by Lynda Stacey
He rummaged in his pocket, pulled out a box of matches and began taking them out of the box, one by one. He lit one, then blew it out and placed it back in the box, making Madeleine stop breathing with fear. Slowly walking closer and closer to where she stood, he waved the box in her face. ‘Which match will light the fire, Maddie, darlin’?’
‘Liam, I’m begging you, please don’t do this. Think of Poppy.’
‘Ah, the brat. I should have killed her too. Perhaps I will. You see it on the news all the time, don’t you?’ He laughed in her face. ‘But I couldn’t decide if you’d go crazy with torment, need me more or push me away. I had it all planned, she’d have drowned in the garden pond, the one which is bottomless, or it just feels that way when you’re sinking through the water, deeper and deeper, weighed down, unable to breathe. If only I’d decided before now, how you would feel.’
She was terrified. Her whole body shook with fear. She wouldn’t allow him to hurt Poppy. There had to be a way to stop him, she had to escape. Images of her daughter filled her mind. The soft blonde curls, her tiny petite frame, and the beautiful way she’d smile, cock her head on one side and say please all at once.
Liam took the bucket of fluid with him and walked out through the door. She looked up at her wrists; saw the blood, the damage that the ropes had done. But it didn’t matter. She didn’t care how much she hurt herself, didn’t care about her own pain. She pulled at the ropes, stood on her toes in an attempt to loosen the beam further, but blood poured from her wrists as the nylon cut deeper and deeper each time she moved.
‘Stand still,’ Liam growled as he stamped back into the room. ‘How dare you try to escape?’ He walked behind her. She felt his hands pull her hair to one side.
She tried to spin around. ‘Liam, don’t. Please, don’t. What are you doing?’
‘Don’t look at me,’ he spat the words as he looked down at the floor and forcibly grabbed hold of her, his nails digging into her cheek as he turned her face away from him.
A cover went over her eyes and was pulled tight behind her head. She kicked out to where Liam stood, connected and heard him scream.
Then, there was a shout.
‘ARMED POLICE. FREEZE OR WE WILL SHOOT.’
Maddie froze as she heard Liam laugh behind her, then the soft sound of him opening the matchbox, followed by a loud piercing bang.
Then there was silence as a loud thud hit the floor. Her blindfold was removed and the weight of her body was lifted off her feet. She felt her wrists being untied and found herself clinging to Bandit whose arms supported her.
‘It’s okay. I’ve got you.’ His voice was trembling with fear and she could see the torment in his face; he’d just lived through Afghanistan again and again.
A police officer walked directly to them, felt Madeleine’s pulse and picked up his radio. ‘Get me a couple of ambulances as soon as possible. I’ve got one female patient, and one male deceased.’ She heard the word deceased. It was distant and vague, yet for a few moments, the meaning didn’t penetrate her mind.
All she knew was that she felt safe. Bandit held her in his arms and it was exactly where she wanted to be.
Chapter Fifty
Madeleine covered her eyes to shield them from the early morning sun as it burst through a slit in the bedroom curtains. She placed the diary on the table and lay quietly for a few moments before peering across to where Bandit slept. Smiling, she inched her body between the crisp white sheets in a determined effort to close the gap between herself and her naked lover.
Sleeping together was still very new, but she was certain that she’d never tire of watching him sleep. She loved the steady rise and fall of his chest, his deep, slow, untroubled breaths and the way he always seemed to curl his body around hers in a caring and protective state. He almost looked childlike in his sleep, yet he was still her hero. He’d saved her, found her when she’d needed him the most and had been protecting her ever since.
Pushing the sheet down to uncover his back and torso, Madeleine began to move her fingertips up, over and through the thick dark hairs which randomly covered his firm back. Each circle was firm, pronounced and seductively administered until she felt him stir beneath her touch.
‘You awake, my hero?’ she whispered as her hand moved down, lingering tentatively just below the sheet.
‘Mmmmm, what do you have in mind?’ he said as he pushed himself up against the pillows.
She laughed and knelt up before him, straddling his knee.
‘Oh, no you don’t.’ He turned her onto her back, moved his body weight over hers.
Madeleine didn’t need to be told twice. She felt the chill of the room as the bed covers fell from the bed. She watched Bandit’s eyes grow dark as he looked over her naked body.
She stared longingly and lovingly at him. The deep volcanic sparkle of his eyes shone back through the darkness as his mouth took over hers. Pushing deep inside her, their bodies began to move as one, rhythmically together in pace and tempo. A soft scream of ecstasy left Madeleine’s lips as a crescendo of shock waves passed between them both.
‘I love you so much,’ Bandit whispered in her ear as he pivoted above her. He looked directly into her eyes and Madeleine could feel the passion radiating from them.
‘Not more than I love you,’ she said, pouting as she ran a finger down his stomach in a soft but definite teasing motion, stopping just before she got to his thigh.
‘Keep that up and you know what you’ll get, don’t you?’ His hands were on each side of her ribs, the tickling began and Madeleine squealed.
‘Mummy, guess what?’ Poppy shouted as she burst in through the door. ‘Nom Nom’s going to make me pancakes, says I can have honey and chocolate sauce.’
Bandit moved to one side of the bed, grabbed his boxer shorts and discreetly pulled them on under the sheets. He smiled at Poppy and while she chatted endlessly to her mummy, he pulled on his trousers and jumped out of bed. ‘Now then, Poppy, did I hear you mention pancakes?’
Poppy bounced up and into the bed and like a small and cunning chameleon, she cuddled into Madeleine.
‘Mr Bang’it man, do you want some pancakes too?’ she asked as Madeleine found herself being inched closer and closer to the edge of the bed.
‘Hey there, missy, are you pushing me out?’ Madeleine said as she began poking her daughter who squealed before she immediately picked up a huge white pillow and began thrusting it in Madeleine’s direction.
‘So, you want to pillow fight, do you?’ Bandit shouted as the three of them tossed pillows around the bed; feathers flew up and around the room and Poppy shrieked with delight.
‘Argghhhhh, Mr Bang’it man, stop, stop, we have to go down. Nom Nom won’t have any pancakes left!’ she shouted as she ducked down behind Madeleine.
Bandit ran to the door. ‘Come on then, let Mummy get dressed. I’ll race you to the kitchen.’
Chapter Fifty-One
March 1st, 1964
I haven’t written in my diary for so many years. My days and years have been busy looking after my Eddie, but today my Eddie died. He’s finally out of pain and no longer feels the torture of war that he’s struggled with for most of his adult life.
In the end, Father had refused to let Eddie and I live at the hall. In his eyes we were not married and he said that only I could come home, but Eddie could not be with me. Our only choices had been living with his mother and Edward Arthur, or moving to the summer house, the house that Eddie had built for us. So, we chose the summer house. It was cosy at first and we made the best of it. Even though I’d sneak through the tunnel and take food from the kitchen whenever I could. Cook would make me pies and make sure they were hot for me to take home. It was easy to do and I didn’t mind the walk, but then, after my parents died in 1954, I moved back to the hall and took my Eddie with me. After all, I was the only surviving Ennis, and whether Father liked it or not, the hall now belonged to me and to me alone.
But with it came n
o joy. I was sad that they were all gone. Baby Rose had been taken by the scarlet fever, Jimmy had died in the war and Mary had died in childbirth and then, one after the other, my parents were taken. I never thought I could feel any lonelier, but now my Eddie has gone too.
I long to see Edward Arthur, but I haven’t seen him for years. He goes by the name of Arthur now and he left the gatehouse the moment he turned eighteen. He joined the air force, and from what Eddie’s mother has told me, he has followed in his father’s footsteps, even though he’d had no idea who his father had been.
I’m now all alone in a house full of memories. I’m the keeper of the house now, the one who has to look after it until the next keeper comes along and for that reason some of its secrets need to be lost. I can’t bear the thought of the tunnels and I’ve asked that they both be bricked up today on the twentieth birthday of my son. It’s a sad day although it should have been happy, but the last thing I want is for anyone else to travel through the memories that I have and if the tunnels are sealed, the boy, who’s now a man, won’t feel obliged to visit.
The tunnels had acted as a portal in time, a way for Eddie and I to meet in secret. I remember walking through them as a teenager with a huge smile on my face, just knowing that my Eddie was waiting at the other end. I remember kissing in those tunnels, and they had formed the perfect passage to our love nest on the night my son had been conceived.
The second tunnel was one that Eddie and I hadn’t used so often, but had formed the perfect way for my boy to come to the summer house in the early days, and then to get to the hall once I moved back. Eddie’s mother used to accompany him at first, it had been a good excuse for her to visit her own son, but after years of hope, Eddie still didn’t know her and after a while, she’d bring my Edward Arthur to the entrance of the tunnel and return hours later to take him home. Of course, he thought he was just a visitor to the house, a child that came to play with the toys, eat creamed scones and visit the strange couple that lived there. But then he grew up and the visits became less, until one Sunday he didn’t come at all.
Madeleine stood holding onto Bandit for support. They’d walked to the kissing gate to look at the house from a distance, as crisp white snow began to fall and cover the drive. It reflected back at them like a sparkling diamond carpet. A twenty foot Christmas tree stood in the huge Victorian window, antique baubles and lights hung from every branch, while the amber firelight glowed and the look and warmth of the house stared back at them.
‘So, Emily finally took Eddie home to Wrea Head Hall?’ Bandit whispered as though trying not to break the moment. He pulled Madeleine closer to him and kissed her lightly on the mouth.
‘She did. She looked after him for so many years, but she never wrote in the diary again, not until he passed away in 1964.’
‘Don’t you think it’s both lovely and sad, all at once?’ Bandit said as he pulled himself up to sit on the wooden gate. ‘The war broke him in two, it broke their love in two, their family in two, but she must have loved him so very much and asked nothing in return.’
‘What do you think happened to Emily?’ Madeleine asked. ‘Father said he’d bought the hall from her back in 2007. Do you think she’s still alive?’
Bandit stared into space, and gave a knowing nod. ‘Do you know what, I think she might be.’
Madeleine smiled and they both stood for a moment, thoughts of Emily and Eddie running through their minds, until Bandit lifted his hand to Madeleine’s face and dropped a kiss on her lips. ‘I bought something for you.’
He pulled a medium sized box from his pocket.
‘What … what is it?’
‘Well, you’ll never know unless you open it now, will you?’ He laughed and pushed the box towards her.
Taking the box, she carefully lifted the lid to reveal a tiny gold locket, identical to the one she’d lost, the one her father had bought her so many years before and she closed her eyes as her breathing slowed. She opened the locket to reveal a tiny picture of her father on one side and a similar sized picture of Poppy on the other.
‘I’m afraid both Nomsa and Poppy are in on the surprise. She took the photo of Poppy for me and they’re both dying to know if you like it. I thought Poppy would have burst by now with excitement.’
‘I love it,’ Madeleine said as she looked up. There was something deep within his eyes, something soft, caring and trustworthy. It was a look that made Madeleine feel safe, excited and overwhelmed all at once, a look she wanted to hold onto forever and it was then that she knew that the decision she’d made some weeks before had been the right one and she reached under her coat to pull out a gift of her own.
‘I bought something for you too.’ She passed him the box and watched as he opened it. A deep blue, leather bound diary stared back at them both. ‘I thought it was about time we started a diary, you know, write down some memories of our own,’ she whispered nervously as she urged him to open it. Inside the front cover was an envelope and Bandit’s volcanic eyes began to sparkle.
‘Is it for me? What is it?’ He smiled nervously, taking the envelope from inside.
‘Well, you know I said that on Christmas Eve the new owners of Wrea Head would be announced?’ She watched as he nodded. ‘Well, that’s the announcement. I thought you’d like to read it first.’
She saw the colour drain from his face as he tentatively, with shaking hands, opened the envelope. He read the words, re-read them and then looked up.
‘But … but this says …’
Madeleine nodded. ‘It says that we are both the keepers of Wrea Head Hall. This house is part of your heritage, it’s only right that it should be yours too.’
Chapter Fifty-Two
Darkness had begun to descend and dusk now surrounded the house making the Christmas tree lights shine up in the huge Victorian window and the amber lights of the log fires glow from within.
Every trace of the fire had now been extinguished and new decor adorned each room throughout, putting an end to the damage that surrounded the house and to the people within.
Jess’s romance with Jack had moved forward. She now had a permanent smile on her face and a date for the wedding had been set. With this in mind, she’d finally moved the last of her possessions to the hall and was living there on a permanent basis. Not wanting to leave Jack for a moment longer than she had to, she’d quit her job on the cruise ships and had begun working at the hotel.
Bandit had been back to see his regiment. The marines were now helping him and giving him counselling for his stress.
And Madeleine, she had everything she wanted. She had Bandit, she had Poppy, Jess and she had her friends. She smiled, wondering what more a woman could ask for, just as Nomsa flew through into the dining room with her hands waving above her head in true Nomsa style.
‘I hope Bandit isn’t going to be long, Maddie. He needs to hurry himself up. That turkey, I won’t allow it to spoil and oh, wait till you see the roast potatoes, they’re browning off beautifully. Now, where is that boy?’
Madeleine supressed a giggle. Everything at Wrea Head was as it should be and she walked around the table and straightened the cutlery and glasses. She looked up at the clock and her stomach twisted with excitement. Bandit would arrive any moment with his father, he was finally bringing him home for good and everything had to be perfect.
Jack appeared at the door. ‘Bandit’s on the telephone for you, Madeleine. Wow, that table looks awesome.’ He grinned from ear to ear and Madeleine knew that he was looking forward to the feast, just as much as everyone else, because tonight, they would all eat together. It was a tradition her father and Josie had begun and a tradition she had every intention of keeping up.
‘Hi, what’s wrong?’ She felt nervous, Bandit never phoned.
‘I have a surprise for you.’ He sounded excited and Madeleine began to laugh.
‘Another surprise, come on then. Tell me what it is.’
‘Nope. All I can say is that my suspicions w
ere correct and we need to lay another place at the table.’
Madeleine looked at the phone as suddenly Bandit was gone.
Madeleine took her place at the table and smiled as both Nomsa and Bernie continued an argument about who cooked the best roast potatoes, Hannah and Ann sipped their champagne and chatted excitedly, while Jess and Jack looked lovingly into one another’s eyes. Poppy, on the other hand, thought that if she sat really quietly, no one would notice Buddy, who sat patiently by her feet, waiting for treats.
Madeleine sighed with admiration as Bandit walked through the door, pushing his father’s wheelchair into the dining room, to take his rightful place at the head of the table. The childlike look of wonderment on his father’s face brought a tear to Madeleine’s eye.
But the seat beside him remained empty and Madeleine couldn’t help but feel nervous and wonder what the surprise was that Bandit had in store.
‘Ladies and gentlemen,’ Bandit began as he stood next to his father and looked at everyone at the table. ‘Today, I’d like to introduce you to two people. First, my amazing and brave father, who I love so very much. Today, he takes his seat at the head of the table, a place he should have taken many years ago,’ Bandit paused and kissed his father gently on the cheek. ‘And the second person I’d like to introduce you to is … a lady who’s cared for him, loved him and sat by his side at the nursing home for many years.’ He walked to the dining room door, opened it and took the hand of a tiny, frail old lady. ‘Ladies and gentlemen … I’d like to introduce my grandmother, Miss Emily Ennis.’
The End
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