Thomas saw her running blindly through the trees, scrambling over logs and ducking low hanging branches. He put the horse into a quick walk. There was no rush and no point risking the horse or himself. Shortly she would break out of the woods into open ground and by then, he knew, she would be too exhausted to run any further.

He waited in a thicket. Thomas watched as she searched the area for him. He let her run a fair distance into the field before he rode the horse into the clearing and urged it into a gallop.

When the sound of the horse's hooves pounding on the ground reached her, she turned, stumbled, fell, and then clambered to her feet and continued to run. As Thomas reined the stallion around in front of her, she screamed and tried to sidestep him.

"I'm not going to hurt you." He looked down at her with pity as she gasped in and out.

"Then you'll leave me alone." Shay found strength in her words and ran back towards the woods.

Thomas sighed and ran his hand through his light brown hair. He couldn't blame her for running. It surprised him that someone so abused had the courage to tell him to leave her alone. As he watched her run back across the field sympathy flooded over him. He doubted she was pure and assumed the bruises were because she had resisted. Thomas thought the peddler had probably made a lot of money by making her lay on her back. She was small and the thought of the pain she would have suffered ignited anger in him again.

He kicked the horse straight into a gallop, caught up with the girl and swung around in front of her once more. She turned to run in the direction she had just scampered from. He went after her, bent down caught her around the waist, and then scooped her up onto the mount. She struggled. He almost dropped her. Thomas pulled the horse up, grabbed her with both hands and sat her firmly across in front of him. Her legs draped over one of his and down the animal's neck. She continued to struggle. Thomas yelled, "Stop!"

Shay clutched the shawl and tried to pull her ripped skirt around her leg and thigh. She laboured to get her breath. Tears streamed down her face. She was cold. Her feet burnt because she had run through small patches of icy snow.

Positioning her more comfortably, Thomas put his arm around her waist. Another surge of pity washed over him. She was so thin. How she had managed to survive dressed in the flimsy fabric and with no shoes astounded him. Winter was late but it was on its way. He took off his coat and wrapped it around her, she tensed, so he said, "I'm not going to hurt you."

Thomas had no idea what he was going to do with her or what his wife would say when he took her home. He urged the stallion to walk forward and let her sob. Once she settled, he asked, "How old are you?"

She had her head hung, gulped in another breath but didn't answer him. Thomas stopped the horse and took her by the chin. "I'm not used to being ignored. If you don't want me to get angry with you, you'll answer me. How old are you?"

Shay tried to pull her chin from his grasp. He tightened his grip. She whimpered, grabbed hold of his wrist, looked pleadingly into his blue eyes and said in a voice that matched her image, "I don't know."

Releasing her chin, a fraction, Thomas continued to study her face, shocked that she didn't know her age. The girl looked away so he pressed his fingers a little harder. "Don't look away from me. An honest person looks another in the face."

When she looked nervously back at him, he released his grip again. Her eyes were stunning. An urge to help her become the beauty she would be, flashed through his mind. 

She looked away again. "Uh...uh!" Thomas put pressure on her chin once more so she held his gaze.  "You must know something of your age."

"The sweep's wife sent me away. She says I'm too old now.  That's all I know."

Thomas peered at her; he'd get back to the sweep's wife in a minute. "What are you called?" Again, she flicked her eyes away so he tilted his head as if to say, don't you dare.

"Shay," she whispered.

He cocked his head curiously and smiled. "Shay. This is a boy's name."

She glanced away so he pressed on her chin again. Looking back at his face, she nodded.

Thomas smiled at her obedience to the pressure of his fingers and said on a lighter note, "I think we're starting to understand each other, Shay. Why have you been given a boy's name?"

She didn't move her eyes from his face. Instead, Shay focused on his mouth because to look into his eyes made her uncomfortable. "Mrs. Douglas thought I was a boy when she got me. She said I was too ugly to be a girl and gave me that name."

Ugly? Thomas crinkled his brow; she was the complete opposite of ugly. Thin and gaunt, yes, but not ugly. He let go of her chin as he asked, "Who is Mrs. Douglas?"

Shay swallowed the hard lump in her throat and wondered if she looked away would he get angry with her again. She decided not to risk it and stayed focused on his mouth. "She's the chimney sweep's wife. I went there when I was a walking babe."

"So, what is your real name?"

"I don't know?" Shay hung her head.

Once again, he put his hand under her chin and tilted it up before asking, "Those men. How many times have they paid for you?"

Shay stared at him wide-eyed and shook her head. "I don't know why they hurt me. I never did nothing to wrong them." More tears trickled down her cheeks.

Studying her deep in thought Thomas said, "So how many men has the peddler sold you to, before today?"

Another shake of her head as the flow of tears continued. "None."

A growl formed in the back of Thomas' throat. He didn't like being lied to. "How many times have you been taken by a man?"

Shay wiped at the tears on her cheeks with the back of her hands and looked away from his face.

He took her by the chin again saying, "And that filthy hawker. How many times?"

Shay wrenched her face away from his hold and struggled to get off the horse. She didn't understand what he was talking about but had a sense it was a bad thing.

There was no way he was letting her go. Thomas repositioned her so she was twisted to face him, his arm wrapped tight around her waist. "Tell me."

"I don't know what you mean." Shay gulped back more tears. "I've only been with him a week. Mrs. Douglas said I was a burden, too big for the chimneys. I helped her with the lads. She said I was a distraction. That I was going to bleed soon and I had to go so she gave me to the hawker. He beat me."

Thomas sneered at her answer and scoffed, "You expect me to believe that he never touched you."

Shay nodded. Bile rose in her throat at the thought of the peddler. "He... he... made me touch him. I had to wash his feet and touch his neck. I didn't want to, so he beat me. He said I was no good for him. Then those men came. Please, sir. I don't understand why they beat me." Shay sobbed and wiped franticly at her face. She didn't understand what he was asking her. She didn't understand any of it.

Thomas hadn't meant to get angry so he waited for the girl to calm down before moving the horse forward. The thought of what that brute of a man had planned for this tiny girl was beyond his power of restraint.

As she stared up at him a sudden surge of relief flooded Thomas. The girl had been spared and he dreaded to think of what would have happened if he hadn't arrived when he did, but he asked one more question just to be sure. "You're telling me you are a virgin, is that correct?"

She frowned at him and said, "I don't know what that is, sir."

"It means that you are untouched by any man." Thomas could see she was completely confused and felt sorry for allowing his rage to show, because it wasn't her, he was angry with.

"I have been, sir," she uttered as another tear rolled down her cheek. "Beaten, and you are touching me now. Is that what you mean?"

"No." Thomas couldn't help but laugh a little. He had his answer. If she had been compromised, she would understand what he meant. Her innocence was now plain to see. "That isn't what I mean, however, I have my answer." He loosened his grip on her, and then urged his mount forward.

This is the end of Shay's horrific experience.  I am sorry if it distressed you.   

Shay's beginning is very important to the rest of the story and without this beginning other events won't tie in.

In today's time, Shay could very easily be a girl's name but in the 1800s it was considered a boy's name.

Now onto the next chapter so you can understand the path this story is taking.

Many thanks for reading. ♥♥

Photo copyright. Dreamtime.