Read Online Bleeding Heart Square by Andrew Taylor - Free Book Online
Authors: Andrew Taylor
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boy, with blond hair and regular features. He reminded her of a picture of the young Hereward the Wake which Lydia had seen in the Book of Epic Heroes in the nursery bookcase. She thought him very handsome.
Her mother said to her, "I'm sure Marcus would like to see the gardens and the park. Why don't you show him round, darling?"
The prospect of being alone with a strange boy filled her with fear. There was nothing to be done about it, however, and a few minutes later the two of them were walking along the path that led from the house toward the monument and the lake. On their right was the high, sun-warmed wall of the kitchen gardens, pierced at intervals by doors. They walked in silence, with Marcus in the lead. At the far end, where the wall ended, there was a belt of trees. Marcus stopped, so suddenly that Lydia almost cannoned into him. Hands on hips, he stared down at her.
"What's that?"
He nodded at a small shed that leaned against the outer wall of the kitchen garden at right angles to the main path. It was almost completely shrouded in trees.
"I don't know," Lydia said.
Marcus thrust his hands into his pockets. "I'm going to find out."
He swaggered into the trees without looking back to see if she was following. She padded after him, feeling that, as his hostess, she had a duty to look after him. There were nettles here and they reached her bare legs. She ran into a spider's web hanging from a branch of a tree and screamed. Marcus glanced back.
"Don't be such a baby," he said, and carried on.
At the end of the path, the tiled roof of the shed sagged and rippled. It was muddy underfoot, and the air felt damp, which was strange because it was a sunny afternoon. In memory, at least, it seemed to Lydia that the little spinney tucked against the north wall of the kitchen gardens had its own climate, its own atmosphere.
Marcus kicked over a fragment of rotten plank lying across the path. Woodlice scurried frantically. There were gray, slimy things, too. Lydia assumed they were leaves, or roots, or even a special sort of stone. Marcus picked up a twig and prodded one of them. To Lydia's horror, the shiny object slowly curled itself around the tip of the stick. The thing was alive. Lydia opened her mouth to scream but no sound came out.
"Slugs," Marcus said, and trod on it. "Do you know what they like to eat?"
She stared wide-eyed at him and shook her head.
"Human flesh," he whispered. "Children for choice. The younger the better, because they taste nicer."
Lydia screamed. She couldn't help herself. She couldn't move. Her mind had no room for anything except a terrifying image of her own naked body covered with those gray, shiny things, browsing on her, nibbling at her, just as the sheep and the Highland cattle browsed and nibbled at the grass of the park. One of the slugs was moving toward her, and another, and soon they would be climbing up her legs and--
Marcus snatched her up, lifting her under the armpits. In an instant she was high in the air and her face was level with his. He held her for a moment at arm's length.
"They'll eat me," she whispered. "The slugs will eat me."
He stared at her, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. Then he hefted her over his shoulder as if she were a sack of potatoes and walked toward the shed. He kicked open the door. Lydia could see down the back of his Norfolk jacket and the line of his long legs to his boots. It was such a long way to the ground. She was safe up here. The slugs couldn't get her.
Marcus lifted her from his shoulders. She shrieked with joy and fear as her head turned through 180 degrees. He set her down on a broad and dusty shelf fixed to the brick wall at the back of the shed. There was a sieve on one side of her and a pile of flowerpots on the other. In the gloom below, Lydia made out the outlines of the machines the gardeners used for mowing the grass. There were wheelbarrows, too, and rusting machinery whose purpose she did not know.
"Don't move,"
Her mother said to her, "I'm sure Marcus would like to see the gardens and the park. Why don't you show him round, darling?"
The prospect of being alone with a strange boy filled her with fear. There was nothing to be done about it, however, and a few minutes later the two of them were walking along the path that led from the house toward the monument and the lake. On their right was the high, sun-warmed wall of the kitchen gardens, pierced at intervals by doors. They walked in silence, with Marcus in the lead. At the far end, where the wall ended, there was a belt of trees. Marcus stopped, so suddenly that Lydia almost cannoned into him. Hands on hips, he stared down at her.
"What's that?"
He nodded at a small shed that leaned against the outer wall of the kitchen garden at right angles to the main path. It was almost completely shrouded in trees.
"I don't know," Lydia said.
Marcus thrust his hands into his pockets. "I'm going to find out."
He swaggered into the trees without looking back to see if she was following. She padded after him, feeling that, as his hostess, she had a duty to look after him. There were nettles here and they reached her bare legs. She ran into a spider's web hanging from a branch of a tree and screamed. Marcus glanced back.
"Don't be such a baby," he said, and carried on.
At the end of the path, the tiled roof of the shed sagged and rippled. It was muddy underfoot, and the air felt damp, which was strange because it was a sunny afternoon. In memory, at least, it seemed to Lydia that the little spinney tucked against the north wall of the kitchen gardens had its own climate, its own atmosphere.
Marcus kicked over a fragment of rotten plank lying across the path. Woodlice scurried frantically. There were gray, slimy things, too. Lydia assumed they were leaves, or roots, or even a special sort of stone. Marcus picked up a twig and prodded one of them. To Lydia's horror, the shiny object slowly curled itself around the tip of the stick. The thing was alive. Lydia opened her mouth to scream but no sound came out.
"Slugs," Marcus said, and trod on it. "Do you know what they like to eat?"
She stared wide-eyed at him and shook her head.
"Human flesh," he whispered. "Children for choice. The younger the better, because they taste nicer."
Lydia screamed. She couldn't help herself. She couldn't move. Her mind had no room for anything except a terrifying image of her own naked body covered with those gray, shiny things, browsing on her, nibbling at her, just as the sheep and the Highland cattle browsed and nibbled at the grass of the park. One of the slugs was moving toward her, and another, and soon they would be climbing up her legs and--
Marcus snatched her up, lifting her under the armpits. In an instant she was high in the air and her face was level with his. He held her for a moment at arm's length.
"They'll eat me," she whispered. "The slugs will eat me."
He stared at her, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. Then he hefted her over his shoulder as if she were a sack of potatoes and walked toward the shed. He kicked open the door. Lydia could see down the back of his Norfolk jacket and the line of his long legs to his boots. It was such a long way to the ground. She was safe up here. The slugs couldn't get her.
Marcus lifted her from his shoulders. She shrieked with joy and fear as her head turned through 180 degrees. He set her down on a broad and dusty shelf fixed to the brick wall at the back of the shed. There was a sieve on one side of her and a pile of flowerpots on the other. In the gloom below, Lydia made out the outlines of the machines the gardeners used for mowing the grass. There were wheelbarrows, too, and rusting machinery whose purpose she did not know.
"Don't move,"
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