Refuge by Kirsty Ferry Page A

fireplace. He sat opposite her to wait. 
                    There was no gentle stirring from her. She moved her head and her eyes snapped open, staring straight at him. Her expression was shocked and confused for a split second, but then she smiled at him, slowly and triumphantly. Even being what he was, and knowing what he knew, Montgomery still experienced a shiver of trepidation as he looked into the girl’s eyes.
                    ‘You did it,’ she said. ‘Did they see me?’
    Montgomery nodded. ‘They did indeed,’ he said. ‘Your fate was sealed. Your body has been moved, you are dead to them. You are no longer their concern.’
                    Veva sat up carefully. She looked about her, and her eyes rested on the front of her ballgown. A bloodied, burnt hole scarred the blue fabric at her breast. ‘My beautiful dress!’ she cried ‘Oh no!’ She pressed her hand to her chest. ‘Did you shoot me? I can feel something...’
                    ‘It will soon heal over,’ said Montgomery. ‘We don’t sustain our injuries for very long.’
                    ‘I’m glad I shot them,’ she said. ‘Now, there is more work I need to do.’ She swung her legs over the side of the bench and stood up unsteadily.
    Montgomery reached out to take her hand, gently yet firmly stopping her. ‘Not yet,’ he said. ‘You need to gain strength, my love. You’re still weak. Let your body heal and your mind adjust.’
                    Veva narrowed her eyes and turned to Montgomery. She wrenched her hand out of his and snarled at him. ‘You think that you are the one who can tell me what to do now, is that it? No. You have given me independence. I can do what I want now, but I need to settle some old scores first.’
                     ‘I am not telling you what to do,’ said Montgomery, ‘I am advising you to rest. Your body has gone through an ordeal and it may take some time to recover.’
                    ‘I went through worse this summer at the hands of my brother. I died, you know. They told me. But then I came back. Joseph did not know whether to be grateful or resentful. I am sure he wished me dead.’ She smiled. ‘Dear Joseph. He did his best. Sadly, it was not enough to stop me. I must pay him a visit.’
                    Montgomery sighed. ‘Go then, Genevieve. Go and see him. I can see that I have no power over you to prevent it. I would have visited him myself, but why should I rob you of the experience? All I will say is that if you rest now, you will be stronger. Look, you are still unsteady on your feet. Please – an hour, two hours at the most. That will be enough time for you. It will be enough time for the message to reach him as well. Would it not be better to visit him from a position of such strength in two hours time, than to go now and risk more people seeing you as the news of your apparent suicide spreads? You have much to learn and I can teach you, but the first step is to trust me.’
                    Veva paused in the doorway of the cottage, looking thoughtfully at Montgomery. ‘You tell me that I will be stronger if I wait?’ she asked.
                    ‘Indeed,’ he replied. ‘I found it best to wait.’
                    ‘Why did you make this choice?’ asked Veva curiously. She walked across to him and stared down at him thoughtfully. ‘What was it that you did?’
                    ‘I made many mistakes in life,’ replied Montgomery. ‘I inherited a failing estate. I had no business acumen. I begged people like your brother to help me. I did not necessarily want the money, but I would have appreciated the support. He, amongst others, laughed at my disgrace and sent me away. I decided that my only chance was to gamble with the few remaining shreds of my fortune, and I lost.