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

sounded like metal outside the woodshed door.   She wasn’t sure how many days had passed
since she had been locked away in the shed, the Madame only fed her once every
few days so it was hard to keep track.   When the shed door opened up to reveal the bright light of the sun it
stung her eyes, forcing Emma to crawl backwards until she was encased in
darkness in the far corner of the shed.
    “Emma?”
    It was the sound of
her sister’s voice echoing through the shed.   Emma didn’t believe what she was hearing or seeing was real, she curled
up into a ball and began to chant go away.
    “Is she in there?”
    This time it was
Isaac’s voice, proving that she must still be dreaming, or the cold had finally
taken her life and she was in the afterlife of heaven or hell, she wasn’t sure
which she was destined to go to after what she had done with Isaac.
    “Emma, oh my dear
Emma!”
    Ellen rushed into
the wood shed and found Emma in her corner.   She wrapped Emma up in her arms and squeezed her tight, resting her warm
cheek against Emma’s frozen one.
    “Emma it’s me.   It’s going to be ok, I’m here now.”
    Ellen began to cry
as Emma continued to rock in her small ball, chanting for Ellen to go away.
    “Isaac, something is
wrong with her.”
    Isaac walked into
the wood shed and knelt down beside Ellen, trying to get a good look at Emma to
see what could be wrong.
    “I think she’s in
shock.   Too cold for too long.   We have to get her out of here.”
    “I can’t leave, the
Madame will notice.”
    “I can take her, but
I’ll need your help.”
    Ellen nodded and
squeezed her sister tightly again.
    “What do I need to
do?”
    “Go pack a few
things for her, and meet me at the back of the house.   Wait till everyone is asleep, including the
Madame.”
    Ellen nodded and
rose to her feet, running out of the shed and back towards the house to the
bedrooms.   Ellen tossed a few belongings
of Emma’s into a tiny satchel and hid it under her pillow, then she returned to
her chores, hoping the Isaac knew what he was doing and could help her poor
sister return to her.   Back at the shed
Isaac had closed the door, returning the entire room to darkness.   He wrapped Emma up in his arms and softly
hummed for her, kissing the top of her head over and over again, reassuring her
that everything was going to be ok.
    “Is this heaven, or
hell?”
    “This isn’t heaven
or hell, this is here and now.   You are
alive Emma, not dead.”
    “That can’t be
right.   Go away, don’t torture me
anymore.”
    “Torture you?”
    Isaac was confused
how his presence could be torturing her.   He let out a deep sigh and continued to rock her, hoping that she didn’t
continue to feel tortured as he tried to warm her body up and bring her back to
a clear state of mind.   He watched the
small crack underneath the door and waited till the sun had long been set
before rising to his feet.   He picked up
Emma and carried her in his arms, taking her out of the shed into the moon
light night.   Emma looked up at the sky
confused, she stared at the moon for a long moment before turning her gaze to
Isaac.
    “Isaac?”
    “There you are.”
    “What…What are you
doing?   How am I out of the shed?”
    “I should have guessed
it would be the moon and the air to bring you back.”
    “Bring me back?”
    Isaac nodded and
smiled at Emma, continuing to carry her as he walked to the very back of the
house to wait for Ellen.
    “What’s going on?”
    “I’m rescuing you…or
kidnapping you.   One of those.”
    Isaac chuckled and
Emma looked even more confused.
    “I’ve been trying to
see you for weeks.   I only just was able
to talk to your sister without the Madame catching us.”
    “Me?   Why me?”
    “Because you are my
choice sweet Emma, I wish to marry you.”
    Emma shook her head
in disbelief.
    “No, nobody ever
chooses me.   Everyone wants Ellen.”
    “Except me.   I never should have done what I did