Norah remained silent and kept her eyes closed, holding back the tears stinging her eyelids. She loathed this man with every fibre of her being and her mind was already set upon revenge for what he had done to her. If she had a knife, she would have had no compunction about plunging it into his heart.
Eventually, he stirred and idly traced his fingers round her nipples. ‘Now you are mine,’ he smiled cruelly, ‘and you will remain mine until I tire of you.’ He heaved himself off the bed and pulled up his breeches.
Norah opened her eyes and glared at him with intense hatred.
‘Now then – a few rules,’ he said as he began to untie her wrists. ‘You will remain at Collingworth Hall and you will speak of this to no one.’
‘You expect me to stay here after what you’ve done!’ Norah exclaimed. ‘You are mad if you think I will subject myself to that again.’
Lord Collingworth laughed scornfully. ‘The choice is yours, of course, but be assured that, if you leave here without my permission, I will see to it that your reputation is ruined. Certainly, you will be unable to work again with children and no man will wish to marry you after I have divulged your lewd and disgusting behaviour. Believe me when I tell you that I have the power to turn you into a social outcast. Or you stay here and enjoy the favour bestowed on you by Lady Collingworth and the devotion of my children. In return, you will be my lover for as long as I wish it but that is such a small price to pay, especially as you are now soiled goods. It would not be for very long at any rate. I seem to tire of young girls so quickly these days.’
With her hands untied and her fingers trembling, Norah began to fasten her clothing while he sat with his back to her, putting on his shoes. Suddenly, a surge of anger propelled her off the bed. Without pausing to consider the consequences of her actions, she grabbed one of the heavy, brass candlesticks and brought it crashing down on his head. He fell heavily on to the floor, blood pouring from an ugly gash on the back of his head, and lay completely still.
She stared at him in horror. What had she done? Had she killed him? Quickly, she found his jacket and withdrew the key. Then she pulled on the rest of her clothes, clasping her blouse around her where the buttons were missing and furtively slipped out of the door, relocking it behind her. Luckily, she saw no one as she sped to her room and locked herself in, breathing heavily. What should she do?
Urgently, she pulled her case out from under the bed and filled it with her belongings. She put on her cloak, hat and boots and was about to flee when she had second thoughts. She could not leave without a word to Lady Collingworth and the girls. She reopened her case to find her writing set. What could she say? How could she explain what had happened? She had to try to explain her absence somehow so she wrote;
Dear Lady Collingworth, Anne, Mary and Margaret,
I am so sorry to leave you like this but I have received an urgent summons from a member of my family and need to leave at once.
Girls - I have loved being your nanny and I truly wish I could have stayed. Please don’t think too badly of me.
My very best wishes to you all,
Miss Dunn.
Norah left the note on the dresser and, head down, slipped out of a side door. It was raining heavily as she grimly set off across the parkland. She only knew that she had to escape from Collingworth as quickly as possible. For the moment, she could not let herself think beyond that, for fear that she would fall apart. She just needed to get away …
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Chapter 10
Emily - November 2016
Adam arrived home early that night carrying an enormous bunch of roses. He grinned at Emily and enveloped her in his arms.
‘Happy anniversary, darling,’ he said and kissed her warmly on the lips.
‘You too,’ Emily replied, taking the flowers from him. ‘These are beautiful. Thank you.’ She inhaled the scent of the roses and exclaimed, 'Oh, they smell gorgeous! I’ll find a vase.’
Adam crossed over to the kitchen table where Alex was sitting eating his tea. ‘Ah … dippy eggs. My favourite. Is there some left for me?’
‘Here you are Daddy.’ Alex turned a yolk-stained face towards his father and held out a finger of buttered toast.
Adam gave him a swift hug and kissed the top of his head. ‘You are a good boy sharing with Daddy but that’s ok. You eat it up. I can wait until later.’
‘Auntie Annie’s coming around later,’ Alex beamed.
‘I know. What have you got planned for her this time?’
The last time Annie had babysat Alex, the two of them had decided to bake chocolate cookies and Alex had managed to get the biscuit mixture everywhere. They left the
