“I think we’ve found the Amity Crane of that house,” Kerstan replied rolling his eyes. His statement was followed by a sigh. Amity kept her eyes on him as he contemplated what he was going to do.
“I don’t like that you lied to me,” he said looking at me. “I don’t tolerate things like that and because of that, my answer is no. I will not allow word to go back to Betje and Minikin that you’re alive, Lieve.”
Her mouth dropped open. I think that whatever it was that she was offering to do with him or for him would gain his favor, but he rejected it because of me.
“Go back to your house. That’s your punishment,” Kerstan said getting to his feet.
“Fine!” Amity yelled. She ran over to a closet that sat along the far wall and began to pull out clothes.
I watched her silently as did the rest of Kerstan’s women as she pulled on a pair of denim shorts, a t-shirt, and fished around the bottom of the closet before pulling out a pair of simple, flat black shoes and sat on the floor while she slid them on. When she was done she got to her feet and came back over to where I was sitting.
“Let’s go,” she said in a determined voice, yanking me off of the bed. I looked at Kerstan nervously as we walked past him toward the door.
“Stop right there,” he said in a low, menacing tone. “You are not going to that house, Lieve.”
“The hell I’m not! You won’t tell them that I’m okay, then I’ll tell them myself!” she yelled at him.
“Amity, you will not go to that house. You aren’t ready for that just yet,” Kerstan said coming over to us. “Famke will go back alone and you will stay here with me,” he said prying us apart.
Amity reached for Kerstan’s hand and pulled it off of my arm and opened the door. She gently pushed me through and slammed the door closed behind us.
“Run or we’ll never make it to the front door,” she said urgently as she broke into a sprint.
I’d like to think that if we hadn’t spent the time glancing over our shoulders we would have made it. I’d like to think that Amity didn’t suffer to terribly when Kerstan easily caught up to us and slammed her face into the door, knocking her out cold. I’d like to think that he wouldn’t tell Luuk that I had been there and that I was trying to desperately defect.
I’d like to think a lot of good things about him, but as I walked home with him following closely in his chauffer driven car, in tears, and terrified, I soon learned that maybe Kerstan was worse than Luuk after all.
Five
Betje
On the ninth evening that Famke was missing, we were all sitting in the dining room eating dinner. I sat with Minikin to my left and Ilse to my right. Ever since we were told that Amity was dead and Famke disappeared, I refused to let either one of them out of my sight.
The doorbell rang reverberating throughout the house and Luuk glanced at one of his servants and waived them out of the room to answer it. I glanced down at my plate still full with vegetables, mashed potatoes, and thin cuts of pork shoulder on it unable to find my appetite. If Luuk had noticed, he hadn’t said anything.
I sighed and placed my fork gently down on the plate and looked at the other girls. They were all eating quietly and I couldn’t help but feel like we were in some kind of twisted convent because of the strict silence during meals rule he had.
“Luuk,” the servant said frantically as she entered the room. (Luuk’s servants were older whores of his that could never figure out what to do with their lives once their debts were worked off.) “Luuk, you must come quickly.”
He glanced up at her looking completely annoyed that someone was speaking during a meal and got up from his seat. He used his cloth napkin to wipe his mouth before he dropped it onto the table and followed her out.
A few moments later there was an eruption of raised, angry voices coming from the main hall. We all jumped in surprise and looked at each other wondering who would be brave enough to peek and see what was happening.
“I’ll do it,” Ilse finally said.
“Be careful,” I whispered as she got up and ran toward the door. She opened it slightly and peeked out before she turned around and waved me over.
“Look,” she said moving slightly so that I could look into the brightly lit hallway.
“Oh my God,” I breathed.
It was Famke; she was back, but she wasn’t alone. She was standing there in bitter tears, with her head down as Luuk argued with a man I couldn’t quite make out. I can’t say that I was thinking clearly when I ran out into the hallway toward Famke. I just knew that she was scared and I wanted to be there for her.
But the closer I got the clearer the man came into view and my quick paces slowed to a screeching halt when his eyes wandered over to me. The slow smile that spread across his lips was so familiar and the way his eyes pierced into me made me feel unsteady on my feet.
Before either of us could say anything to each other, Famke let out a rush of frantic words, “Amity’s not dead! She’s not! I saw her! She’s still alive!”
The snapping sound that followed hit me like a shot in the heart. I watched as Kerstan moved his hands away from Famke’s neck and watched her body collapse onto the ground between him and Luuk.