"How dare you?" exclaimed Cartimandua. "I allow you to live in my house - to sleep in my bed - and you repay my generosity by molesting my daughter?!"
"I never touched the little bitch!" Cameron snapped. "She's just jealous of us. I've known it from the start. I just never thought she'd go this far to get between us. Are you telling me you hadn't noticed?"
Maddy pressed herself against the wall outside the door, holding her breath, listening intently.
"And the house-elf?" demanded her mother. "Was she jealous, too?"
Cameron made a contemptuous noise. "The little beast didn't see what it thought it saw. The girl and I were only talking. When I reached past her for a glass of water, the elf hexed me out of nowhere. It was the girl who told it I'd attacked her. You know me, Manda." His tone turned cajoling. "Why would I even look twice at a child when I have a beautiful, sensual woman seeing to my every need? Now, put your wand away, and -"
"I don't think I will," Cartimandua said icily. "Squeaker is an honest and loyal elf. I've never had cause to doubt her word, or her eyesight. As far as looking twice goes, I've seen you looking at Maddy more times than that. I just never imagined you were capable of anything so vile."
"Maybe I did look," conceded Cameron. "I'm a man, aren't I? We can't help looking, especially when a girl comes waltzing in, wearing a nightgown so sheer that her tits are on display, and I can count every hair on her twat. Where was I supposed to look, with her nipples staring me in the face?"
"I would expect a decent man to avert his eyes," Cartimandua hissed.
"I was drunk," Cameron said dismissively. "She surprised me."
"If you think that's any kind of excuse -"
"All right," growled Cameron. "You want to know what really happened? The little slut practically begged me to fuck her. You should see the filthy stories she showed me. It was only when I said I'd never dream of doing such a thing behind your back that she came up with this cock-and-bull story about me trying to force her. I'm guilty of nothing but wanting to protect you from the pain of learning what a devious little trollop she is!"
Maddy cringed. No one had ever called her such things before, or told such blatant lies about her. This was all her fault. If she had not shown Cameron her story, he would never have thought about her in that way. If her mother demanded to see it, she might believe him about the rest of it, too.
"Shut up," Cartimandua snapped. "You have five minutes to collect your belongings and get out of my house. I never want to see your face again. And if I ever hear that you have been anywhere near my daughter, or tried to spread malicious gossip about her, I swear by all that is pure and powerful, I will shrivel your parts down to nubbins, and you can live the rest of your life as a eunuch."
"Manda -"
"Not another word," her mother said between gritted teeth. "Go. Now."
Fleeing to the bathroom across the corridor, Maddy locked herself in, heart pounding. Her face was hot with shame, and she felt as if she might start crying again at any moment.
It's all right, she told herself. You're safe now. Mum's making him go away. You'll never have to see him again.
But it was no good. The bruises left on her thighs by Cameron's fingers ached, and when Maddy closed her eyes, she could still see his member poking grotesquely out of his dressing gown. The memory made her feel sick and soiled. If Squeaker had not stopped him, he would have put it inside her. No decent pure-blood man would have wanted to marry her then. Cameron might even have put a baby inside her, and then she would have had to marry him. She shuddered at the thought.
The front door slammed, and Maddy heard her mother's light footsteps in the hallway. Cartimandua knocked at the bathroom door.
"Maddy, Sweetheart, are you in there?"
"Yes." Her voice sounded small, even to her own ears.
"Come up to my room," said her mother. "I've had Squeaker draw a bath for you."
Reluctantly, Maddy opened the door, looking down at her bare feet.
"I'm so sorry, Maddy," said her mother, gently stroking her hair. Now that Cameron was gone, she sounded sad and tired. "I misjudged him, and I put your purity in peril. Can you ever forgive me?"
"It wasn't your fault, Mum."
Cartimandua hugged her. "You're a dear, sweet girl. And we're cursed to live in a world where some men prey on such sweetness. Come along."
Maddy followed her mother up the stairs to her bedroom, and into the adjoining bathroom, where the house-elf was just finishing filling the tub with steaming hot water and frothy pink bubbles.
Squeaker curtsied. "Mistress Maddy's bath is ready, with the nerve-soothing bubble potion, just as you ordered, Mistress."
Cartimandua nodded, and dismissed the elf with a wave of her hand. "A nice, hot bath will be just the thing to make you feel clean and fresh and like yourself again."
Stripping off her dressing gown and nightdress, Maddy quickly stepped into the tub, sinking gratefully under the bubbles. For some reason, she did not want her mother to see the bruises on her thighs, nor to know how close Cameron had come to spoiling her purity.
Cartimandua pulled up a stool and sat down at the head of the bathtub. Freeing Maddy's long, dark hair, she draped it over the edge of the tub, and began to brush it with gentle, even strokes. Maddy closed her eyes with a sigh, her body relaxing at last.
"I'm sorry," said her mother again. "Men can be terrible brutes sometimes."
"I wish you had hexed his parts off," said Maddy with feeling.
The brush paused, mid-stroke.
"You heard that, did you?"
"Yes," admitted Maddy. "He deserved it. That, or Azkaban, or something."
"He did," Cartimandua agreed. "But his silence is better for our family than any punishment. If you made a formal accusation against him, it would create a scandal. And without any evidence, it's your word against his. If you heard what I said to him, no doubt you heard his version of events as well."
"But Squeaker could -"
"House-elves can't testify in a court of law," her mother reminded her. "Everyone knows they always side with their masters, no matter what. Their testimony can't be trusted."
"You believe her, though, don't you, Mum?" Maddy asked desperately, trying to turn around to see her mother's face.
"I do," Cartimandua assured her, a soothing hand on her bare shoulder. "And I believe you. But that doesn't mean anyone else would."
"It's not fair," grumbled Maddy, subsiding back into the tub.
"No," her mother agreed, "it's not fair. But that's often the way of things, for women. The best thing to do is put it out of your mind. Pretend it never happened."
Maddy was not certain she could do that, but she resolved to try.
"Did he ever ... hurt you?" she asked hesitantly.
The brush paused again.
"No. Not him," said Cartimandua, sounding more tired than ever. She sighed. "None of this would have happened if your father were here."
That surprised Maddy into silence. Her mother hardly ever mentioned Maddy's vanished father. If he had not run off with the dancer, there would never have been any strange men in their house. They would not have needed any "gentleman lodgers" to make ends meet. And Cameron would never have touched her. What had happened was all her father's fault, Maddy decided. Someday, she would track him down and force him to explain himself, and face the consequences of his actions.
"It's past time we had a talk about some things," said her mother, running the brush through Maddy's hair. "About men. And about sex."
Maddy's cheeks grew hot. "I know about that. You told me ages ago where babies come from."
"There's more to sex than just making babies, as I think you're beginning to learn," said Cartimandua darkly. "I saw the way Ophiuchus looked at you, and I think you probably noticed, too. Perhaps I should have said something sooner, but Maddy, you should have known to dress more modestly with a strange man in the house, to keep from leading him astray with lustful thoughts."
"I wasn't trying to lead him astray!" Maddy exclaimed. "I didn't know he'd be in the kitchen last night! I just wanted some water -"
"Hush," said her mother, stroking her hair. "I know, Sweetheart. You weren't thinking about it. You're a good girl, and your heart is innocent. But you must learn to be mindful of such things. You're blossoming into a lovely young woman, and men will take notice of you. Some will try to take advantage. It's your duty to keep yourself pure, and to signal to them by word and deed and the modesty of your dress that you are not available for conquest."
"Yes, Mum," Maddy murmured, lowering her eyes.
"You're special, Maddy," Cartimandua continued. "You're a beautiful pure-blood witch. That makes you a rare and precious flower. In two or three years, wizards will be clamouring for your hand in marriage. You must keep yourself fresh and pure, and your reputation spotless, for your future husband. Do you understand what I mean by that?"
"I think so," said Maddy, blushing.
"It means you must guard your maidenhead and your reputation jealously, and let no man put his staff into your sacred passage before marriage," said her mother candidly. "It also means that you must never tell anyone about what happened last night, or they might doubt your purity."
"Yes, Mum," Maddy said again, squirming under the water. She wondered whether she could even bring herself to tell her cousins what had happened. The shame of it was still too sharp to bear thinking about.
"Good girl." Her mother patted her on the shoulder. "We'll work together to find you the best possible match. A good marriage will go far toward restoring the fortunes and good name of our family. In the meantime, be careful not to be too familiar with any boys at school, especially if you aren't certain of their family connections."
"I can't even go on dates?" asked Maddy plaintively.
Cartimandua laughed gently. "I didn't say that. Just be mindful of your reputation. And consider that you might be better off marrying someone a few years older than yourself - a wizard who is settled and established in his career, able to care for you and your children as you deserve."
The mention of children made Maddy blush again.
"Anyway," Cartimandua continued with a rare bawdy chuckle, "these young boys don't know what to do with a woman in bed. You want a mature and experienced man for that. Believe me, your sacred passage will thank you."
"Mum!" exclaimed Maddy, shocked.
"I just want you to be prepared," said her mother, kissing the crown of her head, "so that the next time a man - or boy - casts his eye in your direction, you'll know what to do."
"I will, Mum," Maddy promised.
But she thought she might want to learn the parts-shriveling hex, too, just in case.
