by Sk Quinn
‘Because we belong here. With Regan. He’s Bertie’s father, after all.’
‘What?’ My eyes flick to Bertie and I lower my voice. ‘I thought … that no one truly knows who Bertie’s father is. That Blake was the only one who stepped up. Has there been a test or something?’
‘We don’t need a test. Regan and I are in love. He says we can be a family.’
‘But … what about Blake?’ I ask, thinking of the kinder-looking brother.
Anise’s lips go thin. ‘What about him? It’s always been Regan that I loved. And now he says he’ll be Bertie’s father. And we’re going to be a family. He says he’ll marry me.’
‘Um … you and Regan Thorburn are getting married?’ I ask, now totally confused. ‘Since when?’
‘Since Bertie and I were taken here.’
Uh oh. Anise sounds … weird.
‘So … Regan took you here. And then asked you to marry him?’
‘Yes,’ says Anise, her voice going all soft and breathless. She sounds like a giddy schoolgirl.
‘And now you want to stay here? You don’t want to take Bertie home?’
‘This is his home.’
I need to get Bertie out of here.
‘Bertie we need to go home now.’
‘Go way,’ says Bertie again, turning away from me again.
‘Bertie,’ I plead. ‘We shouldn’t be here. We need to go.’
‘This is Bertie’s home now,’ says Anise.
‘Have you gone crazy?’ I snap. ‘We’re in a barn, Anise. This is no one’s home. Where is this place, anyway?’
Anise gives a little laugh. ‘Not the barn. Bertie and I will go back to the main house soon. We’re just waiting out here while …’
‘While what?’
‘While Patrick is … stopped,’ she mumbles. ‘Then Regan will let you go.’
‘Oh my god.’ I look around for a door. ‘Anise. There was a sniper in the woods. They’re going to shoot him. They’re going to shoot Patrick.’
‘Regan wouldn’t do anything like that.’
‘Are you kidding me? He brought me here by force. You don’t think that someone like that is capable of shooting Patrick? Did you come here by choice?’
‘Not at first. But then Regan explained everything. How he’d always cared about me. How he was just scared of losing me before. And now … we’ve chosen to stay.’
‘In a barn?’
‘No silly. We’ve been in the main house most of the time. We’re only out here while Regan deals with Patrick. He didn’t want you or Bertie running away, so … he locked us in.’
Anise goes to the barn door. She pushes the door and it rattles and clanks against a chain. ‘See?’
105
‘We’re prisoners,’ I say with a shiver.
‘Bertie has to tell the truth,’ Anise whispers. ‘And you have to help him. You have to help my father get out of prison.’
‘Anise.’ I put my head in my hands. ‘You’re talking crazy. Your father isn’t getting out of prison any time soon.’
‘He will,’ says Anise. ‘As soon as Bertie tells the police what really happened.’
‘Which is?’
‘That my father never hurt him.’
‘What? But your father did hurt him.’
‘No, no,’ says Anise. ‘It’s all a misunderstanding. My father was a little strict. But Bertie got things confused …’
‘No he didn’t,’ I snap. ‘I know children. And I know when they’re lying. And Bertie didn’t get anything confused. Your father hurt him. He wouldn’t let him eat.’
‘You’ve got it all wrong, Seraphina. I had it wrong too. For a while. But I know the truth now.’
‘Anise,’ I say. ‘You’re talking crazy. What happened? Did Regan do something to you?’
‘Only because he got scared,’ says Anise. ‘He explained it all. He loves me. And I love him. More than anything now.’
Suddenly I get it. Anise is an adult. But adult who’s been sheltered and bossed around her whole life. She’s never really grown up. And the teenager in her hasn’t gotten over her crush on Regan Thorburn.
But there must be more to it than that. I mean, she’s talking crazy. It’s like she’s been brainwashed.
‘How did you get here?’ I ask softly.
‘Regan took us from the train station. We didn’t have a choice at first. Then he explained things. How he’d always loved me. That I was meant to be his. And that we could be together if only I’d help my father. He didn’t hurt me on purpose. He just loses his temper sometimes. My father has promised us money if we get married. So we can have a happy life. Me, Regan and Bertie. One happy family.’
I think back to Patrick’s conversation with Regan. In the woods. He said that Regan was only interested in Anise’s money …
‘If Regan’s hurt you, he can’t really love you,’ I say.
‘That’s not true!’ Anise laughs a weird broken laugh. Her face, usually so pretty and frightened, looks all crazy. ‘Regan hurts me because he loves me. I get it now. It all makes sense.’
Oh good god. She’s flipped.
‘How long have you been out here?’ I ask. ‘In this barn?’
‘Only since this morning. We were in the house before then.’
‘And why exactly has Regan brought me here?’
‘He thinks you can help Bertie.’
‘In what way?’ I say, my stomach going cold.
‘He thinks you can help Bertie say the right thing to the police. About what my father did …’
‘You mean lie to the police?’
‘Just … tell them he got things wrong. You can help him do that, can’t you? He listens to you …’
‘He doesn’t seem to be listening to me much right now,’ I say.
‘But he will,’ says Anise. ‘And as soon as he helps get my father out of prison, everything will be fine. Just fine.’
‘No Anise. It won’t. Your father hurt Bertie. He needs to be locked away.’
‘But don’t you see?’ Anise cries. ‘Bertie needs a father! And Regan says he’ll be with me. Always. But only if my father gives him this money … and my father will only do that if he’s out of prison.’
‘Anise. Your father is bribing Regan to be with you. Is that really what you want? Is that really the father you want for Bertie? And the man you want for yourself?’
‘Bertie needs a father. And I love Regan. Why does nobody understand that?’
‘You can do better than that Anise. Regan is just some stupid schoolgirl crush. If he won’t be with you without your father’s money than you’re better off without him.’
‘It’s not like that,’ Anise insists.
‘Really? How is it then?’
‘Bertie needs protection. This is all for his protection,’ says Anise. ‘Regan is helping us. While we’re waiting for my father to be set free.’ She turns to me, her eyes soft and smiling – but in a weird way. ‘My father is innocent you know. He never did those things to Bertie. It’s Patrick. All of it is Patrick. Don’t worry Sera. Regan will look after you too. As long as you do what he says.’
‘I’m not doing anything Regan says. Me and Bertie are getting out of here.’
I look up at the windows. They’re really high up – too high to reach without a ladder. But if we could get to them I think we might be able to smash them open and climb out.
The murky grey light outside tells me it’s late afternoon.
It will be dark soon.
My heart starts to yammer away in my chest. ‘Anise. We have to leave here. Do you understand? We have to leave.’
‘No.’ Anise’s voice turns cold. ‘You can’t leave. We need you to help Bertie.’
I glance up at the haystack again. ‘Bertie. Do you want to come with me?’
Bertie gives me the tiniest nod.
My heart lifts.
‘Okay then. We’re getting out of here.’
106
I head to th
e big double barn doors and slam into them with my shoulder.
They don’t open of course. I hear the clank of a chain outside. It sounds pretty strong. But I’m not giving up.
I look up at Bertie. ‘Your mum isn’t feeling too well. She’ll be better soon. But in the meantime, you and I are going to get out.’
I wonder where Patrick is. He’s somewhere out there. Maybe in the woods right now. Maybe dead …
Okay, okay. Breathe. Breathe. No sense thinking like that.
I slam into the door again as hard as I can. A thin sliver of light appears between the double doors.
I see a fat silver chain and an even fatter padlock.
There’ll be no breaking that. It’s meant to keep horses inside.
But …
I shove into the doors again. This time, I make a grab for the padlock and try to pull it through the gap. But it’s no use. It’s too big and the gap is too small.
I keep pushing the doors, but no matter how hard I shove I can’t make the gap any wider.
‘Bertie I need your help,’ I call.
Bertie stares down at me.
‘You want to go home don’t you?’ I say. ‘Your real home?’
I see a flicker of something – hope perhaps – on Bertie’s face.
‘Come with me Bertie,’ I say. ‘I’ll take you back to the castle. It’ll be just like before. We’ll go into the woods together. Climb trees. Okay?’
Bertie stares at me for a moment. Then he climbs down the hay bale.
‘Good boy. Come on Bertie. Help me push this door. On my count, okay? One, two, THREE!’
Bertie and I push at the door, me slamming it with all my might.
The door gives just the tiniest bit more and it’s enough.
Just.
My fingers grapple for the padlock and I slip it through just before the gap closes up again.
Okay. Okay.
I take off my wristwatch.
Time to pick the lock.
107
‘What are you doing?’ Anise asks.
‘Oh. Nothing,’ I say, inserting the pointy bit of my watch into the mechanism.
‘Stop doing that!’ Anise paces around behind me. ‘Please! You’re ruining everything!’
The lock clicks open and the chain falls free.
‘Come on Bertie,’ I say. ‘We’re getting out of here.’
‘No!’ Anise cries, grabbing Bertie’s hand.
‘Let him go,’ I say, my voice going lower than I’ve ever heard it before. ‘Right now. He wants to come with me. He doesn’t want to stay here.’
Something in my voice must scare Anise, because she drops his hand.
‘Don’t tell Regan we left,’ I warn her.
‘But you’ll spoil everything!’ Anise says, stuffing her fingers into her mouth. ‘Please. Don’t! We were going to be a family. A real family.’
‘You can do better than some guy your father is bribing to marry you. You shouldn’t stay here either. Come with us.’
Anise shakes her head. ‘Don’t you understand? I love Regan. I’ve always loved Regan. More than anything. If I leave he’ll never forgive me.’
‘So you love Regan more than Bertie?’ I challenge.
‘No.’ Anise’s eyes turn sad. ‘But I’ve never been good enough for Bertie. I’ve never been a good mother. Even at Euro Disney … I knew he didn’t want to be there. He wanted to be with you. Or with Daphne …’
‘Relationships take time, Anise.’
‘It’s too late.’ Anise looks out past us into the darkness.
‘Come on Bertie.’ My hand grips Bertie’s hand even tighter. ‘Let’s go.’
108
I pull Bertie into the darkness.
It’s a cloudy night. No moon, no stars. And it being the countryside there are no lights anywhere.
It really is pitch black. The ground is bumpy, but soft in places. I have no idea what we’re standing on, but I trip sometimes and so does Bertie.
I hear an owl hooting and dogs barking.
At one point I walk right into some sharp, metal thing. I bite my lip to stop myself from yelling.
All around us are the bulky shadows of buildings.
Then I hear hard, angry barking.
The barking gets louder and I hear the clinking of a choke chain.
Uh oh.
I stiffen and pull Bertie to a stop.
Suddenly a torch beam as big as a dinner plate shines full in my face, and I put my hand up to shield my eyes.
‘Stop right there,’ says Regan Thorburn’s voice.
I blink hard, a shiver in my stomach.
The dog barks louder and Regan laughs.
‘How did I know the pretty little nanny would try to escape? Come here.’
I feel strong fingers grab my wrist. ‘Let go!’ I shout, casting a panicked glance down at Bertie.
Regan follows my gaze and shines the torch on Bertie’s face.
Bertie blinks up with tired, frightened eyes. ‘It was an accident,’ he says. ‘We’ll go back.’
I see a dog at Regan’s feet – a huge Rottweiler that comes up to my waist.
‘You’re dead right you will,’ says Regan, throwing up the torch and catching the handle over his forearm. ‘Go on. Off you go. You know the way.’
Regan gives Bertie a shove, and the poor frightened little boy runs across the mud towards the barn.
‘Bertie!’ I shout, making a grab for him. The dog snarls and jumps up, and Regan’s hand tightens on my wrist.
Bertie runs back into the barn.
The torch shines full in my face again and I try to look strong. Unafraid. Which is difficult.
‘Nobody steals from me,’ says Regan, his voice menacing. ‘Do you understand me? Nobody.’
‘Steal? I didn’t steal …’
‘You tried to take Bertie. You tried to take my little lad.’
Anger takes over me. ‘Oh so Bertie’s your little lad now is he? Funny. From what I heard, you had a hard time taking responsibility before. I thought Blake was the only one admitting anything. Until Dirk Mansfield bribed you …’
‘Things have changed.’
‘Would those things be that Anise’s father has offered you money?’
‘A man’s gotta live. It’s hard earning enough round here. I don’t fancy spending the rest of my life knee deep in pig shit. And Dirk Mansfield made me a very generous offer to take his whore of a daughter off his hands.’
‘Anise loves you. You do know that, don’t you? She really thinks this is something special.’
‘She’s lucky I’m going anywhere near her. After all my brothers had a go.’
‘She was too young to know what she was doing,’ I say, feeling sorry for Anise suddenly. ‘You were old enough to know better. You took advantage.’
‘Oh? You know all about it do you?’ says Regan, his voice going low.
‘No,’ I say. ‘But I’ll tell you what I do know. I know Bertie’s grandfather hurt him. And he belongs in prison. And I know Bertie deserves a real father. Not someone who’s decided to step up just because Dirk Mansfield is paying them.’
‘I’ll take care of the lad well enough.’
‘Bertie deserves better than “well enough”.’
‘Maybe. But he’s not going to get it. Come with me.’
‘Where are we going?’
‘Back to the barn.’
109
‘Just don’t hurt Bertie,’ I beg, as Regan drags me towards the barn. ‘And I’ll do whatever you want. Anything you want.’
‘What happens to Bertie shouldn’t worry you. He belongs to me now. He’s my son.’
‘How do you know that?’ I say, as Regan drags me over bumpy, muddy ground. ‘He could be Blake’s. Or Riley’s.’
‘Could be,’ Regan laughs. ‘It doesn’t matter, does it? As long as Dirk Mansfield coughs up. Which he will do. As soon as we help him out of prison. Which is where you come in.’
‘I won’t mak
e Bertie lie. I couldn’t … even if I wanted to. He’s his own person. He’s stubborn.’
‘Just tell him he got it wrong. He’ll listen to you.’
‘No.’ I shake my head tightly. ‘No way. I’m not messing with his head. He’s already had it messed with enough.’
‘Strong words. But you won’t be strong for long. Not all alone, without Patrick here. Aren’t you wondering why he hasn’t come to rescue you?’
‘Did you hurt him?’
‘Not yet.’
Oh thank god. Thank god!
‘So why hasn’t he come?’ I croak.
‘He has no idea where you are.’
‘What are you talking about? He knows Anise and Bertie could be held on your farm. It’ll be the first place he’ll look.’
‘But we’re not on my farm.’
‘We’re not?’ I ask, panic in my voice.
‘Nope. We’re miles away. No one knows about this place. Not Patrick. Not anyone.’
Regan stops pulling me for a moment.
He moves his fingers behind my neck, sweeping my hair around my shoulder.
‘You’re a very pretty girl. Do you know that?’
My skin crawls under his fingers.
‘I told you,’ I say. ‘I’ll do anything you want. Just leave Bertie alone.’
‘Nice offer. Me and Riley might just take you up on that.’
I feel my chest heaving up and down.
‘Don’t look so scared,’ says Regan, cocking his head. ‘Maybe I’ll get the new wife and that slutty cousin of Patrick’s to join in too. They used to like a gangbang. I’m sure they won’t mind.’
I must catch my breath when Regan says Zara’s name, because he laughs.
‘Are you wondering what happened to the slutty cousin? She’s still at Thorburn Farm with Blake. She has no idea we’re here with Anise and Bertie. She’s still searching the house trying to find them.’
‘How do you know?’
‘The whole place is rigged with cameras. Zara should know that herself. She’s been filmed enough times with someone’s cock in her hand.’
Regan grabs my arm tight.
I wonder how much distance I could get between us if I slipped free. Would it be enough? But I could never run now. Not with Bertie waiting in the barn. Whatever happens, I’ll be with Bertie. And protect him as much as I can.