Pyrrhic Vengeance

Chapter4

Linda took the phone from her and peeked into it, her heart twitched as she saw the name of the caller.

It was her mom.

Linda scuttled to her handbag to check her own phone, surprised why her mom chose to call Tessy first. Hers was switched off.

“Hello Tessy,” Elizabeth said with anxiety in her tone. “Please is Linda with you?”

Linda could feel the trepidation in her mom's voice, she had phoned her during the wee hours of about 4-5am.

“Hello mom, it's Linda.” she said weakly

“Linda, where are you?I thought you said you would be back shortly,” Elizabeth said perturbedly

“Yes mom, I was set to come home but Tessy pleaded that it won't be safe if I leave at midnight, so I had to sleep over.” She lied, “hope Dad is okay?”

“Yeah of course he is but he's really peeved that you aren't at home,but you would have called and told me that you won't be able to make it.”

“i will be home immediately at sunrise, am really sorry”

“How is Tessy, is she there?” Elizabeth said solemnly “tell her am wishing her a happy birthday”

“Ok dear take care” her mom said as the line went dead

Mr Richard Rawlings, Linda's dad had rousted as early as possible to go check on his daughter so they could go out for some work-out, he was quizzical Linda was absent in her room. His anxiety was quelled when his wife told him that she was aware of where Linda went. But was still dissatisfied with her unusual absence.

'why would she be out by this hour?’ he thought

Mr Richard dandled Linda and was overly cautious about her safety.

“How could you allow her to leave home for a stupid party at such an hour” he berated Elizabeth, when she told him Linda went for a birthday party at her friend's place.

“She's old enough to take care of herself Richard, try to give her some space.” she said calmly

“Give her some space, that's what you say?” He retorted with irritation “that girl will soon be getting married to a croesus and we can't afford to allow her to attend gatherings at such odd hours, don't you get it.”

“Yes I know but she's literally of age 22 and she should be allowed to make decisions for herself and also exercise some autonomy”

“I will see if you will stand here and tell me of autonomy if she doesn't come back here unscathed.”

Richard grew livid as he walked up to her, narrowing his gaze at her in fury, “if anything bad should happen to her I will never forgive you.”

His wife just stared at him in wonder.

Arriving home Linda had a different apparel on her temporarily given to her by Tessy.

“Good morning, dad” she greeted Mr Richard as he sat on the dining table sipping coffee.

“And when did you start leaving home at late hours for ridiculous parties, huh?”

“Am sorry, Dad” she said

“Sorry” he repeated furiously “what if you got hurt?”

Elizabeth walked in, her eyes beamed with gaiety as she threw herself on Linda embracing her.

“How are you Linda?” She asked, “you just kept me and your Dad perturbed.”

“Am sorry.”

“Wow you look good on these” Elizabeth said as she stared in admiration at Linda's attire. “Who gave you these?”

“It's Tessy”

“Wow these are good, far much better than what you-” Elizabeth paused as she realized that completing her sentence on Linda's garb to the party could stir up some unwelcome questions from Richard.

Linda just stood there forcing smiles, wishing she would just be left alone.

She ensured her visage never mirrored the state of her heavy and broken heart.

Elizabeth joined her husband on the dining table as she hoisted the jug to make some coffee for herself.

“We need to start getting her prepped for the virginity test.” Richard said as he took a sip of his tea.

“I think we should give her some time to rejuvenate, the semester was a hectic one, she has substantially loss weight.”

“There is no time Lizzy, I can't wait for our lineage to be grafted to an affluent family.”

At the incipient stage of Richard's marriage to Elizabeth he was beset by financial difficulties he had received rumors that the Mayor of Bentham, Mayor Charles Dickson, offered financial assistance to people with grave and well justified reasons for impecuniosity.

Richard had gone with Linda to meet the Mayor, she was still in her pre-teen age, stepping into the hall where Mayor Charles sat he was transfixed at the young girl's beauty, the Mayor made a pact with him that he would provide him all the financial assistance he needed if he ensured to keep his daughter as a virgin until she had weaned to be given out in marriage to his son to be his bride which will in turn provide an opportunity for Linda's lineage to be grafted to the family. A breach in the pact will lead to withdrawal of all financial assistance accorded to him.

When Linda was about getting into college she was gleeful about the revelation when Richard made it known to her.

****

Linda laid on her bed, deep in thought about the quagmire, wishing she could reverse the moments. She took out the clothes from her duffel bag and flung them on a basket that was designated for harboring dirty clothes.

“O God, what should I do now?” she muttered to herself.

‘Should I keep this as a secret or I should make it known to my mom, I can't do that. This could almost take her life as this marriage to the Mayor's son was what they always looked up to.’

“Food is ready,” Naomi, their nanny, said to her, almost yelling, as she looked at her in a weird manner.

That was the third time Naomi made the statement to her, she was even ignorant of when Naomi stepped into the room.

Naomi was a geriatric lady and had taken care of Linda right from her diaper days so she could detect when something was wrong.

“Are you okay?” Naomi asked her as she studied her eyes.

“Yeah am fine” Linda feigned a pleasant expression, ensuring it belied the glum that filled her heart.

“Of course you're not, I stepped into the room and you didn't notice, I had to call out to you loudly, almost yelling before you could respond.”

“I said I am fine Nana” Linda said, stressing Nana, forcing a smile on her face.

“Linda!!!! Linda!!!” The voice was marked with terror, as it c

alled out to her persistently.

Her and Naomie rushed frenziedly to where the yelling sound came from.