Archibald walked over and sneering down at his wife, said “Now look what you have done, you whore!” Reaching down, he grasped a handful of Jebediah’s black hair and pulled the body off her with one hand, then wrapped the fingers of his other around Emma’s narrow wrist and hauled her to her feet. He dragged the unconscious man and resisting woman toward the recently planted rose bushes near the greenhouse door. Allowing her lover to fall face first to the soil, Archibald grasped Emma’s upper arms and shook her roughly, ripping the sleeves of her shirt and bruising the tender flesh beneath. “I have given you everything you asked for, EVERYTHING! Now I am going to make you regret ever being unfaithful.” He removed a length of rope from the back pocket of his trousers and roughly tied Emma’s wrists together in front of her, then tied the rope up over her head to a wooden trellis.

Once she was securely restrained, Archibald began digging a hole in front of one of the rose bushes, velvet soft red petals raining into the hole when the plant was struck with the shovel. A short time later, the shallow grave nearly completed, Jebediah moaned as he began to regain consciousness. “Look at him, Emma, see what your deceit has caused!” Throwing the shovel to the ground, Archibald crossed to Jebediah’s body and pulled him to his feet, allowing the nearly unconscious boy to teeter on the edge of the hole. Emma closed her eyes tightly and turned away from the sight, unable to stomach seeing Jebediah with a deep, moist depression in the back of his head, as oozing blood from the split skin matted the dark hair.

When the younger man’s eyes fluttered open, Archibald sent him rolling into the grave with a firm kick to the rib cage. Emma gasped and her eyes flew open when she heard the thump of her lover’s body landing in the pit. “Why, Archibald?” she cried pulling at her restraints. “Why are you doing this to us? You feel no love for me, why are you doing this?”

“Why?!” He screamed, picking up the discarded shovel. “Because you are mine, you belong to me! I will not allow this thief to steal you away from me!” Leaning over, he spit on Jebediah’s upturned face. “Thieves get caught and they get punished.” His sinister laughter rang throughout the greenhouse as he filled the grave in, allowing the weight of the soil to slowly smother his victim. Watching in silent anguish, unable to assist her lover in any way, Emma’s heart broke with each shovelful of dirt that was dumped on top of him.

When the younger man was completely buried, Archibald untied Emma from the trellis and pulled her into the house. Once inside, he shoved her into the sewing room and locked the door behind her. Minutes later she could see him outside, pulling boards up to the house to nail over the window.

Susan watched, stunned, as Emma’s prison formed around them. A bed appeared next to the single window which Archibald had boarded up. Emma’s spirit glided across the room to stand at the foot of the bed and slowly, her appearance began to alter. The once clean garments she wore began to age and holes developed in the material as if hundreds of moths were eating the fabric from the inside out. Emma’s perfectly coiffed hair fell out of its twist and became caked with unwashed grime, as if from months of captivity.