The Unloved by John Saul

Author:John Saul [Saul, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-307-76797-4
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 2010-10-19T16:00:00+00:00

Julie woke up from a restless sleep and heard the car pulling away from the house. For a moment she thought it must be Mrs. Mayhew taking the girls home, but when she got out of bed and moved shakily to the window, she saw her aunt’s car with her father at the wheel, moving toward the causeway. And then, as the sound of its engine died away, she heard the faint notes of scratchy music drifting down from the ballroom above.

Her friends must still be in the house, and the lesson was running overtime.

She put on her bathrobe and went to the door. Her legs felt stronger now, but her mind was still fogged from the pills. Outside her room she leaned against the wall for a moment, waiting for a slight dizziness to pass. Then she started along the hall, toward the stairs to the third floor.

She climbed the stairs slowly, pausing several times to catch her breath, but at last she reached the top and the small foyer that led through double doors to the ballroom.

Both the doors were closed, but she could hear the music clearly now.

Putting her hand on one of the doors, she pushed it open and stepped inside, expecting to see Jennifer, Allison, and Tammy-Jo on the floor, while Marguerite stood near the barre, watching them carefully, offering small corrections and words of encouragement.

Instead she saw that the room was empty save for Marguerite herself, who was in the middle of the floor, her eyes closed, her arms held aloft as she moved her body through a series of halting dips and turns.

Her right leg, made stiff by the long-ago accident, jutted out from her hip at an unnatural angle, and as she moved, her whole body jerked grotesquely as the lame leg refused to do her bidding.

Julie gasped, and her hand flew to her mouth as she watched the strange parody of a dance. But then, as she was about to slip away, Marguerite’s eyes suddenly opened.

“Come,” Marguerite said, her voice echoing in the empty room. “Come and dance with me.”

She moved toward Julie, her arm extended, and clasped Julie’s hand in her own, drawing her out onto the floor.

“Position one,” Marguerite commanded.

Automatically Julie’s feet turned outward, heels together, and her arms fell gracefully to her sides, her elbows bent so that her curving fingers nearly met.

Marguerite, her stiff leg resisting her mind’s commands, tried to force herself into the position, but her body twisted around on her left leg and she staggered before Julie caught her arm.

“You can’t, Aunt Marguerite—” she began, but her aunt ignored her.

“I must,” she breathed. “I must dance. It’s all I have … all I ever wanted.” Once again she tried to force herself into the graceful pose, and a searing pain shot out from her hip as her body protested. Her eyes welled with tears.

“Don’t, Aunt Marguerite,” Julie protested. “You’ll hurt yourself. Wh-Where are the girls? Jennifer promised—”

“They’ll be back,” Marguerite said. She took a

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