The Makings of Evil
Part Twelve
Collinsport, Maine, September 1760
I never slept that night. I stayed in the circle with my bears. I could not even cry anymore. My body was stiff from laying on the hard, wooden floor and my body was in pain from the beating I had been given the night before just before I was forced to watch my parents die. The sun outside was even higher now and I knew that I was already meant to be downstairs to help with the breakfast but I could not move. A few moments later, I could hear Mrs Allard's footsteps. I could tell it was her as I could hear her breathing heavily as she came up the stairs. She was slightly overweight and he footsteps a bit heavier than the other maids but not as heavy as Joshua's. I immediately moved out of my circle and grabbed my spare dress, using it to get the chalk off the floor before Mrs Allard saw it and knew she was a witch. I kneeled back on the floor and lowered my head so she would not see the bruises. She already knew something had happened. When she walked in she came to me and took me straight into her arms.
"Oh my sweet girl. I'm so sorry for what happened. Mr Collins came and told the staff this morning that your parents drowned last night when they were out in one of the boats. He told us you escaped and when you got to shore you were attacked by a group of men. Its a good thing he was out for a walk and able to save you!" I felt my stomach drop and my heart skipped a beat. Joshua was telling lies to cover up his actions. I could not come out and tell the truth. No one would believe me over him. I stayed silent and remained in Mrs Allard's arms. "It's time to come downstairs now, dear. You will need to eat something. I have another girl doing all your morning chores." I shook my head. I just wanted to be left alone but Mrs Allard ignored that and she picked me up and carried me downstairs and sat me at the table. All the maids looked towards me sympathetically. I remembered Mary and what had happened to her since the night before.
"Where is Mary?" I whispered softly. Mrs Allard put bread and milk in front of me.
"Mr Collins came and told us she ran away last night." I looked up, not believing her. I remembered the mess that Mary was in. There is no way she could have walked so I doubted she would have been able to leave. I never said anything but instead looked back down at the bread and milk.
Mrs Allard refused to let me leave without eating something so I forced down the bread that sat like lead in my stomach and I went outside to the beach. My clothes and face were still covered in black from the smoke so I knelt by the sea and washed my face. The tide was going out so I walked along the beach as the sun rose higher in the sky. The sand was perfect and unmarked from where the sea had been but up ahead in the distance I could see a piece of material stick out from the sand that had not been touched by the water. The sand there was softer when I stood on it, as if someone had dug a hole there and filled it back in. I reached down and pulled on the material but no matter how hard I pulled it would not move. I knew it must be attached to something big. I began to dig with my hands, my curiosity leading me on. Gradually more material came into view and then my hand hit against something harder than the sand around it. I reached closer to it and pulled and within a few seconds a hand, wrist and forearm appeared. I dropped it straight away and moved back a little. There was a ring on the hand. A plain and simple one. I recognised it straight away as the one that Mary had worn. It had belonged to her mother and was all she had left of her. I did not scream. I just sat back and looked at it sadly for a few minutes before carefully burying her again. I got up, knowing I would not be able to tell anyone this either. I put my hand above her and a small pile of wild flowers appeared over where she was laying under the sand and began to walk back to the house. When I got in I went straight to the kitchen to help prepare lunch. I could not concentrate and only thought of my parents and Mary. As a result, I cut my hand and quickly bound it. I looked at my reflection in one of the big pots. My face was still swollen and bruised. One of the maids came and put her hand on my shoulder. She gave me a warm smile as if she knew what I was thinking. Her name was Mhairi and she was seventeen and very pretty.
" We will all look after you. We have to look out for each other here, keep each other safe. We are your family, even if not by blood." She smiled again and squeezed my shoulder. I gave her a gentle nod and a tiny smile before I was handed a big tray of food to take to the dining room. When I went in I avoided Joshua and would not look at him. I glanced at Barnabas and he was looking at me with his eyes wide with shock at seeing me in such a mess. His mother was sitting opposite Joshua and she kept her gaze down at her plate. She knew what had happened the night before. She knew the truthful story. I could see by the look on her face she was very upset about what had happened. I quickly served the food I was carrying and was about to leave when I felt Joshua take hold of my wrist and hold it under the table. I felt it as he made my hand brush along his leg before he let me go. My heart stopped and I was about to leave the room when he stood up.
"Angelique, I would like a word with you after lunch. Come to the library after lunch." He sat back down and I nodded without even looking at him and leaving the room as fast as I could.
I went on with a few of my afternoon chores while wondering the whole time what he wanted now. I started to feel that whatever it was it did not matter, he had already taken everything he could.
Once the dishes from lunch had been cleared I made my way to the library and peeked round the door. Joshua was already there looking out the window with his arms behind his back. He knew I was there without me even making a noise.
"Come in, Angelique...". I took a deep breath and went in slowly and shut the door. "As you will have heard by now, I told everyone that your parents drowned. I'll expect you to go along with that." He turned and looked at me with a slight smirk. It was an expression that made me angry and for the first time, I stood up to him.
"But that is a lie! They did not drown! You killed them and you killed Mary!" I knew straight away this was a mistake. His eyes flashed with anger and he started to approach me. He grabbed me with one of his big hands and slapped me hard across the face with the other over and over until I felt dizzy and could taste blood in my mouth. He finally let me fall to the floor and I did not even try to get up. Instead, I just lay there, waiting to see what would happen next. I felt his shadow go over me and I closed my eyes tight.
"What was that you said?" he whispered threateningly. I opened my eyes but still never moved. My body was in agony as slowly shook my head. He smirked slightly when he saw that. " That's what I thought. " He reached down and pulled me to my feet and put his face very close to mine. "Remember, Angelique, you are mine now. All mine." He grinned and leaned towards me. I felt the tip of his nose on my cheek and shuddered. "If you ever tell anyone the truth I'll kill you...understand?" I nodded slightly and he stood up. "Go clean yourself up and get back to work." Just like that he left the room and left me standing there trembling. I knew there was nothing I could do. I went down to the kitchen and got a bucket of water to clean my face. I looked at my reflection and saw my split lip and bruised face. A few tears rolled down my cheek as I looked at it. Everyone thought I had been attacked by someone on the beach and I could not say otherwise. I washed my face and went to my room and slowly closed the door. When I turned round I saw Barnabas sitting on my bed with a look of great sympathy upon his face. When he saw me, he stood and walked over to me and took me in his arms. In that moment of comfort I received from him I finally broke down in tears. I held onto him tightly as I felt his hands on my back. We stayed that way for some time just holding each other. I felt safe in that moment and knew that no matter what I would always have him as my friend and that as long as he was present his father would not hurt me. We never spoke. The way we held each other said enough. Eventually I pulled back and looked at him.
"I am sorry your mother and father are gone, Angelique. I will help look after you, after all, we are friends and I do not want for you to be sad." He gave me a small smile and I gave him a small nod. He leaned forward and placed a small kiss upon my cheek and I felt my heart flutter. He took my hand and gave it a gentle squeeze and I managed a small smile. "I must go now. I have my lessons but I shall return afterwards. There is something I wish to show you, a place I wish to take you. I believe it will make you smile." He gave me another one of his sweet charming smiles and left the room. I smiled a little as I watched him go. I wondered what he meant, where he would take me. I knew I would always have him. I could run away from this place and never look back but he was my reason to stay. He was all I had left in the world and I was his only friend. We needed each other and would always be friends. I would never let anything change that. I changed into my spare dress, the one that was covered in chalk but not blood and set off to complete my chores as fast as I could so they would be finished in time so I could meet him after his lesson. The entire time I worked, I dreamed about where he would take me. Just so long as it was away from here and I could escape for a while and as long as he was there with me I would be comforted and happy.