“Your manners—” Mother started.
As he shoved himself up to his feet, the stool was knocked backwards. The cut strands of hair fell softly to the floor. “Get out!” he roared. “All of you.”
Maddie grabbed her mother’s elbow and dragged her out as Verity held the door open for them.
“Oh, my goodness.” Verity shut the door behind them once they were in the passageway.
“Let me go.” Mother shrugged herself free from Maddie’s grip. “What is the matter with you?”
“With me?” Maddie’s voice shook with anger. “How could you be so cruel to that poor man? There was no reason, none, to hurt him the way you did. He’s barely recovered from the shock of having been rescued, and you overwhelmed him with horrible news.”
Verity shook her head. “Mother, honestly.”
Mother didn’t flinch. She tugged at the shawl around her shoulders and lifted her chin. “He isn’t a man. He’s a barbarian. A creature.” She pointed a finger at Hector’s cabin. “Didn’t you see how he dresses, how he behaves? He has no manners, no decency, and his mind is probably irreversibly damaged.”
“Since when are you an expert physician?” Maddie said. Although she wondered if Hector’s mind would remain troubled forever. “You should apologise.”
“To him?” Mother huffed. “I’d rather feel sick for another month.” She turned around and hurried away.
Angry tears burned Maddie’s eyes as she stifled the instinct of yelling at her mother and making a scene. “How could she have done that? Blathering out about Hector’s family with no respect for him.”
Verity wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Sometimes, I do wonder how she produced us.”
“She destroyed him as if he hadn’t been through enough already.” She’d become accustomed to her mother’s mean behaviour, but watching her cruelty hurt someone as vulnerable as Hector was at the moment cut her deeply. “I must apologise.” She put a hand on the knob, but Verity stopped her.
“Listen, let’s wait a while. Then you’ll visit Mr. Wentworth again and see how he’s doing. He needs a moment of peace. I think we should give it to him. He’s probably less interested in our apology than in dealing with his pain.”
Maddie stooped her shoulders. “Very wise words. And I’m the older one.”
Verity smiled. “Let’s have a cup of tea.” She started leading Maddie away. “No, forget tea. I want one of those hot cocoa cups with whipped cream and cinnamon on top.”
Maddie rested her head on her sister’s shoulder. “You also have the best ideas.”
She started down the passageway when the noise of broken furniture came from the cabin.
nine
DEAD. DEAD. HOW could they be dead?
Hector punched the wall, ignoring the pain burning his knuckles. In fact, he welcomed it. His mother and his brother couldn’t be dead. He tossed the table across the room, finding satisfaction in the loud crack of the wood as it hit the wall. What was the point of going back home if the home was empty? He smashed the porcelain basin on the floor, splashing water everywhere. He punched the wall again until blood trickled down his wrist. All those years, he’d been worried sick about his mother and brother, thinking about their pain. For what?
Someone touched his shoulder, and he spun around, ready to yell to leave him alone. All his wrath vanished the moment he stared at a pale, wide-eyed Maddie. She held up her hands, her chest rising and falling quickly.
“Hector,” she whispered.
He opened his fist and stepped away from her, ashamed of having scared her. “I’m sorry.”
“I called you, but you didn’t hear me.” A quiver went through her.
He shoved aside the porcelain shards lest he hurt her again. The outburst hadn’t soothed the sorrow in his chest, but he didn’t feel the need to smash something anymore.
Maddie crouched and started to gather the wooden splinters and the shards.
“No.” He regretted his tone when she jolted. Curse his temper. “I’ll do it. It’s my fault, and you might get hurt.”
Verity was watching them from the threshold, seemingly petrified. He cleaned up the room and dried the floor with a towel while Maddie stood in a corner. He’d terrified the only person he didn’t want to scare. Great.
“You’d better leave,” he said, gathering the pieces of broken wood.
