The Chateau on the Lake Read Online Free PDF Page B

that it’s unlit here and, except for a few couples seeking solitude in the shadows, only a few other people are nearby.
    ‘I’m not sure…’ says Lydia.
    There is a rustling and a moaning in the bushes, and a peal of drunken laughter.
    ‘There are the ruins of a temple a little further on. We could sit there a while and talk,’ says Tom, persuasively.
    ‘It’s too dark here,’ I say, wondering what his face looks like behind the mask.
    A giggling nun, hand in hand with a satyr, walks past us and disappears into the dense blackness of the copse beside the avenue.
    A fat drop of water lands on my arm. I look up and see the moon veiled by cloud. Another raindrop falls on my upturned face and all at once I’m uneasy. We’re too far away from the bright lights of the Grove. ‘We must return, Lydia,’ I tell her.
    ‘Not yet,’ says Dick, his breath hot on my cheek. ‘You haven’t paid us for your wine.’
    ‘Paid?’ Lydia looks confused.
    ‘You need to pay us with a kiss,’ says Tom, imprisoning her into his arms.
    ‘Certainly not!” I say indignantly. ‘Come on, Lydia, let’s leave.’
    The rain begins to fall in earnest now and in a moment Lydia’s thin muslin dress is soaked and clinging to her figure, leaving little to the imagination.
    Dick grips my arm. ‘Not yet,’ he says, pulling me towards the shadows.
    I struggle against him, but every time I free one of his hands from my arm or wrist, he catches hold of me again.
    Lydia is thrashing around in Tom’s arms, turning her face away as he attempts to kiss her.
    Dick’s fingers press painfully into my upper arm.
    ‘Let me go!’ I cry.
    Lydia’s piercing scream is almost drowned by a monstrous clap of thunder.
    I shout her name but Dick silences me by pressing his mouth over mine. He tastes of wine and raw onions. His hands are all over me, pinching my breasts and cupping my buttocks. I’m revolted and frightened now, and when the bright flash of lightning comes it only serves to illuminate his face and show me his bestial intent.
    The rain begins to drum down on my head and shoulders, splashing up from the earth to soak my skirt. I hear Lydia shrieking as I scratch at Dick’s face, fighting him every inch of the way as he drags me towards the deeper darkness of the shrubbery. My feet slip and slide in the thin mud forming on the sun-baked earth and I’m full of disbelief that the magical evening could suddenly have become so terrifying.
    Dick pushes me against a holly bush and I scream as he lifts my skirt and then his hands are between my thighs. Twigs prick my back and spiny leaves catch at my hair as Dick grinds his hips against mine, fumbling at the buttons of his breeches as I squirm in his grasp.
    Just as I think all is lost there’s a great bellow of rage and Dick releases me so suddenly that I stumble and fall to the ground.
    Papa, his chest heaving for breath, holds Dick’s arms pinioned behind his back. Mama stands beside him, her eyes wide with apprehension and her hair sodden.
    Mr Jephcott runs up to Lydia and, with a yell, kicks her assailant’s knees.
    Surprised, Tom lets Lydia go and she runs sobbing into her mother’s arms.
    Mr Jephcott snatches up a stick from the ground. ‘I’ll beat you within an inch of your life,’ he roars.
    Thunder cracks again and Tom yells each time the stick slashes down across his shoulders and head.
    Dick erupts from Papa’s arms and punches Mr Jephcott on the chin. ‘Leave ’im alone!’
    Without a word, Mr Jephcott sinks senseless to the ground.
    Papa, raging in French, pulls his sword free and runs at Dick.
    There’s a flash of silver and Dick yells, ‘Damn your eyes, you’ve run me through, you bastard!’
    Papa jerks the sword out of Dick’s thigh and readies himself to strike again. ‘You have dared to attempt to dishonour our daughters and you will pay the price.’
    Dick’s knees buckle and he falls down, arms over his head, begging for mercy, while the blood spurts from