‘And Kirsty knows I’m here?’ Danny forced himself to ask.
‘She does now. She bumped into Brooke and?—’
‘Brooke! Brooke knew Kirsty was here?’ Danny couldn’t believe the pain that suddenly surged through him. Bad enough that Kirsty and Rory were keeping things from him, butBrooke?
‘Yes, but don’t be angry with her. It was Brooke who told Kirsty that you had a right to know she was here. We – we thought it would be better if you didn’t know. That you didn’t find out we were married. We didn’t want to hurt you, you see. But Brooke said it wasn’t fair. That you deserved the truth. And she was right, wasn’t she?’
Danny turned back to the window. ‘And Kirsty didn’t want to come here with you?’
‘There wouldn’t be any point,’ Rory explained gently. ‘She can’t see or hear you.’
‘But I can see and hearher!’ Danny yelled, spinning round to glare at his brother. ‘It’s been eighteen years! Eighteen years since I’ve seen my wife and—’ He ran a hand through his hair, feeling stricken. ‘Except she’s not my wife any more, is she? She’s yours. You lied to me about that. I asked you if she’d remarried and you said she hadn’t.’
‘Strictly speaking,’ Rory said nervously, ‘I said she was still Mrs Harrison. Which she is.’
Danny shook his head. ‘Wow! I honestly don’t know what to say to you.’
‘Danny, I’m so sorry I really am. We never meant to hurt you.’
‘Can you go now please?’
‘I’m sorry?’
‘Can you leave? I need – I need some time to process this. I just can’t…’
Rory got to his feet. ‘Of course. Whatever you need.’ He gave Danny a pleading look. ‘We really do love you, Danny. You have to believe that.’
But Danny didn’t know what to think any more. He watched as his big brother left the flat, closing the door gently behind him, then he hurried through to his bedroom and threw himself on the bed.
Kirsty had been in the village all this time, and she hadn’t bothered to visit him. She hadn’t had the courage or decency to tell him herself that she was married to Rory. She hadn’t even passed on a message for him through his brother or Brooke.
And Brooke had known she was here but hadn’t said a word.
At that moment, he honestly didn’t know which of the three of them had hurt him the most.
25
BROOKE
Brooke crept into the flat later that evening, wondering what sort of mood Danny would be in. She knew Rory would have told his brother the truth about his relationship with Kirsty, and that her cousin was in the village, and she couldn’t help feeling anxious about how Danny had taken that. If he was completely heartbroken, how was she going to help him this time?
‘You’re out late. Thought you were never coming back.’
Brooke almost leapt into the air as Danny’s voice cut through the silence. He stepped through his bedroom door into the dark hallway, standing in front of her in a rather menacing fashion.
‘What are you doing scaring me to death like that!’ Realising what she’d said she tutted impatiently. ‘You know what I mean.’ How had he even known she was there?
‘I was waiting for you to come home,’ he said. ‘I expect you can guess why. Shall we?’
He gestured to the living room door. Brooke sighed inwardly. She could tell that, for whatever reason, he was annoyed with her. Again.
They entered the living room, where the lamps were on and the curtains were drawn. Brooke sat on the sofa, ignoring the television which was showing a repeat of some old crime series.
Danny didn’t sit. He paced up and down, rubbing the back of his neck as he seemed to contemplate what he was going to say to her.
‘You know,’ he said at last, ‘I had this whole speech worked out. You’ve been gone hours and I’ve had a lot of time to lie on that bed and think about what I was going to say to you. What I was going to ask you. But when it comes right down to it, all I want to know is, why?’
‘Why what?’
