Free Ghost of the Thames by May McGoldrick Page A

painted
faces and satin dresses revealing their profession.
    “Good night to you, Jack Slade,” a
gentleman called out over the noise.
    “Will there be fireworks tomorrow
night, Jack?” another asked.
    The devil holding her seemed to be in
charge of the festivities, as many partiers addressed him by name
and everyone continued to ignore her evident captivity. When an
older gentleman came over and held out a card to Jack, the pimp let
go of her with one hand and took it. As soon as he did, she tried
to wriggle free. His fingers clamped down harder though, digging
into her flesh.
    “Stop,” she cried. “You’re hurting
me!”
    The gentleman looked at her in
surprise. “Send someone . . . er, not so spirited, eh, Jack?” he
said, moving off.
    Before he got more than a step away
though, a clearly inebriated woman staggered toward them. Careening
off the old gentleman, she drove him directly into Jack before
falling against Sophy.
    Sophy struggled to keep her balance
while the woman clung to her for a moment. As Sophy instinctively
grasped the woman’s outstretched arms, she felt the handle of a
small knife pushed into her hand.
    “Get ’im for all of us,” the woman
whispered, quickly straightening and staring unsteadily at
Jack.
    “Shove off, Ellie, you
slut. Go and earn your gin for a change.”
    Without another glance at Sophy, the
woman turned and staggered off toward a trio of men who were
enjoying the show from a few paces off. When she reached them, they
welcomed her into their midst with a drunken cheer.
    Sophy slid the knife furtively up her
sleeve. She focused more on the faces of the women leaving the
park. Under the painted cheeks and lips, behind the loud coarse
laughter, many of these women, she realized, were very young—some
barely more then children. She also began to notice the sympathetic
glances directed toward her.
    Soon, the crowds thinned and the
carriages began to pull away, clearing the street. Sophy’s blood
ran cold as Jack put one arm around her, squeezing her breast as he
pulled her tightly against him.
    “Now we have time to do a little
business, eh, love?”
    “No!” Sophy pleaded. “Please let me
go.”
    She could feel a pronounced bulge
pressing against her bottom. He seemed to become rougher and more
determined as she struggled more. “Keep it on, love. This is
exactly what I needed tonight.”
    Trencher appeared and lumbered over to
them. He patted a pocket of his jacket. “Don’t forget, Jack. Ye got
to pay up with Shill tonight.”
    Jack looked at the brute with obvious
annoyance. “Shill gets what’s coming to him on time. I’ve got
something I need first.”
    Jack began to drag Sophy, struggling
all the time, toward a shadowy, tree-lined lane that led off the
plaza inside the gate.
    Trencher was grinning at the sight
with enjoyment. “Ye want me to—?”
    ”Wait for me,” Jack snapped, yanking
Sophy into the darkness past the first line of trees.
    He was much stronger than she was. Her
mind raced, knowing that she would only have one chance to get
free.
    A dozen steps more and he slung her
down onto a wet grassy opening, immediately sitting on her and
tugging at the buttons of his pants.
    Everything was moving too
quickly.
    “Wait,” she said. “You’ve got this all
wrong.”
    “You wait, love,” he growled. “And you
just tell me in a minute if I got anything wrong.”
    Sophy bucked and turned, managing to
slide the knife out of her sleeve and get a good grip on the
handle.
    He grabbed her by the arm and wrenched
her onto her back. Leaning forward, he jammed his forearm up
against her throat, choking her as he yanked at her skirts with the
other hand.
    “I enjoy a wild one, now and again,”
he said, his voice raw with anticipation. “I’m going to enjoy this,
I am.”
    He forced her knees open and shoved
himself into position between her legs, and she saw a flash of
animal wildness in his face.
    Lifting the knife, she jabbed it hard
into his side and