The Beauty of Broken Things by Victoria Connelly

The Beauty of Broken Things by Victoria Connelly

Author:Victoria Connelly [Connelly, Victoria]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-06-08T23:00:00+00:00


Chapter 12

Orla looked around her bedroom in desperation. What did she need to take with her? She hadn’t been anywhere but the beach for the last two years and felt a little lost at the prospect of driving beyond the castle gates and actually leaving the village. What did women take when they went out? Orla tried to think back to her days as a normal woman. What had she had in her handbag? She’d emptied it out long ago and tucked it in the back of her wardrobe but now she brought it out and looked into its cavernous depths with a feeling of approaching doom. She remembered she used to always carry a couple of lipsticks, but she’d dispensed with such things since the attack. What was the point in trying to look pretty? There really wasn’t any, so Orla simply used a clear lip balm for moisture.

There would have been a hairbrush and a compact with a mirror, but that had been thrown away long ago. The only mirror Orla had in the castle was a tiny one which she kept wrapped in a scarf. It was for fly-in-the-eye-type emergencies only. It wasn’t as if Orla didn’t care about her appearance any more – she kept her long hair tangle-free and washed and moisturised her face – but she refused to venture back to that place where physical beauty dominated. She’d lived in that world mercifully briefly during her time as a model, and it had brought her nothing but pain.

She popped a lip balm into the bag, and a paperback from her bedside table because you never knew when you might be in need of something to read.

‘Purse!’ she cried. She’d almost forgotten the need to carry money with her, seeing as all her transactions were done online these days, including paying Bill, the gardener. Orla had no need for cash and she probably wouldn’t on this particular outing. Not that she was planning to go shopping or anything that adventurous, but it was always wise to be prepared.

Moving through to the great hall, she caught sight of One Ear and added a handful of dog biscuits to her bag. Her coat pockets were usually full of them, but a few more wouldn’t go amiss. She also added a bottle of water for her and One Ear to share. She always took one with her when walking along the beach and would pour a fountain for her boy after he’d had a good run.

‘Keys!’

Again, Orla tended to keep the keys to her home in her pockets, and it would feel funny putting them into a bag. She then grabbed a couple of tissues and her favourite hand cream.

Just when she thought she was all set to go, her mobile rang from the table and she realised that she’d nearly left the castle without it. She picked it up, seeing her mother’s name on the screen.

‘Darling?’

‘Mum! How are you?’

‘I was going to ask you the same thing. I haven’t heard from you all week.



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