Free Survivor by Lesley Pearse Page A

when they were in bed. ‘I’m at my
     wits’ end. I can’t even get her to tell me how she feels about having a
     baby.’
    Etienne held Belle tightly to try to
     comfort her. ‘I would suggest I took her out sailing for the day – I might be
     able to get through to her away from here – but that looks too much like a treat, as
     if I’m condoning her behaviour.’
    ‘I just
     want my happy little girl back,’ Belle cried. ‘I don’t even
     recognize this Mariette, she’s like a stranger.’
    ‘I expect she’s as scared as
     we are,’ Etienne said. ‘She must feel as if the weight of the world is
     on her shoulders. We, of all people, know what it’s like to get carried
     away.’
    ‘You are always so bloody
     understanding,’ Belle snapped at him.
    ‘If I am, it’s only because
     I’ve made all the mistakes in the book,’ he said. ‘Imagine what it
     must be like to feel everyone in your family is against you?’
    ‘She deserves it.’
    ‘Does she? I’m not sure
     about that. She probably imagines we’ll send her off to one of those
     institutions for delinquents.’
    ‘Surely she wouldn’t think
     such a thing of us!’ Belle was horrified.
    Etienne kissed her nose affectionately.
     ‘You’ve got to remember that she doesn’t know about the more
     shameful aspects of our pasts and the jams we’ve got ourselves into. God
     knows, I hope she never will. But that’s what has defined our characters, and
     I think it made us better, more compassionate people. This is Mari’s first
     hard lesson, and I hope to God she will learn something from it.’
    It was two whole weeks after
     Sam’s banishment when Mariette burst into the workroom where Mog and Belle
     were sewing.
    ‘I’m not pregnant, my
     monthlies have come,’ she said jubilantly.
    ‘Oh, my sainted aunt! What a
     relief!’ Mog exclaimed.
    For a second or two, Belle
     couldn’t respond. She had been so sure that Mariette was pregnant, however
     much she hoped she wasn’t, and it took a while to really sink in that her
     prayers had been answered.
    Finally, she got
     up and embraced her daughter.
    ‘I’m so glad you’ve
     been spared,’ she said breathlessly. ‘But you must promise me
     you’ve learned from this? You have been very lucky this time, but I never want
     us all to go through the misery we’ve had this last couple of weeks. Never
     again.’
    ‘Nor do I,’ Mariette said,
     her face alight and glowing with the relief. ‘I promise you, I’ll wait
     until I’m married. And that won’t be for years.’
    Once Mariette had left the room, Mog and
     Belle looked at each other and burst into relieved laughter.
    ‘I don’t know why we are
     laughing,’ Belle said. ‘There’s nothing funny about it.’
    ‘Her promise that she’ll
     wait till she gets married is funny,’ Mog said. ‘I think you must find a
     way to teach her a few tricks of the trade, Belle. Because as sure as summer follows
     spring, if she finds another young man she’s attracted to, she won’t
     stop at kissing.’
    It certainly seemed that Mariette had
     turned over a new leaf. In the week that followed finding out she wasn’t
     pregnant, she became a changed girl: she was docile and helpful, playing with her
     brothers, and didn’t make any attempt to go out on her own. Belle was fairly
     certain it wasn’t a permanent change in behaviour, but it did stop her even
     considering Mog’s idea of sending the girl to England.
    Late on Sunday night, after the children
     and Mog had all gone to bed, Belle and Etienne were sitting on the swing seat on the
     veranda because it was so stuffy indoors. To Belle’s surprise, Etienne brought
     up the subject of England again.
    ‘I think we should send
     her,’ he blurted out. ‘There’s talk about her all over
     Russell.’
    ‘Who’s been talking?’
     Belle asked, alarmed because Etienne was usually the last person to pick up on
     gossip.
    ‘I
     don’t know where the talk started,