my heart already thudding from the exertion of running up and down the steps. I took hold of her upper arm but she shrank away from me, curling into a tight ball.
‘I’ve got water,’ I said, ‘come, you’ve got to come!’ I put the vase down by the bottom step, felt for her again in the darkness and half-dragged, half-lifted her down off the bed and into the corner next to the steps. She was whimpering. There was nowhere to hide down here, not really. My only chance was that, if Colin looked down here and didn’t spot us, he would assume we’d gone…
‘Shhh,’ I whispered, trying to get her to look at me. ‘You’ve got to be quiet. Please be quiet.’
There was silence for a moment, broken only by my breathing and Audrey’s. She sounded wheezy. If she coughed, she would give us away.
Then from upstairs, footsteps and a sudden roar. ‘NO!’
Colin came crashing through the pantry to the door at the top of the stairs, the light went on and the room flooded with light. I closed my eyes tight at the sudden brightness, and even though Audrey whimpered again I realised he’d turned away almost immediately and a few moments later I could hear him calling from what must have been outside, ‘Where are you? Audrey! Come back!’
Now what? I couldn’t think straight. Try to get Audrey up the stairs? Try to get through the front door, assuming he hadn’t locked it? He would be back long before then. If he had any sense, he would get himself away from this place quickly.
I reached for the vase and held it up to Audrey’s face. In the light, despite her eyes still being screwed shut, I could see that she was pretty. Her face was dirty, streaked with grime and tears, her eyes hollow and her skin pale.
‘Here,’ I said, ‘drink this – slowly.’ She gulped at it, and I had to hold it away from her, her fingers clutching, fumbling for the vase. ‘No, slowly – you’ll make yourself sick. Just little sips.’
It was too late to move now: he was back inside. I heard more banging and crashing upstairs, then the floorboards creaking over our heads as he moved through the house. I could hear noises as though he was throwing things about, knocking things over.
Audrey’s face creased with panic. I felt her fear, her panic.
‘Don’t be scared,’ I said. ‘I’m here. I’ll protect you.’
On the divan lay the flat-handled screwdriver. Had he seen it? I leaned Audrey against the wall and put the vase on the floor, then ran to get the tool.
‘What have you done?’
From the top of the stairs, the sound of Colin’s voice, so calm, so unexpected, made me freeze where I was. I hid the screwdriver in my hand, palming the handle up inside my cardigan. Maybe he hadn’t seen it.
‘What have I done?’ I replied, surprising myself. ‘What have you done? You were keeping her prisoner!’
‘Where is she?’ he said, and to my surprise he sounded so sad, so distraught that I realised he hadn’t seen her. But she gave herself away, reaching for the vase, knocking it over on to the stone floor with clumsy fingers and crying out as the water spread out around her.
‘Audrey!’ He came down the stairs two at a time and went to her, as though he was going to hold her, embrace her, and then stopped short as she shrank away from him. He seemed to recover himself then and he stood upright, turning to me.
‘Yes, well… she’s been through a lot. She needs time.’
‘Without food or water? You were waiting for her to die?’
‘I wouldn’t hurt a fly, Annabel. You know that.’
He took a step towards me, then, and I stepped back and my calves hit the edge of the divan. I looked up the stairs and wondered if I could make it quicker than he could.
‘Let us go,’ I said, trying to summon up a tone of voice that suggested confidence and authority.
‘You’ve tried to make a fool of me.’ He sounded angry now, frustrated. He took another step forward.
‘Don’t come any closer!’ I said.
He laughed, he actually laughed then. ‘What, you think I’m scared of you, Annabel? Why should I be? All I’ve done is try to help. That’s all I’ve ever done.’ He was close enough now to touch me, and he put his hands on my upper arms as though he was going to shake me, or embrace