03. A Gentleman’s Honor, A Lady’s Honor

Thinking she couldn’t escape anyway, Alec didn’t stop Bronwynner from looking around. He even seemed to enjoy it. The room that was undoubtedly his final destination was as large as the Baroness’s room in the Bingham mansion, and similarly furnished. Upon spotting the bed among the furniture, Bronwynner averted her eyes.

“Sit down.”

He leisurely pointed to a chair.

When she remained standing, he went and sat on the sofa opposite the chair.

“Sit down. Maybe we can resolve this through conversation?”

Bronwynner inhaled. The room had curtains drawn, so she couldn’t see outside. When getting out of the carriage, she had checked her surroundings, but there hadn’t been anything resembling a private residence nearby……

So, she was alone with this lecher in this isolated house.

She slowly sat down in the chair.

“Then, Mr. Bingham, please explain. With words.”

“Alec.”

“Mr. Bingham.”

The firelight from the hearth dyed his auburn hair red. Bronwynner’s hair was an even redder shade. He demanded.

“Let your hair down.”

“I hate that.”

“If you do, I’ll explain what’s going on.”

She changed her mind. Was there any need to hear his explanation?

“The Baroness will be looking for me.”

“Nobody cares whether someone like you exists or not.”

She traced through her memories.

The Baroness had said she was taking the train to Perth with the governess and the children. Alec was originally supposed to accompany them, but breaking promises was nothing to this man. And Bronwynner’s outing to Bathgate was neither a secret nor anything special. Kaylee’s doll wasn’t at the mansion because the child had taken it with her.

“……It was all lies. That you returned midway to Perth, that Kaylee lost her doll.”

“Don’t you think I’ve been quite attentive?”

Bronwynner took a deep breath. Now wasn’t the time to blame herself. Foolishly, she had let her guard down for a moment because of the kindness this man had shown. He must have made this disgusting plan as soon as he learned the Baroness would be away for a day.

“Is it worth all this trouble?”

Alec took off his wet suit. The man’s skin and muscles were clearly visible beneath his dress shirt. To Bronwynner, it was nothing more or less than a horrifying sight.

Seeming to notice her gaze, he smiled again.

“Listen. You have two choices.”

Endure it, Bronwynner.

You must endure.

But her lips moved first. She had never managed to correct what Mrs. Reed, the headmistress of Perth Orphanage, called her “damn temper that invites trouble.” Even though she was merely a nanny, even if she was to be used and discarded as a nobleman’s plaything, she had the disposition to resist what she deemed unjust to the end, and that was Bronwynner Harcourt’s honor.

“Slapping Mr. Bingham’s cheek, or storming out of here?”

Alec rose and approached her. With her chin gripped in his strong hand, she couldn’t continue speaking. He applied pressure with his hand.

“The first is to become my woman here and be my mistress until I tire of you.”

He lowered his head to meet her eyes.

“The second is to provide equal pleasure to my friends who will soon barge in.”

She corrected her earlier conclusion. Alec Bingham was indeed trash.

When she shook her head vigorously, he released his hold.

“Both are disgusting.”

“Ah, but you’ll have to choose one. Because no one knows you’re here.”

Did that mean he could kill her without anyone knowing if she resisted? If his disgusting friends were scheduled to arrive, she didn’t have much time left. She had no reason to choose either option he presented.

“……If I accept your demands, what’s in it for me?”

Alec raised his arm.

She flinched, thinking he was going to hit her, but instead of swinging his hand, he removed a cufflink and held it before her eyes. She had seen similarly white, sparkling jewels on the Baroness’s hands.

“Real diamonds.”

Was the Bingham barony wealthy enough to have cufflinks made with such uncommonly brilliant gems……? If the Baroness had several such jewels, Bronwynner’s ears would have worn out listening to her boasts.

She blinked. Mistaking this for admiration, the man attached the button to the sleeve of her blouse.

“Even if you spend your life cleaning up after Kaylee and Elise, you’ll never have something like this.”

He removed the other button as well and placed it in her hand.

“If you comply with my demands now, both will be attached to your clothes by tomorrow morning.”

Even if he promised to attach new diamonds every morning for the rest of her life, she would never become the mistress of such a man.

She clutched the jewel tightly and looked toward the bed.

“……I hate it, in such a vulgar way.”

He laughed.

“So you want to be treated like a lady.”

What was wrong with that? Didn’t Alec Bingham and his trashy friends receive gentlemanly treatment wherever they went? No matter how properly she conducted herself, no one treated Bronwynner like a lady.

……And after tonight, they might never do so again.

A thick rug covered the floor. While walking toward the bed, Bronwynner dropped the cufflink she was holding. No, she deliberately threw it using her wrist snap to make it roll toward the fireplace.

She looked around.

“I dropped the jewel.”

“Pick it up later.”

He said, as if annoyed.

“I don’t want to lose it.”

“Then find it quickly.”

She quickly found the button caught between the rug’s fibers and pushed it under the rug. Then, pretending to search for the jewel, she gradually approached the fireplace. Someone like Alec, who thought fireplaces lit themselves, wouldn’t know, but there were many potential weapons nearby.

The man approached from behind.

“Wait……”

She turned and hesitated. Alec’s breathing was rough.

Bronwynner had been taught that men’s desires are difficult to suppress, so she shouldn’t provoke them. But she hadn’t learned how to calm something that ignited spontaneously in such a short time.

Before she could stand up, the man’s large body pounced on her from behind. Her skirt was lifted, and merciless fingers entered her blouse. She was terrified.

“Mr. Bingham…… don’t do this.”

“I can’t hold back.”

Something damp touched the nape of her neck. Her hair fell to the floor. With a confused mind, she barely realized that he had pulled out her hairpin with his teeth.

He pressed his body close and whispered. With a crazed, hoarse voice.

“So pretty, do you really have no experience?”

“Let me go!”

Now she was truly scared. If…… if she couldn’t win no matter how much she resisted, maybe just once with eyes tightly shut…… Such thoughts had crossed her mind, but she never imagined Alec would lose his reason and pounce like this.

She struggled with all her might. Biting the man’s hand, kicking, and swinging her arms. But he actually separated from her when he removed his arm to take off his pants. It was absurd, but Bronwynner seized the opportunity to crawl toward the fireplace.

“What, are you trying to threaten me with this?”

Having caught up to her in no time, Alec picked up a fire poker heated by the flames. His waistband was undone, about to fall.

“Brianna, there’s no need for bloodshed. I don’t want to scar that pretty body.”

So deranged was he that the man even called her by the wrong name. Still, the poker in his hand was sufficiently threatening. Bronwynner picked up a shovel that was placed beside the fireplace. The shovel was slightly shorter than the poker but much heavier.

She struggled to swing the shovel. There was a dull clang as the metals collided.

Alec burst into laughter.

“Surely you don’t think you can overpower me? Or do you prefer my second offer? Either way, I’ll be your first.”

Clang, she swung the shovel again. Alec threw away the poker and grabbed the flat part of the shovel blade. He thought this would prevent her from swinging it. But the shovel wasn’t Bronwynner’s only weapon. She quickly released the shovel and grabbed a candlestick she had spotted earlier on the mantelpiece, striking his head.

“Aargh! You damned thing!”

He dropped the shovel. Bronwynner backed away and jabbed him with the candlestick once more. Seeing blood flow between his fingers, she recoiled. Her aim was to incapacitate him and escape, not to injure him.

The sight of blood excited the man further.

“I was being nice because you’re cute, and you dare hurt me?”

“Let me go. Then I won’t tell anyone about this.”

“About what? That you flirted with a baron’s son? That you romped n*ked with noble gentlemen at an aristocrat’s villa?”

“About how you got hit on the head twice with a candlestick while your pants were down.”

He lunged at her, spewing curses.

Bronwynner fled toward the wall, and in the process, she lost her grip on the candlestick. Alec grabbed her hair from behind. She struggled, trying to break free from the man’s grasp.

“Stay still!”

She was struck in the face by Alec’s swinging arm. As she bent down to retrieve the candlestick, he grabbed her hair again. The tremendous force jerked her body backward.

The man pushed her down hard. He was so enraged that his neck had turned bright red. His brown eyes gleamed with madness. Though Bronwynner no longer had the strength to resist, he couldn’t calm his excitement.

“I’ve changed my mind. You’ll be treated worse than an animal all night. Consider it an honor.”

With that, he tried to stomp on her.

He tried to.

Blinded by anger, he must not have noticed that his pants had fallen to his knees. In such a state, he couldn’t move his legs freely. The man’s body lost balance and tilted.

Not missing that opportunity, Bronwynner quickly rose, and as her body brushed against his……

⌜Elise, Kaylee. Never run near the fireplace. You could fall and get hurt.⌟

Alec opened his eyes wide.

By the time Bronwynner realized what was happening and reached out, it was too late. As he fell backward, he hit the back of his head hard against the corner of the fireplace. Thud. There was a sound of something breaking.

The impact caused items on the mantelpiece to fall to the floor. It was strange that even in this situation, she worried about the glass figurine breaking. Blood flowed down to Alec’s feet.

It was incomparably more blood than when he was struck with the candlestick.

The man’s body slowly collapsed.

Bronwynner covered her mouth with both hands.

A red stain began to spread on the carpet. She backed away.

“Mr. Bingham……?”

She called softly.

All that returned was a heavy, cold silence.

The fallen man’s face was wax-like, and there was no sign of breathing. She didn’t even dare to check his pulse. Still, she courageously tried to stop the bleeding with a handkerchief from her pocket, but it was useless. Warm blood quickly soaked the handkerchief and flowed between her fingers.

She flinched at the sound of burning logs collapsing. The air in the room was warm, but her body trembled.

‘Think, Bronwynner.’

Alec Bingham had taken the nanny to an isolated house ‘to make her his woman’ and then…… died after a physical struggle with the nanny. Perhaps it was a critical injury that would lead to a coma, but that didn’t significantly change her situation. Even if she told the truth, an orphan of a nanny wouldn’t escape the accusation of daring to harm a noble gentleman.

She didn’t know much about the law, but she knew well how harsh the law and society could be to women in her position. In the worst case, execution; with extremely good luck, imprisonment. And the places a woman could go after serving her prison term were even more miserable than prison.

She looked around.

‘He said no one knows I’m here.’

Alec had said his friends would come here. But bringing her here had been an impulsive action.

Who else might know about this place……? Was there a house in this area under the Bingham family name? Even if so, the fact that he had brought Bronwynner here was known only to Alec and herself.

So far.

She quickly reached a conclusion.

‘I need to get out of here.’

The time it took to come here from the baron’s mansion felt like an hour and a half.

If she could just find the right path, she might be able to walk all night and reach the mansion before the head maid woke up. If several servants had gone out while the mistress was away, no one would find it strange that Bronwynner wasn’t seen. Moreover, today was her day off.

She didn’t want to think about what would happen if she fled and the truth was discovered. She would probably receive a heavier punishment for lying.

‘But, if I’m not caught……’

If Bronwynner had been of a more obedient nature, she might have thought to stay here and plead for mercy with tears to the gentlemen who would soon arrive. Or she might have gone to the police to turn herself in.

But she wanted to do neither. Alec Bingham had kidnapped her with clear malice. And then he fell and died by his own doing. If he hadn’t ended up like that, Bronwynner would have been the one to suffer terribly…… Would it have been better that way?

Bronwynner mechanically tidied her clothes. Her blouse had lost two buttons, and the hem of her skirt was torn. Her stockings had runs, and even her shoelaces were damaged. It was remarkable how everything had become such a mess in such a short time, and the thought made her not even want to wipe away her flowing tears.

She found the fallen button and Kaylee’s baby doll and clutched them tightly.

Thinking of Elise and Kaylee gave her some strength.

Before leaving the room, the thought crossed her mind that she should check once more if Alec Bingham was really dead. Common sense troubled her that if there was a chance he was alive, she should quickly show him to a doctor. The problem was that she had no way of knowing where she had been taken.

‘I hope Alec’s friends find him quickly.’

She bit her lip.