Don't Hurt Me Read Online Free PDF Page B

seen her. Have
you tried her room?’
       ‘Several times,’ he said shortly.
‘It’s locked and there’s no answer. Though that’s not unusual. Like most
teenagers, Victoria’s almost impossible to wake in the mornings.’
       She looked at him, frowning.
‘Perhaps I should try.’
       ‘If you like,’ Marshall shrugged.
‘But don’t expect any miracles. If there’s one thing my daughter really excels
at, it’s being difficult.’
       Wandering upstairs after breakfast,
she found the door to Victoria’s bedroom locked, just as Marshall had said it would
be, and there was no sound even when she knocked loudly. Julia hesitated, not
sure whether or not to go back downstairs and admit defeat. But she knew that
teenagers sometimes responded to rather subtler methods than Marshall had used
so far.
       ‘Victoria?’ she called through the
heavy wooden door. ‘It’s such a lovely morning and Marshall said something
about a spectacular lake. Could you show me how to find it?’
       The silence inside the bedroom
continued for a few moments, then Julia heard the door being unlocked. It
opened slowly and Victoria peered out at her with a sulky expression, wearing
hipster jeans and a skimpy top, her feet bare on the uncarpeted floor. Julia
bit her lip, feeling almost sorry for the girl. She might have caused her
father and the police a great deal of trouble in recent days, but she was
clearly not having a wonderful time herself. In fact, from the look of those
red-rimmed eyes, she had probably been crying most of the night.
       ‘Has he gone out then?’ Victoria
demanded suspiciously. ‘Are you sure? I didn’t hear his car leave.’
       ‘I think your father’s probably in
his study,’ Julia said rather too quickly, never having been very good at
lying. ‘But I don’t want to disturb him if he’s working. Why don’t you put some
shoes on? We could go out for a walk together. You look as though you could do
with some fresh air.’
       ‘Did my dad put you up to this?’
       Julia sighed, seeing no reason to
avoid the truth. ‘Okay, he did ask me to check how you were. But he’s just
worried about you, Victoria. You can’t blame him for that, he’s your father.’
       ‘I don’t need a nanny!’
       ‘Good God. Is that what you think I
am?’
       ‘I’m not stupid. That’s why you’re
here, isn’t it?’ The teenager had raised her voice, her eyes oddly reminiscent
of her father’s as they narrowed in fury. ‘If you’re not his girlfriend, then
he brought you here to look after me. He’s done the same thing before. But you
can tell my dad he can forget it. I’m not a kid anymore!’
       ‘No,’ Julia agreed coolly. ‘You’re
fourteen now and old enough to carry your own messages.’
       Victoria glared at her in a
trembling silence. Then gradually her pout disappeared and she seemed to relax
a little more, stepping back to let Julia enter the bedroom. The walls were
covered with posters of rock stars and heavy metal bands, their garish costumes
and outlandish make-up clearly designed to shock and appal parents. Her
sister’s teenage daughter had exactly the same sort of posters on her own wall,
Julia realised, staring around herself. But she was careful to hide her
amusement as the girl waved her reluctantly towards an alcove seat under the
window. Young teenagers were prickly creatures, she reminded herself, and easy
to offend. Instead, she settled with her hands on her knees and waited for the
girl to speak first.
       ‘So you’re not going to be my
nanny?’ Victoria said dully, throwing herself down on the bed and staring up at
the ceiling. ‘You really are an illustrator?’
       ‘That’s right. In fact, I’m only
here for a few weeks, to get some ideas for illustrating The Wounded Tiger .’
       ‘Sorry. I’m just so used to ... ’
       ‘It’s okay.’
       Victoria turned her head and gave
her a grin. Suddenly she seemed much