Lady of the Shades by Darren Shan Page B

but they’d disowned her when she hooked up with Menderes, and she didn’t dare approach them.
    ‘He wouldn’t let me wear white at the wedding,’ she says, her eyes a pair of dark, bitter mirrors. ‘I wanted to, even though I was five months pregnant, but he said white
was for virgins, not whores. He called me a whore even though he was marrying me. He made me dress in red. It was a beautiful gown, but . . . ’
    Mikis has no respect for her, no love, no compassion. She’s his wife, the mother of his only son, so she wants for nothing — the finest clothes and jewellery are hers for the asking.
But no kind words, no fond caresses, no gentle gestures. He’s proud of her – he takes her with him when he wants to impress, shows her off like a prize dog – but jealous too. He
regularly accuses her of flirting with men and beats her for it. He hits her for a variety of reasons – speaking back, not making a fuss of him, sometimes just for looking at him askance
– but more often than not because he believes she’s considering infidelity.
    ‘He’s obsessed with the idea,’ she hisses. ‘He makes me mingle when he takes me to parties, forces me to talk with his associates or friends, to make him look good, so
they go away saying what a charming wife old Mikis has. But then he attacks me for coming on to them. He accuses me of flaunting myself.’ She sniffs. ‘I’ve learnt not to argue. I
stand and take it. It’s easier that way. Once, I threw his accusations back in his face, said I’d fucked one of the guys I’d been talking with. I thought that might shut him
up.
    ‘I spent three weeks in hospital recovering. He’s normally careful when he hits me, focuses on my shoulders, arms, breasts.’ She touches the high collar of her dress.
‘It’s why I cover up so much, to hide the bruises. But that time he lost control and almost killed me. Since then I’ve taken my punishment without complaint.’
    I would ask why she’s stuck by him instead of fleeing, except I already know the answer — you don’t run from men like Mikis Menderes. He’d hunt her, find her, kill her.
Besides, he’s been her whole life since they married. I’m sure she has no friends or allies of her own. Who could she turn to for help?
    ‘Does he ever go after the men he accuses you of flirting with?’ I ask.
    ‘No,’ she snorts. ‘He knows I’ve never betrayed him. He just likes to act as if I have. He’s betrayed me plenty, though, and he doesn’t bother to hide it.
He’s had so many women. He taunts me with them when he’s bored, phones them when he knows I’m listening, comes home with their lipstick all over him, moans their names while
he’s fucking me, tells me how much better they are.’
    ‘Why doesn’t he divorce you and marry one of his other women?’ I snarl.
    ‘He doesn’t believe in divorce. I don’t think he’d marry again, even if I died. He’s in love with the idea of family.’
    ‘What does your son think? Does he stand by and –’
    ‘Greygo?’ she interrupts with a smile. ‘That’s what we call him. Mikis insisted on naming him Gregory, but he has trouble pronouncing it.’ She shakes her head.
‘He doesn’t know. Mikis never hits me in front of Greygo, and has threatened terrible things if I turn informer. He won’t have his son thinking ill of him.’
    She says that the beatings aren’t the worst. The worst is when he makes love to her. Menderes believes that it’s a wife’s duty to satisfy her husband’s every need. Even
though he spends most of his nights with other women – hence her nocturnal freedom – he works in three or four ‘shafting sessions’ a month with his wife. He’s horrible
in bed and has grown more so with the passing years.
    ‘In the early days our lovemaking was a comfort. He could be kind towards me. There were nights when he’d make slow, gentle love, then lie beside me and talk softly. I used to tell
myself that things were taking a