AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Marta said something quietly to Emily, placing her hand on Emily’s arm.
“Yeah. Let them in. Marta can have the bedroom across the hall from yours, Emily. Roberto, mind showing them to their rooms?”
He gave me a knowing nod, a silent signal to let me know that he was aware that his dutyalsomeant to keep an eye on Marta for anything suspicious. Emily let out a harumph, putting her arm through Marta’s as the two of them made their way onto the grounds.
Marianne stayed with me, a despondent look on her face.
“You OK, Mar?”
She sighed. “Yeah. It’s just… why did you have to do all of that? Why did you have to make Emily mad?”
How to explain to my sister the sort of danger I worried Emily was in? She had no idea of such things.
“I’m only protecting her, making sure she stays out of danger.”
Emily’s face shifted from upset to concerned.
“Danger? What kind of danger? From whom?”
“You know how sometimes there’re matters that I can’t really explain, just that you have to trust me? This is one of those times.”
“Oh. OK.”
Of course, there was more to why I couldn’t tell Marianne the truth—giving her the whole story would mean telling her that Emily was there against her will. Not a chance that she’d understand that. Hell, part ofmedidn’t understand how a woman like Emily could be in the position that she was in, a bird being passed from one gilded cage to another.
Marianne’s mind didn’t work that way. Her eyes only saw beauty.
But now she was worried. I had to say something.
“There are bad people out there, Mar. And I think,think,I don’t know for sure, that some of these bad men might want to hurt Emily. More than anything, I want to keep her safe.”
Marianne’s eyes lit up in shock.
“What? People want to hurt her?”
“Maybe. It’s hard to say. But I’m not going to take any chances.”
Without missing a beat, Marianne hurried over to me, pulling me into a hug and resting her head on my shoulder.
“I’m sorry. I got mad at you, but I should’ve known that you would never be mean on purpose unless you had a really, really good reason.”
I patted her on the back. “It’s fine. You were worried about Emily, your heart was in the right place.”
Marianne let go of me, regarding me with excited eyes.
“I have an idea! How about you and I have lunch together? Emily and Marta probably want to spend some time alone, right?”
“That’s right. And I’d love to.”
Marianne gave me another hug, this one accompanied by a kiss on the cheek.
“Come on! I’m starving!”
She grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the estate.
I had plenty on my mind. But in that moment, all I cared about was spending time with my sister. Everything else could wait.
Chapter 15
