Story Details:
(Length: 20k words, 80-minute read) This is the first installment of a romantic mystery thriller with light erotica. It's story-heavy and a slower read compared to my usual stuff. If you have time to read it, I would love to hear your thoughts.
Synopsis:
Set in 18th century Europe, the story follows Lily Shepard's life after the death of her parents. Lily inherits their debt and is sold into domestic servitude to avoid prison. Lily is twenty when she is purchased by Doctor Murdoch Hansel. He intends for her to be a maid in his eccentric household and a participant in his current experiment. Doc Hansel lives in a renovated castle in the country. He is a brilliant scientist in a world that cares little for his strange endeavors. He hopes Lily can befriend his mentally unstable ward, Fredric.
Chapter 1: A New Home
Doctor Murdoch Hansel set out early one morning to acquire the second participant in his groundbreaking experiment. As he approached the busy merchant wharf of Clairemont Village, he stopped to breathe in the briny mist of the harbor. Seagulls were drifting on the sea breeze overhead, and a particular young woman standing on the pier raised her bright eyes and smiled at the birds. Her beauty captured Doc's full attention. She was a jewel among stones standing in a line of young men and women, waiting to be claimed and put to work. Doc Hansel slowly approached the trading post, keeping his gaze on her. He had found what he was looking for.
"She'll do perfectly. Dark hair, bright eyes, healthy complexion... if my experiment doesn't like her... I mean, if my ward doesn't like her, I shall simply keep her around to clean the laboratory," muttered Doc, more to himself than anyone else.
Toby McLary, the scruffy labor merchant, looked at Doc Hansel with an eyebrow raised as he inspected his new arrivals. Toby knew the middle-aged doctor was a bit mad. He dressed in eccentric clothes when he went into town. The most noticeable part of his wardrobe was the shiny black cane with an apricot-sized ruby on its handle. Folks assumed he carried the cane to show off the ruby since he didn't need it for walking. Dr. Murdoch Hansel was wealthy, well educated, reclusive, and obsessed with his work. He often lectured folks about their scientific ignorance.
"Aye, she's a strong lass," Toby agreed. "She goes by Lily if ya were wondering. The man that sold her to me said she's twenty and pure. She worked on her parents' farm until they died of the pox. They were in debt, so she was sold to settle it. She ain't cheap, Doc, if ya were wondering."
"Indeed, draw up the papers," Doc Hansel said as he tossed a bag of coins to Toby.
Once Lily's new papers were ready, every witness signed them. She was officially Doc Hansel's property.
Lily's new master promptly escorted her away from the merchant wharf and into his personal coach. She had never seen so many nice things before. The coach had dark velvet seats and shiny black paint. The horses pulling it had healthy brown coats and a majestic look about their muscular bodies. They towered over the other horses in town.
Lily thought her new master's clothes and cane were exceptionally fancy. He looked like a proper gentleman, her mother would have said. His jacket was dark red leather and accented with shiny brass buttons. The top hat that sat upon his thick black hair was made of the same worn red leather. His tall black boots were also covered in brass buttons. He had a short, neatly trimmed black beard speckled with gray. His eyes were a misty blue under thick, brooding eyebrows. The doctor presented himself as a handsome figure. Still, his face was a little too sharp to be attractive in a traditional sense. Long, exhausting hours of experiments had taken a toll on his once-vibrant appearance, but his mind was sharper than ever.
Lily thought he was handsome enough to be admired. She assumed he was in his late forties, definitely older than her father before he passed. She was timidly studying him as he rotated his cane in a beam of sunlight coming through the coach window. The large ruby refracted brilliant red light on the walls and ceiling. It was fixed on the end of the cane with a smooth cradle of burnished gold. Lily figured the gem cost more than she did.
"Well now, Lily," Doc Hansel began as the coach clattered along the cobblestone road out of town. "I hope you realize you have landed in a remarkable position. You will be helping me further my research. I expect you to take orders and cause me no trouble. You will be the only servant allowed in my laboratory. It is an extremely important and dangerous place. I conduct most of my research there. I will educate you along with my current ward. You may find him a bit scary, but rest assured, I keep him on a short leash," he said casually.
"May I speak, Master Hansel?" Lily asked, barely above a whisper.
"Please do."
"What is a ward?" she asked.