Brides

In a location known to very few, there is an enormous mansion grander than words can describe. With many floors and over a hundred rooms, any sane person would think it a paradise. Its gardens are seemingly endless, its furnishings worthy of a Palace. Anyone would surely do anything to live there, wouldn't they?
Well, that depends.
Although the rooms are exquisite, their doors are locked. Although the mansion is an architectural masterpiece, hardly anyone sees it. Only the family that inhabits it In a location known to very few, there is an enormous mansion grander than words can describe. With many floors and over a hundred rooms, any sane person would think it a paradise. Its gardens are seemingly endless, its furnishings worthy of a Palace. Anyone would surely do anything to live there, wouldn't they?
Well, that depends.
Although the rooms are exquisite, their doors are locked. Although the mansion is an architectural masterpiece, hardly anyone sees it. Only the family that inhabits it, a few trusted servants and several dear friends know its location.
Because the mansion holds a secret.
Behind each locked door, a woman is trapped. The mansion is owned by the Wrenninford family. For years, the men of the family have kept polygamous brides. The practice was started centuries ago by Frederick Wrenninford and still continues. But the Wrenninford men see their brides as unfit for the outside world. They know that many don't approve of their way and may try to turn their brides against them or corrupt them. They also know that a bride may try to escape. It was Frederick who first decided to conceal his brides, placing locks on their chamber doors, transforming his mansion into a gilded cage, but over the years more security measures have been put in place and modern technology has made the mansion almost inescapable.
Some brides are gifted by friends who know the secret; some are bought, while others are abducted, snatched from the street or even from their homes. Some are treated more kindly than others, permitted to select their clothes and make alterations to the decor of their suite.
Some brides view their life here as a privilege, but others see it as a prison sentence. The endless gardens mock them, giving them a taste of the open air without truly setting them free. The walls seem to be closing in and the ever-present scent of flowers is suffocating.
If a girl finds herself here, she will be surrounded by opulence and waited on like a Princess. But will that be enough? ...more