Beth seemed undecided and as her mother and sister turned to walk in their direction she pulled Josh back a few steps. They were about to disappear around the corner when he gripped her hand and bade her not to move.
‘What’s wrong?’
Josh had seen the group of young men approaching Lady Hummingford and Annabelle from the other side of the street. There were six of them, all in their early twenties, well-built men who could be labourers or sailors. They weaved as they walked and looked as though they had spent the best part of the afternoon drinking.
‘They look like trouble.’ He watched, not wanting to intervene if the men were just passing by, but some deep instinct told him they were looking for a confrontation.
‘Look at that,’ one man shouted, raising a weaving hand to point at Annabelle. ‘Or maybe don’t unless you want to bring your lunch back up.’
The other men laughed, crowding in.
‘Hasn’t anyone ever told you to wear a veil, my lady?’
‘Did a demon from hell rise up and scratch you about the face?’
‘Now, lads, don’t be cruel. She’s quite attractive from behind. What do you say? Come with me and I’ll tup you as long as I don’t have to look at your face.’
There was a blur of movement beside him and he realised Beth was running forward, ready to plunge into the middle of the men to defend her sister.
Cursing, he started after her, grabbing her arm and thrusting her behind him just as they reached the group. He registered Annabelle’s shocked face and the falling tears, but forced himself to focus on the men first.
‘Shame on you,’ Beth shouted, shouldering past him. ‘Hounding a lady in the street. What would your mothers say?’
A few of the men looked sheepish and started to back away but two who had taunted Annabelle stayed firmly put.
‘What’s it to you?’
‘Look at them, they’re sisters. Only this one has had her face carved up. This is what she would look like if she wasn’t covered in scars.’
‘Get away from her,’ Josh said, his voice low but dangerous. There were six of them but they were drunk; still he would prefer the men just to leave before Beth began throwing punches herself. She looked angrier than he had ever seen her, like a protective lioness, guarding her young.
The men hesitated and then one blew Beth a kiss before they turned and staggered away.
‘Annabelle,’ Beth said, but already her sister had turned and started to hurry away. ‘I’ve got to go after her.’
‘Come on.’ He grabbed her hand, not caring about the filthy look Lady Hummingford gave him, and together they ran after Annabelle. She was fast, her upset and shame fuelling her, and by the time they reached the gates to Birling View Annabelle was still a hundred feet ahead of them. Beth slowed on the approach to the house, letting her hand slip from his.
‘I must go to her.’
Josh nodded, watching his fiancée disappear into the house with an inexplicable feeling of dread in his stomach.
Chapter Nineteen
‘Please, Beth, just leave me alone.’
Beth felt her heart swell and pulse in her chest as she looked at her sister’s crumpled form on the bed. No matter what happened, no matter how upset, Annabelle never sent her away.
‘No.’ She entered the bedroom they shared and closed the door behind her, turning the key in the lock, and then approached the bed and wrapped her arms around her sister whilst she sobbed. For a long while neither said anything at all, even once the tears had dried up and Annabelle had stilled.
‘What happened?’ Beth asked eventually.
Annabelle sniffed and allowed herself to be manoeuvred up into a sitting position. Her face was red and blotchy, the scars angry and dark against the surrounding normal skin. Her eyes were puffy but at least the tears had stopped falling.
‘Mother suggested a trip to the village. She said I’d done so well going out with you and the other guests.’ Annabelle sniffed and wiped away the fresh tears that fell onto her cheeks. ‘I was surprised. I thought she was angry at me for showing myself, for making a spectacle of myself, but then she said we should try going out again this afternoon.’
Beth rubbed soothing circles on her sister’s back with the palm of her hand. Every so often Annabelle would let out a little shudder that shot through her whole body.
‘I felt nervous. I wanted to wear my cloak—you know the one with the big hood—but Mother said it was too hot and she was right, really. It was too hot.’ The cloak had a deep hood that could shadow the face and hide Annabelle’s scars and her sister always wore it about the estate if she thought there was a chance of meeting anyone.
‘So you went to the village...’ Beth prompted as her sister fell quiet.
‘It was busy and I could see people looking at me, staring.’ She swallowed and closed her eyes for a moment.
Beth felt a surge of annoyance at her mother. It was good to encourage Annabelle to get out, but the village was hardly the most gentle of places to choose for her second outing. People knew their mother and she was sure there were rumours of the second Hummingford daughter secluded on the estate. Everyone would want to catch a glimpse of her when she stepped out into the world.
‘I could
