Saturday 2 July 2016

Oh, sister 36. (Memoirs of Robert Brown viii)


“Smile as ye kill,” Montgomery said.
The thrill for him wis when their spirit wis dead
The man wis definitely sick in the head
It riled me tae see her bein’ used and abused
An’ for tryin’ tae interfere ah wis battered an’ bruised
But that physical pain couldnae compare
Wi’ Yvette’s humiliation an’ her deadpan stare
For a while after that she didnae talk
An’ ah kept seein’ her goin’ down oan Montgomery’s…
Sorry, but it wis an image ah couldnae shake
An’ even though ma body continued to ache
Ah had tae be strong for Yvette
Oh, ah wisnae done yet
She jist needed tae enlighten me oan the extent o’ his threat
He needed tae pay
For degradin’ her an’ the other lassies tae
Yvette woke me a few days later wi’ tears in her eyes
“Oh, Robert,” she sobbed. “They really hurt you. I do apologise.”
“Don’t worry aboot me, hen,” ah said tae her. “It’s you ah’m worried aboot. Why did he have tae submit tae that brute?”
“Because the man is evil personified,” she replied. “I tried to refuse him once; believe me, I tried.”   
“Ah don’t understand,” ah said. “What did he dae when ye refused his demand?”
“Oh, Robert, you can never get to Hugh,” she said. “Look what happened to you.”
 “It’s nothin’ compared tae what you were put through,” ah said. “Noo tell me, what did he dae tae you?”
“My mother married him when I was about nine or ten,” she said. “I knew that there was something wrong, even then. It wasn’t much. A disturbing leer or a lingering touch. But when I became of age, he took his lust to another stage. And when I refused, two men held me down while he violently abused. I never refused again, as he threatened to offer me to the other men.”
Ah could understand why she couldnae say no
Oh, ah had tae kill this man an’ make it slow
Tryin’ hard no tae let ma fury show, I asked her, “Did yer mother know?”
“I doubt whether she knew,” she responded. “My mother was besotted with Hugh. She wouldn’t have believed what I’ve told you.”
“What aboot yer real father?” ah asked. “Was he not around?”
“He drowned,” she told me. “Somewhere at sea, but his body was never found.”
Ah saw her wipe a tear
“Ah’m so sorry tae hear,” ah sympathised. “Nae wonder ye had tae live wi’ that fear.”
“Yes, for many a year,” she said. “But when Giles and I were married he hardly came near.”
“Ye mean tae say that he still assaulted ye after ye were wed?” ah asked. “If ah wis Giles the man would be dead.”
“Yes, he still continued having his sordid fun,” she answered. “It didn’t even matter to him that Giles was his son.”
This man wis seriously deranged
“I never loved Giles,” she continued. “It was all arranged.”
“Why him and no other?” I asked her. “His father an’ your mother, but in a sense it must have felt like marryin’ yer brother.”
“Hugh just loves control,” she said. “The man’s soul is as black as coal. Giles was meek and mild, and thank goodness he didn’t press for a child. I don’t suppose it would have mattered if it was a girl or a boy, a child of mine would have been Montgomery’s toy.”
“The man’s a beast,” ah said. “Ye’ll find many oot there, even a priest. Yvette, let me take care o’ this man. Jist gie me a while tae devise a plan.”
She gave me a look o’ utter dread, and said, “Do that and you’ll wind up dead.”
“Or possibly goin’ down,” ah said. “But ah’ll make him regret ever meetin’ Robert Brown.” 

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