The Lord The Lady and The Land

Chapter 26 Step Forward For the Past


It was a sound of dogs barking outside that woke Harry and Hermione up. The silencing spell faded away and Hermione could hear someone walking up the stairs. It was almost dawn and Susanna was walking down the hallway with the sobering potion.

Hermione got dressed quickly and joined Susanna walking down to Elisabeth’s room.

“Hermione could you help me?” Susanna asked raising Geoffrey’s head.
The two women got Geoffrey into a sitting position and shook him until he was somewhat conscious. They got some of the potion down his throat and a few moments’ later Geoffrey eyes fluttered.

Susanna had dressed in one of his wife’s dresses.

Hermione handed Susanna the strands of Elizabeth’s hair and she put them in the cup of polyjuice potion.

“Geoffrey, my lord. Are you awake?” Hermione asked.

“Why? Let me sleep,” He groaned.

“Geoffrey this is your chance…” Hermione stared.

She watched Susanna take a gulp of the concoction down and transform into Elizabeth Strode.

Susanna looked at herself in the mirror to check her appearance. She pinned up her hair and dotted some perfume on her neck, cleavage and wrists.

Geoffrey eyes turned to see what Hermione was watching and he let out a grasp.

Susanna saunter towards Geoffrey in an elegant manner, a smile on her face.
“Elizabeth,” he breathed out straightening up on the bed.

“Geoffrey, tell her. Tell her what you wanted to tell her before she died,” Hermione said softly.

“Am I awake? Or am I dead?” he wondered aloud.

Susanna walked up to him and sat down on the bed.

“Tell her,” Hermione urged him.

Geoffrey looked at who he thought was his wife,
“Elizabeth? I’ve missed you so my love. I loved our life together. You were my life. My treasure, my friend, my everything. I didn’t appreciate you until I lost you. Please. Please, forgive me.” He looked at her. Tears rolled down both their faces and his hands held hers caressing them. He brought her hands up to his lips, kissing them and inhaling her perfume.

Geoffrey’s hand cupped her cheek and wiped her tears away with his thumb. He looked at her face studying it.
“So beautiful,” he murmured.

“Is that what you wanted to say to her?” Hermione asked.

Geoffrey looked panicked,
“Why?” he turned to his wife’s image and asked, “Do you have to go so soon? Can you not stay for longer?” he said caressing her cheek down to her neck.

Hermione looked at Susanna, wondering if this was such a good idea, but he was drinking himself to an early grave, she could see that.

Susanna spoke in a whisper,
“We have a little time. Is there anything else you wanted to say to me my love,” she said touching his face, “the spell will be broken soon. And I hope these moments will free you from the suffering.”

“Spell? Of course,” Geoffrey said with wonder. He smiled, leaned into Susanna, and kissed her.

Susanna smiled at him when the kiss broke. Susanna turned and gave Hermione a look of ‘You can leave now.’

Hermione hurried out of the room closing the door behind her.
She heard Geoffrey moan, and cry aloud, “God yes oh yes!”

Hermione smiled as she turned and walked to the other bedroom.
The sun was up now and Harry was stretching. He looked at Hermione and asked,
“Where did you go?”

“To help Susanna,” giving him a wicked smile, “She’s busy now.”

“Busy? Doing what?” Harry inquired.

With a straight face she looked at Harry.
“Helping Geoffrey with his suffering.” A smile broke across her face then and she laughed. Her nose flared as she tried to keep a serious face.

“And how is she doing that?” Harry inquired getting up and grabbing his pants. He opened the door and glanced up and down the hallway.

“She giving him what he misses, his wife’s love,” she said innocently.

“She’s seducing him?” Harry asked.

Hermione nodded, “I think he just needs to have her one last time.”

“And when he can’t have her again? He’s going to feel tricked again,” Harry said getting upset.

“NO! He knows it’s a spell this time. And Susanna has been with him before, and she knows a few tricks herself. She just needs to satisfy him in bed and I think he could move on with his life.”

“What about Sir John? Having his mistress go to bed with another man?”

“I think Sir John has other mistresses. He travels a lot and Susanna can’t be with him all the time.”

“Speaking of travel we should get home. Your father and Aunt are worried sick about you,” Harry told her.

“We have to wait for Susanna, I don’t think it would be right to leave her here,” Hermione remarked to Harry.

“Okay I’ll get someone to send up something to eat for us … and them,” Harry said laughing.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A huge tray was sent up to Hermione’s room.

Harry and Hermione made themselves a plate. They were just digging into their meals when Geoffrey and Susanna came waltzing into their room.

Susanna face was her own and not Geoffrey’s wife’s. Their faces were close together and they were smiling at each other, arms entangle around their bodies.

Geoffrey looked tired but there was a light coming off his face as thought he had weathered at bad storm and found himself and life.

Harry and Hermione looked at the couple.

“Harry, Hermione you’re still here?” Susanna asked.

“Yes, we were waiting for you,” Hermione commented, “thought you might want to come back with us.”

“Oh,” Geoffrey murmured, “Susanna is going to stay for a day or two. We are getting re-acquainted.” Pulling her close to him he let out a hearty laugh smiling ear to ear.

“My Lord I said I would think about it,” Susanna teased giving him a playful nudge on the shoulder.

“Well while you are thinking about it my dear why don’t we join Lord Harry and his gentle lady,” Geoffrey suggested.

Susanna sat next to Hermione. Hermione commented, “Well it looked like it worked,” looking at her friend who was all a glow.

“It went well enough,” she said straightening out her shoulders and looking like the cat who ate the canary.

“I see. Going to stay here for a bit?” Hermione queried.

“We have to get back to school in a few days,” she said and added, “I can’t have him linger while John’s around in London. Have to be discreet. And I think Geoffrey is serious but …us. Not that I’d complain. I love Sir John he’s been so wonderful but he does have two other mistresses. And if he mentions Silvia or calls me Katie one more time I will throw him out the window.”

Susanna grabbed a plate and started to put toast, eggs, and ham on her plate.

“Perhaps you should move on? Take Geoffrey as your new lover?” Hermione suggested.

“He doesn’t like being in London. And I have to be in London for school and well … it’s London... Parties, the theater, and the Galleries. I’d miss it so.” Susanna whined.

“You can stay in London for the week and come here Friday afternoon and come back on Sunday afternoon,” Hermione recommended.

“I suppose I could do that,” Susanna said looking at Geoffrey who was smiling at her.

“Though I should warn you I think he wants and needs a wife, someone who will have to host parties here, go to theatre openings and go to the court.” Hermione informed her.

“That would be grand,” Susanna breathed out digging in to her breakfast, “I suppose he wants a family? Children I mean?”

“Yes I would.” Geoffrey said as he leaned over to give her a cup of tea. They looked at each other. Susanna blinked at him a few times as it sunk in.

“You’d have to bear my heirs and my name,” Geoffrey caressed her shoulder to her elbow and then to her wrist holding it gently and bringing it to his lips kissing it lightly, “and you would be Lady Susanna Strode.”

Susanna eyes widened and then focused again.
“My Lord that would be a grand title for any woman to hold. But I have to know could you live with my indiscretion of my youth and knowledge of me being Sir John’s mistress.”

“You are well known for that my lady, but my behavior, well ….” he swallowed hard,
“ you can only get credit for settling me down. Straightening me out. You must save the world from the likes of me and my breaking weddings up.” He smiled at Hermione.
And then at Harry who was looking a little livered at him.

Harry looked at Susanna and said,
“Yes Susanna, you better land this one quickly for no woman is safe until he tamed, if you need I can conger a rope to tie him up with.” Harry turned to Hermione and said,
“We should get going Hermione your father and aunt…”

Hermione nodded.

~ ~ ~

Hermione was sitting in front of Harry on the broom dressed warmly in a wool cloak and borrowed boots.

It didn’t take long to get back to their village. They flew over the seedy part of the village where the Malfoy’s hotel or brothel was. It seemed like a lifetime ago and the nightmare had faded from that time.

Hermione came so close to getting married to Harry just a day ago. Hermione was beginning to think she was cursed. Was she ever going marry Harry? Or was their destiny to be together and never marry like some tragic love story. If so as long as they were together she would happy.

They made it to Harry’s estate where Hermione’s father and aunt were waiting to hear from Harry.

Harry and Hermione went inside and surprised her father and aunt in the living room. Her father started to cry with relief as her aunt just grabbed her and screamed with joy.

It took a while to calm them both down with some sherry. Hermione was tired and went up to the bedchamber with Harry following her.

She stopped on the stairs and waited for him. He looked surprised at her as she held out her hand. He took it and put it to his lips. They walked up the stairs and into the bedroom.

~~~~~~

The winter daylight was growing dim and Maggie came into the bedroom coughing aloud as to announce her presents.
“Excuse me but Mr. Flint is down stairs waiting for Mrs. Malfoy.”

“What!” Hermione’s eye flow open, “What can he want?…” and with an intake of breath, “My dowry!”

Hermione jumped out of bed and threw on a simple dress and slid in shoes. She flew down the stairs to the parlor.

Mr. Flint was standing there with an ugly grin on his face.

He handed her a pile of papers,
“Mrs. Malfoy here are papers that you have to sign in order to have you annulment finalized and your dowry returned to you. Of course you realize you don’t get all the gold back. There was a loophole in the marriage contract… The Malfoys name being smeared and you not providing an heir.”

“WHAT!” Hermione hissed her blood boiled and she clenched her fist.

She looked through the papers. So many little words that had changed as she read them becausee of a confusing spell. She saw her uncle signature on the bottom of the pages. Hermione wanted to through the papers in to the fireplace and set them a blaze.

She heard Mr. Flint laugh and say,
“Sign the papers and I’ll collect them in a few days if you still want the annulment that the queen has granted you. Or wait to have the year up to get all of your dowry back.” He backed up toward the door and nearly ran out the door laughing.

Draco was dead yet he still had his minion poking her with thorns.

Hermione wanted to revenge on Draco and his father, but that was impossible. Draco was gone. He was with her cousin in another world, the afterlife. But Lucius wasn’t and it was he, she was sure, that was making her life a little more difficult.

Hermione laughed. She didn’t get to marry Harry due to Geoffrey’s interference, but it was just as well. Her heart would have been broken if, she was informed by Mr. Flint, that she was an adulteress and not legally married to Harry if everything went as planned at the wedding.

Harry was behind her and touched her shoulder,
“We’ll get married, nothing is going to keep me from making you mine.”

But Hermione wasn’t thinking about her future marriage she was thinking of her first marriage to Draco. He constant sexually advances on her and his infidelities with the house staff, his half sister and the whores in his brothel or the servants in the brothel.
Some were girls were forced to work in the hotel.

Hermione mind started and didn’t stop until she smiled a wicked grin.


~ ~ ~

Hermione should have gone back to school seeing that her wedding came to a halt, but she didn’t.

The next morning donned in all black garb Hermione order a carriage to go to the sleazy end of the village.

She got out of the carriage without waiting for the coachman to open the door for her.

She marched up the stairs of the hotel and to the manager and asked to see the books.
He laughed at her looking her up and down,
“New whores go to any empty rooms. We have three empty rooms, one just vacant today. They just carted out the damaged whore and two men who were fighting over her an hour ago.

“Damaged? What happened?” Hermione asked horrified.

“Oh one wanted the girl until this morning the other want her this morning and wanted the other fellow to leave.”

“What happen to her?”

“She got in between them and got hit or something nose was bleeding arm broken or wrist who cares. She’ll be back to serve in a week or so when she’s healed or become a chambermaid until then. Must pay the debt to the Master Malfoy or she’ll get whipped.”

Hermione removed her black gloves and veiled hat,
“Well I’m Mrs. Malfoy and there will be no whippings. Now give me the books I want to know what’s been going on here since my husband’s death.”

The man’s mouth dropped in shock,
“Yes Mrs. Malfoy.”

He handed her the accounting books and she nearly fell over. There were twenty-five to thirty girls working each night. Each servicing three to five men a night on the weekdays, seven to ten or more on Weekends.

The hotel had a safe in the office in the back of the main office. Hermione tried a few passwords to it and it finally opened.

Piles of bags of gold silver and gemstones were in the all over the vault. Hermione’s eyes filled with tears. All this wealth was from the girls above laying on their backs their stomachs and other positions for men to fuck them. So many were forced to work here and for god know how long.

Hermione sat down and thought it through. She would interview all the girls. The newer ones should be sent home with some gold for their harm and troubles. Others she had a feeling had been doing this for a while and may not know how to get another job or feel that they wouldn’t have a chance at getting married, but there was still a women shortage.

Hermione had the manager call a meeting to all the girls in the hotel.

They sat in the lounge. Hermione looked them over and could see the newer girls and the more experienced ones. She herself felt a connection to these woman. She was a mistress, some would call her a whore, a prostitute, sex for money.

She asked for all the new girls to come forward and tell her how long she had been there.

Five new girls got a bag of gold and silver coins and were told to go home, they had fulfilled their family’s debt.

Ten girls were free from their family’s debt and were hoping to marry their favorite lovers.

Ten other girls who had been doing this for a long time told Hermione that they were going back upstairs to their customers. Hermione told them to keep the gold and silver they were earning and that their debt to the Malfoys too was paid.

The others started to cry not knowing what to do. Hermione suggested they find nice men to marry, go to school or take the bag of gold and silver she gave them to buy some land and live a little, travel and leave this part of their life behind them.

Hermione gave some of the money to charities. She also had the hotel cleaned and repainted. The girls who had the top floor had their rooms done beautifully, had new clothes and better potions to keep them healthy and free from conceiving a unwanted baby.

Hermione missed a week of school in order to do this and she felt very proud of herself for doing it so quickly. She helped the girls out and the hotel kept running, mostly as a respectable establishment. And best of all, she did it with the Malfoy’s fortune. She was setting thing right or as right as she could put them.

By Friday of that week, after most of the Malfoy’s money was used up, she signed the papers making the annulment legal. She was now legally Miss Hermione Granger once more. Mr. Flint looked livid and couldn’t say anything, as by law everything she did was legal. She was the only Malfoy in England, the others were in their estate in France and didn’t dare show their faces in England for a while longer.