Slave of Love

Disclaimer: I don’t own Inuyasha. It belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. Nor the book “Enslaved” by V.Henley.

A/N: I am so so so sorry I took this long to update, but I was having some computer trouble. Also I want to thank Nena, for her editing. I hope you guys understand better now, without having to decipher what it says. So enjoy the new chapter and R&R!!!!


Chapter 7: “A Trip to Bath”

When they arrived home from the Devonshire tea room, Kagome went strait to her bedroom to find some peace and quiet. Kikyo, who was staring at Kagome’s back, was surprised when her father told her to meet him in his study. As soon as she closed the door behind her, Naraku spoke,

“There has been an inconvenience with Koga Shinda, and you will have to tell Kagome about it, using that thing above your shoulders call head…For once.” He added.

Kikyo, used to the treatment her father gave her, didn’t blink. “She is not easy to handle, father. Just a moment ago, she was teasing me in the carriage. She has no respect for anything or anyone.” She said, as she remembered Kagome’s jokes of the young lord that had being talking to Kikyo in the reunion.

“The sooner we get rid of her, the better, so bare with it just for a little longer, darling daughter. Shinda is the answers to our prayers, but I’m afraid the he must leave town for a while, for his brother discovered him gambling and will send him to their natal city, Bath. It seems that the earl is a tyrant, and Koga can’t challenge him any further because he is full of debts and the earl controls the money.”

“Well he wouldn’t be in debt if he’d control his addiction.” Kikyo said in a nagging voice.

Naraku sighed and rudely explained, “Dear girl, if he wasn’t in debt he wouldn’t be our complice in this.”

“I understand, father”.

“The only thing you have to do is convince Kagome to go for a visit to Bath, before Friday.” He raised a hand to silence his daughter when he saw her trying to talk. “This city has its advantages, as Shinda told me.”

“I think that, perhaps, this is too much. Don’t you?”

“That is why I don’t ask you to think, but to do as I say. Shinda is not as stupid as to try and loose Kagome’s fortune and the chance to bed her. This is a golden opportunity for him and for us.”

“There is no need to be rude, father.” Kikyo answered. “What are Bath’s advantages?”

“Well, to begin with, outside the strict social restrictions, there is a feeling of freedom that a young girl like Kagome likes. There are activities and hobbies to do at all times, which induces a clime for le amour. And last but not least, there is the possibility that Kagome is invited to Shinda Hall. She will obviously love it, for it is like one of her books come to life. You know how much she loves history, and Shinda Hall is an Elizabethan manor. She, most likely, will want to live there for the rest of her life.”

“I know how the manor is, father. I did my research on the Shinda family. The earl is rich beyond thought, has his own fleet to sail from the Avon River, which surrounds the great Hall, to Bristol. He is judge of Somerset, and an irremediable old bachelor. So we have nothing to worry about exposing Kagome to his charms.”

“Mmm, if Inuyasha Shinda doesn’t marrygomegome could be the mother of the next earl of Bath. I think you should inform your cousin of this essential information”

“I can assume that the trip and the staying will be afforded by Kagome’s fortune?”

“But, of course my dear girl, it will be a perfectly legal expense.”

“Then, please, rent a house in the most elegant part of the city. I will take care of Kagome.”

*********

Wednesday came, and Kikyo still did not know how to tell Kagome about the trip. Finally, she decided to suggest it as an idea and see Kagome’s reaction. If Kagome said no, she would have to take extreme measures. But, first, she had to test her initial plan.
Kagome came down the stairs dressed in a cold cream with pink rose buds night dress. She met Kikyo at the door, and then, they climbed into the waiting carriage that was taking them to Almack’s. Kikyo waited until they were comfortably seated to tell Kagome about the trip.

“Kagome, I’ve had a wonderful idea! We could spend a great season in Bath. It occurred me whistle talking at the tea reunion last Sunday. We will rent a nice modern little house for a month and have a well deserved vacation. It seems that the highest circles are going to spend a season also.”

Kagome couldn’t believe what she was hearing. ‘What is she talking about? Did a worm eat your brains, Kikyo?’she wondered before complaining out loud, “But our plans will stop it. I have been invited to the opera, and I’m sure that you wouldn’t want to miss the Devonshire’s ball. After all, the little prince will be the guest of honor, wont he? No, no, we’ll go some other time to Bath.”

Kikyo was mute for a couple of minutes, thinking how to respond, but she realized that they had arrived their destination. She would have to continue the conversation some other time. In spite Kagome deny it, she was anxious to see Koga. The man arrived late, but as soon as he entered, he went strait to Kagome. He took her dance card away.

“I think we can throw this away.”

“Since when do you make decisions for me?” Kagome asked, teasingly.

“Since tonight.” He answered, in low intimate voice, for her only to hear, his eyes never leaving hers. Blue eyes that devoured her while he spoke. “Kagome, I want you to come to Bath.”

‘What? I think I’m having deja-vu.’ Kagome thought to herself. ‘Didn’t this happen a couple of hours ago? What an amazing coincidence.....only, that I don’t believe in coincidences.’ Kagome open her fan and stared at Koga.

“You are joking.” She said lightly.

Koga shook his head.

“For once, I’m being serious. I must go back to Somerset, but I don’t want to leave you…now, that I just found you.”

“Impossible” she murmured.

They had to split for a second because of the dance steps. When they joined again, he insisted.

“Don’t say no. Please think about it.”

They had to split again, but Koga didn’t stop watching her. Kagome felt very flattered from all the attention she was getting from him. She knew the she had to be careful flirting with a man like him.

As another dance started, Koga took Kagome away of Hojo Lamb’s arms.

“I will make your stay wonderful. Social rules are not as strict as here in London.”

She could feel Koga’s warm breath on her ears.

“You don’t have much trouble braking rules, here in London.”

“That is because I have too much red blood running through my veins.”

“I thought you had blue blood.”

“Ah! So you do think about me!”

“Never”

“Liar!”

After that exchange, Kagome fled away with another dance partner and avoided Koga untill the end of the evening. As the last dance of the night was announced, Koga grabbed Kagome. The tension between them grew when Koga’s steps became possessive and his gaze, too intense. Kagome realized that this was getting too serious, so she decided to put an end to the situation. With a friendly but firm tone of voice she told him:

“I am very flattered by your invitation, Koga, but I won’t be able to go to Bath.”

The music was dying slowly, but Koga grabbed Kagome tightly by the arms. His gaze was wild and predatory, and she found herself feeling attracted and disgusted at the same time. He spoke in a low, menacingly resolute voice.

“You will come. You will come!”

The dance ended and Kagome returned to Kikyo, who was waiting for their carriage to come. Once inside, Kagome commented,

“Koga Shinda invited me to Bath.” As soon as the words came out of her mouth, she saw how Kikyo’s eyes lit with satisfaction.

“What an amazing coincidence”

“Those were exactly my thoughts, or more like a confabulation to me.”

“I swear that you are the most paranoid person on the face of earth. How can you suggest that I would do such thing? You accepted, I imagine.”

“Of course not! If he is so interested in me, he will return to London soon enough.”

“Playing hard to get can be dangerous. There are other prettier young ladies, with more important titles, in the marriage market this season.”

“But none with a bigger inheritance,” Kagome said in low voice.

“Let me tell you that cynicism is never good in a lady, and less of all, in a young one. I presume that you only reject Koga Shinda because I find him suitable.”


‘You got that right.’ Kagome thought.

“Well, let me tell you that you are loosing a wonderful opportunity. Everybody knows that the count is not interested in marriage. Koga is his heir and the woman who’ll marry him will be the mother of the future earl of Bath, and everything that comes along with the title, like the Elizabethan manor.”

Kagome didn’t answer, and Kikyo sighed. ‘So it will be extreme measures after all.’

‘I don’t want to be a pawn in Kikyo’s social ascension to the highest circles.’ Kagome reasoned. ‘I don’t give a damn about all that. I just want to live my life freely, out of Kikyo’s control. I’m sure that it would be fun to go to Bath, and I have to admit that Koga is nice company. If we add all the antiques that surely are in a place so old as Bath, it’s really is a good idea...but I’m not entering Kikyo’s game, and that’s final!’

The minute they arrived, Kagome dashed to her room, without speaking a word. As sleep came, one last thought ran through her mind, ‘I will be the mistress of my own destiny.’

*********

Kagome awoke from the sudden noise. “What the hell is going on?” As soon as Beedy, enter her room, she interrogated the young servant.

“The doctor is here. Miss Kikyo fell down the stairs!”

“Oh no!” Kagome said, as she quickly got out of bed and dressed.

Kikyo was laying in her bed with the doctor sitting by her side.

“What happened?” she asked her cousin with sincere concern, noticing Kikyo’s pained face.

“I was upset because of our argument, and I slipped down the stairs.”Kikyo said, throwing an accusing look to Kagome.

“I’m very sorry.” Kagome whispered.

“It could have been fatal.” The doctor spoke. “She was lucky nothing broke. If that would have been the case, she might not have walked again”

Kikyo hid her face in her hands, not wanting to think in that possibility.

“Even if there is nothing broken, she could develop rheumatism, so I recommend the mineral baths. A daily immersion should prevent any complications you may have, miss Higurashi. I assure you, it is the only way to heal.” The doctor ended.

“How ironic! I asked lady Kagome to spend a month in Bath, but she completely refused to go.”

“Mineral water works in an almost magical way. Applied on the outside, it has antiseptic and anti-rheumatism effects, and applied to the inside antispasmodic and antiviral. I am sure that lady Kagome will reconsider her choice.” The doctor said with seriousness. Then he dismissed Kagome saying, “I would like to be with my patient alone, please.”

“Did anyone see her fall?” Kagome asked Beedy with distrust, when came out the room.

The maid shook her head in denial.

“I was the one who call the doctor, but she was already standing when she call me.”

Kagome sighed. It was nice to think about controlling one’s fate, but in reality things were different. She knew now, that Kikyo was manipulating her, and there was nothing Kagome could do. She had been beaten by Kikyo this time. ‘So be it.’ Kagome thought.

********

When the doctor left, Kagome went to Kikyo’s room to see how she was feeling. Kikyo couldn’t hide her triumphal expression, but it was tangled with pain, of course.

“Kikyo, I’ve been thinking and Bath is a fashion center, now a days. The most renown women in society dress on Milsom street. If I decide to go, I suppose that I will be able to acquire a whole new wardrobe, one according to my own taste.”

Kagome noticed Kikyo’s anguished face when she realized Kagome was negotiating. ‘Damn her and that brain she has!’ Kikyo thought. A minute later everybody started to get things ready for the trip. Beedy was helping Kaede with Kikyo’s luggage. Kagome didn’t pack much, for she had the intention of buying a new wardrobe. She went to the library to choose a book to read whistle traveling. Suddenly, her thoughts went to Koga Shinda, and their last conversation.

“I’am very flatered by your invitation, Koga, but I wont be able to go to Bath.”

The music was dying slowly, but Koga grabed Kagome tightly by the arms. His gaze was wild and predatory, and she found herself feeling attracted and disgusted, at the same time. He spoke in a low, menacingly resolute voice.

“You’ll come. You will come!”

Kagome shivered as she recalled the expression in Koga’s eyes.

********

“Beedy, take a seat next to Kagome. I need room for myself. Arrange that pillow next to my pained hip....be careful girl, don’t you see I’m hurt? All right, we can get moving now.”

Kagome, knowing that she had to spend two days locked up in a carriage with Kikyo, had chosen a book by Ovid. She covered it with a volume of the Bath Chronicle, so Kikyo wouldn’t see that Ovid’s work was about The Art of Love, a definitely sensual book. The book wasn’t very instructive about the art of love, except for the fact that explained what the Romans thought of women. For them, women were created to be men’s sexual toys since women were all lustful and voluptuous creatures. Ovid love techniques were pure eroticism: the art of enjoying the female body to its most.
Kagome closed the book a little bit harshly, upset by the fact that Ovid omitted female minds and personalities completely. Then, she coursed because the noise of the closing book awoke her cousin, and from that moment on, she had to listen to Kikyo’s ramblings. When they arrived to Reading, where they were going to spend the night, Kagome fled to her room and didn’t appear till next morning, to leave again.
This part of the trip seemed to be eternal to Kagome, so she ignored everything around her, and began dreaming. She couldn’t wait to arrive at Bath. The city was old, so old in fact, that had been built by the Romans, who called it “Aquae Sulis”.
When the carriage crossed the elegant arched bridge, the sunset had turned Bath in a golden city. Kagome held her breath at the magnificent view. She was impatient to start her best season there. ‘I’m going to have a great time, no matter what!’
Bath was a pedestrian city, so James was told to leave the ladies in Queen Square, where they had rented, and then, park the carriage at the White Swan inn.
Although Kagome would have preferred a house with view to the Avon river, she had to admit that Queen Square was very convenient.
The house was a two story L-shaped. The master bedrooms and privates rooms were upstairs, and the kitchens and servants quarters where downstairs, in the back.
Kagome was amused by the fact that Naraku had spent her money so freely. The house had a cook, a butler, and a maid.
Kikyo started to order everyone around as soon as she set foot in the house. She informed the servants that she was there to start a medical treatment and her health was very delicate. She then ordered a supper that could feed an entire army. When she complained about being tired, Kagome and Beedy took her to her room, but that wasn’t enough for Kikyo, for she continued giving orders from her bed. She practiced the Spanish inquisition with the servants about the places that were frequented and fashionable, and kept Kagome at her side the whole time because she didn’t understand of maps. When she was finally satisfied, everybody went to sleep, Kagome included.

The next morning, Kagome, noticing that her cousin wasn’t coming down, decided to go alone and explore Bath. She wanted to know where the bookshops were, the dressmakers, everything. She felt so free, that she could almost scream.
Whistling, she walked along Milsom Street watching the window displays, deciding which one would treat her better as a costumer. She decided for the biggest shop, called La Belle Mode. She was welcome warmly by the owner, Madame Madeleine, when she entered.

“Is there anything that you are interested in particularly, mademoiselle?”

“Oh, yes. Everything actually.” Kagome was entranced by all the beautiful things that Madame had in store. Something caught her eye. It was a velvet Jade color dress, with a heart shape neck, and a tight waist. It was the most beautiful dress Kagome had seen in her life, and her mind started to work, imagining herself in the Elizabethan court, wearing that dress.

“The jade dress...May I try it on, please?”

Madame Madeleine showed her to the dressing room, and helped her take the insipid pink dress off. Kagome felt obliged to explain to the modern French woman,

“I don’t like soft colors. I prefer the intense and strong that go with my pale complexion.”

“I agree. The jade will look perfect in you.” After that said, the woman looked at the old corset with shocked face. “Perhaps you need a new corset, mademoiselle?”

“Oh, no. I hate corsets, but my cousin insists that I use this uncomfortable thing.”

“No, no, you have not understood me. I mean the half corset, which is on fashion now. It is a small garment that barely tightens arothe the waist and lifts the breasts.”

“Really? Well, it does sound like a progress compared to the one I use. I will try it.”

“Bon! And what color? Do you prefer bold or modest?”

“Always bold!”

Madame Madeleine came back with a corset, which was covered by a scarlet lace, and began to untie the straps of the rigid corset Kagome was wearing.
She breathedply ply when her thoracic box was free of the horrendous contraption. She wore the new garment and looked surprised at her reflection on the mirror. “This can’t be me!” The half corset almost made her waist to disappear and luster her exuberant breast in a very provocative and shameless way.
The door bell rang in that moment.

“Excuse me, mademoiselle. I’ll be right back.”

Kagome was enchanted with her new look, that almost didn’t hear her. She posed in front the mirror, firs one one side then to the other. Even her legs seemed longer, that corset didn’t squeezed her hips like the other, but it ended just above it, on the curve of her buttocks, leaving at sight her white undergarments.
Kagome was looking and feeling wicked as the original sin itself. ‘What a shame nobody is going to look at it.’ She felt more feminine than ever and she wanted for the whole world to see the new, dazzling lady Kagome. ‘I wonder if they have it in black?’ Just as the thought ran through her head, she realized that there were costumers talking.

“Dear Inuyasha, I would like to try this one.”

“Of course.” The man answered.

Kagome felt a shiver run through her entire body as she heard that deep masculine voice. She would have recognized it anywhere. And she hated that it make her body react like that.

“Ah, mademoiselle, another lady wishes to try that dress.”

“Oh, Inuyasha, think how nice this dress would go with my hair.” The woman begged in a honey sweet tone of voice.

Kagome infuriated at the instant. The earl of Bath had found a new mistress and was buying her clothes. ‘Well, if I’m certain of something, is that he is not going to buy my dress to that damn bimbo!’

“Convince the other woman to buy another one. I will know how to reward her.” Inuyasha said calmly, as if accustomed to give orders to people.

Kagome hesitated, because she was half naked, but right away an evil smile spread through her lips. Her inner devil was on charge again. She opened the dressing room door, walked into the saloon and took the jade dress off of the possessive hands of the other woman.

“Oh! How dare you!” Haru protested.

“This dress is mine” Kagome assured her in a royal way.

Inuyasha Shinda felt his manhood awake at the sight of the half naked black haired beauty in a scarlet corset in front of him.
‘I must be in heaven...god, just the sight of her makes me hard as a rock.’
Whistle Inuyasha had all kind of perverted thoughts the two women continued arguing.

“I beg you to yield!” Haru exclaimed.

“You can beg until the color of your dyed hair washes off.” Kagome answered her calmly.

“Do you know who he is?” Haru said, pointing towards Inuyasha.

“Of course I do.” Kagome said slowly. “The earl and I are old adversaries. By the way, do you know who I am?

“No! I don’t know!” Haru screamed.

“I,” Kagome started, “am the owner of the jade dress”

Madame Madeleine, in a very smart attitude kept silence during the whole exchange.
Inuyasha’s expression was serious but the amuse aspect of the situation didn’t pass him by. Haru turned to him for help.

“Inuyasha, do something!”

“I will buy you two dresses to replace the jade one.” He said in a calming tone.

Kagome turned to the red head and told her with an air of confidence. “Be careful with this man, he likes to make his money worth.”

Inuyasha wasn’t having fun any more, but he could see that Kagome was: her stormy eyes were sparkling. The countess of Belgrave turned around and left the shop. Inuyasha took his hat and walking stick, and nodded to the owner. He the turned to Kagome and nodded also.

“I’m sorry I’ve ruined you another night, milord.” She murmured sweetly as she watched him leave.

“Now, Madame Madeleine, where were we?”