The Memory of Midnight (39 page)

The bones in her legs had turned to wool. It was all Nell could do to walk towards the kitchen as Ralph and Tom headed up the stairs, and when the door closed behind her, she slumped back
against it, pressing her palms to her cheeks which were burning with reaction.

‘Mistress?’ Eliza looked up from the table where she was shredding a cabbage. ‘What ails you?’

‘Naught.’ Nell straightened, took a breath. She must stay calm, she chided herself, but it was hard when her mind was topsy-turvy. Inside all was confusion apart from the one thought
that shone steady and diamond bright:
Tom is here
.

She warmed the wine herself while Eliza set out cakes on a plate, and together they carried them up to the hall. The murmur of voices told them that Ralph and Tom were in the closet.

Perhaps it was warmer in the smaller room.

Or perhaps Ralph had chosen it deliberately because he knew how much Nell hated the closet. She couldn’t step through the door without feeling her throat close. The chest was still there.
It didn’t look so big now, but to Nell there was something malevolent about the way it squatted there like a toad against the wall.

The two men were standing squarely in front of the fireplace. Both had their legs apart as if braced against the world, but there the resemblance between the brothers ended. Ralph toyed with the
tasselled purse that hung from his belt. His fur-lined robe and velvet cap were expensive, but next to Tom, he looked grey and shrunken.

Tom needed no furs or fine cloths. His Venetians were narrow, his doublet plain, the buckles on his shoes unadorned, but he filled the room with his presence. It was as if he had brought in the
wind, the salt-sting of the air, the restless surge of the sea that Nell had never seen.

He took the wine Nell offered and lifted the goblet to her and then, as an afterthought, Ralph. ‘It is good to be home again,’ he said.

As if sensing that standing next to Tom did him no favours, Ralph threw himself into the turned chair.

‘So, brother, tell us what you have been doing with yourself since you abandoned your master. Sit, my dearest,’ he added to Nell, who was still holding the jug of wine. ‘I am
sure you would like to hear what Tom has to say too.’

He wanted her to struggle to contain her feelings. He wanted her to be hurt. He wanted her to feel that Tom had abandoned her.

Nell smoothed her expression and sank onto a stool. If only Ralph had known that it would have been much harder for her to have left. Right now, it was enough to drink in the sight of Tom. She
had not realized until this moment how much she had yearned for him over the years. She had not let herself wonder if he was alive or dead, but now he was there she was raw with longing for
him.

What did Tom see when he looked at her? Was he shocked by how much she had changed since he left? Could he see anything of the loving, laughing girl she used to be? She had grown thinner, she
knew. Her gown might be made of the finest scarlet, her kirtle might be satin and trimmed with velvet, her sleeves slashed to show her embroidered smock, but she had lost her bonny glow. Her eyes
were guarded now, her body braced for the lift of Ralph’s hand.

‘I have sailed around the world with Captain Drake,’ said Tom, as if it were no more than riding out to the white stone cross on Heworth Moor, but his eyes lit with an achingly
familiar gleam at the memory of where he had been. ‘Sir Francis, I should say,’ he remembered. ‘The Queen’s Majesty dined aboard our plucky
Golden Hind
, and she
knighted him. Little enough in return for the riches he brought her!’

‘Drake? That upstart!’ Ralph’s mouth twisted into a sneer. ‘They say he is little better than a pirate.’

‘The Spaniards certainly think so,’ said Tom. ‘He is a man of great daring, that is for sure.’

‘So you have been to the New World?’ Nell said wistfully.

‘I have been further than that, Nell. I have sailed through waves as tall as houses, and across an ocean so wide we thought there was no end to it. But then we came to the Spice Islands
and we filled the ship with cloves.’ His laughter bounced off the wainscot and warmed the room. ‘I can smell them still! But we had to jettison most when we ran aground. We stood on the
deck and poured sack after sack of them into the sea. Aye, it hurt but it had to be done. We would still be fixed on that reef else, but we trusted the Captain to bring us home safe, and so he
did.’

‘And how long do you plan on staying?’ Ralph was regarding his brother with dislike.

‘Well now, brother, that depends.’

‘If you have come in the hope of money, I will have to disappoint you,’ said Ralph. ‘It was your choice not to finish your apprenticeship.’

‘And I hate to disappoint
you
,’ said Tom, ‘but I have made my fortune with the Captain. There has been plunder aplenty.’

‘I see.’ It was obvious this was unwelcome news to Ralph.

‘Perhaps I will buy a house in York,’ Tom went on, Nell suspected deliberately to provoke her husband. ‘I may settle down and establish myself as a fine gentleman.’

‘But then,’ said Ralph silkily, ‘you would need a wife, would you not?’

There was the tiniest of pauses. Nell hurried to fill it.

‘You would be bored before the week was out,’ she said. ‘You are used to the open seas now, Tom. I fear York would be too tame for you.’

‘Sail across an ocean on a small ship and you soon learn a new meaning to bored,’ said Tom. ‘But if there is one thing I have learnt on my travels, it is that there is interest
and excitement to be found everywhere.’ His eyes rested on her face. ‘Even in York.’

Ralph took his time with Nell that night, excited by the thought of Tom lying in the back chamber. He strapped her wrists to the bedpost and he lashed at her with a switch until she bled.
‘You are mine,’ he grunted as he thrust into her at last. ‘Mine.’

Nell just turned her face away. She could bear the pain. Tom was alive and Tom was there. For now, that was all that mattered.

‘For God’s sake, Theresa, what’s wrong with you?’

Tess was jolted back to the present by Martin waving an irritable hand in front of her face. Her eyes snapped into focus, and she put down the cup with shaky hands.

‘I’m sorry,’ she said, moistening her lips. ‘What were you saying?’

‘What was I
saying
?’ Martin echoed incredulously, looking injured as only he knew how. ‘I’m doing my best to make amends here,’ he said. ‘I’m
doing everything I can to save our marriage. I’ve arranged an extremely expensive second honeymoon which would have most women squealing with delight, but
you
, you can’t even
be bothered to pay attention!’ His face crumpled. ‘I’m disappointed in you, Theresa. I really am.’

Tess set her hands flat on the table. They burned and throbbed as if ripped raw. ‘We’re not having a honeymoon,’ she said as calmly as she could. ‘I’ve left you. I
want a divorce.’

At that his expression changed, and his hand shot out to grab her wrist, and Tess couldn’t help flinching. ‘Is there someone else?’ he demanded, low and cold. ‘Is that
it? Have you been fucking around? Who is it? Is it that Ralph you talked about on the phone?’

She jerked back at the name in spite of herself, and Martin’s grip tightened. ‘It is, isn’t it?’

‘No.’ Tess had a wild desire to laugh. If only Martin knew!

‘Then who?’

She ran her tongue over dry lips. ‘There’s no one.’

‘In sickness and in health, Theresa, that’s what you promised. For better, for worse. Remember?
I
am your husband. Remember
that
?’

‘There’s no one,’ she said again.

‘You wouldn’t lie to me, would you, Theresa?’

Her wrist was hurting, but she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of trying to pull her hand free. Her mind flickered to Luke, and then away. ‘I’m not lying.’

‘Good.’ A final cruel squeeze of her wrist and he sat back, satisfied, smiling, once more an ordinary husband having tea with his ordinary wife. ‘Then the sooner we get back to
normal, the better, hmm? We’ll go and get your things right away.’

A headache was jabbing behind Tess’s eyes. How was she going to get out of this? The conversation was taking on a nightmarish quality. ‘I need to go and get Oscar, Martin,’ she
temporized. ‘He’s with Vanessa.’

‘Your friend in the flash four-wheel drive?’ he said knowledgeably and she stiffened.

‘You
have
been watching me!’

‘Darling, of course I have. At least, I’ve had someone watch you for me. You should have expected that,’ he said, raising his brows at her expression. ‘You’re my
wife
. I needed to know no one was taking advantage of you, like that sweaty joiner who’s always going in and out.’ His eyes sharpened. ‘That’s not Ralph, is
it?’

She had to be very careful. ‘No. His name’s Luke, and he’s been building some shelves for the owner of the flat.’

‘Yes, that was my information too,’ Martin acknowledged as if disappointed not to have caught her out. ‘At least I could sleep easier knowing that you were safe,’ he
said, and Tess felt the welcome anger seeping back.

‘I haven’t felt safe, Martin. I’ve been frightened. You’ve been breaking into my flat, messing with my things.’

He pouted. ‘I just wanted you to know that I was there for you. You’ve been so stubborn, changing your phone, not answering my calls . . .’ His face darkened. ‘What was I
supposed to do?’

‘You were supposed to leave me alone.’ Wearily, Tess rubbed at her temples, and he leant forward in concern.

‘Darling, aren’t you feeling well?’

‘I’ve just got a headache.’

‘I hope that’s all it is.’ Martin looked sombre. ‘I hope you’re mother’s not right.’

‘My mother?’ Tess jerked back. ‘What’s she been saying?’

‘Now, now, there’s no need to be so touchy. She implied that you were under a lot of strain, and I can see that for myself. For a few moments just now, I watched you tune out. It was
as if you weren’t here.’ He shook his head, his brow creased in concern. ‘No wonder she’s worried about you. She says you’ve been getting involved in a lot of
hocus-pocus and she’s afraid you’re having some kind of nervous breakdown. I told her you were just being a bit naughty, but now I’m beginning to wonder if she was right all
along.’

Tess’s head whirled in panic. What did her mother know? What had she been telling Martin? She held onto the table to keep herself calm. ‘I’m not having a breakdown,’ she
said clearly.

‘I know you believe that, darling, but you’ve got to admit that you’re behaving irrationally. You’re losing the train of the conversation, you’re spacing out . . .
I’ve spoken to the builders doing up the bar next door to you, and they say you’re always in there complaining about noises that no one else can hear. I don’t want to accept it
either, darling, but I’m glad I didn’t wait any longer to come. You can’t look after yourself when you’re like this, let alone the boy.’

The boy. He couldn’t have said anything better designed to clear Tess’s head and give her strength. She wasn’t going to put up with Martin’s manipulation and bullying any
more. ‘The boy’s name is Oscar,’ she said very distinctly, ‘and I can look after him fine.’ She pushed back her chair and looked him straight in the eye.
‘We’re finished here, Martin. I want you to leave me, and Oscar, alone. My solicitor will be in touch with yours about a divorce.’

She had never stood up to him before. Never turned her back on him or walked out, and she didn’t look back. Martin would have to find some money to throw on the table and it gave her a
head start. A mixture of adrenalin, fury and frustration took her almost back to her flat before Martin caught up with her.

She had known he would but she didn’t care. The boy.
The boy!
He didn’t even care enough to call his own son by his name.

So when Martin grabbed her arm and swung her round to face him in the middle of Stonegate, she didn’t even flinch.

‘Let me go!’

Martin was so taken aback by the blaze of anger in her eyes that he dropped his hand. ‘Theresa!’ he said in astonishment.

‘Tess,’ she said clearly. ‘My name is Tess.’

‘What’s happened to you?’ Bewildered, he took a step back. ‘You never used to be this hard. You’re treating me as if I’m some kind of monster. All I want is
my family back. Is that so wrong?’

She nearly relented. ‘No, it’s not wrong, but it’s not going to happen, Martin. It’s over. I don’t want to be married to you any more. Please accept that.
It’s
over
.’

‘No.’ Martin pulled her back as she made to turn away. ‘No, you can’t do this to me, Theresa,’ he said, very white about the mouth.

‘Yes, I can.’

‘I said
no
!’ Careless of the curious looks they were starting to attract, he dragged her closer, his fingers digging viciously into her flesh. ‘You can’t walk
away from me. I won’t let you!’

Tess winced and tried to pull her arm away. ‘Leave me alone, Martin!’

‘Is there a problem here?’

Luke’s easy voice broke in and Tess turned to him, dizzy with relief as the world miraculously steadied.

‘Oh, Luke, thank God!’

‘Who the fuck are you?’ snarled Martin.

‘I’m a friend of Tess’s,’ said Luke calmly. ‘Let her go. You’re hurting her.’

‘Fuck off,’ Martin said precisely. ‘This is between me and my wife.’

‘Tess, do you want me to fuck off, or do you want me to stay with you?’

‘I want you to stay,’ she whispered, dry-mouthed, and then sucked in a breath as Martin’s grip tightened furiously.

‘Then I will,’ said Luke. He stepped up to Martin, until they were almost nose to nose.

‘Let. Her. Go.’ He spoke very quietly. He wasn’t as tall as Martin, or as broad. Martin was proud of his physique, and liked to hint at his military training, while Luke was
casual in his jeans and leather jacket, but there was something in his eyes that made Martin loosen his grip on Tess’s arm.

Tess wrenched it free and scuttled gratefully behind Luke.

‘Now
you
fuck off,’ said Luke. ‘Since we’re keeping the tenor of the conversation so high.’