Haunted Ground by Irina Shapiro

blocking out most of the light.  He was big for a boy his age, tall and broad.  He gave her a charming smile as he advanced slowly toward her.
    “Rowan, is it?” he asked.  Rowan nodded, suddenly feeling trapped.  He wasn’t doing anything to frighten her, but she felt an overwhelming need to get out of the barn and into the summer sunshine.  She got to her feet and brushed the straw off her skirt as she took a tentative step toward the door, but Jasper blocked her exit.  He moved quicker than she expected, and she felt the first twinges of fear as she tried to get around him.
    “Wait!  Where are you running off to in such a hurry?  I only wanted to sit with you awhile.”  He was smiling, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes, which frightened Rowan all the more.  Her mother always said that the eyes were a window to the soul, and Jasper’s gaze was hard and threatening. 
    “My mam will be looking for me,” Rowan mumbled as she tried again to get around Jasper’s bulky frame.  He reached out and caught her, dragging her against him like a sack of flour.  He smelled of beer and Rowan wondered how much he’d drunk.
    “Your mam is too busy having a good time to be looking for you,” he breathed, his face moving closer to hers.  “How about I teach you a game?  Would you like that?”
    Rowan shook her head vehemently.  “No, I don’t want to play a game.  I just want to go back to the party.”
    “What a silly little girl you are,” Jasper said, pulling her closer until she felt his breath on her face.  She instinctively tried to back away, but Jasper’s arms were like bands of steel around her.  “If you don’t learn how to make a man happy, no one will ever want you.  You’ll be an old, dried-up spinster.”  He laughed without humor and suddenly cupped her breast.  It was too small to fill his hand, but he didn’t seem to mind, squeezing it and rubbing his thumb over her nipple through the fabric.  Rowan tried to pull away, but Jasper just laughed, pushing her against the wall and sliding a hand under her skirt.  “Shall I show you what else men like?”
    Terrified, she struggled against him, but he was too big for her to even budge.  He was enjoying the game, releasing her for a moment and then grabbing her even harder.  Most likely he hadn’t come upon her by accident, but followed her from the main house.  He’d had this in mind all along, ever since he spotted her in the church.  Hot, angry tears began to flow down Rowan’s cheeks.  She was still too innocent to understand what Jasper could do to her, but the feeling of helplessness that engulfed her was frightening, making her realize that someone could exercise power over her against her will and she could do nothing to stop it.
    “Let me go,” she begged, but Jasper just chuckled and tried to pull down her bodice.  Rowan was about to scream when Jasper beat her to it.  He let out an angry bellow as he was practically lifted off his feet and tossed against the wall by his brother. 
    “Get out!” Brendan roared.  Rowan expected Jasper to put up a fight, but he just looked at his brother with contempt. 
    “I was only having a bit of fun.  I wouldn't have hurt her,” he said, clearly trying to appease Brendan.  It seemed that Jasper actually looked up to him and wanted his forgiveness, but it wasn’t to be given.
    “Get out,” Brendan repeated, quieter this time.
    “She’s ugly anyway,” Jasper sniggered as he got to his feet.  “Ugly, and flat as a wooden plank.  No man will ever want her, unless he’s blind.”  Jasper spit at Rowan’s feet and stumbled from the barn, but not before he gave his brother a mighty shove.  Brendan didn’t budge or spare Jasper a glance.
    “Are you all right?”  He’d taken her by the shoulders and looked into her eyes, his gaze so different from his brother’s.  His eyes were kind, and an understanding smile played about his lips as he watched her dissolve