Chapter 11Aria slipped up the backstairs and into her bedroom.
There, with the door closed and locked behind her, she stood trembling. Far away in the distance she could hear the soft strains of music and outside there was the sound of cars driving up to the house or away from it, the chatter of voices and a sudden burst of laughter.
She realised that she was icily cold, her hands so chilled that when she held onto the back of the chair it was almost as if she could not feel the damask beneath her fingers.
After a moment or two she sat down as if her knees could no longer support her. As she did so, she had a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror on the dressing table.
Her cheeks were very white, but her mouth was red not with lipstick but from the brutality with which her lips had b
