A Penny For The Girl

Chapter 8

How did they know? How did they know so much about me? My uncle had bragged about the way he treated me, I always thought he was just angry at having to look after me I never realised he was actually proud of his cruelty. "H... how long have you known my uncle?" I stuttered I wasn't really sure what to say so thought I'd start with something simple.

Byron smiled sadly at me before he answered, the sympathetic look he gave me was almost father like in manner and actually warmed my heart a little. I hadn't realised how much I had missed real human interaction until now. Apart from the little I got at the hospital I only had my memories from my parents to comfort me and those had faded with time.

"I met your uncle a couple of years ago when we did some business together" he began "I didn't know much about him, just that his company was a good investment, I put some money in and it tripled almost instantly. I didn't tend to talk to him too much as I found him quite arrogant but you don't necessarily have to like someone to make money from them" he smiled a little when he said that "about a year ago I was visiting the company when I overheard some of his employees talking about a girl he kept in his basement" a scowl appeared on his face as he was reliving the memory. "Instantly disgusted I asked them what they were talking about, I knew he had a daughter that he absolutely adored so it didn't make much sense to me and no amount of profit was worth associating with such a man" Byron paused to take a sip of his wine and Kitty placed her hand on his other hand that rested on the table, he had involuntarily made it into a fist. I waited silently as I didn't want to interrupt his story and I noticed Tate was listening intently too.

"The employees told me he had a niece that lived with him, the daughter of his wife's brother so no blood relation to him. They told me what a kind and helpful girl she was and it was a shame how he had basically made her into a servant, how she had to cook and clean for them all and how they feared how far he had gone to make her so obedient" he looked at me to see my reaction but I drew my eyes down to the napkin in my lap suddenly finding a piece of fraying thread incredibly interesting. Realising he would not get any answer from me he continued "They then told me how when she was still a child he had bragged about locking her in the basement and making it her room so she wouldn't bother anyone in the house" I heard a sniffles and looked up to see Kitty wiping tears from her eyes with her hanky. "I asked them why the hell no one had reported him and how they could all leave a little girl to suffer like that, but they had tried and every time he had managed to charm his way into making the police believe it was a rival company or disgruntled employee, by this point I was furious. How could he get away with something like that?!" He looked at me then, they all did, eyes searching money for an answer.

"Chelsea had an extra bedroom just for her clothes and toys, she had so many they wouldn't all fit in her room" I began "I had a camp bed in the basement with just a sleeping bag, I wasn't allowed a pillow, and I had a cardboard box with a few items of clothing in stuck in the corner of the basement. Every morning I had to fold up the bed and roll up the sleeping bag and put them away with all the other storage that was down there so whenever the police turned up he could show them the basement and then Chelsea's other bedroom and told them that was where I slept" they were all looking at me as I spoke, including Tate and I must admit I was uncomfortable with all the attention.

"Why didn't you tell anyone?" Kitty asked me. "They told me not to, and it wasn't worth the punishment, nobody would've believed me anyway. I was scared and I had no where else to go" I answered truthfully. "And anyway it could've been worse, I had a roof over my head, an education and I always managed to sneak some food when I was cooking!" I chuckled "If you don't mind me asking, what happened to your parents?" Kitty tentatively asked me. "They died in a car accident when I was 6" I answered, embarrassed when a stray tear escaped from the corner of my eye. I quickly wiped it away and then lightened the mood of the table by telling them all the wonderful memories I had of my parents. We talked and laughed, especially when Kitty and Byron told me stories about Tate when he was younger and I found out he had a younger sister who was currently in Paris studying fashion design. Tate stayed quiet for the whole of dinner not really present at all even though his parents tried hard to include him in the conversation but I didn't let his rudeness ruin my mood. I really enjoyed spending time with his parents and for the first time since I got here I thought maybe it wouldn't be so bad.