Surrender to a Stranger Read Online Free PDF Page A

brown coat and draped it over the chair. “You have heard, I am sure, of women who have managed to escape the blade of the guillotine, at least temporarily, by revealing that they are pregnant?”
    “I am not,” protested Jacqueline indignantly.
    “Of course you are not,” Nicolas agreed. He removed his brown jacket and carefully laid it over his coat. “Convicted women who declare themselves pregnant are removed to the Tribunal hospital at the Maison de l’Evêché near Notre Dame,” he continued conversationally. “They are kept there until it can be determined whether or not they are actually pregnant. Once their condition is confirmed, they are permitted to avoid their execution by carrying to term and giving birth.”
    “And what happens to them after that?” demanded Jacqueline.
    “Then they are executed,” he admitted. “But the Tribunal hospital is not a fortress like the Conciergerie. During the months in which you are staying there, an escape might be possible.”
    Jacqueline looked at him incredulously. “Are you suggesting that you get me pregnant tonight so I can cheat the guillotine of another victim tomorrow?”
    “We may not be successful tonight,” Nicolas qualified. “But I can tell the Tribunal that as an acquaintance of the family, I am aware you have had a lover for some time, which will make your plea of pregnancy more credible. The lover, of course, could not be me, for that would make me suspect. In my capacity as an inspector for the Committee of Public Safety, I can, however, arrange to visit you at the hospital, under the pretense of needing to further investigate your case. During these meetings we can make sure my seed has more opportunities to take.” He smiled at her, evidently looking forward to that prospect.
    “Get out,” commanded Jacqueline, her voice low and full of loathing.
    Nicolas sighed. “As always, you continue to disappoint me, Jacqueline.” He stepped toward her and grabbed hold of her hair, then roughly jerked her into him.
    Jacqueline struggled to free himself as he wrapped his other arm around her and held her tightly against his chest. “Did you really think I would be stupid enough to believe you wanted to help me?” she grated out. “All you want is to strip me of my dignity by tricking me into finally giving myself to you. That would please you, wouldn’t it, you loathsome bast—”
    He released his arm and cracked her hard against the face. She would have staggered back from the impact, but he still held her a prisoner by her hair. His face dark with fury, he reached into the neckline of her gown and tore down in one violent motion, ripping away the delicate silk bodice and exposing her breasts.
    “Do you know what you are now, Jacqueline?” he drawled as he let his hand roughly wander over her. “You are nothing,” he spat, shoving her back against the cold stone wall. “You noblesse have been stripped of your titles and your rights, and now it is up to us if you are allowed to live.” He reached down and began to pull up the skirts of her gown as he pinned her against the wall with his body. “Tomorrow you will die,” he stated viciously, “but tonight, my sweet, you will finally be mine.” He lowered his head and savagely ground his mouth against hers, stifling any cries she might have made.
    Jacqueline strained against him, clamping her mouth shut as she frantically scratched at his face and tried with the other hand to stop the rise of her gown. She could feel him pressing against her, holding her a prisoner as he brutally squeezed her breast. His hand was groping her thigh, she struggled and tried to lift her knee to strike him in the groin, but to her horror this action only served to speed his hand’s ascent. He was there, roughly probing her with his fingers in the most intimate of places, hurting her, laughing, and she wrenched her mouth away to scream, knowing full well that a woman’s screams for help in the Conciergerie