Chapter 16

“Will your staff beat me, Frances? You will protect me, won’t you?”

“Our staff beat you? Hardly. They have both just turned eighteen, so are not much older than you. They are twins. I was told you were fifteen. Is that correct, Sidra?”

“No. I am SIXTEEN now! In many countries, that makes me an adult. I never want to go home again, Frances; don’t make me.”

“Don’t worry, Sidra. We will treat you as an adult; as one of us. Why, Fiona is twenty-one. That makes her an old lady, doesn’t it?” She grinned at Sidra, who smiled back unsurely, but nodded.

The doctor had been listening intently, and had relaxed as the conversation went on. Now she intruded. “Frances, what is this Fiona, in relation to the rest of you? Her name was not given as Robertson, so who is she?”

“Fiona is a recent addition to the family. She came and asked to join us, to have a stable and loving family she could belong with. She has the proverbial wicked stepmother and was getting desperate for a place – a family – where she could belong, despite having successfully taken a first degree. Fiona volunteered to become another wife to Reg, and we eventually agreed that she could be so. Reg was told, and has accepted her to his bed, so we just have to bind her to us in a new commitment ceremony, to make it permanent.”

The doctor’s eyes widened. She exclaimed, “So that’s, what ... five of you girls?”

“Correct, doctor. Five is right. In a way, we were a refuge for Fiona. Possibly that is what the Reverend meant by saying that we had a track record in these sort of things.

“I get you. Sidra, however, is not looking for a man; that I can assure you!”

“Oh, we understand, doctor. We aren’t, either!” She giggled at her own joke.

Checking that Sidra was not facing her way, the doctor signalled to Frances that she wanted a private word, so Frances signalled to Erika to come and hold Sidra. Frances eased Sidra off and into the arms of her fellow wife.

“This is Erika, Sidra. She wants to cuddle you for a while, okay?”

Having dealt with the transfer, Frances walked slowly to the door, and exited with the doctor. Outside, the medic told her, “We think Sidra is still a virgin, Frances, as there is no outward sign of forced sex, but we haven’t done a medical check for that: she was too distraught. Perhaps, once she has calmed down sufficiently for personal questions, you can ask her. We only treated the visible bruising. We didn’t even check her back passage, so when it is possible, also ask if she has been assaulted by anal sex. Come back and let me know, for our records. I am Doctor Trevelyan, should you have to ask for me.”

Frances replied, concerned, “That might take some time, Doctor Trevelyan. It will depend on how traumatised she is.”

“Don’t I know it! She won’t even say who gave her the injuries, so we suspect it was a family member; most likely her father. That may explain her reluctance to give her surname – it is also probably why she ran away from home; she had had enough of being battered around. There are signs of earlier bruises as well as the current crop. Why didn’t her school report these signs to the authorities?”

“Yes, that is a question worth getting an answer to. Did she say what school she attended? Presumably they will have to be told why she is absent.”

Doctor Trevelyan grimaced. “Frances, if I, or you, reported it to her school, the school would speak to the parents, and we would have given them pointers to where Sidra can be found. We don’t want that, now, do we?”

Frances swiftly brought her hand to cover her mouth. “Damn! Of course you are right. Excuse the foot in mouth! We shall keep it quiet. Can you arrange for someone else, unconnected to either of us, to report to the school that she is now in a place of safety?”

“I have a cousin who is a policewoman in Cardiff. She can get someone there to tell the school that Sidra is now in a protected place after being abused.”

Frances asked for confirmation, “You have Sidra’s surname?”

“Yes. Sadaf. She had to give us that, for our records, and she did, once I assured her they would remain private. We don’t have the name of the school, though. Do you want to try asking her?”

“Why not? It will be a first step towards normality.” she turned and opened the door to go in.

Erika had sat down on a chair, had Sidra on her lap, and was gently patting the girl’s back, almost like dealing with a baby. Frances was pleased at this development; and mouthed silently to Erika, “School name?”

Erika nodded, and whispered to Sidra, “Sidra, dear, can you tell me the name of your school? We want to let them know that you are safe, without telling them where.”

Sidra softy whispered the name, adding, “You won’t tell them anything? They will pass it to my family!”

Erika reassured her, “Sidra, everything about you is now secret, as and until you want it to be different. You are safe with us.” She pulled her arms tighter around the girl.

Frances raised her eyebrows in a question. Erika told her, “St. Margaret’s girls school. The private one: you have no doubt heard of it.”

Frances was enlightened, and grimaced at the answer. “Oh, yes: that one. They have a reputation for doing everything to suit the parents’ wishes, and hang the educational values. My parents checked it as a possible for me, and were horrified. My folks value education, and hate this toadying to parents for purely monetary reasons. Damn! Sidra would be better off never to go back there.”

Erika tapped Sidra’s arm to get her attention. “Sidra, dear, we appreciate your aversion to that school and its approach to education. I think you will be better off if we privately school you from now on. Us Robertsons are all well educated, and can help you get ready for exams. We can enter you for exams under an assumed first name, and you will be a Robertson; an adopted child of this family, as far as the authorities are concerned.”

Sidra looked up in dismay. “I don’t do well in school, Erika.”

Erika looked at her sternly. “Sidra, that was THEN; this is NOW. You will do better at your studies while you are with us; I promise you. You will be amazed what Reg can tell you about your subjects!”

“Reg is your husband, isn’t he?”

“Yes, and a lovely man at that. You will soon learn that not all men are nasty. Reg is one of the good ones, and we all love him.”

“It would be nice to get to know a man who was not violent,” Sidra murmured softly.

“You will, young lady.” Erika wrinkled her nose. “Now, when did you last get a bath or a shower; and how long have you been wearing these clothes?”

Sidra confessed, dismally, “I don’t know, Erika. I was in that basement for days, I think, with just a bag of apples to eat. The staff here gave me a cup of tea and a scone: they were wonderful!”

“They didn’t give you a change of clothes, then, by what my nose tells me.”

“No. They said they didn’t have any spare clothes, and as I wasn’t staying overnight they didn’t have anything to offer at all. I don’t blame them.”

“Well, as soon as we get you home, Sidra, it is a shower for you, new underwear, and a change of clothes – even if we have to go out and buy something to fit you.”

“You would buy me new clothes?”

“Of course. You are our responsibility, now, just like Reg used to be. Before we met him, and later married him, he was a clever lad, but a numbskull at everything else. He didn’t know what to say or do in polite company; had no money to speak of, and little inclination for new clothes. He bought his clothes in charity shops, as the cheapest option, not caring about how he looked or whether they matched. We had to teach him to dress properly as well as socialise with other people. It was hard work, but in return, he helped us with our studies. He is a good teacher, as well as a fine and loving husband.”

Frances set off to bring her car round to the medical centre, and asked Prudence to do the same with her car, so that they could all load up there.

The loading went well, with Sidra in Frances’ car with Erika and Freda, and Reg and the others with Prudence.

Once back at their home, everyone piled out, with Reg bringing up the rear. Sidra stayed close to Erika as they walked from the car to the tall building. Inside, Erika took Sidra on a tour of the building, holding her hand all the time. Frances went to organise a shower for Sidra, making sure there were a couple of large thick fluffy towels, and that the shower cubicle had all the showering essentials to hand. She had decided that Erika should shower with Sidra, partly to ensure the girl used the shower gel, was properly cleaned, and used the deodorant afterwards. As well, it was to provide company for the girl, and incidentally to check how much of her body was affected by bruising.

Meantime, Frances asked the other girls which of them was closest in size to Sidra, so that suitable undies could be provided. She also asked them what clothes could be provided for Sidra to wear afterwards, even if it wasn’t a perfect fit. Sidra’s present clothing would go in the wash, to see if it proved still usable, though she doubted it. Frances promised replacements for the donor, even if she had to get Reg to pay for the replacements with his new-found affluence.

She grinned to herself. Let Reg discover the cost of new clothes for a teenage girl!

Holly and Carol finally appeared. They had been busy in the kitchen, preparing a casserole in two shallow casserole pots. Carol told Prudence, “We really need a deeper casserole pot, for the quantities we are making, to feed eight of us now.”

Prudence answered, “Actually, nine of us now, from today.”

“What?” Carol almost screeched. “Not another wife, and without telling us!”

“No, Carol. Not another wife. This is a badly battered 16-year-old runaway.”

Carol subsided. “Boy or girl?”

“Girl. She was found hiding in the basement of the Chemistry building, after the explosion. She spent days down there with only a bag of apples to keep her going. She is in the shower now, to clean her up, then she will get donated undies from whoever is nearest to her size; plus a change of clothes while her jumper, jeans and undies go in the wash. They stink, after being worn for many days.”

Carol changed her attitude entirely. “Oh, the poor girl. Who battered her?”

“We don’t know, but as she ran away from home, and doesn’t want to be returned there, and wants her location kept secret, you can take a guess.”

“Her own family? Good grief!”

“Yes. We have promised to keep her location a secret from everyone. This is not the first time she has been severely bruised. We thought her school would report it to the police, but it appears she was at St. Margaret’s girls school. You may have heard of it?”

“St. Margaret’s? The dumping ground for girls you simply want out of the way; a boarding school that does exactly what the parents want, and to pot with actual education?”

“Exactly. That place is all about parents with money, and as long as the cash keeps rolling in, they can put up with poor exam results. Results are of less importance than the cash.”

“So if she is still school-age, what’s to happen about her education? If you take her to a local school, they will want her file from the previous school, and you won’t want that to happen.”

“That is the problem. Any school will want to know about her previous schooling, even if we say she came from abroad. Frances is thinking of home-schooling her here.”

Carol was joined by Holly, wanting to know what was going on. Her twin shushed her. “Tell you later, sis.”

Turning her attention back to Prudence, she asked, “What is this girl’s name?”.

“Sidra. She is of Pakistani origin.”

“A Muslim, then? Extremist parents?”

“You have got it wrong, Carol. She is a Christian, so your assumptions are wrong.”

“Reg is not going to be happy. He hates people who beat their children. He says it is almost as bad as ignoring them.” Carol had been praised by Reg for her parents’ kindness towards the twins, so she knew his views.

Carol now asked, “What size is she? We might have stuff she could use. We switch our things about all the time.”

Prudence looked them both over. “You are both much larger than Sidra. In size, she is more like a fourteen-year-old. Under-nourished, I expect; no boobs to speak of. Feed her, and they’ll grow, though. That happened with mine. Reg told me to put some weight on, and it did the job. Now he can hardly keep his hands off my boobs.” She smiled happily at the recollection. Holly and Carol looked envious.

“Knickers shouldn’t be a problem. Most pairs have plenty of stretch in them. Bras are a different matter, but if she is small there, she may not need a bra for some time. Unless Reg wants to cop a feel!” Holly mused.

Prudence put a stop to that idea. “Girls, Sidra is terrified of men at the moment, so probably it was her father who beat her. Reg has been warned to stay clear, stay well away from her, until Sidra settles down a bit.”

Carol commented, “That’s sad. The poor girl. But if Reg wants to cop a feel, my boobs are available.”

Prudence quickly disabused her of that notion.

“No fraternising with the employer, girls. You know perfectly well that you have to prove yourselves as reliable employees before we will allow you any liberties with Reg. He knows as well, to keep his hands to himself as far as you two are concerned.”

“Spoilsports!”

“Reg has plenty female flesh to keep him satisfied, girls, without you two egging him on. Now, what about the extra one for dinner? I suspect this girl will pack the food away; she is hungry, and you do produce excellent meals, I have to admit.”

Holly volunteered, “We can add a few extra potatoes to the pile, and probably add some more potato and carrots to the casserole, to bulk it a bit more. That should spread it about. We can do peach halves and ice cream for the sweet. Easy to add one more. Time for food: same as usual?”

“Yes, that should be fine.”

Whatever they did, Frances and her cohort got Sidra washed, dried, perfumed, and dressed in borrowed clothes before the evening meal was ready. She was escorted to the dining table where Reg was already seated, to avoid problems. Sidra was given the chair furthest from Reg, but he welcomed her all the same.

“Sidra, you look much more presentable now. Welcome to our home, and please regard it as your own home now. The house rules are simple: Do what my wives tell you. That is how I operate as well!” He grinned as he finished, then he added, “Do you mind if I say grace?”

Startled, she mumbled, “No, I don’t mind.”

Reg bowed his head to pray, “Dear Lord and father, forgive us what we do wrong in small things, but make us pay when we do wrong in large things. Please help us to make Sidra welcome in our home, and help her to appreciate good food and good company. Bless this food and those who prepared it. Amen.”

Sidra felt tears come to her eyes at these words, and Reg’s wives all were amazed at his wonderful grace. He usually said a perfunctory grace, so this was a departure, directed at their guest. They all simply said, “Amen.”

They got stuck into the casserole meal, and it warmed them with its tasty flavours and perfectly cooked meat lumps. The sweet was equally much enjoyed. Reg hadn’t had ice cream for a while, so he enthused about it. “That is great ice cream. It goes so well with the tinned fruit, and that syrup that the fruit was in is so sweet and flavourful by itself. It combines well with the vanilla ice cream.”

Holly came to tell him it was Mackie’s ice cream, from a farm factory in Aberdeenshire, sold UK-wide. “It has a well-deserved reputation now. They sell a lot of different flavours, but I still prefer the vanilla original,” she told him.

“Whatever. Keep with that brand, I say,” he told Holly.

She went round to speak to Frances.

“Frances, we have a long list of purchases we need to get. Any chance of a shopping trip on Saturday?”

“Perhaps. Remember the rules on shopping? Proper protection? We may have to do some clothes shopping for Sidra, so we could deal with both on one outing.”

At the university, the clergywoman had decided to speak with the medical staff, first thing in the morning, so she arrived much earlier than she was scheduled. She was at the door of the medical centre as the staff started to arrive. She told them she need a private word with doctor in charge, on a non-medical matter that affected the university.

Seeing that she was serious, they complied, and as the senior doctor came in the door, they steered her to the waiting room where the Reverend was sitting impatiently.

She looked at her visitor. “Professor? What urgent task brings you into these hallowed precincts?” trying to put a light-hearted question to put the Reverend at ease. It didn’t work.

“Doctor, I need to have you do something you would normally ignore if requested. I want you to pretend ignorance of an event of yesterday.”

“Which event, Professor, and why?”

“The young teenage girl brought to you with severe bruising. First of all, do NOT report this to the police. The girl needs protection from her own family, and the police would not readily understand such a situation. Secondly, I want you to expunge all your records of her being here. I am not asking for the record to be destroyed, merely – oh, shall we say, ‘misfiled’ – so that they cannot be found by an outsider or a junior member of staff.”

The doctor was mystified. “That seems a lot for such a simple patient attendance. Can you expand on your reasons, professor?”

“I shall, under the privacy of both the cloth and your duty of care for the patient. This girl was found in the Chemistry basement, where she was hiding after running away from home. At first, I considered it merely my Christian duty to protect the child, but on thinking it over, I realised that there may be a connection with the explosion in the lab.”

“You don’t think she caused it, surely?”

“I certainly do not, but my thought was, how did the girl get into a locked building in the first place? There must have been an open, or at least unlocked, door for her to obtain ingress.”

The doctor frowned. “So?”

“So, think about it. How did the girl know the door was open or unlocked? This must have been at night, or she would have been spotted by staff or students. I came to the conclusion that she saw someone opening the building door and going in. She would be able to follow, and if the intruder went upstairs, she could go downstairs to the basement and find a hiding place.”

“I follow your reasoning. Where does it take us?”

“It means she is a witness to the criminal access to the building for causing the later explosion. She is in danger if the perpetrator got to know she was there and saw him – I presume it was a man who prepared the explosion, and I am assuming he belongs to the university.”

“Oh! Now I see. Fortunately we haven’t done a report to the police yet, so I shall put a stop to that, and tell all of the staff that as far as the rest of the world knows, we did NOT have such a teenager here yesterday. In fact, I will tell them not even to talk about it among themselves, in case they get overheard. I will inform them that the girl will be in danger if we reveal her presence. That should get the point over.”