Free Don't Hurt Me by Elizabeth Moss

business-oriented these
days. You’re more likely to be learning accountancy or Japanese there, to be
honest.’
       ‘Whatever. I can run away from a
school in Switzerland just as easily as I can run away here. So he might as
well save himself all that money and effort -’
       Victoria halted abruptly, shining
the torch beam along the wall ahead. They had come to a sudden bend in the
passageway. Her voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper.
       ‘See that little flap on the wall?
It’s a spyhole. Looks straight into my dad’s study.’
       Now that they had stopped shuffling
along the dusty floorboards, Julia could hear a deep masculine voice on the
other side of the wall. The voice was unmistakeable. Just hearing it made her
body begin to tense and the hairs rise on the back of her neck. From the long
pauses between sentences, it was soon apparent that Marshall was speaking to
somebody on the telephone.
       Julia shivered, folding her arms
for warmth in the chilly air. It had not been a good idea to explore the house
without asking for permission. The old passageway was clearly dangerous and she
could not imagine Owen Marshall approving of his daughter being down here. She
felt deeply uncomfortable about eavesdropping on the novelist in his private
study, even if he was unaware of her presence behind the wall.
       ‘We should go back now,’ she
insisted, turning to retrace her steps in the darkness. ‘I’m sure he wouldn’t
approve of us being here. Can you pass me the torch?’
       But the girl paid no attention. She
was too busy trying to follow her father’s conversation, her voice a little
breathless. ‘Listen, I think he’s on the phone to my headmaster, Mr Ewart.’
       ‘Vicky - ’
       ‘In a minute. I want to hear what
he’s saying first.’
       Before Julia could try to prevent
her, the girl had lifted the little flap on the wall and put her eye against
the spyhole. Seconds later, they both heard Marshall’s voice raised in crisp
agreement as if the telephone conversation was drawing to a close.
       ‘Absolutely, Mr Ewart,’ he was
saying. ‘That seems like the most sensible option to me, given these difficult
circumstances. I’ll drive Victoria back to school first thing in the morning
and we can finalise the details when I arrive.’
       Victoria dropped the flap abruptly
over the spyhole and turned back to Julia, her eyes glittering with unshed
tears.
       ‘God, I don’t believe it,’ she
choked furiously, the torch beam wavering in front of her. ‘Did you hear what
he said? He’s going to send me back to school tomorrow, in spite of everything.
How many times do I have to run away before he gets the message?’
       Frowning, Julia shook her head.
‘Slow down, Vicky. You can’t be certain what you heard.’
       ‘Oh, don’t bother defending him. Paul
was right. My dad’s nothing but an arrogant bastard and he can go to hell for
all I care!’ Victoria pushed past her with a sharp cry, stumbling back along
the passageway, torch beam bouncing erratically off the walls and floor. ‘’
       ‘Vicky, come back!’ Julia called
after her, concerned that she was going to hurt herself but the girl paid no
attention.
       Alone in the darkness, Julia stood
motionless, confused and fairly surprised by what she had overheard from
Marshall’s study. The evidence against him seemed pretty damning, yet she could
not bring herself to condemn him without asking him to explain the
situation   first.
       Sternly, she told herself not to
get involved. For one thing, Marshall might have a perfectly understandable
reason for taking his daughter back to the school. And for another, this was
absolutely none of her business. It was a private affair between father and
daughter and she had no right to interfere.
       Returning to the faint glimmer of
light which marked the end of the secret passageway, this time she barely
noticed the delicate cobwebs brushing