Romance: Luther's Property (7 page)

Isaac continued to
check on Emma every few minutes as the straightened themselves out and packed
up the picnic.
 
Reaching out to caress
her arm or her leg every so often to ensure she wouldn’t flinch in pain.

“Are you sure you
are alright.”

“I’m wonderful.”

“And you’re sure?”

“Yes, please stop
asking.”

Emma giggled at how
concerned Isaac was for her.
 
It made her
heart pound faster at the thought that he may truly enjoy being around her, and
touching her.
 
She felt as if there was
hope that he may chose her, and not have to be rejected from the house with no
bride at his side.

“We need to get
back.
 
The Madame will wish to know your
decision.”

“How is that
done?
 
Is it a formal sort of thing or do
I just run away with my bride?”

“You tell the Madame
and she lets the one chosen know, so that they may pack and say their
goodbyes.
 
After that you get to do with
whatever you wish with Ellen.”

“Ellen?”

“Well yes, since you
only met with me and my sister, I can only assume you will insist on having
her.”

Emma smiled softly,
but Isaac could see the pain that was hidden behind her smile.

“Your sister?”

Isaac had to shake
his head and stop staring at Emma long enough to register the words, he thought
he had heard them wrong.
 
Emma simply
nodded.

“Yes, Emma is my
sister.
 
We came here together.”

Isaac stood in shock
as he tried to understand what he had experienced that day.
 
Sisters, and he had soiled them both, at
least somewhat.
 
His eyes grew wide and
his heart filled with guilt, rendering him speechless as Emma continued to
talk.

“Well, I should get
back.
 
Would you like to escort me back
to the house?”

When Isaac didn’t
respond, Emma sighed and headed back to the house on her own.
 
Her mind telling her that it was a mistake,
that now he would never even speak to her again.
 
She blamed herself, mentioning his future
bride to be, and telling him she was her sister was a big mistake.
 
He probably felt guilty about what they had
done, and wished to take it back.
 
When
Isaac finally came out of his guilty trance, he didn’t notice Emma was missing
right away.

“I can’t believe
that she is your sister.
 
Emma?”

Isaac called for
Emma over and over again, but she was already long gone.
 
Isaac shook his head again and strode back to
the house.
 
He went directly to the
Madame’s office, sat down in one of her more comfortable chairs and
waited.
  
He hung his head between his
legs for a few moments, trying to understand how he could have been so stupid,
to have allowed himself to touch both sisters.
 

He sat up and placed
his elbows on his knees and let his head fall into his hands.
 
He couldn’t imagine what the girls would say
when the shared their experiences with each other; but he knew that his wife to
be would never allow him to touch her after she knew the truth of what happened
between him and her sister. When the Madame entered the room and noticed Isaac
sitting there with his head between his hands, she closed the door behind her
and took a seat at her desk.

“Is everything
alright Mr. Dhelhare?”

“That depends.”

“On what?”

“Tell me about the sisters.”

“You mean the two
women you met with today?”

“Yes, them.”

“What would you like
to know?”

The Madame was
smiling at him the entire time, giving Isaac an unsettling feeling.

“Why wasn’t I told
they were sisters is a good start.”

“Would it have made a
difference Mr. Dhelhare?”

“I’m not sure, but I
should have been informed that I had sisters on my list.”

“I’m very sorry Mr.
Dhelhare, I didn’t think it would matter that much to you.”

“Well it does.”

“Is that all?”

“No.”

“What else can I
help you with?”

“How did Emma get
that scar?
 
Was it from Ellen?”

“Dear lord, no.
 
Emma had an accident as a child, too
adventurous and not enough balance I’m afraid.
 
Poor girl fell down a cliff, cutting her face on a large jagged rock.”

Isaac nodded.
 
He knew he should have asked Emma, but he was
too distracted and then found out that she was sisters with the beautiful
seductress from the library.

“Anything else?”

“No, that is
everything.”

The Madame nodded.

“Have you made a
decision then?”

“Yes I have.”

“And who would you
like to marry?”

“I don’t want the
other girls to know until after we are gone.”

“But she needs to
say her goodbyes.”

“I wish to speak to
her about that.”

“May I know who she
is?”

“Can I have your
word that you will not announce it, that you will allow her to announce us or
not?”

Madame nodded her
head once to accept Isaac’s terms.
 
Isaac
nodded to conclude their agreement and then straighten up against the back of
the chair.

“Then I will tell
you who she is.”

Emma was back in the
rooms with Ellen, sitting in silence as her sister stared at her.

“Did you enjoy your
time with him?”

“It was alright.”

“You’re dress seems
dirty.”

“Setting up the
blanket, must have gotten dirt on myself.”

“Ah, you should be
more careful next time.”

Emma smiled and
nodded towards Ellen, her hands running through her dress to dust off all the
dirt.

“Will you accept?”

Ellen looked at Emma
with a confused look on her face when she heard Emma’s question.

“What do you mean
will I accept?”

“When Isaac asks for
you to marry him, will you say yes?”

“Why would I say
yes?”

“I don’t know…you
looked so happy after your time with him.
 
I’ve never seen you smile like that before.”

Emma tried not to
seem too curious as she talked to her sister, but she needed to know for herself
if Ellen was interested in leaving with Isaac.

“We did have a
wonderful morning, but I suppose I’ll only go if he refuses to leave without a
wife.”

“At least you will
have a husband who is as handsome as you are beautiful.”

Emma sighed, she
could tell Emma was considering it, but she didn’t understand why.
 
Her sister always stuck by her side, Emma
couldn’t think of a single reason that would convince Ellen to change her mind
and finally choose a husband.

“I suppose, and he
has a large member sure to be pleasurable on our wedding night.”

Ellen hadn’t meant
to say the second part out loud but she was so caught up in her own mind she
forgot that she was talking to her sister.
 
When Emma gasped and stared at her in horror, Ellen knew she had to try
and take back her words.

“I mean…”

“You were already
intimate with him?”

Emma was trying to
seem chocked but instead her anger was fueling her words.
 
Her sister had lied to her, and more so had
been intimate with the man.
 
Ellen could
tell that Emma was angrier than she should be about her immoral actions.
 
Emma never cared what Ellen did, she always
assumed it was for a good reason and to better their lives in some way.

“What has you so
upset?
 
It’s not like you were intimate
with him too.”

Emma tried to deny
it and pretend she wasn’t asked any question, but her face blushed and her body
trembled at the very thought of when Isaac was inside her.

“Dear lord, you
pleasured him!”

Ellen was yelling at
Emma now.
 
Ellen stood up and leaned over
towards her sister and slapped her clear across the face.
 
Emma could feel the mix of pain and angry
growing inside her as Ellen’s hand collided with her cheek, and Emma decided to
retaliate by slapping her sister right back.

“You were the ruined
woman who touched him first.
 
I will
never marry, what is your excuse!”

That was when the
sisters began to go at each other.
 
Ellen
continued to slap and claw at Emma, while Emma was pulling on Ellen’s hair and
trying to tackle her to the ground.
 
They
screamed at each other in between the grunts and groans of pain and anger,
everything muffled and mumbled together as the fought each other.
 
Due to their kicking, scratching and
screaming, the girls didn’t realize that both Isaac and the Madame had entered
the room.

“LADIES!”

Ellen was the first
to stop, her chest heaving as she panted, trying to catch her breath.
 
Emma was on the floor gasping for air as she
reached for the edge of her bed to pull her up to her feet.
 
Both of the women looked down at their feet
as they waited for the Madame’s next words.

“Why in the grace of
heaven are you two tearing each other apart?”

Emma and Ellen both
stayed silent, not wanting to admit anything to the Madame.

“Mr. Dhelhare has
chosen a bride, but if you two don’t speak up right this instant I will send him
away and nobody will be allowed to marry this man.”

The women both
gasped at the same time and moved their heads up to stare at each other, both
women raising a hand to point at the other one, as they spoke in union.

“She let him soil
her!”

All three women
gasped.
 
Ellen and Emma were both shocked
that their sister would tell on them, and the Madame was shocked to hear two of
her women were impure after only a short time with Isaac.
 
The Madame turned to Isaac and glared at him.

“Tell me that isn’t
true Mr. Dhelhare.”

“Well umm…”

Isaac coughed to
clear his throat, unable to form any words.
 
He couldn’t even think of a way to defend himself against the
accusation, because it was true.
 
Both
women had tarnished themselves in some way with him.

“Get out!
 
Get out of my house right now!”

The Madame slapped
Isaac across the face and made her demand for him to leave.
 
Isaac caressed his stinging cheek and took
one last look at the sisters before scrambling out of the room and out of the
house.
 
Once Isaac was gone the Madame
turned to the sisters and glared at them.

“Do you have any
idea how hard it will be to marry you two off now?
 
Especially you Emma.
 
No man wants a woman touched by another
man.
 
Both of you, go to the wood shed,
and do not come out until I have called you.”

The sisters hung
their heads in shame and walked out of the room.

Emma curled up in
the corner of the basement, crying against her knees as Ellen paced back and
forth in front of the woodshed door.

“Why are you crying Emma?
 
It’s not like you were going to ever get
married anyways.”

Emma looked up at
Ellen, her face bright red and covered in salt water.

“What?
 
Why are you being so mean?
 
You’ve never said that before, you were the
one saying we’d find someone to marry me some day.
 
You were the one that believed I could!”

Emma began to cry
harder, causing Ellen to walk up to her sister and bend down to be eye to eye
with her sister.

“Maybe it’s time to
make you face reality.
 
I mean really
Emma, you let that man destroy any chance you had…”

Ellen sighed and let
herself drop the rest of the way to the ground, getting more comfortable as she
spoke to Emma.

“I just wanted to
know what it was like…I knew I’d never get married, and he was so nice.”

Emma was sniffling
and crying as she tried to explain herself to her sister, but all Ellen did was
shake her head and disbelieve her sister.

“That’s no excuse.”

“Well why did you do
it?”

“To ensure he had to
marry me. “

“I thought you said
you’d refuse him.”

“I know, but I’m
tired of waiting around for a man to come and whisk you away.
 
Isaac is gorgeous…and large.”

Ellen made a grunt,
causing Emma to flinch from the painful thought of them together.

“Oh my lord.”

“What?”

Emma looked
confused, wondering what Ellen was thinking.

“You’re in love with
him.”

“No…”

“Yes you are, impure
Emma is in love with the scoundrel cowboy.”

Emma burst into
harder tears, unable to deny her sister’s words.
 
Ellen realized that she was right and that
saying it was only hurting 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.