The Wings of the Truly Beautiful

eleven.

That voice.

She would never forget that voice. She felt everything go very still, everything except her heart which began to beat rapidly. He spun her around roughly, giving her no time to try to arrange her face into a blank stare. She was terrified. And her scar began to tingle.

"Well, if it isn't, Winifred Jones." He smiled, but it only served to drive her terror in further. "I have to say I almost didn't recognize you. It's been so long." He pulled her in closer to his body, his eyes roaming her face and stopping on that hideous scar.

"I see you still have my present."

That was too much. She wrenched out of his grasp. "Unhand me, sir. You forget yourself." She said viciously. But she could hear the fear in her voice. And if she could hear it so could he.

He let out a languid laugh. "No love, I don't think so." He stepped closer, like a wolf sniffing out its kill. "It is you who have forgotten yourself."

She stepped back, trying to find a way to get away from him. There were people around, but no one would stop for what seemed like an innocent conversation. But she could not let this last too long. Not only for her own sanity but if someone saw her with this man they might get the wrong idea. She had a better reputation to uphold now. She would not let that be taken from her.

"You are wrong, sir." She said, injecting disgust into the word. "I have not forgotten who I am, I have found who I am. And that is something you cannot take away from me." She felt some of the fear drain out of her as it was replaced with anger.

But it was short--lived because with those words his face changed. "Do you think that you are safe from me now? Your ilk? Above me?" He closed the distance between them and grabbed her by the arm. "It seems you learned nothing from the punishment I gave you all those years ago, my dear. But I have no problem in reminding you that you are beneath me, in every way." His eyes took on a murderous glint, and Winifred began to panic in earnest.

"Let go of me." She whispered, the terror closing around her throat making her unable to speak any louder.

"You know, Winifred," He said squeezing her arm so tight that she whimpered. "I think I liked you better as a kept woman."

Behind her, there was a gasp. And then a shout. "Hey! Let her go!" And suddenly Lucas was there wrenching her from his grasp and shoving him away. "Winifred," He said, looking at her intently. "Are you okay?"

She could only nod. If she spoke, she would come apart right there. 

He had fallen to the ground, but he was getting up and he looked furious. And while Lucas was a strapping young man, he was still smaller than her attacker. "Charlotte, take Winifred home."

"Lucas." Charlotte was clearly worried about what was going to happen when she left him.

"I'll be fine, Lottie. I promise. Just take her home."

"Oh, I see." The man interjected, laughing ridiculously. "So you've moved on to a more innocent type, eh, Winnie? So what's the arrangement between you three? I bet you-"

Lucas lost it right there. And in seconds, the bastard was lying on the ground, totally out. Charlotte let out a short scream, and Winifred was too numb to do anything. A few people stopped to see what the ruckus was about but Lucas said something about the man being drunk and herded the girls out of the market.

When they were back on the road, Charlotte unleashed her questions on Winifred.

"What happened back there? Are you okay, Winifred? Who was that man? Did you know him?" She fired one after the other so that Winifred could not answer any of them.