Chapter 38 "Marked Before Birth"
The Ashcroft estate had a cellar beneath the main house a dark, cold space that had been used for storage for as long as anyone could remember.
But there was a section of the cellar that wasn't used for storage. A section that had iron bars and a lock. A section that the Ashcrofts called "the prison," though they only used it in whispers.
It was here that Margaret locked Rosanna.
The cell was barely six feet by six feet, with stone walls that wept with moisture and a dirt floor. There was a bucket in the corner for waste, and a thin blanket that smelled of mildew. No windows. No light except what filtered down through the gaps in the floorboards above.
"You'll stay here until we decide what to do with you," Margaret said as she locked the iron door. "Be grateful I'm not having you whipped in the town square. That's what you deserve."
"Please," Rosanna begged, gripping the bars. "Please, Mrs. Ashcroft, I'm innocent. I swear to you"
"You swear?" Margaret laughed, a cold, bitter sound. "Your swearing means nothing, girl. You're a liar and a whore, and you'll be treated as such."
Margaret disappeared up the stairs, leaving Rosanna alone in the darkness.
For a long moment, Rosanna just stood there, her hands still gripping the bars, trying to process what had just happened.
She was pregnant.
With Thomas Ashcroft's child.
And Margaret thought it was Sebastian's or wants to pin it down on him knowing it might be Thomas.
And there was no way to explain the truth without admitting what Thomas had done and who would believe her? A servant's word against a respected landowner?
Rosanna sank down onto the cold floor and pulled the thin blanket around her shoulders.
And for the first time since she'd arrived in Hollow Creek eight years ago, she allowed herself to cry.
Three days passed before anyone came to the cellar.
Rosanna spent those days in darkness, given only stale bread and water through the bars twice a day by a serving girl who wouldn't meet her eyes. The cold seeped into her bones. The darkness played tricks with her mind. And the baby Thomas Ashcroft's unwanted baby continued to grow inside her.
On the third day, she heard voices above. Men's voices. Authoritative. Angry.
The cellar door opened, and light flooded down the stairs so bright after days of darkness that Rosanna had to shield her eyes.
"Bring her up," a man's voice commanded.
Rough hands grabbed Rosanna and hauled her to her feet. They unlocked the cell and dragged her up the stairs into the main house, where a group of men waited in the parlor.
Rosanna recognized some of them town council members, the magistrate, Reverend Collins. All men. All powerful. All looking at her with disgust.
And there, standing beside Margaret, was Thomas Ashcroft, his face arranged in an expression of righteous anger.
"This is the girl?" Magistrate Williams asked, his grey beard bristling with disapproval.
"This is her," Margaret confirmed. "Rosanna Vale. My indentured servant who has committed adultery under my roof."
"That's a serious charge, Mrs. Ashcroft."
"I have proof. The girl is pregnant. She's been conducting an illicit affair with Sebastian Whitmore, a local farmer. I've caught them together multiple times, and now she carries his bastard child."
"Is this true, girl?" Reverend Collins demanded, his voice booming through the parlor. "Have you been fornicating with Sebastian Whitmore?"
Rosanna opened her mouth to speak, but what could she say? Yes, she loved Sebastian. Yes, they'd met in secret. But they'd never they'd been careful, had never crossed that line, knowing the consequences.
But the baby inside her was real. And if it wasn't Sebastian's, then
"I" Rosanna's voice came out as a croak. "I love Sebastian. But this child is not"
"So you admit to the affair," Magistrate Williams interrupted.
"No! I mean we never" Rosanna looked desperately at Thomas, silently begging him to tell the truth. To admit what he'd done. To take responsibility.
But Thomas just stared back at her with cold, empty eyes.
"The girl is lying," Thomas said smoothly. "She's been fornicating with that Whitmore boy for months. My wife and I have tried to guide her toward righteousness, but she's beyond redemption."
"Beyond redemption," Reverend Collins echoed, shaking his head sadly. "What a tragedy. She seemed such a quiet, obedient girl."
"Quiet girls are often the worst," Margaret said. "They hide their sins better."
"Please," Rosanna begged, tears streaming down her face. "Please, you have to believe me. I didn't Mr. Ashcroft, he"
"Enough!" Magistrate Williams's voice cracked like a whip. "I've heard enough. The evidence is clear. You're pregnant out of wedlock, you've admitted to meeting with a man in secret, and you've brought shame upon the Ashcroft household."
"What would you have us do, Magistrate?" Margaret asked, her voice calm and reasonable. "The girl is still under contract to me. Normally I would simply have her whipped and her indenture extended, but given the... circumstances..."
"Given that the Ashcroft family holds a certain position in this community," the Magistrate said carefully, "I believe more severe measures are warranted."
"What kind of measures?" Rosanna whispered.
Magistrate Williams looked at her like she was something distasteful he'd found on his shoe.
"You will remain imprisoned until you give birth," he pronounced. "You will be given minimal food enough to keep you and the child alive, but no more. After the birth" He paused, exchanging a look with Margaret. "After the birth, the child will be dealt with according to the old laws."
"The old laws?" Rosanna's voice was barely audible.
Margaret's smile was cold and satisfied. "The blood of a bastard child born of adultery must be shed. It's the only way to cleanse the sin."
Rosanna's knees gave out. The men holding her were the only thing keeping her upright.
"You're going to kill my baby?" she gasped.
"We're going to purify it," Reverend Collins corrected. "Send its innocent soul to heaven before your sin can taint it further."
"And after the blood is shed," Magistrate Williams continued, "you will be cast out of Hollow Creek. Marked as an adulteress. No decent household will take you in. You'll be forced to make your way in the world as best you can."
"Please," Rosanna sobbed. "Please, don't do this. The baby is innocent"
"Take her back to the cellar," Margaret commanded. "And make sure she's fed. Just enough. We need her alive until the birth."
They dragged Rosanna back down the stairs, back to the darkness, back to the cold stone cell.
And as the door locked behind her, Rosanna finally understood the true horror of her situation.
They were going to keep her prisoner for months. Make her give birth. Kill her baby. And then throw her out to die slowly on the streets.
All because Thomas Ashcroft had forced himself on her.
All because Margaret Ashcroft cared more about her reputation than the truth.
All because Rosanna was powerless and alone and nobody would believe her.