Free Romance: Luther's Property by Laurie Burrows Page A

her sister more.   Watching Emma crying in a small ball in the dark of the wood shed caused
Ellen to feel guilty about her harsh words to her sister.
    “Emma…I’m sorry.”
    Ellen moved next to
her sister and pulled Emma into her arms, squeezing her body tight as she
rested her chin on top of Emma’s head.
    “I didn’t know you
fell in love with him.”
    Emma sniffled
through her response.
    “He was going to
choose you anyways.”
    “Maybe not…”
    “Yeah right, they
always choose you.”
    Emma continued to
sniffle but stopped crying so hard, curling up against her sister for comfort.
    “It doesn’t matter
anymore, he’s gone and we are still here.”
    Emma nodded and
snuggled in harder against her sister, feeling her heart break into a thousand
pieces beneath her chest.   They sat there
curled up on the floor of the wood shed for what seemed like ages before the
Madame unlocked and opened the door.   She
let the small light of the setting sun into the woodshed, but blocked the exit
so the girls could not leave.   Her arms
were crossed over her chest and her mouth was flat and stern.
    “Ellen, you first.”
    “Yes Madame?”
    What took place
between you and Mr. Dhelhare?”
    “What do you mean
Madame?”
    “You know exactly
what I mean, now answer me before I take away food privileges for a week.”
    Ellen sighed and
looked at Emma, then returned her gaze to the Madame.
    “I pleasured him
with my hand in the library.   He tried to
tell me we couldn’t, but I wanted to ensure he’d choose me.”
    The Madame continued
to glare at Ellen for a moment before speaking.
    “With your hand, so
your womanhood is still intact?   Good.   Go, before I change my
mind.”
    Ellen glanced back
at her sister to give her a reassuring smile before moving around the Madame
and returning to the main house.   Emma
stood up and faced the Madame.
    “Now you Emma, what
happened between you and Mr. Dhelhare?”
    “We made love behind
the greenhouse during our picnic.”
    Emma hung her head
in shame, her tears dropping down her cheeks onto her shoes.   The Madame used her knuckle to push Emma’s
chin up, forcing their eyes to meet.
    “Why on god’s green
earth would you do such a thing Emma?”
    “Because he was
nice, and I thought I’d never know the touch of a man.”
    Emma sniffled again
and tried to look away from the Madame, but remained locked in her gaze by the
Madame’s knuckle.
    “My dear Emma, you are
a foolish girl.   You are going to stay in
this shed until the preacher can tell me what to do with you.”
    “But Madame, the
preacher won’t be here for several weeks yet.”
    “I know.”
    The Madame removed
her knuckle from Emma’s chin and turned around, not speaking another word to
Emma as she closed the door to the woodshed and returned the lock to its place,
ensuring that Emma could not escape the dark confinement.   Emma collapsed onto the floor and burst into
tears once again, letting her face press against the cold wood as she let
herself get lost to the darkness.   Her
mind wandered to thoughts of Isaac and second guessed if it was the right
decision to let him do those things to her, to take her womanhood.   She knew she would never feel anything like
it again, but begged god to forgive her as she curled up into the fetus
position in a small corner of the shed.  
    Her body was
shivering by the time the sun had fully set, the heat of the bright morning
gone and replaced with the cool breeze of midnight that slipped through the
cracks between the wooden walls.   Emma
continued to repeat her apology to god over and over through the night, barely
able to sleep for free of freezing while lost to the dream world.   Her mind wondering if she should just let
herself drift off and give into the cold, knowing the rest of her life would
not get any better than it was in that single moment of pain and darkness.

Chapter Ten

 
    Emma woke with a
start.   There was a loud banging against
what