‘We both saw him.’ Embattled tears came to her eyes. ‘He brings me joy, Frank. Something you have only ever taken away from me.’
‘But I went through so much for you and the girl. You were lucky—’
Bellowing at him, she sputtered, ‘I know, Frank! I know! How many times do you need to remind me how much you’ve done for me? Well, I have more than compensated for all you’ve done. You have bled me dry, first by taking my income every week, then by making me work on your moneymaking schemes.’ She kicked a cardboard box on the floor. ‘Mending dead people’s clothes, Frank? You got me to do the lowest unpaid jobs in the world.’
She walked up to him, standing tall beside his slouched form. ‘Andnow you’ve taken my inheritance, my one means of escape.’ She glowered at him. ‘Did you do that on purpose, Frank? Steal my money so that I could never get away from this workhouse of a life I live? Or was it your goal to hold my daughter ransom? If that is the case, Frank, you’re even more of a monster than I thought, threatening to take her away from her mother.’
Suddenly furious, he snarled at her, saying, ‘You never understand anything, do you, with that bird brain of yours.’ He tapped his head. ‘If you leave, I’ll keep everything, and not just Annabel – I’ll take your precious dignity, your moral high ground, the lot. You’ll never be able to hold your head up again. What kind of a woman deserts her child? Annabel and me, we’ll be fine, but what about you?’ He took out a finger and jabbed it into her shoulder. ‘You’ll be lower than the low.’
Staggering back, she felt her will weaken, but then she remembered one of the notices she’d seen in the lockbox. Scrabbling around on the desk, she put her hand on it and pulled it out.
‘What happens once the bank realizes I’m not living here anymore?’ She waved the remortgage agreement at him. ‘You took out all you could, backed by my job. If I tell them that I no longer live at this address, you’ll find yourself without your precious family home.’
His face contorted with anger. ‘You wouldn’t dare.’
‘Oh I would, if you took Annabel. I’m sure with the help of my friends I could come up with even more ways to stop you in your tracks.’ She watched him wince, and then she added, ‘Who knows, there might even be a few misdemeanours hidden away that would land you in jail.’
This must have struck a raw note, as he jerked back defensively. ‘It’s that American, isn’t it. I knew she was trouble. You’re too good for the likes of her.’
‘No, I’m too good for the likes of you, Frank.’
Furious, he grabbed the mortgage letter from her. ‘Just get out,’ he said through his teeth. ‘I should have known right from the start that you were a bad woman, damaged goods.’
But she didn’t care what he said. She stood her ground. ‘And Annabel?’
‘Take the girl. You can both go,’ he sputtered at her, clutching the door for support as she pushed past him into the corridor.
There, she took a deep breath, gazing over his family ornaments and locksmith junk, taking in the smell of the dead people’s clothes coating the inside of the house like a filthy film of decay.
‘You’d better not come looking for her, Frank. I know the name of the bank, and they won’t be pleased to know your breadwinner has just left you.’ She picked up her handbag and coat and headed for the door. ‘I’ll be back tomorrow for the rest of our belongings. I’m sure it won’t be too hard for you to make sure you’re out.’ And as she opened the front door, she turned and muttered, ‘Now, finally, you can leave me and Annabel in peace.’
Her last vision of him was one she knew she’d never forget. He was slouched on the floor, his face in his hands. His game was over. And like a prisoner stepping out of her cell for the first time, she walked out into the night.
The air was cool, reawakening, and as Caroline walked to Betty’s house, all she could feel was a new sense of freedom.
It was Miranda who opened the door, pulling Caroline inside as she saw her face. ‘What happened?’
But then Annabel appeared on the stairs behind her.
Caroline rushed up and gathered her daughter into her arms. ‘Did you have a lovely evening?’
She laughed. ‘Mum, did you know Miranda hasn’t a clue how to do the washing up?’ Pointedly, Annabel shook her head at Miranda as she led them into the kitchen. ‘I had to show her how to do it, and it’sherwho was supposed to be looking afterme.’
There was a pause, Miranda’s eyes on Caroline.
And then a great grin came across Caroline’s face. ‘Well, you and I will have to teach her together, because we’re going to be staying with Miranda and Betty for a while.’
Miranda took Annabel’s hands to do a little dance of delight, and Caroline looked on, laughing at the easiness of the place.
Perhaps tomorrow she would tell her daughter what happened. Even though Annabel wasn’t keen on Frank, Caroline knew that shewouldn’t necessarily take well to the news of divorce. Guilt flooded her, only for her to push it aside.
Why had she let shame dominate her life, when it should have been fairness, justice, and perhaps a little happiness, too?
LUCY
LUCY HAD TAKEN TO SITTING ON A BENCH AT THE TOPof Primrose Hill, gazing over the rooftops of the city. It had been a few days since she’d come out of hospital, and it wasn’t easy to avoid the other people in the house, especially as she wasn’t going to work.
Her stomach was rumbling, but she hardly felt it. Her meagre number of coins didn’t run to buying food at a café, so she’d have to go without. The evening was drawing in, and she wondered whether she might blend into the dusk, simply vanish away like a bundle of leaves in a light wind.
