it swelled in response to its lashing. A round splat of scarlet stained the pristine floor.
Mark bent to where she had fallen at the bottom of the white-painted stairs with their thick, rope banister. He stroked her hair tenderly, removing the stray tendrils of her fringe that had stuck to the blood which oozed from her split lip. He shook his head gently from side to side as though placating a clumsy child who had hurt themselves by accident.
‘I am very pleased that you don’t care what I do to you and with that in mind you have got yourself a deal, missy.’
He reached out and gently took her hand before leading her along the narrow cottage corridor to their holiday room. Kathryn sat on the edge of the bed and slowly unbuttoned her shirt with trembling fingers. Shock rendered her numb.
Mark removed his socks from his feet and with almost choreographed precision he stepped forward and stuffed one of them into her mouth. She gagged, fighting to control the automatic reflex, knowing that if she were sick, she would surely choke.
He laid her face down on the mattress and whispered into her ear through gritted teeth. ‘You are a very, very bad girl and you have amassed eleven points for offences too numerous for me to recount. But considering that you don’t care what I do to you, this is all well and good, isn’t it?’
He proceeded to punish her. Within seconds it was evident that he needn’t have bothered with the gag; she wasn’t going to scream or make a noise. She lost consciousness almost immediately.
When she awoke in the early hours of the morning, he had removed the sock from her mouth and for this she was grateful. Her lips were dry, her throat sore and parched. She stretched her hand out towards the glass of water that sat a fingertip’s reach away.
‘Would you like a drink, Kathryn?’
She nodded that yes, she would like a drink.
‘I bet you would. But no. No drinks for you, my darling, not this morning.’
She tried to swallow, her tongue swollen, her spit thick with thirst, her throat raw from being suffocated and her lips swollen and encrusted with blood. She rolled onto her side and cried into her pillow, trying not to think about the pain in her thighs, not wanting to look at how he had damaged her this time.
Kate shook her head, trying to erase the image of that particular weekend. Every vaguely happy memory or event that she associated with her children was tempered by the dark shadow of her husband’s abuse. It was as if she were an actress in a play: whilst on the stage, lots of wonderful and exciting things would happen to bring her joy, but she couldn’t stay on the stage forever and as soon as she hit the wings, Pow!, dreadful things would befall her, things that she had no hope of avoiding, ever. All she could do, day after day, was face the audience and grin, trying to hide her misery whilst secretly hoping that one of them might see through her smile and rescue her.
Kate looked at the grinning child in front of her and pictured her own little girl placing the magic gift of a mermaid’s fingernail inside her pocket to keep it safe. She blinked and swallowed the tears that threatened to spill.
‘Thank you so much. Is this for me?’
The little girl gave a small nod.
‘Well, this is certainly the best present that I have been given in a very long time. I shall treasure it!’
‘There you are, Matilda!’
Kate looked up in the direction of the voice. The man strode towards them; he was tall and broad with braided hair hanging uniformly to the nape of his neck. His black skin gleamed under the sun, giving definition to each muscle; he was beautiful. He strode through the sea, which washed over his bare feet and soaked the bottom of his cargo pants. He was no stranger to beach life.
‘Ah! I see she has made a friend!’
He smiled at Kate, revealing dazzling, perfect white teeth. Kate could see where Matilda got her smile from.
‘She’s fabulous.’
‘Yes she is.’ With his hands on his hips, he nodded in agreement.
‘And she brought me a present; some treasure, no less.’ Kate opened her palm to reveal her gift.
‘Treasure indeed!’ His eyes twinkled.
‘I shall keep it forever; it will always remind me of here.’ She meant it.