The Feral Child Read Free Page B

grinned as Stephen jumped up and down, shrieking with excitement. She leaned over the wall and scooped him up by the armpits, kissing the top of his head as he wrapped his legs around her waist. He was soft and cuddly in his pajamas and dressing gown, his chubby feet swallowed up by Mickey Mouse slippers. She nuzzled his hair and breathed deep. He had just had a bath and smelled of shampoo and babyoil. As she walked up the garden with him balanced on her hip, he chattered nonsense to her, waving the dinosaur around for emphasis. She had to whip her head out of range a couple of times to avoid getting hit in the face.
    “We have a visitor,” she said as she walked into the kitchen.
    Granny turned from the oven and smiled at Stephen before narrowing her eyes at Maddy.
    “I bet you think you’re awful cute, don’t you?” she asked.
    Maddy widened her eyes in mock innocence. “Who, me?”
    Granny shot her one of her looks before smiling down at Stephen again.
    “Are you hungry, peteen ?”
    “Oh for God’s sake, don’t be stuffing him. He’s probably just had dinner,” said Maddy, but Stephen nodded his head.
    “Would you like a sugar sandwich?”
    “Oh yuck!” Maddy pulled a face while Stephen crowed with delight. “He’s going to grow up deformed if you keep giving him stuff like that to eat.”
    “It never did you any harm,” snapped Granny.
    “That we know of,” muttered Maddy, stomping into the living room.
    She refused to speak to either of her grandparents while she ate her dinner—Stephen filled the awkward silence with his chatter. Her grandparents had only theone big room, which was dominated by a square dining table. They had an armchair each, on either side of a big black range where a fire burned merrily, and the sofa was pushed under the window, behind one of the armchairs. No one ever used it—it was just a dumping ground for coats and newspapers. There wasn’t much space for Maddy to sit in here if she wasn’t at the table so she usually kept to her bedroom. There was no hallway in the cottage—the front door opened straight into the living room—so she was never far away from the action, but Granny would not let her eat in the bedroom. Fine by me , she thought. I can handle bad vibes much better than these two. No one cares that I get bullied and was nearly kidnapped. There should be a policeman here right now.
    Granda was the first to crack. He had settled himself into his chair with a newspaper, and when Granny banged Maddy’s plate down in front of her, he looked over the top of the paper and pulled a face at them both to make them laugh. Stephen giggled, but Maddy gave Granda a filthy look from the corner of her eye.
    “You’re nowhere near as big as you like to think you are, Maddy, but carry on like this and I’ll soon put a stop to your gallop,” said Granny as she settled into a dining chair opposite. Maddy looked at Granny’s left ear and deliberately unfocused her eyes. That always drove Granny crazy.
    “Look at me when I’m talking to you, or there will be no TV all weekend,” said Granny.
    “No Shrek!” wailed Stephen, his eyes brimming with tears.
    “Not you, pet,” soothed Granny, and the little boy smiled and carried on eating his sandwich.
    Yeah, right . It was all talk. Maddy had been living here a year, and neither of her grandparents had ever disciplined her.
    “I would have been home a lot sooner if that boy hadn’t stopped me,” she said.
    “What boy?” asked Granny.
    “It’s nothing, Maureen. Children’s foolishness,” said Granda. “Best not to get involved. Otherwise it will turn into World War Three.”
    Maddy could have flung her plate at him. Foolishness?! Her right hand was stiff and turning purple with bruises. It hurt, actually hurt, to hold her knife to cut her food. She was sure a nice set of bruises was developing on her arms as well, not to mention the fact that the boy had scared the living daylights out of her.
    “What boy?”