, the dress was not too far down, and Gia was able find it within seconds.

  The dress was just as cheaply made as the rest, out of satin, but it had the allusion of being worth more than it really was by the intricate pattern of flowers that was woven into the material. The bodice and interior of the skirt were an ashen blue, while the sleeves and outer edges of the skirt were a dark reddish-orange. There were ruffles all along the bodice and neckline, as well as around all the hems of the dress itself, be it the collar or wrists, or dragging along the ground. To the other girls, the dress was hideous, but to Gia, it was beautiful. It was also one of the few dresses that Leander approved for his special luxury girls. If he did not approve of their choice for the night, he would make them remove all their clothes and let him dress them. Gia had made the mistake of chooses a lesser dress once, and she vowed to do so never again. Feeling Leander’s threatening hands roam her body in his dress was more than enough for her.

  Gia stepped away and moved back over to Molly, holding her breath when the other girl pulled the laces of the corset taut against Gia’s back. The boning dug into the brunette’s ribcage, constricting her lungs and making it feel like she was breathing through a thick layer of smoke. “Gracious, Molly, could you make that any tighter?” she breathed out once the lacings had been finished. She ran her hand against her side, pushing down on the fragmented boning as she tried to make it stop digging into her ribcage.

  Molly chuckled. “You must keep that womanly shape,” the blonde reminded her. Gia rolled her eyes before turning around and doing up Molly’s laces. Molly, too, winced when the laces were pulled tight, the fragments digging into her skin as well.

  Gia glanced down at Molly and her corsets, wishing for the millionth time that one of her lovers would have purchased her her own corset at some point in time. Leander’s had been with the ring for nearly as long as Leander himself, and the stays clearly showed their age. The fabric was a dark yellow, and the boning was shattered, poking through the material along the ridges. Gia’s abdomen was calloused over now, but for her first year with Leander, the soft flesh found there had been constantly in shreds by the jagged edges. The girls were not allowed corset covers, either, so the material had collected many other stains besides age as time had passed.

  Gia winked at her sister as Molly winced again. “You must keep that womanly shape,” she mocked, wrinkling up her nose and squinting her eyes playfully when she repeated Molly’s words.

  Molly laughed and swatted at Gia’s hand, her breathing shallow. “Shush, you.”

  The girls smiled at one another before their faces turned stoic, hearing heavy footsteps nearing the door. “He’s here! Get in line,” a pretty black-haired girl whispered harshly, running to the middle of the room and standing straight, her arms locked against her sides, her back erect. The other girls did the same, forming two lines. Gia and Molly followed suit, joining the line nearest to the back. The other luxury-girls were in the second line as well. Gia looked down the line, and saw that all the luxury-girls had managed to find exactly what Leander approved of. Good. No one is going to face Leander’s wrath tonight.

  A man’s silhouette blocked part of the stream of light as the door opened widely, dust swirling in the air around the blackness. “Happy evening, my beautiful daughters,” the man cooed, his voice rich and velvety. He stepped into the room, his palms turned up and his elbows perpendicular, his shoulders swinging as he walked. He clapped as he looked them over. “My, my, my. How stunning you all look tonight.”

  He approached the girls, running his fingers over their faces and shoulders as he got a closer look at them individually, the majority of the girls forcing a smile at the man as he drew close. He stopped when he reached the end of the first line, cupping the face of the girl standing there. She had hair like snow that was piled high on her head, which, in combination with her sharp bones and alabaster
skin, made her look like a statue made out of the finest marble. Leander tilted the girl’s face upwards and towards the side, examining her face in confusion. “I have not seen you before, child. Methinks you are the precious peach that Harland brought in for himself two nights ago.” His eyes narrowed. “He decided to keep you within our ranks without my permission?”

  The girl nodded, her eyes downcast. “Yes, sir.” She glanced up at Leander before she darted her eyes away. She was clearly unsure of what to make of the man in front of her. As the ring did not target her for Leander himself, she never had the misfortune of knowing Leander intimately before she was properly trained in knowing the ways of pleasing a man. If Harland had brought her in, though, she must have had some sort of skill or experience that made him want to come back for more.

  Leander narrowed his eyes further. “Well, that is peculiar news. However, I suppose Harland figured that if you were in the ring, then he could use you whenever he so pleased. I see that he forgot that my men may not touch a single strand of the hair on my beautiful daughters’ heads.” He glanced down the line at the other girls to see if there were any other newcomers before he turned back to the platinum-haired girl. “What is your name?”

  “Helene Pond, sir.”

  Leander was quiet for a moment, once again moving Helene’s head side to side before he pulled her out of the line, circling her body, his eyes scanning her up and down. “I must admit,” he began, “Harland does choose nicely. I daresay that there will men of all sectors of wealth that would be interested in having you be intimate with them, once I have broken you and taught you the ways of this world.”

  Helene stared down at the ground, her pointed chin nearly meeting the neckline of her Byzantium satin gown. Gia felt sorry for Helene. The brunette remembered how intimidating Leander had been when she had been taken. She believed that his charm, attractive visage, and no-nonsense personality were what caused women to cower in his presence, especially upon the first meeting. He gets more terrifying with time, Gia thought to herself, trying to fight a shudder as her mind flipped to different things that she had heard or seen Leander do to those who betrayed him or the ring over the years. Gia could see that Helene was terrified.

  Once Leander had finished his inspection of the girl, he positioned one hand on her lower back, and placed the other on her shoulder. He pushed in, forcing Helene to straighten her posture and stand taller. “First rule,” Leander started, pushing harder so that her back curved even more than it already had, “is that corsets must remain tied at their maximum. Remove your dress and correct the error.” When Helene did nothing, Leander’s quick-fire anger began to show through, and he shoved the girl to the floor, his eyes ablaze. “Now, wench!”

  Helene’s eyes widened in fear, and she scrambled to do as she was commanded. She hastily ran her fingers down the front fastenings as she stood back up, the matte black buttons slipping from beneath her nimble fingers as she tried to be quick enough for Leander’s pleasing. Within a minute the smooth material slipped off of Helene’s shoulders, the open top gathering around the girl’s hips. She reached behind herself, struggling to undo the laces by herself. Tears begin to rim her eyes when she found herself unable to grasp at the ribbon on her own, her hands falling forward as she bit at her lip nervously.

  Leander shook his head and clicked his tongue. “Tsk. All beauty and not an ounce of brains in sight,” Leander said after a moment, shaking his head. “What a pity.” He turned his eyes to Gia, nodding her way. “My love, if you would…?”

  Gia stepped forward, curtsying and bowing her head towards Leander before she stepped behind the trembling girl. The brunette felt her breath catch as she looked at Helene’s naked shoulders. Covering the alabaster skin were a series of scars, layers upon layers of glossy pink flesh lining the curve of her shoulders in a criss-cross pattern. The variety of healing in the scars made it clear to Gia that Helene had been whipped many a time, for many a moon. She wondered if it had been the girl’s father who had done it, and if that was why Helene ended up seeing her body on the streets. Had she been forced into it, and beaten as a consequence of failing a customer? Had she ran away and needed to find a way to support herself, until she could find a beau that wanted to make a dowry-less woman his wife?

  Gia shook her head and came back to the present as Helene took a shuddering breath, the full extent of the corset’s hold compressing her lungs and disabling her from getting a full breath in. Once again, Gia found herself wondering what Helene’s background was, if she had not even known how a corset was to be properly warn during the field, especially if she was brought in to be one of Leander’s girls. She clearly had not been broken or trained yet. Harland had likely brought her in just to please himself for the night, as Leander had suggested. Gia remembered Leander had told his henchmen early on that although they were allowed to look at his daughters, they were strictly forbidden from deflowering his precious money makers, which led to many of the men finding woman from other walks of life, or at least independent, non-ring associated prostitutes, to please themselves for the night.

  Once Gia had finished the lacings (Helene was breathing shallowly in front of her still), the brunette took a step back and curtsied at Leander once again. “I have finished, Father,” Gia murmured, her eyes downcast and her head bowed. Leander smiled at her over his eyeglasses and took her head between his powerful hands, dropping a chaste kiss against her forehead.

  “What a good girl you are, my beautiful Georgiana,” Leander said, tilting her head up so that she had no choice but to make eye contact with him. He kissed her lightly on the mouth before releasing her face, turning back to Helene. He narrowed his eyes at her again. “This was the only warning you shall receive, child. You will spend tonight with Harland and Franklin. I do declare that you need to be broken and trained at the quickest convenience. Both men should serve you just fine.”

  Once Leander had finished speaking, his eyes brightened once again, and he clapped his hands together. “You are free to go now.” The girls began to head to the door, still in their lines. “Make Father rich tonight, my little darlings!”

  Gia made it all of three steps from her spot next to the man when Leander put his arm out, stopping her in her tracks. “I would like all my special ones to stay with me for the moment, please,” he said, reaching a hand out and smoothing out Gia’s hair. He smiled at her before turning to the rest of his girls.

  2

  “I have been asked by a very important group of men for you to come and make their acquaintance,” Leander announced as the girls gathered in a circle around him. He looked from face to face, his eyes wide as he spoke. Gia could not be sure, but his eyes appeared to sadden when they passed over her. “It will be much different than your usual visits with the wealthy, and I doubt that you will be staying in town while you are in their presence. Elijah is set to accompany you to the men’s home so that the vultures of the streets do not touch my most prized possessions during their travels.” He shook his head. “I would be devastated if anything were to happen that would cause me to lose any of you.”

  His eyes settled on Gia for a moment again before they left her again, glancing back around. “Remember, loves, that you may be asked to do things you are not comfortable with doing. However, that is out of my control. The men are paying me a great sum to borrow my most beautiful daughters, and I have an agreement with the men that, should any new beauties be found, you shall assist in bringing back your new sisters. You are not to touch anything else in their possession, as are their orders. If you do, I cannot save you from whatever punishment they decide is proper. Is that clear?” The girls all nodded. “Good. Elijah will be down any moment. Until he arrives, I will allow my girls to take rest before their journey.” Leander gave a slight bow before he turned and left the room, his coattails swishing behind him.

  The girls remained quiet until they were sure that Leander had left. A petite girl named Abigayle with dark blonde hair and deep bl
ue eyes spoke first, her airy voice crackling slightly. “What do you think these men will want us to do?” she asked, her voice tight. She began to wring her hands together nervously, her lithe fingers pressing against and running over one another in haste.

  Leah, a plump girl with fine black hair and dull Cambridge blue eyes, shrugged, twirling a loose section of hair around a single stubby digit, the thin, broken nail catching on a strand. “I haven’t the slightest,” the girl commented. She coughed lightly, her heavy bosom bouncing in her corset. Gia narrowed her eyes as she looked at the girl, unsure of why she was one of the women that Leander had wanted to serve to his wealthier cliental. She was nothing special, and her over-stuffed corset strained the dress. However, she was one of the top requests, so there had to be something about her that made so many men desire her. Gia mentally shrugged before moving her eyes to the wall.

  After a moment of listening to Leah and Abigayle giggle and laugh at one another, Gia turned to face Hester. The blonde struggled not to laugh, failing miserably when Gia contorted her body and pretended to be a dragon, her shoulders arched back to mimic wings. Breathy giggles filled the room as Hester couldn’t hold back any longer. Gia quickly broke down as well, her own giggles echoing off the walls as they increased in volume.

  As Gia stopped laughing, Elijah made his way into the room, shaking his head at the raucous of the five girls’ chattering and laughter. The man was the most lenient of Leander’s followers, and he was always nice to the girls whenever he happened across one of the them, be it while they were working, or when he was sent to their room during the day. His presence, however, was enough to make the girls sober up. They got into a line, curtsying one by one as Elijah nodded at and greeted each girl individually. “Good evening, ladies,” Elijah said, jerking his head to flip his light brown curls away from his eyes.