Chapter Ten
Beth was walking through the dining room on the way to the kitchen when she heard a woman cry out. She rushed into a sunporch off of the room to see Una beating a maid with a thin stick. The woman was crying out and hunched down.
“Stop!” Beth yelled, walked over, and stood in front of the maid.
“Get out of my way, whore. This is none of your business.”
Beth looked behind her, bent, and helped the woman up. “Go. I’ll come to see how you’re doing later.”
The maid curtsied and rushed from the room.
Beth turned her attention back to Una. “What gives you the right to abuse someone and for what?”
“She wasn’t doing her job.”
“Which one?” Beth asked.
“I found dust on the windowsills. This is a family issue and not one you’re involved with. You’re here to spread your legs for my stepson, and that’s it.”
Beth felt a ball of emotion stick in her throat that she fought down. “I’m not a whore, and I won’t be called that. From what I understand, I am a part of this family, so you better get used to it.”
Beth cringed away when Una lifted the stick and brought it down on her back several times. Beth was so shocked she didn’t fight back. She heard Una cry out, and she flinched at the hands that grabbed her.
“Sweetheart, it’s me, Alastair. Let me help you up to our room.”
Beth nodded and stood, trying her best to walk with dignity even with her back on fire.
“Take Una into my office and keep her there,” Alastair said.
“Yes, sir.”
Alastair helped Beth up the stairs. He led her into their bathroom and started taking her clothes off.
“I’m okay, Alastair. I probably shouldn’t have interfered and instead came and got you.”
He paused and stared at her reflection. “You’re apologizing to me because you were trying to protect someone?”
She tried to smile. “You make me sound stupid.”
“Baby, you’re a sweet person, and I adore that about you. If you had walked past without doing anything, I would have been upset.”
She exhaled and then nodded.
He continued to strip her until she was naked.
“Goddammit,” Alastair said.
She tried to twist around to see it. “I doubt it broke the skin, right?”
“How can you be so calm about this?” he asked.
She smiled over her shoulder at him. “Because I think you’re freaking out enough for the both of us.”
She was glad to see his shoulders relax. “You can’t kill her, you know.”
“Dammit.” He snorted. “I’ll try not to.”
She spun to face him and grip his hands. “Oh, God, don’t tell Angus. I don’t want him to know what I did and her part in it. It would break his heart.”
“Sweetheart, I know for a fact that he’d be as proud of you as I am, and he already knows what a horrible person she is. Have you noticed that she hasn’t been up to see him?”
Beth narrowed her eyes. “She never visits her husband who’s had a stroke?” Her voice had risen with every word.
Alastair chuckled.
“What are you laughing about?” she said. “God, she is such a bitch.”
He snorted. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you curse.”
“Well, I’m going to start now.”
He pulled her against his chest and kissed her temple. “No, you’re not. I don’t like those words coming out of your pretty mouth.”
She rolled her eyes, making him laugh.
“I need to check your back. She didn’t break through the skin, but there are several welts that need attention.”
Her eyes widened when there was a knock on the bathroom door, and he told them to come in.
“I’m naked, for God’s sake.”
She snatched up the nearest towel and tried to cover her body as much as she could.
“It’s just my brother. He knows better than to touch you, but he can look.”
“I don’t care if it’s a brother.” Her mouth snapped shut when Graham came through the door with a tube of ointment. She watched him glance in the mirror to see the damage that had been done to her back, and he growled.
The fact he wasn’t ogling her made her relax, but she knew she was still covered in a dark blush.
“Thank you,” Alastair said.
Graham leaned against the doorjamb. “That bitch. Why in the fuck can’t we bury her?”
“Does she care if her reputation is ruined?” Beth asked.
Both men looked at her. “What?”
“You think we’re talking about ruining her reputation?” Graham asked.
“Well, yeah.” Her eyes widened. “You’re not going to really bury her, are you? Like underground. You’re just messing with me, right?”
Both men snickered.
“Yeah, we’re just messing, baby.”
Her eyes narrowed. “You guys can’t kill your stepmother.”
“You didn’t tell me she was a fun-hater,” Graham said, making Alastair chuckle.
“That’s not funny, Graham,” she said.
He shrugged.