Read Online The General’s Wife: An American Revolutionary Tale by Regina Kammer - Free Book Online Page A

head.
    “I will tell you one thing, my lady. Over the last year the general has never come to the house on a Wednesday.”
    Her hand flew to her mouth as tears welled in her eyes. “Oh, God!”
    “I’m so sorry to have to be the one to tell you this,” he said, genuinely apologetic. He drew in a long breath. “One of my girls has certain specialties which General Strathmore enjoys. She’s my best girl.”
    “What do you mean by ‘specialties’?” She wasn’t sure she wanted to know.
    “She’s very good at oral copulation and enjoys participating in erotic flogging.”
    She gaped as tears trickled down her cheeks. “Pardon?”
    The color rose in his cheeks. “Uh, she pleasures his prick with her mouth until he spends his seed. After that he is aroused again by controlling her. Usually she is tied up and he whips her.”
    Such a thing sounded preposterous. “No,” she said, her voice a whisper. “That can’t possibly be.”
    “I regret to tell you it is true. Several days ago, he came in with four other officers, two colonels and two Hessians. They wanted Constance—that’s her name—they wanted her services. After they left she was barely alive.” He cleared his throat. “My lady, your husband not only owes me a thousand guineas for our services here, he almost killed my best girl. He is a rake, a scoundrel, a liar, and a cheat, and I intend to disabuse him of the notion that he can continue to treat others in such a horrendous manner.”
    The room spun slightly as she tried to comprehend all that she had heard, suddenly remembering Annabella’s confession that morning of her fears regarding the Hessian driver. The general was a blackguard and, it seemed, surrounded himself with the same. “He cares naught for me, you know.”
    “Yes, my lady, I do know that,” he concurred. “It is unfortunate and, for that, he does not deserve you. However, he does care about the child you carry.”
    “Yes, of course,” she said sullenly.
    “In a few days Redmond will release Annabella with a ransom note. Ethan—my boy-of-all-work Ethan Pitt was the driver in this whole affair—will leave her somewhere near Chesterton. Annabella will not be told that I am behind the scheme, nor will she know where she has been kept. If Strathmore tortures her she can reveal nothing.”
    “Torture! My husband would not torture her!” she blurted.
    “Pardon me, my lady, but you do not know what General Strathmore is capable of.”
    Apparently Clara did not know anything about her husband, and it was beginning to sound like she was better off being the captive of Mr. Bridgers. Yet, something did not seem right about the plan. “But if my husband comes here as frequently as you say he does, might he not appear unexpectedly?”
    Mr. Bridgers nodded. “I’ve sent word out that we have shut down for some renovation work needed before the snows come. We’ve done that before, so it will not seem so unusual.”
    The fire popped and crackled against the stillness of the night.
    “The house looked empty. Are the—” what did one call them? “—girls there now?” Clara flushed just saying the word.
    He inhaled deeply. “I’ve got a friend with a house farther up the Hudson River. They’ve been sent there and they’ll all continue to work. Except for Constance. She’ll be well-looked after, though.” He leaned on the mantel and stared into the fire.
    “And Redmond? What is his part in this plan?”
    “He came here looking for work last week sometime. He also holds quite a grudge against the general.” He quickly glanced in her direction, then returned to contemplating the flames. “Your husband has been abusing Annabella.”
    “Oh, God.” She knew she had married a brute, but that was unconscionable. She sank farther in her chair. Her back complained.
    “That Hessian, your driver, he was involved in the abuse.” He caught her eye. “Perhaps you can see it was easy for Redmond to kill the man.”
    The web of