Diamonds Fall Read Online Free PDF Page B

undiluted disgust - an expression she had perfected well in her upper class role.
    Once they passed through the village centre Annabel heard the slow trickle of running water. Her spirits soared and her throat clenched in thirst. It took everything she had not to sprint towards the sound.
    They walked a short distance inside the trees before Annabel saw a magnificent waterfall, trickling down into a clear blue stream, surrounded by the last bluebells of the spring. It was in-comprehensible that somewhere so stunning could be so close to such misery.
    Annabel clambered down the bank, scrapping her bare feet on the rocks and immediately plunged her face beneath the stream's glistening surface. She felt the cool water lap around her temples and saw her hair splay out around her, dancing in the slow current. She sucked the liquid into her body greedily, until she was forced to re-surface, gasping for breath. When Annabel looked back into the stream she saw a small cloud of dirt floating away from where her face had just been and realised how filthy she must be. She had not bathed since her last day at the manor. Dirt covered her body from head to toe and her skin was rubbed raw from her attempts at scrubbing away the blood, using only the coarse material of her dress. Shedding the filthy garment, she lowered herself into the stream, completely submerging her body. She gasped as the cool water soothed her frail frame. She was covered in bruises and had turned waxy and pale from the severe change in her diet. She saw blood that had been dry for over a week peel away from her skin, along with more dirt than she believed possible for one person to accumulate. She came up to the surface once more feeling a heavy sense of relief. Despite this new external sense of cleanliness she still felt dirty on the inside. No matter how clean her skin was, she knew she always would.
    The entire time the young girl was sat facing Annabel with humour evident on her youthful face.
    "'aving fun?" she asked. Annabel smiled back, for the first time in what felt like a lifetime.
    "Name's Patsy," the girl continued. "Trevor's girl, I think you met `im."
    She said the latter with a sneer of obvious hatred. A sliver of cold fear slid down Annabel's throat at finally having a name for her attacker.
    "Did you wanna use this?" Patsy reached into her apron, withdrawing a lumpy grey substance. "It's soap, tho' not like you know it I'm sure."
    She placed it on the side of the pool and Annabel snatched it up, lathering it over her entire body almost violently. It still smelled like the animal fat used to make it although Annabel didn't care. As she scrubbed she felt how her bones now stuck out a little further than usual. The soap stung her skin, turning it a vivid, patchy shade of red.
    Remembering her hair she lathered soap there as well, working her fingers through it over and over again in an attempt to detangle the once glorious strands. She felt the hair smoothen under the water and placed the significantly diminished soap back onto the bank. Patsy put it away again and motioned to a small pile of clothes Annabel hadn't realised she was carrying.
    "Put this on when you're done."
    Patsy gazed intently into Annabel's face, closely searching for any hint she would make a break for freedom. Even with the renewed energy the cool water had granted her, she still felt too weak to run. Besides, where would she go? It was at least a few days back to the park and she had no way of finding food. Her tutor hadn't deemed survival skills appropriate.
    After about twenty minutes she clambered out of the stream, covering her body with her hands. As quick as she could she crawled into her new clothes. They stuck to her still wet skin. She found herself wearing a grey dress of the same rough fabric as her old one. There was also an apron, similar to the one Patsy was wearing, that reached the hem of her dress, with two wonky pockets sewn onto the front.
    Although still of the