Rose's POV
Summer 1975
"Hugo! Come on now!" I couldn't help myself giggle at the man's antics, "Can I take the blindfold off yet?"
"Not yet, Rosie," his deep voice tickled at the base of my neck as I felt myself being pulled along up a gravel road.
When the train had started to slow into the station about an hour ago, Hugo had pulled out one of many cloths he had kept hidden in his sleeve for magic shows - using them to bring forth little trinkets as a way to entertain curious children in our cart during the trip from Southport - and tied it around my eyes to keep them concealed. When I had asked why, Hugo had chuckled before saying that it was a surprise for me - a belated wedding present.
Of course, I trusted him when he had asked for me to trust him - I was his assistant after all. I had been cut in half, transferred from one end of the room to the other, swapped places with him from outside a glass box filled with water - it was something that I had learned to do, any magician's assistant had to place trust in the magician during the course of each and every trick, that was the way the magic worked after all.
So, now we were in an unfamiliar place, walking up an unfamiliar flight of stairs and into an unfamiliar building.
I was a little nervous - he didn't go and buy a grand house out in the middle of nowhere, did he?
"Alright, Rosie," Hugo's large hands grabbed me by the shoulders, keeping me in place, "Are you ready?"
I nodded, the fear vanishing into eagerness.
"I need words, Rose," Hugo chuckled, "You need to talk to me, like we always do."
"Yes, I'm ready," I could feel my lips curl into a painful smile - one of joy.
I felt the ties loosen and the cloth fell away. When my eyes opened, my jaw dropped in utter surprise.
The two of us were standing in what appeared to be a grand foyer of a large and beautiful hotel. The early afternoon sun beat down onto the deep colored wooden panelings and equally dark hardwood floors. More lights from large lamps and the singular chandelier cast a warm glow all around us, the sensation of home filling my spirit for the first time in many years. Leather upholstered chairs and a loveseat sat near each other along one wall with a small reception desk in the far corner, a large cabinet filled with different keys hanging on hooks behind it.
"Well, Rosie," Hugo's voice brought me back, "What do you think?"
"It's absolutely beautiful Hugo!" I turned to face my husband, "But, I'm a little lost on how this is a belated wedding present."
"Oh Rosie," Hugo came forward, pressing his nose against mine, rubbing them together affectionately, "This place is to be our home now. The previous owners were old friends of my mother's before she died last year. I had stayed here on a few occasions as a boy when both of my parents were traveling about and wanted me to remain in school - to study. The owners reached out to me shortly after our marriage and had asked if I was interested in the hotel business. I figured, as I had intended on applying for a position at one of the local schools anyway, this was perfect for us.
"It has a show stage, so we can still do performances for the public - if you still want to perform magic of course. The coast is plenty busy during the summer season, so the place will always be filled with visitors and sightseers. The grounds are large enough for our guests to enjoy themselves here - and we can always make a little bit of a profit of the place."
"And, what about us?" I asked, "Will there still be time for us while we own this marvelous building?"
"Please don't be upset, Rosie," Hugo tucked a lock of hair behind my ear, his eyes kind and warm, "To speak the truth, I loved my work as a traveling magician. But, I'm starting to get old -"
"You're only forty years old," I huffed.
"Still, I'm aging," Hugo shrugged his shoulders, "I'm not getting any younger. I want to stay in one place after moving around for so long - I want to build friendships with people outside of other travelers that I might only see once in a lifetime. I want to be able to take you out, show the world that you're my first and my only - even if it's in a small little diner on the edge of a cliff filled with locals that turn out to be just normal people."
"You want stability," I smiled, understanding, "You know that I've never been in the same place for longer than a month - a year at most. I want to share that dream with you, Hugo."
"And, in all honesty Rosemary," Hugo winked, his pale blue eyes sparkling with mischief, "that's why I married you."
***
About two months had passed before the Sea View Hotel had it's grand reopening. A lot of work needed to get done in the process.
Hugo and I worked tirelessly, pouring over applications for staff members, testing numerous cooking skills of several local chefs in town, starting up partnerships with a few of the local businesses - but the result was worth it. Nearly every room in the hotel was filled when the reopening happened, locals pushing old friends and family from all over the area to come and stay in the newly renovated hotel at the edge of the cliff.
That night, after everyone had gone to their respected rooms or was in the lounge, Hugo and I took the chance to embrace each other. The old recorder player that had gotten us through so much in the past had made its appearance again, playing old slow dance music as the two of us swayed together in the auditorium.
"I was thinking of this area becoming more of a dinner theater set up," Hugo spoke softly, "We could have our guests eat while we perform for them. What do you think?"
"I think the 'we' part might need to be held off for a few months, Hugo dear," I answered.
He stopped in his tracks, looking confused.
I licked my lips, no longer able to keep the secret I had discovered only a few days ago, "Remember when I was sick during the mornings before our opening? You thought it had something to do with the fish?"
When Hugo nodded, I continued, "I went to see a local doctor this morning while you were helping get a few things sorted out before opening - they said that I'm expecting."
Hugo's eyes blinked owlishly. He was definitely surprised, but something was telling me that he was upset about the whole thing.
Then, he paled slightly, his voice hoarse, "Pregnant? Are you sure?"
When I nodded, Hugo released me, looking down at his hands in disbelief. Different emotions shifted across his face - disbelief, anger, fear - not a single one of them gave any indication that it was good.
"I know you're shocked, I am as well," I started, "and no new parent is sure about what to expect when they are having a child..."
"It's not that, Rosemary," his voice had suddenly turned dark, unfamiliar. His eyes flashed, the sky blues that had once been filled with warmth now turned the color of a midnight sky, anger raging through his body, "Do you have any idea what a child would do to us? To you?!"
I jumped back at his outburst, unsure exactly what I was seeing, "But, Hugo..."
"No, I don't want to hear it!" he roared, rearing his hand back before it struck me across the face, forcing my body to fall to the floor as I clasped at the heated cheek.
I could feel the tears stinging at my eyes, my heart filled with hurt and disbelief. Who was this man? Where did my Hugo go?
Hugo's large hands grasped the collar of my shirt, pulling me up roughly and bringing me close to his face as his hot breath fell on me, "Listen here, you little bitch. That THING in your belly will never be mine, understand? I'd rather see you jump off this very cliff then keep that thing. If you ever bring up that the child is mine, I will make your life worse than hell itself, you understand what I'm telling you?!"
His hands were shaking me, forcing my body to jerk back and forth from the force, but I answered as clear as I could, "Yes Hugo, I understand."
He dropped me, turning away, "Tonight, I want your stuff out of my room. I don't even want to look at you because of the pain you caused. What even gave you the idea that I would even want a child?"
I didn't want to answer, too afraid of what would happen if I spoke anymore on the subject.
After Hugo disappeared out of the auditorium, I grasped my belly - hoping and praying that nothing had caused physical harm to my unborn baby.
***
The following months became worse and worse.
Hugo's temper would flare at the smallest things, making the staff jump and - sometimes - cower at their boss' rage. Objects being thrown also became common - especially in the kitchen. If something was the least bit off, Hugo was chucking the plate at the closest person - once hitting someone in the face as the plate shattered against the skin and bone. The poor server had to go in for stitches and I ended up getting the rest of the beating later in the evening. Other occurrences included morbid swearing and destruction of property, among other things.
Guests began to question if staying at the hotel was even a good idea - especially if they had little ones. The staff and I tried our best to explain that Hugo was going through a rough patch - and he was.
Ever since the angry outburst about me having a child, Hugo had become someone completely different. He wouldn't look at me, even if I begged him to. He locked himself in random places all over the building as a way to escape me and my questions. Staff told me that he had begun to talk to himself, speaking in languages that couldn't be Welsh or Irish - sometimes shouting at people in that foreign tongue as well. And the local rumors about school beatings didn't seem to help settle things at all.
I wasn't surprised when Hugo had come home in his usual sour mood - what he did next scared the living bejesus out of me, though. He dropped his briefcase and coat on the ground outside his room before I heard his footsteps march into the kitchen as screams of horror erupted from behind closed doors.
He accused several of the cooks of being crooked workers - telling false lies to their families and friends about what he did. He shouted that he would never put his hand in anger on a child, that the brute attacks were from the children's own homes. I and another worker stared on in shocked fear as the kitchen door swung open, Hugo returning with one of the heavier cooks in his grasp. His hand was wrapped around the man's belt as he had lifted him off the ground like he was nothing more than a sack of flour - carrying him all the way to the exit. He pushed the front door open and - literally - tossed the man outside. I could hear a soft plunk as the former cook landed in what I assumed was a snowbank.
"And if I ever see your face around here again, I'll sue you for liable damages!" Hugo's temper had flared beyond controllable.
I shooed the other worker away as he came back, not wanting her to see what he would do next.
I was lucky that time. Hugo's anger and strength from the adrenaline had run dry, forcing him to storm past me and into his office, slamming the door behind him and the lock sounding like thunder in the hallway.
The only thing that seemed to help keep the business afloat was the magic shows, Hugo throwing himself into his work and whatever else he pleased. It was only after those shows that he would allow me into the room with him - the steam nearly becoming too much for his body to bear.
He would take me hard and fast, smacking my face or bottom if I made any sort of refusal. He would pull my arms around my back, nearly popping them out of their sockets while my wrists bruised in his grasp. His lips would always leave more bruises - the bites he gave me even more so. I was always hurt and aching for release when he was finished, kicking me into the hallway before tossing my clothes at me and locking the door behind him.
One of the staff members had stayed late to finish up cleaning when she found me on the floor like that, tears pouring from my face and my bare body battered by bruises and cuts.
She helped me up, pulling me into the kitchen where she and one of the last of the cooks had found bandages and cool water, treating my poor aching body as I shivered with discomfort.
"Rose, please listen to us," the waitress spoke, her voice filled with concern, "That man is beating you to death! I don't know what you see in him, but he isn't the same man you married several months prior."
"And you've got a little one to worry about, love," the cook returned, pointing at my protruding belly, "If you don't do something, that man is going to hurt that little one in there."
"Hugo would never lay his hand on a child in anger," I tried to reason, "It was all my fault in the first place. I made him angry. so it's his right to punish me for disobeying him."
"Rose, how could you be so blind?" the cook asked, the towel in his hand landing harshly against the counter top - making me jump in the process, "That man is nothing more than a demon - a hell spawn - at this point. There's nothing left in him for you to love; he shows no respect for anyone but himself, he hits you, beats you - hell, he even raped you! If you don't do something about this, then I will!"
"No! Please don't!" the sudden fear of Hugo getting into trouble was far too much of a risk, "I could lose everything! He'll find a way to get to me if I do something like that! His-His family is very powerful and they protect each other! I couldn't ever do a thing like that - accuse him for his brutality! He's just upset is all..."
"But where is your final straw, Rose?" the server asked, her eyes wide with concern, "If you stay with him, you and your baby could end up dead in the next few weeks. I can get in touch with a friend and you can stay with her until this is sorted out. We're trying to help you."
"But don't you see?" I placed my hand on my belly, the little kicks evident of the stress my little one was under, "Maybe, once the child is born, Hugo will calm down a bit. I know he can be a devoted father, I've seen him with children. He always makes them smile and laugh, they love him! Why can't he love this one too?"
The two workers could only shake their heads.
I knew it sounded crazy, but I was determined to keep my family as best as I could. I had grown up without a father myself, and I wasn't going to let my little one suffer the consequences like I had.