Don't Hurt Me by Elizabeth Moss Read Free Book Online Page B

to talk to the girl,
so I did. Though perhaps you ought to talk to her yourself. She’s your
daughter, after all.’
       He leant even further back until
his head was almost brushing her shoulder, his eyes searching her face.
       ‘Okay, fair enough. I’ll try not to
upset you with any more barbed comments. So what did Victoria say? That she
hates me and can’t wait to go back to school? That much I can guess without
needing to hear it from the horse’s mouth.’
       ‘Actually,’ Julia said hesitantly.
‘It was quite the opposite.’
       He looked at her, puzzled.
       ‘Victoria doesn’t want to go back
to that school,’ she continued calmly, trying not to load the information with
too much emphasis. It was important to do this sensitively. The last thing she
wanted to do was make matters worse for the girl by angering her father. ‘Or to
any other boarding school, in fact. She wants to stay here with you.’
       ‘ With me ?’ Marshall looked thunderstruck, struggling up on his elbow
to look at her properly. ‘Here, at Moor’s Peak? But she loathes the place. You
must have misunderstood her.’
       ‘I’m afraid not.’
       ‘But ...’
       ‘What Victoria really wants is to
get closer to you. Spend more time with you, and not just over the summer
holidays. That’s why she keeps getting herself kicked out of these expensive
boarding schools. I think she’s hoping you’ll let her stay here this time and
send her to one of the local schools instead.’
         He stared at her in silence for another
moment, presumably considering what she had told him, then gave an abrupt nod.
His expression was still guarded, though, as he sat up and automatically
brushed a hand through his damp hair.
       ‘Well, you’ve surprised me. That’s
quite some achievement. But how on earth did you manage to get my daughter to
tell you all that? Others have tried to get through those barricades of hers,
and failed. Doctors and experts on child psychology.’ He laughed harshly. ‘Or
so they would have me believe in order to justify their enormous fees.’
       ‘Kids that age can be difficult.’
       ‘Tell me about it.’ His eyes
narrowed speculatively on her face. ‘You seem to have bonded with my daughter
amazingly quickly. So what do you have that these so-called experts lack?’
       ‘I really don’t know. I’m not even
sure why she trusted me. Unless it’s because I talked to her as an adult, not a
child.’
       ‘But she is a child,’ he pointed
out drily.
       Julia smiled at his old-fashioned
attitude. ‘Now maybe, but not for much longer. How old is she, fourteen? You
can’t keep treating Victoria like a little girl at that age. Otherwise you’ll
wake up one morning and she’ll be gone.’
       He stared at her suspiciously. ‘Is
that what she told you? That she’s planning to run away again?’
       ‘Of course not. It was just a
figure of speech.’
       Marshall hesitated for a moment,
then settled back on his elbows again, presumably having accepted her
explanation. Certainly the light of suspicion in his eyes had died. He was a
very stern and proprietorial parent, Julia thought, watching him from under lowered
lashes. Though that was hardly surprising when she considered some of the
terrible tricks Victoria must have played on her minders over the years,
running away whenever she had the opportunity to do so. Now that he had his
daughter safely confined at Moor’s Peak, he was no doubt eager to keep her
there until he had decided whether or not she was going back to school.
       When he moved again, turning
slightly towards her on the dried grass flooring, she thought he was planning
to curl up for a rest. The rain was still falling outside and its steady
pitter-patter on the walls and roof was highly soporific, almost lulling her to
sleep herself. But much to her surprise, he stretched out a long finger and
brushed her cheek. The gentle touch seemed to