the hall to the stairs. She couldn’t believe she was walking through
this magnificent house alone. She wondered which of the many
doors she passed belonged to him. When she got to the bottom of
the stairs, Gerald stood to meet her. She lowered her head, and
grasped her hands in front of her.
“This way, Miss,” Gerald held out his hand in the direction of
the dining room. She walked slowly not sure if he was supposed to
be in front of her or behind her. She stepped in the dining room, and
saw him at the end of the table.
Well she saw the morning paper opened, and assumed he
was behind it. Gerald pulled out her seat and she sat down. He
folded down a corner of the paper, and smiled at her.
“Good Morning, little one. Did you sleep well?” his voice was
soft, but different from the voice that was in her bed last night. Last
night he sounded desperate for her to forgive him, for her to
understand him, for her to trust him. This morning he sounded more
confident and controlled.
“Yes, I did, thank you.” She kept her eyes lowered to her
plate. Gerald came in and offered her eggs, bacon, toast, and coffee,
which she gladly accepted all of it. Liam folded the paper up, and
began to eat. Norah waited. She wasn’t sure what she was waiting
for, but she waited.
“Please, help yourself, Norah.” She smiled and took her fork.
She thought after his confession last night, and being so close to him,
that she would feel more comfortable around him, but she didn’t.
She was more confused and very unsure of herself. He
seemed very confident. He ate and continued to look at the paper
next to his plate, seemingly unaffected by her at all. She ate and
looked at the art on the walls. “I have to go into work for just a little
while this morning. Apparently we haven’t been able to close the
Houston deal yet, and it’s on the verge of falling apart.” Norah
nodded her head. “I shouldn’t be long. I thought when I came back, I
could take you out to my stables, or the pond and let you feed the
ducks.” She smiled but still didn’t look over at him. He patted her
hand and she moved it so her hand was on top of his. They both
finished their breakfast in silence. He walked to the front door and
she was close behind him. He turned to face her. He wasn’t sure how
to handle this moment. It seemed like the little wife was seeing her
husband off to work. He touched her chin and raised her face to look
at him.
“Take a swim in the tub or check out the books in my library,”
then he pointed down the hall to the side of the stairs Norah hadn’t
seen before. “If you walk down there, to your left there is a nice big
library full of books.” He leaned forward and kissed her forehead. “I
shouldn’t be long.”
Norah
I don’t know how long I stood there and looked out the
window. I really didn’t know what to do. He had never let me roam
the house before. I wanted to know more about him, but I wasn’t
sure it was my place to explore his home without him there. I turned
to face the stairs and saw Rosa standing there with a stack of
laundry. She said something to me in Spanish. Just as I was about to
say I didn’t understand Spanish, Gerald rounded the corner and
spoke for me. “She doesn’t understand you, Rosa. But yes go put her
clothes away, and change the sheets on her bed. I’m sure she
doesn’t mind.” He smiled at me and kept walking.
Rosa nodded and went upstairs. I went back to the dining
room where Gerald was clearing the table and just watched him.
Everyone was just going about their business as if the girl who had
been locked in the basement wasn’t out and about in the house
now. Like it was completely normal to have a person who had been
purchased roaming around. I wondered if his statement about never
having bought a sex slave before was really true. These people were
acting like nothing was different, and to me everything was different.
“Can I help?” I asked in a shy voice. Gerald stopped and
looked over at me.
“You want to help me, Miss?” He seemed to be just as
confused as I was.
“I don’t know what I should be doing, and I don’t want to go
back to my room,” I lowered my eyes and fidgeted with my hands. I
was scared if I went back to my room, the door would close and I
would be locked in for the day. I was out, and I wanted to stay out.
He nodded and left the room.
I went to the kitchen and three women in black and white
maid’s uniforms were moving around. One was washing dishes,
another was sweeping the floor, and the other was chopping fruit.
They all smiled at me, but didn’t speak. I wondered how many
women they had seen walk through this house. I walked through the
kitchen to the backdoor and looked outside.
“Will you be showering before you go outside, Miss?” I
turned and saw Gerald standing behind me. “I only ask, because
Rosa would like to clean your bathroom.” I tightened the belt around
my robe and cleared my throat. “We have been instructed to leave
your bedroom open for the day, so you don’t have to be concerned
about being left in your room.” It was like he was reading my mind.
“Then I guess I will go shower now.”
I ate lunch on the back patio, alone. Whatever it was that was
keeping him away took more than a few hours.
I paced around the house all day expecting to see him walk
through the door any moment. I checked out the big library and even
found an indoor pool down a very long hall in the back of the house.
There was a billiards room, and what looked like a trophy room as
well. Liam had trophies from playing rugby, cricket and soccer, well
football to him.
He had pictures of him playing tennis with Boris Becker and
John Mcenroe and diplomas from various schools hanging on the
walls. I got bored and laid outside in the sun for a while and took a
nap. I finally asked Gerald if he had called, but he didn’t have any
news.
*****
Liam walked in the house after midnight. His day had been a
complete disaster. The Houston deal was going downhill. They had
worked through lunch and dinner trying to come to some kind of an
agreement, but to no avail. He kicked off his shoes next to his
briefcase and started to loosen his tie.
“She’s in the library, sir,” Gerald said. Liam ran his hands over
his face. He felt bad about making her wait for him all day, but he
wasn’t use to having anyone to answer to at home.
“She waited up for me?” he asked. Gerald shook his head.
“She tried, but I’m afraid she fell asleep about an hour ago.”
Liam nodded and told Gerald that was all he needed for the evening
and went to see his sleeping beauty. She was laying in his big brown
leather chair with a pink blanket laying over her. He watched her
sleep as he made himself a drink at the bar. He quickly drank it down
and poured himself another. It had been a disastrous day, but seeing
her sleeping so peacefully warmed his body. He took the second
drink over to the chair and lifted her head so it was in his lap. She
moved around, but didn’t wake. When he finished his drink, he sat it
on the table next to him and ran his fingers through her dark hair.
She was so beautiful. For a brief moment Liam had a vision of a
world where she could truly forgive him for all the wrong he had
done to her.
Where she could overlook the fact that he purchased her
illegally and kept her from seeing her family. In this perfect world she
would fall in love with him and they would live happily ever after. “I
hope one day you will be able to forgive me.” He ran his fingers over
her cheek. “I hope one day you will understand why I have done the
things I have done. I don’t deserve it, your forgiveness or
understanding, I know that. I don’t deserve you or your trust. But I
want you to love me, Norah.” He ran his thumb over her lips and
took a deep breath. “I know it’s crazy, but I want you to really love
me.” Then shook his head awakening himself from his dream world.
He was not Prince Charming and the only thing she needed to be
saved from was him. He moved his hands under her body and lifted
her in his arms. Her eyes opened and she smiled as he started up the
stairs. He laid her in her bed, and pulled the covers up to her chin.
She nestled her face in her pillow and he leaned in to kiss her
forehead. He started for the door and heard her little voice.
“Don’t leave me.” He stopped but didn’t move. “Stay,
please.” He lowered his head, and then turned back to her.
After the day he had, laying in a bed with her was just what
he needed. He knew he should leave her alone but he couldn’t. He
removed his shirt and pants, leaving him in just his boxer briefs and
t-shirt, and crawled in the bed. He laid facing her.
“I’m sorry it took me so long. Did you have a good day?” he
played with her hair over her shoulder.
“I had a great day. I just wish you were here too.” She
paused. He couldn’t believe his ears. She actually wanted to spend
the day with him. She went on, “Did you get everything done.” He
smiled.
“Well, it’s done, but it didn’t work out like I had planned. I
think we have one more chance tomorrow, but I’m not holding my
breath.”
“Why is it so easy to talk to you lying in bed, but other times,
I never know what to say?” she asked.
He had been thinking the same thing. He pulled her close
and lightly kissed her lips. They fell asleep in each other’s arms.
Liam was beginning to realize that sleeping with Norah was
good for him. He woke feeling well rested and ready for the day. He
also loved holding her and ‘accidently’ moving his hands over her
body. He wanted to explore her, kiss her all over and watch her arch
her back with an orgasm. He wanted her hands on him, her mouth
on him and to experience an orgasm buried deep inside her. But he
wouldn’t make a move until she was ready. He just hoped it was
soon.
*****
The next day they spent the entire day together. He gave her
a tour of the house. She thought it was a little strange he didn’t want
to show her his room, but didn’t press the issue. He let her check her
email and he read over her shoulder about Tiffany’s wedding plans,
and her sisters looking forward to her coming home.
She also received an email from “Celebration” the ad agency,
about her internship beginning in a month. They all concerned him.
He didn’t know how to handle her supposed return or internship.
But the email that concerned him the most was from Mike. From the
details of the email it was clear she and he had had some kind of
relationship and he was hoping to rekindle it when she returned. The
thought of her being with another man sent chills down his spine. He
wondered how he even got this email address. She informed him
that her sisters or Tiffany must have given it to him, because she
hadn’t spoken to him since college. He allowed her to write back to
her sisters and Tiffany, explaining that she had met someone, and
would be staying until the end of the summer. She told him she
would email the Director of Human Resources for “Celebration” to
inform her she would not be taking the internship, he nodded in
agreement but felt guilty for taking that away from her. She didn’t
make it any easier for him as he noticed tears running down her
cheeks as she typed it out.
They had lunch by the pond, and after they ate, Norah ripped
up some bread to feed the ducks. Liam laid on the blanket just
watching her trying to forget the last time they were out here and
everything that had transpired that day. She was graceful, sweet and
innocent. In some ways she was so much wiser than him, but in
other ways she was a child and unknowing of the ways of the world.
At her young age of 22 she had been through hell, and still managed
to laugh and break bread for the ducks. Some women were so
understandably weak that after living through what she had been
through, they would never function normally again. He clenched his
eyes, knowing that some of the pain, some of the hurt, had been his
