‘How long have you been feeling this way?’ Doctor Alliott spoke directly to me.
‘Far too long,’ Richard replied. ‘Daisy is eight months old now.’
Doctor Alliott stared at me for a little longer than necessary. I think he wanted to make me understand that he could see right through Richard.
‘Are all these questions necessary?’ Richard went on.
‘Do you think you could wait outside for a moment while I talk to your wife, please?’
‘Well, I don’t know.’ Richard looked at Doctor Alliott but, after a moment, he backed down and left in a huff.
‘Are you okay?’ Doctor Alliott asked me. ‘I can give you medication for your condition. It seems from your symptoms that you have postnatal depression. Unless there is anything else you’d like to add?’
I shook my head quickly. If Richard was listening outside the door, I’d be in for it later.
Doctor Alliott waited a moment for me to speak, but when he realised I wasn’t going to say anything, he gave me a faint smile and wrote out a prescription.
‘Take one of these every day and come back to see me in a month. I can judge your progress then and decide whether to up the dosage or lower it. I hope you get on okay. And any time you need to talk, just make an appointment. Yes?’
I nodded and got to my feet.
Outside Richard was sitting in the waiting area. ‘Everything okay?’ he asked.
I nodded and took Daisy from him. It had been such a relief to talk to someone else about what was going on, even if Richard had been there for the most part, putting words into my mouth. Doctor Alliott told me I wasn’t a failure, that the birth of Daisy had affected me and that I would bounce back with the tablets he’d prescribed.
But I didn’t.
I became much worse. I hadn’t realised at the time how much of a shadow of myself I had become. Richard was so clever about undermining me. At first I had no idea he was doing it, and then, when I realised, he’d make me doubt myself. He ground me down until I didn’t know what to believe.
Why hadn’t I realised how manipulative he was?
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
While the weather was dry after a recent downpour, Juliette was pruning flowers. She’d been studying the different species in the books that Sarah had loaned to her and was becoming a dab hand in the garden. Personally, it had given her so much satisfaction as well as something to do.
The garden was looking so colourful now. Because of its maturity, plants were appearing everywhere she looked and it was becoming a riot of luscious greens interspersed with red, orange, yellow and cream. Several rhododendron bushes were bursting with buds ready to open. A weeping willow stood in the centre of the lawn, easily the best feature of the garden.
Wiping her brow, she looked up as someone shouted her name. She could see Sarah and Richard at the adjoining hedge. It had been a few days since she’d seen either of them. She walked over to join them.
‘How’s the gardening going?’ Richard asked as she drew level.
‘So-so, it’s quite therapeutic. I’ve been tidying up some borders.’
‘Would you join us for a glass of lemonade?’ Sarah enquired.
‘Sure.’ Juliette kept a smirk to herself. It felt like she was in an Enid Blyton novel.
She walked around to next door and joined them in the rear garden. They sat down and Sarah poured three drinks and passed one to her and then Richard.
‘Are you looking forward to the bank holiday?’ Richard asked.
‘Yes, I think Danny has something planned.’
‘Oh?’
‘It’s a surprise. He’s taking me somewhere local though, so he says.’
‘Intriguing.’
