Page 29 of Heart of the Hunter (Band of Bastards #3)

Hunter made a noise of disapproval deep in his throat that sounded like a growled grunt.

“Do you know who he is?” Anora asked Hunter.

He was silent a moment, then said, “I know men like him.”

“They are abundant.” Madam Ruby lowered her gaze, and her dark lashes fanned over the top of her cheeks in a rare show of vulnerability.

It made Anora even more curious about the woman who ran this brothel and who was in charge of so many women and in control—more or less—of the men they serviced.

She tried to guess Madam Ruby’s age but could not be certain.

Her hair was streaked with gray but was otherwise still dark.

Her hands were marked with dark spots and her fingers were knobby, but her face was smooth, and her cheeks were naturally bright.

Whatever her age, she was a woman wise, as well as hardened, by experience.

“Baron Payne has always been one of those men, but of late, his tastes have progressed to new heights.” A look of disgust came over Madam Ruby’s face.

“When he was last here, he spent much time instructing Beatrice on his newly acquired…tastes. Some of them quite depraved.” She stopped and tipped her head to the side.

“Beatrice can tell you if either Payne or Gilbert said anything that may be of use to you. I shall fetch her.” She moved silently and fluidly to the door, like a shadow—another impressive skill of the commanding woman that did not go unnoticed by Anora.

“Put your cap back on before Madam Ruby returns with Beatrice.” Hunter looked furtively at the door. “She does not trust women and will speak more freely if she believes you a man. If you stay in the shadows and don’t speak, she may not pay you much mind.”

Anora looked down at the forgotten coif hanging from her fingers, then pulled it over her head and quickly started pushing the loose strands of her hair under it.

When she was finished, she looked at Hunter with eyebrows raised in question and turned her head from one side to the other for his inspection.

She hadn’t expected the jolt of heat that pricked her skin when he moved close, his gaze meeting hers, as he ran the rough pads of his fingers along the sensitive skin behind her ear.

She stood perfectly still as he pushed a tendril of hair under the cap.

His warm breath whispered over her cheeks.

She closed her eyes then, as her own breath caught in her throat.

His fingers stilled for a heartbeat, then brushed gently down the column of her neck before he broke the contact.

She felt the coldness of the space between them even as she heard him step away from her.

It was the most intimate thing she had ever experienced, and it left her heart beating furiously. She opened her eyes to look at Hunter and wondered if the brief touch had affected him as much as it did her, but—as usual—his face was an expressionless slate.

The door to the room opened and Anora feigned a cough as she turned away from Madam Ruby and another woman who followed behind her. Hunter stepped toward the other women, obstructing their view of Anora and she took the moment to catch her breath and steady her pounding heart.

“Who did that that to you, Bea?” Hunter asked in a low tone, his voice deceptively calm. Anora turned to see the tense set to his shoulders and his fists clenched at his side. His back was to her, and she could not clearly see the woman standing next to Madam Ruby.

She took a careful step to the side to get a look at what had caused Hunter’s anger and cringed to see the bruised face of the woman at Madam Ruby’s side.

Madam Ruby gently pulled back the corner of the woman’s thin chemise to reveal an array of yellow and purple bruises around her neck, then lifted the billowing sleeve to reveal more discolored marks on her arm.

The woman stood still and did not resist as Madam Ruby cupped her chin to turn her head side to side and held out her arm to display the damage.

The sense of proprietorship on the part of Madam Ruby and the lack of resistance on the part of the woman reminded Anora of a breeder picking up the legs of a horse to show the state of the creature’s health to a potential buyer.

Beatrice turned toward Anora as Madam Ruby released her arm and locked eyes with her.

She couldn’t look away from the woman as they stood staring each other.

Beatrice looked at her with curiosity and stoicism, as though she waited for Anora to pass judgment upon her as she stood on display in her chemise and covered in bruises.

Anora looked at Beatrice in awe, confusion, and something akin to pity.

How could she tolerate allowing others to possess her, to handle her body as though it was a thing to be manipulated, to have no say over who touched her and how?

Madam Ruby’s voice broke through the moment and severed the odd connection between Anora and Beatrice.

“The patrons sometimes get overzealous, but if they get violent, my men intervene and escort them to the door. Unfortunately, Beatrice was not able to alert anyone to the extent of Lord Payne’s demands as he had bound her hands, stuffed a scarf between her teeth, and tied it off. ”

Anora felt her mouth drop open, unable to stop her shocked response and the sick roll of her gut. The depth of Edmund’s sadistic tendencies went far beyond what she could have ever imagined.

“It is not the first time he’s tied my wrists,” Beatrice said in a dispassionate voice and with a dismissive shrug as she turned her attention back to Hunter.

“Others have done it, too. But this time he put a gag in my mouth and put his hands on my neck. He said it would make the act better for me.” She snorted then and jutted a hip. “As if he’s ever cared about that.”

“This is from seven nights ago?” Hunter said through gritted teeth. “I’ll kill him.”

“You do enough, Hunter,” Madam Ruby said. “I will not have you involving yourself in this. It will only bring more trouble for me. Now, ask your questions. Evening will be here soon, as will our patrons.”

“Lord Payne did a lot of talking despite having shut me up by stuffing a scarf in my mouth,” Beatrice said in a sardonic tone.

“Did he give any indication where in Wales he’s been spending time?” Hunter asked.

“Carmarthen,” Beatrice said without hesitation.

“After telling—and showing—me about all the tricks he learned from a harlot named Scarlet at a bawdy house in Carmarthen, he boasted that he would buy me from Madam Ruby. When I said he couldn’t pay the price to take me from Madam Ruby, he said he was now more powerful than his father ever had been, and soon he would be the most powerful Marcher lord in the region. ”

“You were also with the baron’s companion, Gilbert?” Hunter asked.

“Was that the red-haired donkey’s ass with him this summer?” Anora saw Beatrice huff out a breath of air and roll her eyes. “He’s not much easier than Payne.”

“Did he say where he was from or why he was in Shrewsbury?”

Beatrice shook her head. “Not much of a talker, that one. Had a lot of demands and liked it when I was loud, as long as I wasn’t talking.” She pursed her lips and waggled her eyebrows suggestively to emphasize her point.

Anora wanted to be away from the brothel. She wanted to crawl into a corner and hide. The excitement and exhilaration from earlier had given way to nauseous aversion. How these women lived this life was beyond her understanding and made her heart ache for them.

Hunter pulled a pouch from beneath his tunic and took out several gold coins, which he handed to Madam Ruby. “For Beatrice for this night and the next. And whatever else you may need.”

Anora’s confusion must have shown on her face because Hunter said to her in a low voice, “I paid for the nights to allow for her to rest and recover from her bruises.”

“Oh,” Anora said, feeling contrite, and very uncomfortable with everyone’s eyes on her as she nodded her understanding.

She’d not truly expected Hunter to be paying for Beatrice’s services, but she was perplexed by the protective interest Hunter seemed to have in the women here.

She knew him to be a good and caring man, but she was beginning to wonder just how much he cared for Rose and Beatrice.

Was it purely out of interest for their safety and well-being?

Or was it because of his affection for the women?

“Obviously I am not well-versed in how all of this works,” she said with a wave of her hand at the room.

“I should hope not.” Hunter chuckled and shook his head. He turned on his heel and reached for the door handle. “We will be leaving now.”

“Thank you for your time, Madam Ruby, Beatrice,” Anora said. With a bob of her head to the women, she started to follow Hunter from the chamber, but then she stopped.

She couldn’t understand the life these women led—why Madam Ruby would partake in selling the services of the women, or how Beatrice could let strangers use her so deplorably—but what she did understand is that no one enjoyed being controlled and manipulated.

Anora was not trapped in a life anywhere near as difficult as these women, but she felt a kinship with them that she suspected all women shared.

Whether harlot, peasant, merchant, or noblewoman, they were all subject to the whims of men.

Until today, she’d thought women like Madam Ruby and Beatrice had given over to the whims, but perhaps they merely pushed back against them in the only way they knew, and with the only resources available to them.

Anora turned back to the women, clasped each by the hand and squeezed. She mustered as much kindness and understanding as she could into her eyes. It was a small gesture, but it was too hard to say everything that was in her heart, so instead she simply said, “Thank you.”