Emilia watched as her siblings played in the fields, rolling themselves in the mud with the animals, without a fear in the world. She smiled to herself, hoping she would have carefree children of her own someday.
At nineteen, she was yet to be betrothed or even courted, but according to the new novel she had been sneaking to read in her father's study since last week, her prince charming was on his way. Her family was not wealthy, they used to be, until her father grew an obsession for gambling like the other men in court. It didn't mean much till he began to lose everything. And they soon landed in debt, had to sell their lands, and abandoned their title for a little estate on the farm uphill.
The wind picked up and tugged at her wild ginger hair, the cold air whispering in her ears as it passed; rain was coming. Emilia looked up to the sky now void of the sun. Perks of farm life: the unpredictable weather.
She shot to her feet to round the animals back into the barn, against the wails of her younger siblings. The loud thunders of rain were, however, all they needed to run into the house, tails between legs.
Dripping wet, she made for her room to change, only to stop abruptly at the distant sound of horses.
At first she thought it was her father returning, but that was only partially true.
She peered out the window to see him with four other men and a fancy carriage behind them. She caught her mother's eyes immediately, mirroring the fears of her own, recognizing the emblem on the carriage.
"Emilia, take your siblings to their rooms now!" Her mother suddenly shouted. Emilia didn't need to be told twice; she knew those men, and they were bad news.
"Uhhn?" Her little brother James perked up.
"You heard Mama; let's go up now."
"Emmie, what is it?" Jude asked. She frowned at the twins, always curious.
"The bad people are here again; let's go now, before Mama gets angry." She said hurriedly. It had happened one too many times now that they understood, so one by one, they filed into the room, with Emilia immediately locking the door and a chair to hold it.
"Did Papa spend all the money again?" Sonia asked, trying to coo the two-year-old in her hands to sleep. Emilia gestured for the baby, who happily ran into her arms and stopped fussing.
"Will they have to take all the pigs again?" James asked.
"What about the horses? I won't let them take Pickles." Sonia fumed, crossing her arms in defiance.
"Forget the pigs; what if we move to an even smaller house with no farm at all?" Jude countered.
Well, they were with worries after all, Emilia corrected herself.
Sonia went and leaned against the door to eavesdrop. "Sonnie, it's bad manners to eavesdrop on adults." Emilia all but enthusiastically told her sister off.
"Shhhh, and come listen; you may understand all the gibberish better." Sonya rolled her eyes. James giggled. Emilia smiled, joining her sister at the door.
"I'm sorry, but your pitiful farm and house do not interest me anymore, Howard." A scruffy voice Emilia had grown to recognize and hate said.
"Lord Goring, we have nothing to offer in exchange for my husband's debts but ourselves. I pray you, give him but a little more time; perhaps we ca..." Her mother starts to plead in a very rehearsed, sorry voice.
"Yourselves, you say?" Lord Goring interrupted, most probably stroking his beard.
"Y-yes, my lord, but if you can just give us till the next two..." She continued.
"Your oldest is how old? A fine young girl is she not? ....." He asked, and all voices quieted in the room and outside till the sickening laughs of the men filled the living room again. Emilia felt her stomach plummet; she closed her eyes, saying a quick word of prayer.
"Yes, but, my lord I beg of you, she is but a child... we can still pa….."
"You see, I like 'em young these days." He laughed again. Sonya began to shake her head, moving to open the door; it took both of her brothers to stop her till she started sobbing.
"Please, it has not resorted to this; we can still find a way." Her mother's strained voice heightened. Emilia knew that voice; she was on the brink of tears.
"Just think of it: we will be ridding you of a troublesome woman in her prime and also giving you more money to buy new clothes for her siblings. I hear you had yet another child recently?" They all laughed. Emilia began to shiver through the wet clothes on her body.
"Please, Howard, say something?! Please, Lord Goring, she is not ready to be married."
"Christine, Emmie is nineteen and without a suitor, there is no chance we might even find her one with our current state…" Her father began slowly; tears fell from Emilia's eyes as she listened on.
"Nineteen! That's hardly a child; she should be having her own children already." The men cackled again.
"How dare you! "...How dare you try to sell our daughter all because you couldn't give up your gambling ways?!" Her mother roared, followed by a loud clatter.
"We are willing to pay a hundred shekels and cancel out all your family's debts." Lord Goring announced in a loud voice.
"To bloody hell with your hundred shekels! Is that all our daughter is worth to you, Howard, our firstborn!"
"She is a girl, and girls are to be married; this is her way of helping the family, you should know! After all, I bought you off your wretched father's hand years ago! If I had married a more affluent woman, we wouldn't be in this mess!"
"No, you imbecile, we are in this mess because you lost all your money to gambling! My wretched father was the one who provided us this house to live in when you squandered all your money!" Her mother screamed, only to be silenced by a loud sound that Emilia could unmistakably recognize as a slap.
That seemed to snap them all out of their reverie; she pushed the chair aside and opened the door, running to her mother's side.
"Mama!" Jude cried as they all rushed out. Before Emilia could reach her mother, a strong, callous hand of Lord Goring yanked her aside and tossed the bag of money to her father, who was all too ready to catch it. Then it dawned on her; he had sold her even before they arrived home.
"You coward! You ungrateful imbecile! You sold your own daughter to a perverted, smelly old man! You're a disgrace, a disgrace to the entire Harding household!" Her mother screamed.
"Mama?!" Emilia cried out.
"Let me go at once! Mama, help!. He won't let go." Emilia cried, trying to free herself from the old man.
"Get your smelly hands off my baby!" Her mother shouted through her red swollen cheek, only to be held back by her traitor of a husband.
"It was nice doing business with you, Harding. I'm sure your father must be proud in his grave that you have resorted to selling your own children to live." Lord Goring laughed, dragging a screaming Emilia out into the rain.
"Emmie!" Sonia ran after but was pushed into the mud by one of Lord Goring's men.
"Don't worry, if your father continues gambling, we'll be coming for you soon." He laughed. Emilia kicked and cried to no avail. Her father stood in the way of her struggling mother as the evil men dragged her away.