‘Don’t force it, darling. Everything will slip into place in its own time.’
‘You speak as though I’m suffering from amnesia.’
‘Not at all. It’s just a matter of giving yourself time to sift through themixed-up contents of your head.’
‘That sounds very patronising, you know.’
‘Yes,’ he said with a smile. ‘It’s a comment I’m sure I’ll live to regret.’
I’m sure I’ll live to regret ...
The dust mote danced back towards her and Hope tried again to snatch hold of it.Annelise.It was Annelise who had used those words, or words very similar to them, about living to regret something she had done. What was it?
Oh, it was so annoying! Why wouldn’t her brain work properly? Normally she had a mind like a filing cabinet and could instantly locate any fact or date she needed, but now she felt as if the cabinet had been ransacked and all the information she had stored away so carefully was thrown on the floor.
She watched Edmund leave the room and ignoring his advice not to force things, she cudgelled her brain to think straight. And then it came to her. But surely she was wrong. That had to be something she dreamt. Annelise wouldn’t ever be so careless as to get herself into a mess like that, would she?
But the moment the door opened, and Hope saw Annelise she feared the worst. There were dark shadows beneath the girl’s eyes, her skin was ashen, and she had lost weight. She also looked sick with worry. Instinct told Hope that the change in Annelise wasn’t purely due to fretting about her. She surmised also that Edmund, despite being a doctor, had not put two and two together. Or had he been keeping this from her?
Hope summoned what little energy she had and smiled weakly at Annelise. ‘Come and sit down,’ she said. ‘You look almost as bad as I feel.’
Annelise smiled too. But it wasn’t her usual smile; it was too brittle and brimming with sadness. ‘It’s so good to have you back with us, Mums,’ she said when she was seated by the side of the bed.
‘Then why do you look so terrified?’
‘Do I?’
‘Yes you do. Would it be because I didn’t dream that you told me you were pregnant, that you are?’
Annelise nodded and chewed on her lower lip. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said. ‘I know how very disappointed in me you must be. But you need to know, whatever disappointment you feel, it’s nothing compared to what I feel for myself. And I’m sorry I told you about the mess I’ve made of my life when you were unconscious.’
‘I’m curious, why did you do that?’
‘Part of me hoped it would shock you out of the coma. But it was also the coward’s way of confessing my folly to you.’
‘When I couldn’t react?’
‘Yes.’ Annelise’s lips quivered, and her eyes filled with tears. ‘I’m so sorry. I’ve let you down. You and Edmund. And after everything you’ve done for me.’
Hope could feel her emotions unravelling again and fought hard not to give in to another loss of control. ‘Please don’t cry or you’ll set me off too,’ she said. ‘Does Edmund know?’
‘It didn’t feel right to burden him while he was so worried about you. But Romily knows; she guessed.’
‘In my experience it’s never been possible to hide anything from Romily.’
‘And I told Stanley.’
Hope looked up sharply. ‘Is he the father?’
‘No. It’s a married man in Oxford.’
‘Oh, Annelise, how could you?’
‘I stupidly believed him when he told me his marriage was all but over. Which I know is the oldest trick in the book.’
‘He must have been very convincing to fool you. You’re by no means stupid.’
‘He was. And I’m afraid I’m as stupid as the next naïve girl. You can be angry with me if you want to be. It’s what I deserve.’
