Where I Found You (7 page)

Overwhelmed by a growing sense of panic, Maggie ignored the uplifting scents of spring flowers around her and she was too engrossed in the rhythmic sound of water slapping against the slipway to pick up the scent of lilac perfume. Her pace raced alongside her pulse as she drew closer to the lake. She was ready to give herself up to the dark and silent abyss and would have done so if Harvey hadn’t been so determined to guide her towards the safety of the bench. Maggie wasn’t sure if it was the realisation of what she had been about to do or the sound of a woman’s voice that brought her to her senses.

‘Are you all right?’ Elsa asked.

Elsa couldn’t for the life of her remember how she came to be sitting on the park bench. The twisted branches of the giant rhododendron bushes growing up the embankment made her feel like she had been caught up in a huge spider’s web but it was her mind that was full of tangles.

Smoothing over the creases of her dress and resting her hand on her stomach, Elsa watched a woman stumbling down the sloping path with her dog. For a moment, she thought she would march straight into the lake and Elsa’s heart jumped into her mouth.

‘Are you all right?’ she called.

The woman’s breathing was ragged as she approached the bench. ‘Elsa?’

‘Have we met before?’ Elsa asked when the dog greeted her like an old friend.

‘Yes, the other day.’ The woman took a seat next to her and put her hand on her chest in an effort to steady her breathing. It took a moment or two before she could speak again and even then her voice trembled. ‘I’m Maggie and this is Harvey. Remember?’

Elsa placed the palm of a hand on the surface of the bench and a memory seeped out from its painted surface and into her mind. This was where she had shared her secret. ‘You’re pregnant too, aren’t you? Is that why you’re so upset?’

Maggie tried to give her a winning smile but it crumpled with the effort. ‘I’m upset because I miss my mum. We used to sit here together.’

The vision of a child being separated from its mother struck a chord in Elsa’s heart. ‘Do you think my little one will cry for me?’ she asked.

‘Are you still thinking of giving the baby up?’

‘I think of nothing else.’

Maggie took a deep breath and, as she focused her attention on Elsa, she brought her tremors under control. ‘I have to admit, I’ve been thinking a lot about you since you disappeared last time. I’ve been worried about you.’

‘I’ll survive,’ Elsa said as if that wasn’t a good thing but she was comforted by the idea that Maggie had been concerned about her. She could do with a friendly ear. She had done something reckless, even by her standards, and if her hopes held out then she was going to upset a lot of people.

‘You sound tired,’ her friend said.

Elsa looked at her hands; they had been completely destroyed by hard graft. ‘I’m on my feet all day at Flo’s Fruit and Veg. I think every bone in my body aches.’

‘Flo’s Fruit and Veg? I’ve never heard of it.’

‘It’s on the High Street. Don’t tell me you go to Mr Flanagan’s? Aunt Flo’s fruit is much fresher. Cheaper too.’

‘Aunt Flo,’ Maggie repeated as if she was struggling to follow what Elsa was telling her. ‘She’s the woman you’re staying with, isn’t she?’

‘Yes, and she’s a bit of a hard taskmaster but why have a dog and bark yourself, isn’t that right, Harvey?’ Elsa rubbed the dog’s neck until he groaned with pleasure.

‘I hope she’s not pushing you too hard. You need to take care of yourself.’

‘She’s not that bad really. I was a complete stranger when she took me in but now she treats me like family. She has a will of iron sometimes but soft as a brush the next. She’s going to hit the roof when she finds out I’ve written to Freddie.’

‘You’ve written to him?’

Elsa had her sister to thank for that. Celia had given birth to a bonnie little girl and Elsa had rushed over to Manchester to see them and, more importantly, to be there when her mum arrived to inspect her latest grandchild. Elsa was five and half months pregnant and had to bind herself up so the bulge didn’t show but her weight gain had been the first thing her mum had noticed.

‘You’ll never get a husband if you let yourself go,’ she had warned.

Celia had leapt to her defence, fearful that Elsa might break down and confess all. ‘I’ll make sure she does. We both need to get in shape.’

Her mum continued to scrutinise her younger daughter. ‘Still, you’ve got those lovely eyes and such beautiful hair. Don’t go cutting it short like your sister here. I don’t understand why girls want to look so much like boys these days.’

‘I won’t, Mum,’ Elsa said as she tried to staunch her tears. ‘I would never let you down, you know that.’

‘Being around Celia and the children has clearly been a good influence. I don’t see that wild streak of yours any more,’ her mum said with a note of approval. Her face softened. ‘You’re a good girl, Elsa, I know that.’ It was then that her mum had put a loving hand on Elsa’s cheek and it was a wonder she hadn’t noticed her daughter’s body trembling with the effort to keep her emotions in check. If anything was going to push her over the edge then it was that simple touch of her mum’s hand.

But it wasn’t her mum’s touch that had made Elsa go against the plans that had been laid for her but the defenceless newborn she had held in her arms. ‘How can I hand something so precious over to someone else?’ she had asked Celia. ‘How can you make me?’

‘You can barely look after yourself, Elsa. You’ve still got a lot of growing up to do,’ Celia had said, repeating old arguments.

‘I’m old enough to feel a mother’s love – and I swear I’m going to love this baby growing inside me until my dying day.’ She was holding on desperately to her sister’s baby now and refused to let Celia take her from her. There was a look of horror on Celia’s face as she was forced to imagine it was Elsa’s baby being wrenched from its mother’s arms. ‘Please, Celia,’ Elsa had whimpered. ‘Please, I’m begging you.’

What else could Celia do but promise to help?

‘I’ve written the letter and left it with my sister Celia,’ Elsa explained to Maggie. ‘She’s contacting the friends I know at the base and by hook or by crook, that letter will find its way to Freddie.’

‘What did you tell him?’

‘Everything. I’ve told him everything,’ Elsa said, the rasp in her voice laced with emotion. ‘And if he doesn’t reply now then I’ll know there’s nothing left for me to live for.’

‘Please don’t say that. I know how daunting it must seem but don’t give up. Believe me, I know how easy it is to convince yourself you can’t do it because that’s what everyone’s telling you, but you have to believe in yourself, Elsa. We
both
do.’

‘I have to face facts. I can’t work and look after a baby at the same time. I can’t provide for both of us.’ As Elsa spoke, a cold breeze bit into the nape of her neck. She raised a hand to the back of her head for protection and her fingers touched cropped locks. She was such a disappointment to her parents.

‘I really hope your hero comes back on that motorbike of his.’

‘And if he doesn’t? The thought of handing my baby over to someone else … It’s breaking my heart already.’ Elsa cast her gaze over the lake. The day was bright but the spring sun was not yet warm enough to chase away a lingering mist that covered it like a shroud. She imagined the water would be deathly cold. ‘I can’t see the swans.’

Maggie turned her head as if to follow Elsa’s gaze. ‘No, there are no swans,’ she said hesitantly.

‘Would it be so bad if the lake swallowed me up and I spent the rest of eternity with my baby?’

‘That isn’t the answer,’ Maggie said, turning away from the lake. ‘Listen to me, Elsa. You can’t think like that. You’ve got to stay strong. I just wish there was more I could do for you.’

Rummaging in her bag, Maggie pulled out a small card and handed it over to Elsa. It had pretty swirls of colour printed on it and a delicate script.

‘What is it?’

‘My business card, but don’t get me wrong, I’m not touting for work,’ Maggie added quickly.

Elsa squinted at the print. Reading was never her strong point and she couldn’t quite work out the letters. ‘Aroma …’

‘Aromatherapy. That’s what I do. I could give you a complementary treatment if you like, something to ease your aching joints. But call in anyway, even if it’s just for a chat. I’m not always there but the opening times are printed on the back and it has my mobile number too. If ever you feel like there’s nowhere else to turn, turn to me. Please, Elsa.’

The numbers and symbols on the card were indecipherable but Elsa understood the sentiment perfectly. ‘Thank you. You really are so very kind.’

‘I’m not being completely selfless in all of this. If I can persuade you to believe in yourself, then maybe I’ll start believing in myself again, too.’

Maggie’s words of kindness were too much for Elsa and it didn’t help that Harvey was staring at her so intently. The look of sadness in his eyes took the last remnants of her self-control and Elsa reached out to grasp Maggie’s hand. For a fleeting moment, they held on to each other but then Maggie recoiled from her touch. The look of horror on her face was unmistakeable.

‘I’m a monster, I know I am!’ Elsa cried. ‘If I’m the kind of person who can give up her baby without a fight then I don’t deserve Freddie and I don’t deserve to be happy.’ Her whole body began to shake as the weight of her guilt pushed the air out of her lungs. ‘I can’t stand this any more.’

Elsa stood up so quickly that she frightened a family of nearby ducks. The world around her erupted into chaos and above the angry quacks, the flapping of wings, and the furious splashing of water, Elsa barely heard Maggie’s desperate pleas as she stepped closer to the water’s edge.

6

The splashing was thunderous but didn’t quite drown out the more frightening sound of Elsa’s wracked sobs. Maggie rushed towards the noise, not hesitating at the water’s edge or stopping when the cold water rose up over her ankles and then her knees. Once she was waist deep, she used her arms to propel herself forward, all the while calling out to Elsa. For a moment, Maggie grabbed hold of what she thought was Elsa’s hand but it was deathly cold and the skin papery thin. She cried out, imagining it was the hand of a long-forgotten corpse trying to pull two young women towards a watery grave. Maggie staggered backwards but lost her footing on the slimy floor. She managed to call out to Elsa one last time before the lake swallowed her up as surely as it had her friend. All was lost and the silence coiled itself around her body and pulled her down towards the abyss. Maggie didn’t fight it, not until she heard the urgent heartbeat of her unborn child.

‘No!’ she screamed, and her arms began to flail in a bid to escape the water that had taken the form of a cotton sheet.

Muscular arms wrapped tightly around her. ‘Shush, shush, it’s all right, Maggie,’ James whispered into her ear and his gentle rocking eased her slowly from the nightmare.

When Maggie was able to speak, all she said was, ‘Sorry.’ She didn’t need to explain further. She’d had the dream half a dozen times already. Her night terrors were forcing her to relive that heart-stopping moment in the park when she had thought Elsa was going to throw herself in the lake. She hadn’t, but her latest encounter with Elsa had left Maggie even more unsettled than the first. Her instincts told her that all was not as it seemed. Elsa had been talking about shops that didn’t exist, not in modern-day Sedgefield at least, but while Maggie’s mind focused on the contradictions, her heart clung to the similarities. They were kindred spirits.

James kissed Maggie softly. ‘Don’t be sorry,’ he said. ‘I’m always going to be here to save you.’

Maggie squeezed her eyes shut to hold back the tears. She felt blessed to have James in her life but she also felt guilty. Who would save Elsa?

‘I’m going to have to insist you have a smile on your face before you come into this salon, Maggie Carter,’ scolded Kathy. ‘You’ll frighten away the customers with that scowl.’ As Maggie drew closer to the reception desk she added, ‘And I should also insist that you’re dry. Have you been wandering through that park in the teeming rain?’

Maggie’s visits to the park had become more of a daily pilgrimage in the last three weeks but once again her hopes of crossing paths with Elsa had been dashed. She forced a smile. ‘Morning, Kathy.’

‘That smile reminds me of the one I had fixed on my face all weekend.’

‘That doesn’t sound good.’ The smile on Maggie’s face, false or otherwise, faltered as her mind raced ahead to the possible cause. ‘You were going home, weren’t you?’

Kathy had moved to Sedgefield in the late seventies but Nantwich would always be her home town. ‘To see my mum, yes, and before you ask, no, I didn’t see Judith. I’m keeping a safe distance until she comes to her senses otherwise I may not be responsible for my actions. She has a habit of speaking before she thinks and I have a habit of acting before I think.
Not
a good combination.’

‘I don’t want you two falling out over me,’ Maggie warned, ‘but we have to accept that she’s not likely to come to her senses any time soon. The news about the baby might have come out of the blue but she reached the conclusion that James was throwing his life away by marrying me a long time ago.’

‘Which I take as a personal insult since I was the one who brought you two together. Maybe I should have a word.’

Maggie shook her head. ‘James was over there the other day and he says they’re slowly getting used to the idea. I doubt that’s true but it’s what he wants to believe and I’d rather leave it at that for now. But enough about me, tell me about your troubles.’

‘Oh, it’s nothing I can’t handle. Mum has me running round in circles, that’s all,’ Kathy said with an uncharacteristic sigh of resignation. ‘She’s not getting any younger and whether she likes it or not, she needs more support. But my mum can be quite single-minded when she wants to be.’

‘I wondered where you got it from,’ Maggie said. ‘You’ll have to bring her over to the salon some time, I’d love to meet her.’

‘Getting her to Sedgefield is part of the problem. I’ve suggested she move in with me and Joe but she’s refusing point blank to leave her friends,’ Kathy complained before adding, quickly, ‘We haven’t all been blessed with mums that were as easy-going as Joan. But we’ll find a compromise somehow. If Mum won’t move here then I’ll simply have to convince Joe that it’s time for us to downsize. We could always look for somewhere with a granny flat nearer Nantwich.’