Raging (The Cardigan Estate Book 10) by Emmy Ellis

Author:Emmy Ellis [Ellis, Emmy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-12-08T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

Bella couldn’t stop thinking about Dad’s lies and the hand-up-the-skirt problem. Every time it entered her head, she squirmed a little more, worried a little more. It was wrong, and the thought of her dad doing something like that… Part of her didn’t believe it, because he was Dad, the man who got her giggling, who tickled her until she cried with laughter, and read her stories at night, but the other part, which spoke louder, reckoned he did do those things. Unless Declan had been lying, but Dad hadn’t denied it at the meeting, so…

She’d found it hard to smile the past few days. There was nowt to smile about, was there? Ever since they’d got back from camping, Dad had asked if she was okay, and he kept asking, more than usual. Was he worried about her or worried she’d heard what was said? She’d replied she didn’t feel well, and he’d watched her a lot, Mam claiming he was like a hawk for some reason.

It brought to mind the animals Percy liked. He’d told her a story once about being a kid and visiting the zoo. All those animals he wished he could have at home, but his mam had said they were endangered, or dangerous, so he couldn’t. Maybe their fur and heads on the walls was his way of having them, but what about the lynx he had at his other house, the one he had to feed through the wire fence? Percy made lots of money and lived somewhere grand, although she didn’t know where it was. He had a garden, and there was a cage, and inside it was a cave where the lynx lived. How had he got one of those? Did he steal it from the zoo?

She sat on her bed, tired. They’d only been to church this morning, nowt for her to get exhausted about. Rain hammered on her window, and she got up on her knees and stared out in the direction of the camp. She couldn’t see it, not past the houses opposite, but somewhere out there, Dad was in The Hotel. How come, when she went with him, they had to sleep in a tent? Why did he get to sleep inside when she wasn’t there?

This week, the weather had turned horrible. Unseasonably cold, Mam had said. Sleeting rain, high winds, and a chill so sharp Mam claimed it would freeze your bones if you weren’t careful. Bella hoped not, and she’d definitely be careful, because she didn’t want to be like one of the ice pops in the freezer, all stiff.

She’d stayed at home this weekend, glad to, because then she could run to the phone box at the end of the street and dial nine-nine-nine as soon as she had the chance. She couldn’t do it from home, otherwise Mam would hear her and want to know what was going on, and Bella had to pick her moment, because Mam would ask what she was up to if she caught her going outside.

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