‘But not soon enough.’
‘You got out when you could. That’s enough,’ said Eden. ‘You’re a fabulous mother, Savannah. You are not to blame for what Calum did. You handled it the way you could. Given how strong you were at the time. Don’t look back and blame yourself for what Calum did to you both. You were brave when you had to be. That’s enough.’
She knew a lot more about physical and emotional abuse now because of her work with the women’s abuse charities. The Freedom Party now had a very muscular legal approach to how legislation on abuse should be handled.
The rehab counsellor had explained that nobody could make Stu stop gambling or stop drinking.
‘It really is up to him,’ she said, ‘absolutely nothing you can do. If he doesn’t want to go along with it, he can spend twenty-eight days in here and that’s money down the drain.’
‘I’m hopeful after today,’ Mum had said as they’d driven away. ‘I suppose you all think I’m stupid for having just married him?’
‘No,’ said Indy, ‘it was an act of faith, faith in him. I think it will work, Mum, because he loves you.’
Her mother had smiled.
Now Indy had put out lemonade, some strawberries she’d dipped in chocolate, watermelon, a bottle of wine, just one, and some glasses for cool drinks. Eden was bringing Chloe. They were last to arrive. Savannah had come in and asked for coffee, which she’d had with two sugars to Indy’s amazement. Savannah still looked taut and anxious, but she was less shaky. And as Indy hugged her tightly, she could sense slightly less tension in her sister’s body.
Rory was quieter, the belligerent teenager vanished from her persona. She hugged Indy warmly. ‘Thank you for doing this,’ she said. ‘I couldn’t really spring it on poor Chantal.’
Chantal’s bump was very obvious now. She only had another three months to go, and Rory was, the other sisters agreed, wildly amusing as she ran around after Chantal, barely letting her hold as much as a handbag unless she hurt herself.
‘You can’t be too careful,’ said Rory. ‘She’s very delicate. I should have carried this baby. I mean, I’m stronger and bigger than she is.’
‘You can carry the next one,’ said Indy mischievously.
‘I will,’ said Rory gravely. ‘We’re going to use the same sperm donor so they’ll be related either way.’
Steve was organising his camera.
‘I’ll miss this old place,’ said Indy, walking round, deadheading the odd rose.
‘Is Frank ever going to get around to turning this into apartments?’
‘Who knows?’ said Savannah. She and Clary were bringing round the dogs, two golden cocker spaniels mixed with a bit of something else. They’d been abandoned as part of a puppy-farm haul, left to drown because an accident with a kennel door left open meant they weren’t pure bred.
Savannah had taken two.
Eden had said that Savannah had nearly taken the entire litter but she’d explained that six puppies was probably too much.
She and Ralphie had taken two as well, but Raspberry the cat still came into their house and made sure the puppies knew who was boss.
‘Raspberry still rules the roost.’
The odd nasty letter also arrived but they’d managed to track down the sender. It transpired that somebody had been very upset about the water-treatment plant in Wicklow. A police warning had been issued and Eden was working out whether to progress with a case against the person who kept sending the letters.
‘They’re not aggressive,’ she said. ‘He’s quite an elderly man and I do feel a bit sorry for him. He tells me things when I talk to him.’
‘He still writes you mean letters,’ said Ralphie, who got annoyed on her behalf and was all in favour of prosecution.
‘I know, but he’s miserable. His wife died. He wants to give out to someone. And he doesn’t say I know what you did any more. He just blathers on about why we shouldn’t have done what we did and gives out about the wind power and the turbines in the area.’
All the dogs wanted to be in the pictures.
While Savannah and Clary were determinedly trying to train theirs, Eden’s and Ralphie’s just raced around the huge garden in the Sorrento, nearly knocking Stu off his feet.
‘Eden, your hounds are growing wild,’ he yelled happily, carrying a basket with a picnic lunch in it.
‘Eden, you’re supposed to teach them how to sit, and stand and fetch and stuff,’ said Clary. She’d grown into a very different little girl in the past year. She was no longer quiet, watchful. Instead, she was energetic, full of joy. Her friend Daniel and his mum were there too.
