Page 33 of Van Cort
They could go further than the island.
But he hadn’t tied it off well enough, and it was drifting out into the water.
The noise of the other boat’s engine grew louder and louder, and he watched as a light cast out from the front of it swung back and forth. Panic and fear started swirling in Rhett’s stomach. What could he do now? There wasn’t another way off the small island that he remembered, and now their boat was gone.
He heaved and heaved, using everything he had to get West off the cold ground and towards the cabin, but West wasn’t even making a noise now. He was just lying there with his face all bulgy and blue – so blue.
Tears crept up and out of Rhett. He pulled West up into his lap and held on tight, frightened and desperate for someone to find them who cared. No one on that boat that was coming cared. Father didn’t, so why would anyone else? Whoever it was would take them back, and then it would all start again until Father was gone. And even when he did go away again, the servants would lie to them and keep them hidden in that house,not letting them see anyone else or talk to anyone else. They wouldn’t help when the beatings happened either. Maybe they laughed about it. Maybe they’d start doing it too?
Both of their names were being shouted now. Rhett recognised the sound of Charles as he called and called, like he cared where they were. He didn’t. No one did. He was just worried about his job. So, Rhett stayed quiet and rocked West gently, as the torchlight swayed over them.
“We’ll be okay here,” he whispered. Flickers of gold on their wet clothes shone in the light, like tiny flecks of dust coating them. Rhett thought it might have been angels coming to save them. Their mother, maybe. “Just you and me. We’re safe now.” They weren’t, and Rhett’s tears came harder because he knew that. There were no angels for boys like them. There wasn’t anything left to do.
The eventual sight of the boat pulling alongside their smaller one made Rhett cling on tighter to West. It hadn’t worked. Rhett had failed. He didn’t get them away from his father or that place, and he couldn’t get them away now either.
He tucked his head into West’s shoulder and kept rocking, repeating the word sorry until he heard footsteps getting closer.
“No,” he said, as a pair of hands tried to pry them apart. “Leave us alone.”
Charles didn’t listen. He tugged until Rhett fell backwards, and West was shrugged up into his arms. “Stupid boys,” he said, as he started walking back to the boat. “I told you not to go out on your own.” Rhett scrambled up and chased after him, swinging his fists at Charles’s back to try and make him put West down.
“We’re not going back!” Rhett shouted. “You can’t make us. Let him go!” Charles didn’t. Despite Rhett’s shouts of fear, hammering fists and pleas for help, they were both put on the boat and heading towards the mainland in minutes.
Rhett curled around his brother for the journey back and listened to Charles as he spoke to someone on the phone. “One of them isn’t. West. Yeah, he’s breathing, but it could be a fractured skull. Looks bad. They’re both pretty banged up.”
“We’ll get him better,” Charles said when he’d finished the call. “Doc’s on his way.” He walked over to the boys and tucked a blanket around them. “You’ll both be alright.”
Rhett sniffed up his last tear.
No, they wouldn’t. Not back there.
He’d never cry again, though. Never.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
BEFORE
LARA – AGE TEN
The house was empty when Lara got home from school. The low ceilings and beams cast shadows in the hall as she opened the front door, the hinge still squeaking from the damp as she did.
She had to trudge down the private drive and then off down a separate track into the woods on the estate to reach the cottage that she now got to call home. It was certainly nicer than their last home, which was small and cramped, even with the gloomy entrance. But despite the extra room and the nice furniture thathad already been in place when they arrived, she still felt lonely as she stepped inside.
There was a warmth seeping from the small front room, and a fire was dying in the hearth, the orange glow from the wood now deep and rich, speckled in between the soot and embers. She dropped her bag and weighed up how to best attack the fire.
Her father had shown her how to use the bronzed poker propped up against the wall. She put on the thick, black gloves to protect her from the heat, poked the embers, added a log or two from the stack, and waited for the flames to catch again. Simple.
It was part of her routine. They’d only been here a few weeks, but she was already accustomed to the new tasks. She’d arrive home before her mother finished work in town. And as her father was the new estate caretaker and groundsman, he was likely out somewhere in acres of grounds he now cared for. She just wished that this part of her everyday didn’t include feeling so empty.
Next, she ran upstairs to her room to change, opting for her favourite, but dirty and worn, jeans and thick jumper her father insisted she wear when he took her into the forest with him.
Her last step was to lace up her boots and then use the few hours before either of them would arrive home to go explore the woods, venturing a little further every day.
For many, she could understand that running free in the woods might not be fun, but Lara found it comforting. After all, her father had taught her not to be afraid since she was little. He’d shown her how to read the tracks left by animals, and how to catch them and hunt. At first, she’d felt sorry for the rabbit she’d snared, but her father had put it out of any pain it suffered quickly.
Lara took the path to the south as she closed the door behind her, hoping it was the right choice. She hadn’t had any luck in the other directions. She watched her footsteps, avoiding anylarge twigs or branches as she stalked along her chosen route. It would take all of her skill and a lot of luck to be able to sneak up on her father and catch him unawares. That’s if she could even find him in the giant expanse of outside.
As she moved further into the forest, she fought the eerie feeling snaking around her in the dimming light. There were more than rabbits out here, and her father had warned her not to come out alone. But following rules wasn’t something she liked to do, and Lara often found herself drawn to act in the exact opposite way.
