Mummy’s Little Girl: A heart-rending story of abuse, innocence and the desperate race to save a lost child. Jane Elliott

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СКАЧАТЬ ones she was used to using at her school. On one of the tables was a little pile of newspapers, but they didn’t look as if they had been opened. At one end of the room were some wide windows that looked out on to a fairly large back garden. There were some swings and slides, and a couple of football posts; but it was grey and drizzling outside, so she didn’t venture any further.

      Dani wandered around the room for a further few minutes before she felt she had exhausted the possibilities of the day room. She wandered out, back into the hallway, just in time to see Kate, the social worker, coming in through the front door. She was wearing smart clothes and looked hurried and harassed. At first she didn’t see Dani, standing quietly at the other end of the hallway; when she did, she seemed surprised, but she soon regained her composure.

      ‘Dani,’ she said brightly. ‘How was last night?’

      Dani shrugged.

      ‘Did you meet anyone? Make any friends?’

      Dani ignored her question. ‘When can I go home?’ she asked.

      Kate’s eyes looked away. ‘Why don’t we go to your room?’ she suggested, her voice suddenly a little more subdued. ‘We can talk about it there.’

      Dani could tell from the way she spoke that she had bad news, and she led the way up to her room nervously. Once inside, they sat together on Dani’s bed, and the girl was glad that her vandalised teddy was hidden under the duvet. Kate looked her straight in the eye.

      ‘I want you to know exactly what’s happening, Dani. I don’t want there to be any secrets, OK?’

      ‘OK,’ Dani replied quietly.

      ‘We’ve been granted something called an Emergency Protection Order. That’s something we ask for if we want to take a child away from their home when we think they’re in danger.’

      ‘But I’m not in danger,’ Dani complained. ‘Mum was just cross, that’s all. I was being naughty.’

      ‘No, Dani,’ Kate told her firmly. ‘Grown-ups should never do that to you. Never. The Emergency Protection Order only lasts a few days, so in the meantime we are going to apply for a Care Order. That means that the people here, at Linden Lodge, will take on the responsibility of looking after you instead of your mum. Does that make sense?’

      Dani shook her head. Nothing made sense – nothing at all. ‘I just want to go home.’

      Kate took Dani’s hands in hers. ‘I know,’ she said. ‘I know. But that may not be possible for a while. Your mum has told us that she’s had difficulty coping, and for the moment she’s asked that …’ Her voice trailed off and she looked at Dani with sympathetic eyes.

      Dani’s face fell. ‘She doesn’t want me back, does she?’

      ‘She might change her mind, Dani,’ Kate said hopefully. ‘People do change their minds. It just might take a little while, that’s all.’

      Dani was breathing heavily now. ‘The girls here,’ she said, ‘the ones I’m sharing with – they said everyone gets told they’re going home soon, but they never do.’

      ‘Don’t listen to them, Dani. Everyone’s going to do their best for you, and you’ll be looked after properly here.’

      Dani suddenly felt cold. She removed her hand from Kate’s grip and wrapped her arms around her own body. She wished Kate would go, just leave her room – leave her life and never come back. Every time she saw her, she acted as though she was there to make things better for her; and yet every time she made things a little bit worse. Dani was not prone to hatred, yet in that moment she felt she hated the social worker, sitting there and pretending she was performing acts of kindness.

      ‘I think I’d like to be left on my own now,’ Dani said.

      Kate nodded. ‘All right, Dani. I’ll come and see you again soon. I’ll go and explain to Christian everything that’s going on.’ She stood and looked as if she was about to say something else; but at the last moment she appeared to think better of it, and left the room.

      Dani didn’t know how long it was that she sat there, hugging herself, staring into space and feeling as though her heart would break, but it was a long time and she barely moved. Wild thoughts went through her head – thoughts that she had never entertained before. Perhaps she could run away, run back home. If her mum saw her on the doorstep, perhaps she would have a change of heart. Deep down, though, she knew that probably wasn’t the case, and the sting of that rejection pierced her to the core.

      She just wanted something to hold on to. Something familiar. Comfortable. Gently she pulled back the duvet to see the tattered remains of her teddy bear – the one thing she had with her that reminded her of home. And now that too was spoiled.

      Just then there was a knock on the door; it was opened without Dani giving a reply, and Christian was there. Quickly Dani threw the duvet back over the bed.

      ‘Ah, Dani,’ Christian announced. ‘There you are. How is everything, my love? Settling in?’

      Dani looked down at the floor, but didn’t answer. Christian seemed to consider that for a moment before he spoke again. ‘I’ve never met a girl,’ he said with a smile, ‘who doesn’t like hot chocolate. Do you like hot chocolate, my love?’

      Dani nodded.

      ‘Come on, then,’ Christian smiled. ‘Come to my room and we’ll see what we can find.’

      Christian’s quarters were scrupulously neat, if a little shabby. The walls were covered with books, and there was a modern stereo player and a TV in the corner, as well as a sofa and a couple of other comfy chairs. Her eyes were immediately caught by a pile of comics at about her height on one of the bookshelves.

      Christian noted her interest. ‘Help yourself,’ he said, but Dani immediately looked away.

      At one end of the room there was a door, which Dani presumed led to his bedroom, but it was firmly shut. He indicated a place on the sofa. ‘Sit down, my love,’ he said as he switched on a kettle that was sitting on a low table. He spooned some brown powder into a mug, poured on the boiling water and handed the mug to Dani. Then he sat down next to her.

      Neither of them spoke for a little while. Christian just watched her intently as she sipped the steaming hot drink. It made her feel a bit uncomfortable.

      ‘Thank you,’ she said diffidently after a couple of minutes, more to break the silence than anything else.

      ‘That’s all right, my love,’ Christian replied. ‘You can come here any time, day or night. I mean that, my love. Any time.’

      Dani nodded and went back to sipping her hot chocolate.

      ‘If you feel like a cuddle,’ he persisted, his voice much quieter now. ‘Or anything else.’ He carried on staring at her.

      As Dani took another sip of her hot chocolate, she felt his fingers brush lightly against her bruised face. They were fat and sausage-like, the skin strangely dry. Instinctively, Dani moved her head away, and she became immediately aware that the atmosphere had turned awkward.

      Christian stood up. ‘I wondered if it still hurt,’ he said by way of explanation as he walked СКАЧАТЬ