We arrive at the small farmstead at dawn, just as the family are waking. They are shocked when they learn of our purpose, but we are armed with an official looking warrant. They, too, have heard the rumours but still they give up Tabitha only reluctantly.
She is delivered to us in a plain, rough, woollen smock and barefoot. In common with most slaves, it is clear that her ample breasts are unconstrained beneath her dress.
Tabitha does not fully understand what is happening, but she is clearly frightened, and she tries to run away. I have no difficulty catching and restraining her. I hold her while Dr White brings the shackles and chains from the horse-drawn buggy in which we arrived.
Despite her struggles and protests, it takes no time to secure Tabitha and to load her into the back of the buggy, with me sitting opposite her.
Tabitha quietly sobs as we take her away. As we depart, I see the wife and mother of the household is equally distressed by the turn of events. Clinging to her is a girl, presumably her daughter, in what appears to be a nightdress. Her mother quickly shoos her daughter back into the house when she sees my gaze fall on her.
We return to the church, where a cell has been created in the crypt. It has a small, high, barred window which is the only source of daylight, a simple wooden bench and two buckets; one full of water, with a ladle, and the second, empty, for use by occupants to deal with calls of nature. The floor is of hardened soil, three of the walls and ceiling are stone, and the fourth wall is metal bars with a lockable opening.
Tabitha is taken to the cell. Her hands are released from the shackles, but her ankles are still fastened. As I lock the metal barred door, Dr White nods with satisfaction. He turns to me.
“Let us leave her for a little while. A little contemplation may help her to open up to us about what she has been engaged in and with whom!” he tells me.
He continues talking to me as we leave the crypt.
“Jonathan, this is serious business that we are about here,” Dr White tells me.
“Yes, Dr White,” I reply.
“There is no doubt that the Devil is about his work,” he continues. “It is our job to find out how far he has infiltrated his evil into this community and, where we find his evil, to firmly stamp it out.”
“And we, too, must be aware,” He continues.
“It is quite possible that, through his proxies, the Devil will try to corrupt us and divert us from our mission. But we must resist. We must not show weakness…” He pauses, as if in thought. “However hard and unpleasant our task may be, at times. I take no pleasure from the things that I have to do, and you must control yourself, likewise.”
“Yes, Dr White,” I reply, again, not sure to what I am agreeing, but Dr White seems to think that it is important.
We go to the vestry.
The vestry has been converted to serve as an interrogation room. The church minister, Reverend Gaunt, is waiting for us there. He is sat behind a table, reading his bible. He looks up at us as we enter.
“The slave, Tabitha, is the in the cell,” Dr White tells him, answering his unasked question. “Jonathan will bring her up, when we are ready,” he explains.
Dr White sits beside Reverend Gaunt, behind the table. I remain standing.
“Our purpose, today, is to establish what happened in the woods, who else was in the woods with her, and which, if any, of them were impregnated by the Devil incarnate in the form of the goat/man,” Dr White starts.
The Reverend nods, uncertainly, but does not dissent.
“Hopefully, the slave will give up the information, willingly, but if, as we believe, she has been possessed by the Devil, we may need to use other means to get the information out of her. If so, Jonathan will administer the necessary … *persuasion*,” Dr White continues.
As he speaks, Dr White looks across at a locked trunk, sat in the corner of the room. Reverend Gaunt follows his gaze and shudders as his eyes settle on the trunk. I know that the trunk arrived with Dr White and that the shackles and chains, with which Tabitha was constrained, came from the trunk. But I do not know what else it contains. Reverend Gaunt’s response suggests that he may have some idea, however.
“I pray to God that won’t be necessary,” the Reverend says with sadness and maybe even dread in his voice.
“I, too,” agrees Dr White, but noticeably without conviction. “But we must not falter or hesitate to do whatever is necessary to defeat the Devil and drive him from our community.” He turns to me. “Isn’t that, so, Jonathan?”
“Yes, Dr White,” I reply, dutifully.
In truth, I’m not sure how I feel about administering *persuasion*, by whatever means that may require. I am not a violent man. But Dr White seems to have confidence in me to do whatever is necessary. I sense that it is in my interests not to let him down. I am, after all, a stranger in this community. I cannot afford to have suspicion falling upon me.
“OK, if we are ready, Jonathan can go and fetch the slave girl,” Dr White says. He looks at me and nods towards the door. Reverend Gaunt holds his bible in his hands and gazes at the table. Clearly, he is not looking forward to this. I have mixed feelings, too.
I nod in return and go down to the crypt.
Source: reddit.com/r/eroticliterature/comments/lqmf6v/mmm_ffff_the_devils_work_part_two