The lock crunched, the front door opened and I stepped out of my hiding place into full view.

Chapter 22

‘Come in, come in. I’m sure you’ll feel much better once you’ve had something to eat and drink,’ Mother said. Her voice was high and happy-sounding. Unnaturally bright.

My first thought was why – why was she inviting the man inside? She was acting like she had nothing to hide. It didn’t make any sense, but a lot of things she did didn’t make sense. This was yet another one of her odd, unpredictable moves. Another sign of how mad she is.

She paused just inside the cottage holding the door half-open, and jumped when she saw me.

‘Get back upstairs into your room this instant,’ she hissed, her eyes shooting daggers.

I stared back at her and shook my head. ‘No. I’m not going anywhere.’ I couldn’t believe my boldness. I had never disobeyed her or answered back like this. Never. My heartbeat rocketed but I planted my feet, determined to stay.

Shock pulled at her features. She stabbed her finger at me. ‘If you don’t get upstairs now, you’ll pay for it.’

I said nothing, only watched in silence, my eyes greedy with curiosity as the man’s face poked through the gap in the door.

‘Everything all right, miss?’ he said. He had a strange lilt to his accent and he pronounced ‘th’ as ‘t’ which made me think he might be from another country. I knew a few. I wondered if he was a Frenchman.

She laughed and beckoned him inside, moving into the hallway. ‘Yes, everything’s fine. Come on in. This is my daughter. Don’t mind her.’

She stood beside the door and held it open for him then closed and locked it. She slid the keys into her pocket. The man raised his eyebrows. She smiled and shrugged.

‘You can’t be too careful living out here in the middle of nowhere,’ she said with a girly laugh.

He nodded then looked at me. I saw him take in my odd, potato-sack dress. A flicker of confusion flashed up in his dark brown eyes. He gave me a small, awkward smile. I stared back, taking all of him in, trying to work out who he was. It was strange, but seeing another person wasn’t as weird as I’d thought it would be. He was merely a human being. Another member of the human species. A body with arms and legs and a head and eyes and a nose and a mouth and ears. It felt right to see another person, even if it was a man.