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Subtly reminding Magda that I am the one in charge here.
Magda clears her throat and purses her lips. Penny steers the conversation.
“Magda, you left Scotland because you were a victim of domestic violence. Is that right?”
Magda looks down at her hands, folding them neatly in her lap. “Not exactly. I didn’t want to leave, or I didn’t want to leave alone. I wanted to take my boys with me.” She pauses, seeming emotional. “Yer da wouldn’t let me. When I got pregnant again?—"
“With Eros?” I interject.
She looks up at me, giving her head the smallest shake. “With Diana.”
I blink several times, trying to absorb that. “Diana?” I echo faintly.
Penny grabs my hand, giving it a squeeze.
“Let her tell you,” she chides.
Magda’s expression turns guilty. “When I found out that I was pregnant for the fourth time, I wanted to get rid of it. Yer Da constantly had something to harp about with me. He always found fault in what I did, even if it was as simple as staying in one place for too long. He beat me black and blue over the slightest upset. I… I couldn’t imagine having to tell him that I was pregnant again.”
Her face contorts. I can see her eyes glisten with unshed tears as she continues staring at her lap.
“Ye have to understand, Hades. I was just barely hanging on by a thread as it was. But before I could even figure out how to tell him that I was in fact pregnant, yer Da lost his mind over some upsetting news he received. It didn’t even have to do with me. He found me, accused me of being unfaithful in our marriage. I didn’t even know what to say. I was terrified of him.”
She sucks in a shaky breath.
“He beat me so badly that time that I was sure I wouldn’t survive. He broke my bones, bruised me everywhere that people wouldn’t see. I couldn’t even get out of bed for a few days after and that pissed him off even more. I’ll spare ye the details, but let’s just say that I thought that I would probably miscarry the child.”
Penny leans away from me, reaching out a hand to comfort Magda. Magda startles at Penny’s hand coming to cover hers, looking up at both of us. My heart wrenches when I see the amount of sorrow and pain in her eyes.
Caring for Penny has softened me, warmed my heart. I can no longer remain remote from this situation, as I like to think I could have only a few months ago.
Magda looks between us, entreating us.
“If I had stayed, he would have killed me. The next time he got angry enough, he would have. I felt it in my bones. I packed suitcases — a suitcase for myself and one for each of ye. But when the time came to leave…”
I lean forward, not unmoved by her words. But still, I have quite a bit of anger and resentment built up inside.
“Ye left us,” I accuse.
Magda gives me a pleading look, tears spilling down her face.
“Yer da told me that I had to choose. I could stay with the family and watch over ye boys. Or I could leave with just the shirt on my back. He didn’t even want me saying goodbye to ye.”
“But ye did say goodbye,” I grit out. “I will never forget it as long as I live. It was the last time I saw or heard from the woman that claimed to be my mother.”
Magda nods, dropping my gaze again and looking down at her lap. “Aye. It was a stroke of luck. One of your Da’s friends dropped by just at that moment, and I used it as an excuse. Said I was going on a trip and would have to say goodbye right then. He glared at me, but his hands were tied. If word got out that he was a domestic abuser, people would be much less likely to listen to whatever he wanted.”
At that, she breaks down in a mess of tears. Penny slips her arms around the older woman, murmuring comforting words.
“It’s all right. It’s okay, Magda.”
But I’m not done. “And what happened to Diana?”
Magda wipes at her face. “She lives here.”
“What?!”
Magda pales. “I would have thought Eros would have told ye.”
