Читать книгу Classic Bestsellers from Josephine Cox: Bumper Collection - Josephine Cox - Страница 32

‘GOOD GOD, MAN!’ Inspector Lawson could see how the events of the past twenty-four hours had taken their toll on Tom. ‘You look terrible!’

Tom nodded wearily. ‘I’m sure I do,’ he acknowledged. ‘I can’t seem to sleep. I still haven’t come to terms with what Dougie did.’

‘Sit yourself down. I’ll get you some tea.’ Waiting until Tom was seated, he added kindly, ‘It’s no use you punishing yourself over what happened. You’re not the Lord Almighty. You couldn’t have foreseen, or prevented the outcome.’

Tom knew that. He also knew that, however long he lived, he would never forget Dougie’s confession. Every word was engraved on his mind.

‘Have you had any breakfast?’ The older man’s voice cut through his thoughts.

‘No.’

‘I’ve got a couple of bacon sarnies. You’re welcome to one of ’em.’

Tom thanked him. ‘I wouldn’t say no.’

He heard the inspector go out, and he heard him come back, and it seemed to Tom as though only a minute had passed, so deep in thought was he.

‘Here!’ Handing Tom a paper bag containing the bacon sarnie, he explained, ‘The wife always gives me more than I need.’

Tom gave a half smile. ‘You’re a liar.’

The older man chuckled. ‘Maybe, but you look as if you need it more than I do. So get it down you. We’ll talk while we munch.’

He pointed to the mug of tea he’d placed in front of Tom. ‘That’s good strong stuff,’ he said, adding thoughtfully, ‘I reckon you’ll need it.’

Tom was already anxious. ‘You’ve got Dougie’s things, then?’

‘Yup. Got ’em yesterday. There’s not much in all … papers and business schedules, that sort of thing. More to do with work than anything else.’ He paused. ‘Eat up!’

Tom had seen how agitated he was, and he needed to know. ‘You’ve found something else, haven’t you?’

The inspector nodded. ‘Did you know your brother kept a diary?’

Tom shook his head. ‘I’m beginning to think I didn’t know anything about him at all. More’s the pity.’

Whatever it was the inspector had found in Dougie’s home, Tom knew it must be incriminating or he wouldn’t have called him in. ‘This diary. Does it throw any light on what happened?’

‘It tells us all we need to know.’

Tom was curious. ‘Can I see it?’

‘Not yet. It’s still being tested in the lab. But I can tell you the guts of it.’

Tom waited, but he was not prepared for what the older man was about to reveal. ‘Your brother was jealous of everything you did … everything you had. Your wife, your kids, even the job you taught him.’ He paused, before going on in softer tones, ‘He envied you, Tom … resented the very ground you walked on.’

He momentarily glanced away, then, raising his gaze, he looked Tom straight in the eye. ‘Look, Tom, I don’t take any pleasure in telling you these things. But, at some point or another, the contents of that diary will be made known. It’s better you know now exactly what was in it.’

Coolly returning his gaze, Tom kept control of his emotions. ‘I understand that, and I appreciate you giving me forewarning. I can’t pretend I’m not deeply hurt by what he thought of me, because I am. I had no idea. Can you believe that? He wanted me out of the way … was prepared to kill my entire family. For what?’

He shook his head slowly and thoughtfully from side to side, as if making himself believe it. ‘I spent most of last night thinking about it, and the harder I thought, the more I understood – and the less I understood at the same time.’

‘That’s a strange way of putting it, Tom.’

‘No, not really.’ Leaning forward, he wiped both his hands over his face, gave a long, drawn-out sigh, took a swig of his tea and was quiet for a minute. ‘I can take him being jealous of me,’ he murmured presently. ‘I can take the hating … I even understand it a little. Older brother, first born, first to walk, first to school … to have a sweetheart, a wife and family. Setting standards … showing him the ropes at work; always one step ahead.’

He gave a thoughtful nod. ‘I can see how Dougie might have resented that.’ He could see it, but not really accept it. ‘He was my brother. I did everything I could for him. But now I know … it was never enough.’

‘Did you not suspect anything, about the affair with your wife?’

‘No. Nothing.’ Tom needed to know. ‘Did the diary confirm what he said … those last few words?’ He had only one thing in mind, and it was more painful than anything he had ever before encountered in his life.

‘I’m sorry, Tom. The answer is yes.’ The inspector had been dreading this moment. ‘He and your wife had an affair for six years. They planned to go away, but then she changed her mind and finished it. He couldn’t take that.’

Tom was distraught. ‘How could I not know? Six years she and Dougie were seeing each other, and I had no idea!’ He was angry, angry with them, angry with himself. ‘How in God’s name could I not know?’

He looked up at the older man. The question burned in the air between them. He wanted to ask … was desperate to know, yet didn’t want to know.

The inspector read his mind. ‘Why don’t we leave it now, Tom?’ he suggested kindly. ‘Put it behind you. Get on with your life.’

Tom wanted to, but he had to know. Otherwise how could he ever go forward. ‘Was it true,’ he asked, ‘what he said about my son?’

There was a moment when the inspector thought he might lie to save Tom a great deal of heartache, but somewhere down the line the truth would out and he would be the villain. ‘I’m sorry, Tom.’

A loud, broken sob caught in Tom’s throat. He stared down at the floor, the air thick with silence. The boy he had adored was not his! He was Dougie’s son. DOUGIE’S SON! The cruel words echoed over and over in his mind. But then an even more terrible thought struck him. ‘Dougie was prepared to sacrifice his own son to destroy me.’

Now, when he looked up, his eyes were blinded by tears. He didn’t say anything more. It was too late. All too late!

He got out of the chair and, turning away, walked slowly across the room. At the door he paused, but he didn’t look back. Instead he slowly turned the door-handle and, leaving the door ajar, went away, down the corridor and out of the building.

The chill struck his face as he walked out into the daylight. Reality!

Thrusting his hands into his coat-pockets, he walked along the street like a man in a trance, the stark truth leaping in and out of his mind like the stab of a dagger. ‘Not my son. Dougie’s son.’

Some time later, never really sure how he got there, he found himself standing in the churchyard looking down at her gravestone. In his mind he could see her as if it was yesterday. ‘How could you do that to me … to us?’

Anger had crumbled to sadness. ‘It won’t change the way I loved him, nor will I ever forget the great times we had together. He’s still my son, whatever you and Dougie did. Peter … is … still … my son!’

The words were issued through gritted teeth, deliberately spaced, quiet but forceful. Nothing and no one could change the way he felt, or wipe out what he and his son had together.

The following morning he paid his bill, called the inspector to tell him where he could be found, and left the hotel. He had done what he came to do, and now it was time to leave. It had been too long a journey. Too lonely.

Every day, every minute, Kathy had been on his mind and in his heart. Yet he had kept a clear head and worked his way through, and now, thank God, it was over.

Though he felt he didn’t deserve it, he had a wonderful woman, and a life waiting.

Behind the counter at the site office, Kathy confessed to Rosie how desperate she was to phone Tom, and how she had promised herself that she wouldn’t. ‘Even if I did call him, I wouldn’t tell him about Samantha.’ She was still adamant on that score. ‘Only I would like to know how things are going with him.’

‘Why don’t ye ring him then?’ Rosie urged. She knew how, several times, Kathy had been on the verge of calling Tom. ‘Ah, sure, ye know where he is. He’s called you umpteen times, so you know he wants to talk.’ Leaning one elbow on the desk, she gave Kathy a nudge. ‘Aw, look, me darlin’. He must be just as anxious to talk with you, or why would he call?’

Just then a weathered young man came in. ‘Do you have any caravans? Only I’ve been walking the hills hereabouts and I’m looking for a base for the winter.’

Rosie was sympathetic, but replied, ‘I’m sorry, luv. Sure, I’d give ye a key straight off, so I would. Only we don’t let caravans through the winter. Matter o’ fact, we’re just now closing down. But there are any number of guest-houses in the area.’

Reaching under the counter, she brought out a directory. ‘Look through that if ye like. I’m sure you’ll find something to suit.’

With a snarl, he threw it back at her. ‘Don’t talk bloody stupid, woman! I wouldn’t be asking for a caravan if I’d got money for “guest-houses”. Much use you are! It’ll be another night on the hills, I expect. Thanks for nothing!’

With that he stormed out, with Rosie calling after him: ‘Good riddance to ye then, ye bad-mannered bugger. I hope yer arse freezes over, so I do!’

With everything she had on her mind, Kathy couldn’t help but chuckle. ‘One of these days that bad temper of yours will get you in trouble,’ she said.

Rosie laughed out loud. ‘Ah, sure, it wouldn’t be the first time I’ve been in trouble. It’s what keeps me going, so it is.’

She got back to the matter in hand. ‘Are ye going to call that man of yours, or what? Especially since he’s been calling here, anxious to find out if you’re all right.’

Kathy nodded. ‘I will call him. Besides, I need to hear his voice. I need to know he’s okay.’

Now that Samantha had been taken home, she wanted Tom close, but she continued, ‘I know how hard it was for him to go back there, Rosie, and how long it’s taken him to face up to it all. The last thing I want is to send him off track. You know as well as I do, if he thought I needed him, he’d be back here like a shot, and then where would he be?’

Rosie had seen first hand how Samantha’s death had upset her, and how broken she was about her mother’s blaming her for it. ‘Aw, look now, Kathy. I’m so sorry about your sister, and I’d give my right arm if I thought it would bring your mammy to her senses, but it won’t. Sure, I can see that now. I know it’s not been easy, and I know you’ve taken it real bad. But you’ve come through it with a strong heart, so ye have.’

Many was the time since Samantha’s death that she had taken Kathy in her arms and talked the tears away.

She took her in her arms again now. ‘Aw, Kathy, me darlin’, I’m proud of ye, so I am!’

Kathy smiled up at her. Rosie had a way of making her smile, even when her heart was heavy. ‘I don’t know what I would have done without you and Jasper,’ she said. ‘You’ve been wonderful.’

‘Ah, but it should have been Tom looking after ye! He’s missing you, that’s for sure.’

Now, as Kathy made to protest, she put up a staying hand. ‘All right! I know what you’re going to say, and you’re right, so ye are! Tom has to concentrate on what he’s about. Sure, I do understand.’

All the same, Kathy thought, she wished she had the courage to call him. The truth was, she had never needed Tom more than she did now.

They both turned at the creak of the front door inching open.

It was Jasper, his hairy face and bright eyes peering through the gap he’d made. ‘It’s midday,’ he reminded them. ‘Time for summat to eat.’ Like Rosie, he had Kathy’s welfare at heart.

Rosie gave him a wink. ‘Come to take us somewhere exciting, have ye?’

He winked back. ‘You’ll have to wait an’ see, won’t you?’

Rosie had her own ideas. ‘The foyer of a posh hotel, and a pile of cucumber sandwiches with the crust cut off,’ she suggested, ‘with a couple of tight-panted waiters obeying our every command.’

‘Hmh!’ Jasper laughed out loud. ‘That’s ’cause yer man-mad, you little hussy!’

Arriving from the inner office, the manager urged that they should not be gone longer than an hour. ‘There’s a mountain of paperwork to go through – apart from the filing – right down to the last receipt.’ He groaned. ‘After that, every caravan wants cleaning and making ready for the winter.’

Rosie moaned. ‘I thought you were taking on a couple of part-timers to do that?’

‘I’ve changed my mind.’ Leaning on the counter, he grumbled, ‘It’s all right for you two. You’ve got a whole month off to do as you please. I’ll have to stay here, keeping an eye on the place.’

‘You’ll be all right, so ye will.’ Rosie had to have the last word. ‘No doubt you’ll be helping yourself to a tot of booze from the bar whenever the mood takes ye!’ She laughed. ‘It wouldn’t surprise me if you didn’t have a woman here to keep ye company an’ all.’

‘Hey!’ Wagging a finger at her, he warned, ‘Unless you want me to take a firm hand with you, you’d better watch that wicked tongue of yours.’

Giving him the glad eye, Rosie winked at him. ‘Is that a threat or a promise?’

‘I don’t make promises.’

‘Shame!’

He blushed bright scarlet. ‘Go on with you. And make sure you’re back within the hour.’

Grabbing their coats, they went outside with Jasper. ‘Where are we going?’ Being as they only had an hour, Kathy thought they might just have a sandwich at the bar.

‘Don’t be so hasty, lass,’ Jasper said with a grin. ‘Look at what I’ve got.’ Rounding the corner, he pointed down the street. ‘Ladies! Your chariot awaits.’

At first Kathy couldn’t see what he meant, but then she saw and couldn’t believe her eyes. ‘That’s not yours, is it, Jasper?’ He had been known to play a few tricks on the odd occasion, and she thought this was one.

Rosie looked down the street and saw it too, then she looked at Jasper. She saw the mischievous twinkle in his eye and laughed out loud. ‘Why, ye old bugger, you!’ With her high heels clattering against the pavement, she went running down the street, whooping and hollering and frightening the pigeons. ‘Jasper’s got a car –’ she wanted the whole world to know – ‘and a green one at that!’

Kathy was amazed. ‘What made you get a Morris Minor?’ she asked with a chuckle.

‘I just fancied going a bit mad, that’s all.’ He grinned from ear to ear. ‘I allus wanted a car, and when I passed me test I could never afford one. I’ve saved over the years … not a lot, mind you, but enough to treat mesel’ in me twilight years. It’s not a new one but it’s in good nick.’

Clustered round the car, a few stragglers were taking an envious look over it. He told Kathy, ‘She’s so sweet, I’ve give her a name.’

Sliding her arm through his, she said softly, ‘Go on then … you can tell me.’

Patting her hand affectionately, he declared with pride, ‘Her name’s Dorothy. After me very first girlfriend.’ He blushed at the memory.

Reaching up, Kathy gave him a kiss. ‘I think that’s a lovely name,’ she said, ‘and I think you’re lovely too.’

She had never seen Jasper blush before, but today he had blushed twice. She couldn’t help but wonder if he had fallen for someone.

‘Come on then, lass.’ Propelling her forward, he opened the doors and invited them in.

It was quite a squeeze, with Rosie almost on Jasper’s knee and Kathy trapped between the seats. They managed to climb aboard, much to the amusement of the onlookers.

‘Right then, Dorothy, lass.’ Starting the engine, Jasper urged her on. ‘Let’s see what yer med of!’

It was a stuttering take-off, and when the little car leapt over the bumps in the road, Rosie twice banged her head and wouldn’t stop laughing. Kathy found herself doubled up, and Jasper accidentally put his foot on the brake, sending them forward to within an inch of the windscreen. ‘Will yer look at that?’ he shouted. ‘I allus knew Dorothy was a goer!’

As they went off down the street, the sound of their laughter echoed from the walls. And though she had not intended it, Kathy found herself laughing until the tears fell. It was the first time she had laughed like that since before Tom left.

Arriving in Bridport, Jasper had three goes at trying to park. The first was when his front tyre went up the kerb and they all fell to one side and couldn’t get out.

The second time he was moved on by an irate householder with a yard-broom who chased them all the way down the street, yelling at the top of her voice, ‘Be off, and take that ugly monstrosity with you!’

When finally he got parked and they all tumbled out, Kathy realised they were right outside the café that Mabel’s husband owned. She couldn’t understand it. The place was closed down.

While Jasper was locking up his precious ‘Dorothy’, she spoke to a passer-by, who told her, ‘His wife left him, then he went off with some floozy. Mind you, he won’t get much money for that place. It’s not been the same since poor Mabel moved away.’

Kathy nodded. She had heard how that bully of a husband of hers was not doing so well, especially since the news got out of how he beat poor Mabel senseless. Serves him right, she thought. I hope the floozy gives him a run for his money.

After travelling for most of the day, Tom was on the last leg of his journey.

Disembarking from the train in Weymouth, he glanced up at the station clock. It was already quarter to five. He had a half-hour wait for the bus and another half-hour journey before he got into West Bay. The one and only thing on his mind right now was Kathy.

When the bus arrived he climbed on board, gave the conductor the required fare and took his ticket with thanks.

Hitching his ticket-machine higher up his shoulder, the conductor walked on, stopping at each seat to see if there was anyone else wanting a ticket. When there wasn’t, he came and sat down opposite Tom, eyes closed and for all the world looking like he might be having a crafty kip.

Tom smiled. The poor bloke looks done in, he thought. So when they stopped to collect more passengers, and he spied the familiar uniform of a bus inspector, he gently tapped the conductor on the leg. ‘Time to wake up,’ he whispered, and by the time the inspector got on board the conductor was wide awake and tending to his duties ‘like a good ’un’, as Jasper might have said.

When the bus stopped at West Bay, the inspector got off just before Tom. ‘Thanks for that, mate,’ the conductor told him. ‘If it hadn’t been for you, he’d have caught me good and proper.’

Tom told him it was no problem, and that he was glad to have been of help.

When the bus moved off, Tom was still standing there, his gaze reaching across the street to Barden House. For a time he savoured the sight of the house. In his mind’s eye, he could see Kathy lying on the rug in front of the fire, and his heart leapt.

Quickly now, he made his way past the harbour and across the road, the sweet, salty tang of sea air filling his nostrils. Oh, but it was good, he thought.

At long last, he was home – and soon, thank God, he and Kathy could begin to make plans.

Inside the house, Kathy was alone; just as Tom had pictured her, she was lying across the rug in front of the fire, fascinated by the bright, leaping flames as they danced and wove themselves into a frenzy.

Tom was never far from her thoughts and now, as she wondered about him, she made a decision. ‘I’ll call him in the morning,’ she murmured softly. ‘I miss him so much. I need to hear his voice. I need to tell him how much I love him. I won’t tell him about Samantha, not yet. I’ll just ask him to come home as soon as he can. I need him here, with me.’

Coming up the path, Tom saw that the curtains were open. Stepping onto the lawn, he peeped through the window. There she was, arms folded beneath her head and her face turned towards the fire. He smiled. ‘As I thought,’ he whispered, ‘just the same.’ There was something very comforting in that.

He knocked on the front door.

It was a moment before she answered.

The door opened and there she was, silhouetted in the soft light coming from the hallway; a small, familiar figure, sending a rush of contentment through his senses. In the background he could hear a song from the film, Singin’ in the Rain, playing on the wireless.

‘Hello, darling.’ His voice was soft, his eyes adoring. ‘You look wonderful!’ In the pale blue dress with white collar and fitted waist, she seemed so young, he thought, so vulnerable.

For a brief second she stared through the semi-darkness, her eyes taking in his face, a momentary look of confusion in her gaze. ‘TOM!’ Suddenly she was in his arms, and he was swinging her round. ‘Oh, Tom, thank God you’re back!’

Laughing and crying, she held him by the hand and led him inside. It had been the worst time of her entire life, but now that Tom was here everything would be all right.

Standing there, the room wrapping its warmth about them, tight in each other’s arms, they held each other close. For a time they were silent, just content being together. The light was dimmed, the fire crackled, and they were so much in love. There was no need for words.

In that precious moment, it was as though they had been through the darkness of a long frightening adventure, and now they were through it together, still safe, more in love than ever.

There was a need in them, a deep, trembling need that would not be held back any longer. Momentarily releasing her, he crossed the room and quietly closed the curtains, shutting out the night and its prying eyes.

She waited, her heart fast with anticipation, her eyes following his every move, until he was back with her, kissing her on the forehead, on the mouth, down the curve of her neck. And she, with uplifted face, offered herself to him.

Reaching down, his dark eyes enveloping her, he slid her dress away, then her undergarments, gasping with amazement as he unfolded her nakedness. ‘You’re so beautiful!’

Discarding his own garments, he drew her down to the rug, the heat from the fire playing on the skin of his back as he leaned over her. ‘I love you,’ he murmured, his face so close to hers she could imagine herself melting into those dark eyes and being lost for ever.

Now, as he entered her, she clung to him, afraid he might be disappointed in her, afraid he might not find her to be the woman he believed she was. But she need not have worried, for she was everything his heart desired.

The lovemaking was not a frantic thing, nor was it soon over. This was another adventure, a most beautiful, wonderful experience: discovering each other’s bodies, touching, exploring; the exquisite binding of two lonely, desperate souls.

It was the long-awaited realisation of a love that had grown from the heart and was now blossoming to fulfilment.

When it was over, they lay there, content in each other’s arms, eyes closed, faces uplifted, their glistening bodies gently washed over by the heat from the fire.

They lay there for a while, side by side, with Kathy rolled against him, her arm over the expanse of his chest. Drawing her close, Tom stroked her arm, his senses lulled by the smooth softness of her skin, and the gentle rhythmic warmth of her breath against his neck.

Some time later, when they were dressed, he brought her a drink and they sat together, talking of their love, making plans. As yet, neither of them was ready to break the moment by revealing the darker things on their minds, of jealousy and murder, and all those things that have no place in a quiet heart.

Yet, at some time, they had to be said.

After a while, he held her at arm’s length. ‘I telephoned you a few times,’ he revealed. ‘I left messages, but you never rang back.’

Dropping her gaze, she answered, ‘There is something I have to tell you. You know my sister, Samantha, came to see me.’

Tom nodded. ‘Of course, she was here when I left for London.’

‘She wanted to take this house from me. She said Father should have left it to her, because she was the eldest.’

Tom knew now why she hadn’t called him. He had sensed the tension between the two women, and now he knew the cause of it. ‘And you didn’t call me because you knew I’d be straight back on the next train, is that it?’

Kathy nodded, taking a moment to break the awful news to him, her voice trembling. ‘Something happened,’ she whispered. ‘Something terrible!’

‘What do you mean?’

The horror of it all was overwhelming. Kathy shook her head, unable for a moment to go on. Even now she had not come to terms with the sudden, terrible way in which Samantha had died.

Taking her gently by the shoulders, Tom softly urged her, ‘Go on, darling. What happened? Tell me.’

And so she told him about how Samantha had refused to leave until Kathy had signed papers that would give her half the value of the house, that she and Samantha had fallen out over the whole issue, and that she had asked Samantha to leave that day he had left for London, but she wouldn’t. ‘It was just after you’d gone, dark, pouring with rain,’ she explained. ‘Samantha had started out to the pub. She just grabbed my coat and went.’ She paused, swallowing hard, her hand shaking as she wiped the sweat from her forehead. ‘She never got there. They came to tell me.’ Her voice broke. ‘She … oh, Tom!’

‘Easy now. Take it slowly.’

With Tom’s kind urging, she continued, telling him how Samantha’s body had been discovered in the water. ‘She was wearing high heels – she always loved the latest fashions. She must have slipped on the wet stones and fallen into the harbour. They think she knocked herself out somehow – on the wall or a boat – and she … oh, Tom.’ Kathy could not go on any further.

Tom took her gently in his arms, his mind in turmoil as she wept softly. How could it be? Dear God! What a terrible thing to have happened.

While he was going over what Kathy had said, a frightening thought came to him.

Kathy had just described how Samantha had ‘grabbed my coat’ and gone out into the night … it was pouring with rain. My God!

Could someone have mistaken Samantha for Kathy?

He recalled what Dougie had said in those last few minutes. ‘I killed them … all.’ That’s what he’d said … ‘You had everything. I killed them … all.’

No, it was an accident. Tragic, but an accident.

‘Tom?’

He was startled from his thoughts. ‘What, darling?’

‘Are you all right?’ She had seen how pale and pensive he’d become.

‘I’m just sorry that you had to go through all that alone,’ he said, his voice sombre. ‘You should have told me!’

‘I know.’

‘What about Jasper? I’m surprised he didn’t let me know.’

‘He wanted to,’ she confessed, ‘but I asked him not to.’ She kissed him on the mouth. ‘But you’re here now, and that’s all that matters.’ Nestling into his arms, she asked gently, ‘What happened, Tom, back there?’

Wisely, Tom told her only as much as he thought she needed to know. About Dougie and the outcome of the police investigation, and what a stroke of luck it had been that the owner of the breaker’s yard should be selling up and discover the car. He explained how his own brother had been the one who drove them over that cliff-edge. When she reacted with horror, he took her back into his arms. ‘It’s over now,’ he said. ‘We have to look forward, you and I, together.’

Together. It had a wonderful sound, thought Kathy.

For her own sake, he told her just enough. He had to be strong.

The rest he kept to himself … about Dougie’s last words, and the fact that the son he had adored was not his son, but Dougie’s.

He did not tell her about Lilian’s obsession with him, nor that she was a sick woman in need of help. There would be time for all that in the future, when their lives were more settled.

When the clock struck ten, there came a knock on the door. It was Jasper. ‘Glad to see yer back, Tom, lad,’ he said, shaking Tom by the hand. ‘I was in the shop having a tot o’ the good stuff with my dear old friend, when I saw you get off the bus. I weren’t sure as to what you might be doing … whether you’d want the cottage warmed, or if you had any other ideas, like?’ He looked from one to the other, delighted to see the love light in their eyes.

‘Good to see you too, Jasper.’ Tom thought the sight of that old hairy face was reassuring.

‘Anyway, here’s the key. I’ve lit the fire and you’ll find a hot-water bottle in the bed … them sheets get icy cold once the weather turns.’

He smiled at Kathy. ‘All right, are yer, lass?’

‘I’m better now that Tom’s back,’ she answered. ‘Thanks all the same, Jasper.’

‘Aye well, I’ll not keep yer.’ Tipping his cap in his usual fashion, he gave a long yawn. ‘I’m off to me bed.’ He gave Kathy a wink. ‘I’ll see youse both tomorrer, eh?’

Tom thanked him. ‘If you call in at the cottage first thing, there’s something I’d like to run by you,’ he suggested.

Jasper nodded. ‘I’d like a chinwag,’ he said. ‘I’m sure we’ve a lot to talk about, you and me.’ He glanced at Kathy, comfortable in the crook of Tom’s arm. ‘But right now the two of youse will have more to talk about. You don’t need an old geezer like me standing on the doorstep.’

He tipped his cap at Kathy once more before ambling away, whistling in the dark, the tap of his boots echoing against the pavement.

An hour later, Tom asked Kathy if she wanted him to stay the night. Even though he knew she had been here on her own for the last weeks, he was worried about leaving her alone.

Sensing his concern, Kathy was tempted, but she decided against it. ‘Best not,’ she said. ‘You get back and settle into the cottage,’ she said. ‘Jasper’s lit a fire up there, anyway.’ And besides, ‘If the locals saw you coming out of here in the morning, there’d be tongues wagging all over West Bay.’ She chuckled. ‘Not that I’m too worried about that.’

‘And will you be all right … on your own?’ He hated himself for saying it, he knew how independent Kathy was, but he couldn’t help but be concerned, even now.

‘I’ve been safe up to now,’ she answered.

‘All right.’ Kissing her goodnight, he told Kathy to get a good night’s sleep, because he was taking her boating tomorrow. ‘We’ll go right out, where nobody can find us. Just you and me … out there, with only the wind and skies for company.’

It sounded wonderful, to him and Kathy both.

Liz and her son were outside in the garden when the postman dropped the letter through the letterbox. ‘Look, Mummy!’

Thrilled with his new dragon-kite, Robbie let it loose, laughing and leaping about when the sharp breeze picked it up and carried it high above the garden. ‘It’s flying!’

Liz came to watch, mesmerised like a child as she followed its maiden flight. ‘That’s wonderful!’ she cried. In truth when she bought it that morning she had never really believed it would take off, let alone fly through the air like that.

Dipping and diving, it soared above the rooftops, and for a moment seemed as if it would escape the boy’s clutch, but then he tugged it back, calling frantically for Liz when it got caught up in the top of a birch tree.

Taking her broom, she reached up, wrapping the handle round the string. She gave a hard tug; the string broke and Robbie fell backwards, disappointed but not beaten. ‘If you hold me, I’ll climb up,’ he said, so she did, and within five minutes the kite was safely back on the ground.

‘Bring it inside,’ Liz told him. ‘We’ll have to retie the string and mend that tear.’ The dragon had a gash right through his mouth.

‘He looks like he’s smiling.’ Robbie laughed, and Liz had to agree.

Once inside the kitchen, Liz took out her sewing basket and, with a few deft moves of the hand, she stitched his mouth and wove the string back together. ‘There!’ Presenting the boy with it, she declared proudly, ‘He’s as good as new, but if you let him escape into the trees again I might not be able to mend him so easily.’

While Robbie went back into the garden, she began making her way upstairs. ‘Best change the beds,’ she muttered as she went. ‘Going to the early market has made me late.’

Usually by this time on a Saturday she had the beds changed and the washing blowing on the line, but today she and Robbie had got on the eight o’clock bus to Leighton Buzzard, and now, what with the excitement of that kite and everything, she was way behind with her chores.

As she passed the front door she caught sight of the letter lying on the mat. Stooping, she picked it up. Straightaway she recognised Jasper’s handwriting: large and scrawling, it was peculiar only to that dear old man.

Tearing open the envelope, she began to read:

Dear Liz,

I hope you and the boy are well. I have two reasons for writing to you. Firstly, I would like to thank you for the wonderful time I had, and for the kind way you and Robbie looked after me.

The other reason for me writing is to tell you about a shocking thing that happened in West Bay.

Robert’s oldest daughter, Samantha, paid a visit to Kathy. There seems to have been some disagreement about the house.

Kathy asked her to leave and she refused. By all accounts it seems to me that Samantha wanted her out. She demanded that the house be sold and that she receive half the proceeds.

Of course, Kathy refused, especially since she knew that Samantha had been given a very expensive property belonging to her mother, which, like everything else, was wasted on Samantha’s extravagant lifestyle.

All that aside, though, and remembering that these two were sisters, what happened came as a terrible blow to Kathy. While in West Bay, her sister Samantha fell off the harbour wall and drowned. Forgive me if I shock you with this news, but there is no other way to say it.

They reckon she hit her head on something; it was just very unfortunate.

Kathy has been devastated. Her mother came to see her, but not with a mind to console her. Instead, she was very cruel and spiteful, blaming Kathy because she did not bend to Samantha’s wish regarding Barden House.

You can imagine how this has affected her.

Knowing what a kind and loving person you are, and how devoted you were to Kathy’s father, I wonder if you would find it in yer heart to come and see her, as a friend? I know this won’t be easy, lass. But I’m sure it would mean so much to Kathy. You would love her, Liz. She’s so much like her father in manner and nature.

If you feel this is beyond you, then don’t worry.

Yours affectionately,

Jasper

Shaken by the awful news, Liz had to sit down. Holding the letter in her trembling hands, she read it for a second time. ‘Dear God! What a terrible thing to happen … and to one of Robert’s daughters.’ It was inconceivable.

Lately, she had been toying with the idea of going to meet Robert’s daughter, Kathy, but now she didn’t know what to do. Would Kathy feel that she was interfering? What if she took offence at her turning up out of the blue … taking it upon herself to feel she had a right to console Kathy?

And what about the way she and Kathy’s father had set up house together? It would be understandable if Kathy bore some kind of grudge.

Unless, as Jasper had pointed out, Kathy was made in the same caring, sensible mould as her father.

Wailing and moaning, Robbie came running in. ‘It wasn’t my fault! The wind took it out of my hands!’ he cried. ‘It’s got stuck in the tree again. Come and see.’

‘What am I going to do with you, eh?’ Affectionately, she ruffled his hair. ‘Come on then. We’ll try and get it down, shall we?’

The boy saw the letter as she thrust it into her skirt-pocket. ‘What’s that, Mummy?’

‘It’s a letter, son.’

‘Who’s it from?’

‘Jasper.’

Robbie danced on the spot. ‘Is he coming to see us again?’

‘No, Robbie. He wants us to go and see him, in West Bay.’ She did not tell him why. There was no need for that.

‘Oh, can we, Mummy? Please!’

‘I don’t know, son. We’ll have to see.’

‘I love Jasper,’ he said. ‘He’s my friend.’

As she led him out to the garden, her arm round his small shoulders, she looked down. ‘He’s my friend too.’

The boy glanced up, his dark eyes smiling up at her, melting her heart.

He was so like his father, she thought. More and more of late, there were times when she imagined Robert was looking at her through the boy’s eyes.

She thought maybe she should go and see Kathy, if only for Robert’s sake.

Then she wondered. He had kept them apart all that time. Maybe he didn’t want her to meet his other family.

She was torn.

Should she go, or should she reply to Jasper and say she wasn’t able to, for whatever reason?

If she decided not to go, she believed Jasper would understand her motives. He was a good man. A friend of Robert’s too.

But there was time for her to think it over.

In the end, all she wanted was to make the right decision for them all.