The Lie (20 page)

Maura never talked about her family. She had a sister living in Ireland but she'd never mentioned her father before.

‘Oh, well, that's lovely,' Emily said, and moved to kiss her cheek. ‘I'm glad for you – if it's what you want?'

‘I wanted a baby,' Maura said, and for a moment her eyes were bleak. ‘Steve is all right. He says he loves me so I suppose we shall get on.'

The expression in her eyes was saying all the things she wasn't. Emily realized that behind her cheerful manner she was still very unhappy.

‘Why don't you go and see John again?'

‘No!' Maura recoiled, the grief twisting her face. ‘I can't, Emily. I've thought about it again and again, but I just can't. I've got the baby and Steve will look after me. The past is over, I have to forget.'

Emily thought it was easy to say, but not so easy to walk away from memories.

‘I hope you'll be happy,' she said softly.

‘You'll come to my wedding, won't you?'

‘Yes, if I can manage it,' Emily replied. ‘Simon won't be getting leave until the end of January it seems, so I'm going home for a few days – but that isn't until the New Year. I want to see Frances. She is having a baby too, and she's very excited about it.'

‘You aren't yet, are you? Do you mind?'

Emily shook her head. ‘No, not for the moment. I thought I might be but it hasn't happened, and in a way I'm glad. I should have to leave the service then and go to live with Simon's family.'

‘Don't you want to? You said they were nice, and that it was a lovely place to live.'

‘Yes, it is, and I do enjoy being there. The first time I went I fell in love with the house and gardens. It's just  . . .' She struggled to find the words. ‘Now that we're married, they seem  . . . oh, I don't know! It's hard to explain, because they were nice to me but – I think they want me to give up my job and fit in with the family.'

Maura laughed. ‘It's always like that with in-laws. You'll have to get used to it, love. Sure, it's one of the things we all have to contend with – the mother-in-law.'

‘No, it isn't like that exactly. Amelia is lovely and so is Vane, but  . . .' How could she explain that it was the effect his family seemed to have on Simon? Away from his family he was a different man. ‘I'm probably being very silly. I expect when I get used to the idea I shall be happy enough.'

‘Well, I don't care what Steve's family is like,' Maura told her. ‘I'll go my own way, so I will, and the devil take it!'

It was nice to see Maura looking happier again, Emily thought. She would miss her when she left, but once Maura told their supervisor that she was having a child, she would be asked to leave anyway.

Emily wasn't particularly worried that she hadn't conceived yet herself. After all, there was plenty of time.

Emily came out of the pictures, having enjoyed the big film
Rebecca
, thrilling to Hitchcock's masterpiece of deception and betrayal. She had been to an early showing, and emerged just as the sirens went, looking at her companion in dismay.

‘Shall we try to get home or find a shelter?'

‘Let's follow them.' Mary Jones, a friend of Emily's from work, pointed in the direction of a small crowd of people who seemed to know where they were going.

Emily didn't argue. Anything was better than being caught on the streets in a raid. They joined several women and children taking shelter in a church, but within twenty minutes the all-clear went and they realized it had been a false alarm. As they emerged into the cold of a December night, they could smell the enticing odour of coffee coming from a café further up the road and made a beeline for it.

Mary found them a table near the window, while Emily joined the queue for coffee and the plain biscuits, which was all that was on offer apart from some greasy looking Spam and chips. She carried her tray back to where Mary sat waiting.

‘I don't know how some of these places make a living these days,' she told her friend. ‘They can't get very rich out of tea and biscuits, can they?'

‘Oh, they manage,' Mary said. ‘I came here for pie and chips the other day. It was all right, though I'm not sure what was in the pie  . . . it might have been chicken but I'm not sure.'

‘They haven't got much scope at their prices,' Emily said. But cafés like these were only allowed to serve meals under two shillings, and they didn't often contain meat. ‘I sometimes wonder how they think we can live on what—' She broke off as someone approached their table, glancing up at the man carrying a tray with a plate of Spam and chips, some bread spread with yellow margarine and a cup of tea.

‘Do you mind if I sit with you?' he asked. ‘There aren't many seats left and I only got in a few minutes ago. The train was late because they wouldn't let us through at the last signal.'

‘Terry  . . .' Emily breathed hard as she saw him. ‘Yes, of course you can. We're only having a cup of coffee. There was a false alarm a little while ago. I expect that's why they halted your train, just in case it was a genuine raid.'

‘Yes, I expect so,' he said. ‘I haven't eaten since this morning. Excuse me if I eat, won't you?'

‘Yes, of course.' Emily turned to her companion. ‘Mary, this is Terry Burgess. He's a fireman but he's training recruits now.'

‘Nice to meet you,' Mary said, and got up. ‘I'd better get home, Emily. My parents will worry  . . .'

‘I'll come with you, if you like?'

‘No, you stop and talk to your friend. I'm going to catch a bus round the corner anyway.'

Emily was silent after her friend had left. ‘Mary is one of the few of us living at home. She's lucky really.'

‘How are you, Emily?' Terry's eyes were on her as she sipped her coffee.

‘I'm fine,' she said. ‘I went to the pictures with Mary earlier. We saw
Rebecca
– it was good.'

‘I haven't seen it,' Terry admitted. ‘I took a friend's children to see
Snow White
, though. We all enjoyed that.'

Emily laughed. It seemed odd to think of the large, strong fireman enjoying a film meant for youngsters, and yet it was nice that he had taken his friend's children to see it.

‘Are you still with the training unit?'

‘I've been having a bit of treatment on my hands,' Terry said. ‘I might get back to work properly next year, so they tell me.'

‘I'm glad.' Impulsively, she reached across the table and took the worst affected of his hands in hers, stroking it gently. ‘I hope this will be back to normal soon.'

‘Emily  . . .' His fingers tightened about her hand and she realized his grip was stronger than she had imagined. ‘You know I care about you, don't you? I have no right but it doesn't stop what I feel inside. If ever you need anything  . . .' He released her hand and sat back, pulling a wry face. ‘And that was bloody daft when you're happily married, wasn't it?'

‘No, not at all,' she said. ‘I hope we are friends, Terry, and, if things were different  . . .'

She left the words unsaid, knowing that she was treading on dangerous ground.

‘He does make you happy?'

Terry's eyes were on her face, and she had the oddest feeling. For a second she wanted to tell him that she was afraid that she had made a terrible mistake, but she clamped down on her words. How ridiculous was that? She was in love with Simon. These doubts she'd been having would all vanish when Simon came home.

‘Yes, of course,' she said, not meeting Terry's eyes. She stood up, knowing she had to leave quickly. ‘I must get back now. I'm on duty early tomorrow and I need to sleep.'

‘All right, but I hope I shall see something of you while I'm here.'

Emily smiled but made no comment. It would be Maura's wedding that weekend, and then came Christmas. It was just as well that she was going home for a few days soon, she thought. Terry was a friend, but it would be foolish to let it develop into anything else. She wasn't one of those women who had affairs just because they were lonely – and that was all that was wrong with her. She was missing Simon.

Alice looked at the beautiful ruby and diamond cluster ring on her finger. It was so beautiful, and she hadn't expected anything as expensive as this.

‘You don't mind that it was my mother's?' Daniel asked, as he saw her studying it again. ‘I could have bought you something but it wouldn't have been as good as this. Father divided the jewellery between us a few years ago, and I kept this because I liked it.'

‘It's lovely,' Alice said, her eyes shining. ‘And I like it even more because it was your mother's – that makes it special and we shall always keep it in our family, pass it down to our son one day.'

‘As long as you like it,' Daniel said, and kissed her. They hadn't had an engagement party as such, because they couldn't really plan very far ahead. Daniel hadn't been sure when he could get back until the last minute, and Alice had sworn she didn't mind. He had taken her out for a meal at a proper restaurant, not one of those places where you only paid a shilling or so, and they'd had a bottle of champagne, which had gone to Alice's head a little. Now they were sitting in the front room of his home, because Frances had gone to stay with her in-laws over Christmas, and Connor was staying with Henry. ‘I do love you, Alice, and I never want to do anything to hurt you.'

Daniel drew her into his arms, kissing her hungrily. It was strange how he'd suddenly become impatient to make love to her. He'd thought he could wait until they were married, but recently he'd found himself dreaming of being with her that way, of feeling the softness of her skin next to his, loving her.

‘Oh, Dan,' Alice breathed close to his ear. ‘It's lovely to be with you like this. It's the first time we've been here alone  . . .'

‘Yes.' His voice was husky, his breath rasping against her ear as he felt the sweeping desire. ‘The very first time we've had the house to ourselves.'

‘I do love you,' she said, snuggling up to him. ‘I know it's ages before we can get married but if we were careful  . . .'

Daniel sat back and looked at her. ‘You don't mean  . . .? You wouldn't, would you, Alice? I know we ought to wait  . . .'

‘But we both want to, don't we?' She smiled up at him, eyes wide and innocent. ‘And we're engaged now.'

It was obvious that Alice thought it didn't matter now they were engaged; she trusted him to keep faith with her if anything happened, and of course he would. If they did have to get married sooner than he'd planned it wouldn't matter so much. He had some land of his own and he could find a house for them, even if he had to rent for a year or two – and surely things would be better for them soon? Henry was managing well enough, and he didn't have much more than Daniel.

His resolve was weakening. He wanted Alice so much, and it would erase that other memory. It still haunted him at times, made him feel disloyal to Alice, and if they made love it would wipe that night out, wouldn't it? She would feel the bond between them, and he wanted to marry her as soon as he could manage it anyway.

‘Are you sure?' he whispered, though his heart was racing and he knew he would have found it hard to hold back now if she changed her mind. ‘If you're really sure, Alice, I do love you so much.'

‘Of course I'm sure,' she said, and smiled up at him. ‘Shall we stay here by the fire or go upstairs?'

The bedroom would be too much like that other time, and it was cold. Here before the fire it was warm and romantic. Daniel threw some cushions on the mat, and then kissed her again. He began to unbutton her blouse, caressing her breasts, touching her further down as he slid her skirt over her hips and she helped him to take off her stockings and the pretty camiknickers she was wearing.

In the firelight her skin was a pearly pink, and just as he'd expected she was rounded in all the right places, beautiful, warm and desirable. He couldn't have held back then to save his life, and his clothes joined hers on the floor. Then they were lying together before the fire, touching, kissing, whispering and finally loving. It was sweet and precious, and better than anything Daniel had ever known, and he realized how much he loved her and how precious she was.

He'd been a damned fool! What did the garage matter compared with this? He loved Alice and she was more important than anything else. He made up his mind as he held her close after the tumult of passion that he would marry her just as soon as he could get a decent leave.

‘I love you,' he whispered, as he felt desire rising once more. ‘Oh, Alice, I didn't know. I just didn't know how much  . . .'

Alice lay in bed that night, feeling the happiness seep into her very bones. She still tingled where Daniel had touched and loved her, and her lips felt swollen from his passionate, hungry kisses. She was his now, and they would be together for the rest of their lives. She was sure now that Daniel wouldn't desert her. Her lips curved in the darkness as she thought of how he'd hung back when she'd known how much he wanted her. And she had wanted him too, wanted to be a part of him, to know what loving was all about.

It had been wonderful, much better than she'd imagined. Some of the girls she knew said it was overrated, but Alice didn't think so. She had thought it got better and better, and they'd done it three times before Daniel had insisted he ought to get her home.

She giggled as she remembered that she had wanted to stay there in front of the fire all night, but Daniel had said Mrs Robinson would have his guts for garters if he didn't get her home. He had been right, too. Her mother had given her an old-fashioned look when she got in at quarter past twelve.

‘And what time do you call this, miss?'