“My room is the one right by the stairs. If the pain gets to be too much come wake me.” She gathers the dishes and then gives me and Sophia each a pointed look. “You need to eat all your food so your bodies can heal. There’s a lot of work to be done. Everyone works here to earn their keep.” An icy ripple spreads down my spine. Miss Ella looks at Sophia. “As soon as you’re up to it you can help me in the kitchen.” And then she looks at me. “River says you’ve been born with a green thumb. That’s a good thing because no one around here likes to garden, and I’m too old to be playing with flowers. We can do with some color around here, so as soon as you’re better you can fix the gardens up nicely.”

She looks pleased with herself. “Now get a good night’s rest and I’ll see you in the morning.”

I can go on gardening here? Miss Ella said nothing about sex. Come to think of it neither did Mistress and Master Ryland. That doesn’t mean anything! As soon as we’re better they’ll put us to work. After all, Miss Ella said we have to earn our keep.

I wake up in the dead of the night, my body and sheets soaked with sweat. The pain is like a fire, devouring every inch of me. The pain eats at me and I can’t keep the whimper in, “Sophia.” She doesn’t stir and I call a little louder, “Sophia.”

The light flashes on and I blink so my eyes can adjust to the sudden light. Mistress Ryland comes to the bed, a look of concern clouding her face. She’s still dressed in the shorts and shirt from earlier, her clothes now creased. I’ve never seen a Mistress who cared so little about her appearance. She’s not even wearing make up!

A flash of hot pain tears through my legs, bringing hopeless tears to my eyes.

“Do you need something, Jack?” she whispers. Her cool hand rests on my forehead for a few seconds.

“Painkillers,” I groan so softly I can hardly hear myself.

She pours some water into a glass and takes two pills out of a box. She places the pills in my mouth and then holds the glass to my lips so I can drink. I take a few sips. The pain is making me hot and thirsty.

Mistress Ryland rinses a cloth in a bucket and then presses it to my forehead, and then my cheeks and neck. I notice that she works gently as she wipes my body down. The cloth is nice and cool, and together with the painkillers it eases the relentless pain until I drift off to sleep.

~*~

Chapter Eight

River~

It’s been five days since Jack and Sophia were brought here. Sophia started helping in the kitchen yesterday. She’s healing nicely. She seems to have taken a liking to Miss Ella and I’m grateful for that.

A lot of the people we rescue cling to Miss Ella. They see her as a mother figure. She plays a big part in their recovery.

Jack should be up and about soon. He’s eating on his own and last night he slept right through, without having to wake for painkillers.

I walk to the kitchen and find Sophia busy peeling potatoes. “If you’re not careful Miss Ella will have you only peeling potatoes. She hates to do that.”

Sophia smiles her brilliant smile. Even with all the welts and wounds she’s still the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. “I don’t mind,” she says softly.

“Hush, child,” Miss Ella says. “You know my old hands don’t want to peel and grate anything anymore.”

I laugh, always trying to get a rise out of Miss Ella. She’s so easy to tease.

“Actually,” I say, walking over to Sophia, “I wanted to steal Sophia for an hour. I think it’s time she meets everyone.”

“You can have her for an hour, but bring her back so she can finish helping me.”

I take Sophia’s hand and pull her behind me. “Thanks, Miss Ella.”

We slip out the back door and walk in the direction of the farmland. “We farm our own vegetables and fruits here,” I start to explain to Sophia. “We have some cattle and fowl, as well, but that falls under Tristan and Miss Ella.”

We approach a group of girls and they all smile when they spot us. Diane is still careful around us all. She was the last slave we saved. She’s only eighteen and her life has already been so hard. I don’t blame her for being careful. The other girls, Lizzie, Varsha, Jane and Kgomotso have all settled in. They work the piece of land we grow our vegetables on.

“Girls,” I greet them with a smile, “this is Sophia. Please make her feel at home.”

Varsha has a bubbly personality and she’s the first to step forward. She’s gentle as she hugs Sophia. “You’re going to be so happy here!” Varsha has been with us for seven years. She was taken as a child. We think she’s from the middle east. Most of the people come here with only their names, no past and no family.

Kgomotso is next. She’s an African beauty. She also hugs Sophia. “Welcome.” She’s not one to talk much, but when she does have something to say she doesn’t hold back.

Lizzy and Diane just smile at Sophia. For some reason Diane has taken to Lizzy. I think it’s because Lizzie is only seventeen. With their age being so close, and their dark hair and grey eyes, they could have been sisters in another life.

“The girls tend to the vegetables. We have potatoes, carrots, peas, pumpkin, tomatoes,” I take a breath and laugh, “we have it all here. You can get to know them better over dinner. Let me go show you the others.”

We find the other girls picking apples. This group is really tight. The two groups are polite to each other but it’s seldom that they socialize.

Jamie is another young one. She just turned twenty, but she’s been with us four years. She’s one of the cases that broke my heart. It’s her friend, Lolla who died. She took the blow really hard.

Savannah, Beverly and Julie are glued to each other. They were freed from the same asshole. I suppose they’re a little family. Jack and Sophia might be the same. Usually if people are freed together they cling to each other and the bond they’ve already formed.

April is our oldest girl, or woman. At thirty three, she’s a year older than me. We got her just in time. They were going to kill her because she was too old for the sex trade.

When everybody has had a chance to meet Sophia, we walk in the direction of the cattle. Kevin, Joe and Theo help Tristan with the cattle. Then there’s Maddie. She stays away from the girls. The person who took her sold her to a bitch of a woman, who took great pleasure in hurting Maddie. She’s got a fear for women since then. We leave her with the men. They make her feel safe, especially Christopher. He guards this side and he keeps a close eye on her.

I take Sophia back to the kitchen and notice that she’s very quiet. “Do you have any questions?”

She drops her eyes to my feet, a puzzled look on her face. “They’re all your slaves?”

I shake my head quickly. “No, Lovely. No one here is a slave. They’ve all been a slave at one point but just like you and Jack they are now free. Any of you can leave at any time. You are no longer someone’s property and you can make eye contact with all of us. You never have to submit again.”

Sophia frowns and I can see something is worrying her. I take her hand and hold her back. “You are not a slave. No one will use you for sex or beat on you again. You’re safe here. You can now live your own life.”

Tears well in her eyes and she whispers, “I don’t know how to live my own life. I’ve only been a slave, my entire life. It’s all I know.”

“I understand, Lovely. With time you will adjust to this new life. There’s no rush. Take it one day at a time.”

When I start to walk again she says, “Mistress…”

I swing back, shaking my head hard. “Your first lesson is that no one is the boss of you. I’m not a mistress. No one is. There is no such thing as a mistress or master. I’m River Sinclair.” I cup her cheek with my hand. “Say my name.”