Runaway (A New Adventure Begins - Star Elite 4)

“I heard banging,” Edith persisted.

“It must have been next door. Go and tell them if you object,” Molly replied dourly, her voice reducing to a mutter.

“How dare you be so rude?” Edith snapped.

“It wasn’t me,” Molly lied.

“Why, you obstinate young heathen,” Edith continued anyway, as though Molly hadn’t spoken, even though Molly knew she had heard her.

Molly wanted to cross the landing to get to her own bed chamber, but daren’t make herself visible, not least because she would have to explain to her aunt why she was in her brother’s room. Not only that but she would then have to explain where Oscar was and she couldn’t do that either.

Because I don’t have a clue.

“It’s time to make dinner. You can r

edeem yourself by peeling the vegetables. Get on with it, but do it quietly, do you hear? Quietly!”

“Of course,” Molly replied. “I shall tiptoe all the way, and not make a sound. I shall be a veritable ghost in your life as usual.”

“What was that?” Edith demanded imperiously.

“Nothing.”

“I suppose you are going to try to blame your insolence on the neighbours as well, are you?” Edith replied, her tone arrogant and aloof.

“No, I wouldn’t dare,” Molly replied.

This time, she wisely kept her mouth shut and allowed silence to fall while she waited for her aunt to leave. She suspected her aunt was still standing at the bottom of the stairs, waiting and listening carefully in case Molly dare sneeze or something. Determined to wait her out, Molly took a seat on the edge of Oscar’s bed and stared at the room around her while she contemplated what she was going to do now.

To say her aunt ruled the house with an iron thumb was an understatement. Aunt Edith was draconian, harsh, spiteful and demanding as well as very, very lazy. It was difficult to comprehend that she was related to their mother. There were very little similarities, even in the way of looks. Not only did Edith not allow anybody to have a voice of any kind except for herself, she wanted to remain firmly in control of everything in her life, including the people in it. Molly’s parents had raised their children in a fun-loving household where laughter and games were rife. In contrast, Edith’s house was dark, gloomy and deathly silent.

Following their father’s death six months ago, Edith had ungraciously, it has to be said, agreed to accommodate Molly and Oscar when it had become apparent that they had had no place else to go. The moral duty the solicitor had emphasised to Edith had been persuasive enough, but Molly knew it had truly been the allowance Molly and Oscar received that had persuaded her aunt to provide them with a roof over their heads. Unfortunately, Edith had never allowed a day to go by where she hadn’t told them in no uncertain terms how much they spoilt her life, even though they had been lumbered with most of the housework, cooked all the meals, and generally gave the woman someone to moan at. Not only that, but they were forced to live as frugally as possible, whereas their aunt appeared to languish in a lavish lifestyle of sumptuous indulgence none of which extended to Molly and Oscar. They were there to be of service and should not expect to enjoy any aspect of the life they had now – that much had been made clear to them both.

It really came as no surprise that Oscar had chosen to take his life back and would rather take his chances on the streets than have his life stolen by a draconian miser who resented them.

“Molly!” Edith screeched when it became evident to her that Molly hadn’t jumped to carry out her orders immediately.

“I need to get out of here as well,” Molly whispered, her stomach coiled in knots.

The very thought of doing so terrified her so much she physically began to shake.

There was a time in my life when I used to be quite happy going where I needed to go. Now, I am too scared to contemplate anything of the kind.

As a result of Edith’s behaviour, every time Molly ventured out of the house she felt guilty, as though she was committing some sort of cardinal sin. That guilt was heightened if she found herself enjoying her journey out. The pleasure she experienced didn’t just heighten her guilt, it made returning to the large, rambling home her aunt owned more dreadful. Reluctance often filled Molly with a sickening fear whenever she saw the house and had to face the prospect of returning to it. Of late, it had become so bad that Molly had chosen to simply not go out anymore. She usually sent Oscar out to fetch bread and provisions. Now that Oscar had gone she had to face leaving at some point, if only to go shopping.

I don’t want to shop for Edith either, she mused darkly. In fact, she didn’t want to do anything for that woman anymore.

When she was sure her aunt had left, Molly crept across the passage and into her bed chamber. Once there, she hurriedly gathered as many of her belongings as she could pack and shoved them roughly into the only bag she owned.

“Now what do I do?” she whispered.

“Molly!”

Molly closed her eyes on a wave of frustration when she heard the imperious demand in her aunt’s voice. Dutifully, she made her way downstairs only for her gaze to land on her aunt’s ‘friend’, Denzel Erstwhile, who was just letting himself in through the front door. Molly mentally groaned when the middle-aged man’s narrowed eyes slid lecherously over her. Determined not to let him see just how much his leering made her skin crawl, Molly straightened her shoulders and lifted a brow at her aunt.

“What?” she demanded dourly.

“I thought I told you to get dinner,” Edith rapped.