Tuesday Tales – Hug

Happy Tuesday!  It’s once again time for Tuesday Tales!  Today’s word prompt is “hug”.  We are back with our untitled Steampunk romance.  When we left last week, Gideon found Sophia’s murder, but also found out she was unfaithful.  Will he confront Emma?  Let’s find out!!

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The Hellwig mansion was deserted.  Not a single soul fluttered about on one of Katarina’s whims.  The way the shadows hugged the walls of the darkened rooms made the house seem haunted.  Gideon shuddered as he sprinted up the grand staircase.

He stopped as he reached the final flight of steps leading to the library.  Voices floated down to him.  He slipped to the servant staircase and ascended silently.  He spied out through the crack in the door.

Katarina paced the floor before the large spider web window.  Emma was restrained in a bear hug by another of Katarina’s thugs.  She could not move a limb.  Gideon glanced to the humidor.  The door was open and the interior glowed an eerie green.  The poison had already been placed into the contraption.

“It seems my new toy needs to be tested,” Katarina proclaimed.  She spun at Emma.  “You have not been the good, faithful servant you promised to be, my dear.”

“I coerced Gideon to build the humidor.  Those were your wishes.”

“Yes, but I had rules.  Did I not?”

A slow, evil grin spread across Emma’s face.  She tossed her long, blonde locks then winced as the henchman tightened his hold.  “Kill me.  I have nothing else to live for.   But I must thank you, Katarina, for fulfilling your promise.  You told me you would find a husband for me.  You did.  Unfortunately, I lost him before I could tell him how much I loved him. Your lies took care of that.”

Katarina swept across the scarlet carpet until her nose pressed against Emma’s.  “I demanded that you not fall in love with him or he with you.  Bed him if you must.  But no love.  Gideon Alexander belongs to me.  I have worked a long time to possess the man.  I had his wife’s lover murder her so I could have him.  Then the man became a recluse.  Now once my husband is dead he will be mine.”

“Gideon has a good, pure heart.  He could never love a black hearted woman such as yourself.”

“Once his contraption implicates him for my husband’s murder I will be his only salvation from the hangman’s noose.”

“Gideon would hang before he would choose you.”

“You need not worry, my dear.  You will not be alive to see it.”  Katarina cocked her head towards the humidor.  The thug shoved Emma inside the wood box.  It suddenly came alive with a moan of gears.  The green mist slowly thickened into a fog that snaked around Emma’s screaming body.  The room was silenced as the door slammed closed on its own.  The click of a lock was the only sound.

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