by Sara Wood
‘I’m going to whip Kate and Mark away,’ she said. ‘Time they had their feed. And I think that’s enough strangers breathing over them for the time being. I’ll go upstairs. See you later.’
She said her thanks and farewells, knowing it would take her ages to feed the babies. Overwhelmed by the unexpected affection, she was sniffing happily by the time she’d said goodbye to everyone, the tears pouring down her cheeks.
‘I’ll take Kate up,’ Dan offered. ‘You bring Mark. Our guests will be OK with the champagne and nibbles for a moment.’ In the bedroom he settled her comfortably and shrugged off his jacket in the cosy warmth of the house. ‘I’ll pop down for a moment. See you in a while. Love you, darling,’ he said huskily.
He kissed her. Kissed the top of Kate’s head and watched his daughter suckling for a moment, for all the world as if she was the most incredible and perfect baby in the world. Which she was, equally with Mark, of course, Helen thought with a contented sigh.
Dan tiptoed out. God, she was happy.
‘My darling babies,’ she whispered, looking over at dark-haired, gorgeous little Mark, who was only just waking and beginning to utter tiny protests of hunger. He had the sweetest face. The bluest of eyes. Her heart fluttered with unbounded love.
Dan’s mobile beeped. Realising it must be in his jacket pocket, she used her free hand to slip it out, discovering that the mobile must be in text mode. Without thinking, she accessed it.
She stiffened as the message appeared on the screen.
‘Hi. Celine,’ it said.
Helen froze. That woman! How dared she? The message scrolled on.
‘Can’t make Friday. Change to Thursday?’
Helen’s eyes widened in horror. Frantically she clutched Kate to her, reading the betraying text.
‘Things so good 4 us,? step up meetings? 3 x week not 2? Next weeks are precious. Yes?! Let me know. So happy. Will deal with Helen 2day. Love C.’
CHAPTER TWELVE
SO MUCH for fidelity, Helen thought, feeling a pain slicing her in two. Betrayed. Again.
She wanted to scream and howl and tear the bed sheets to pieces in her rage and despair. But she had to stay calm and finish feeding the babies. They came before everything. Even grief.
Noise in the hall below told her that people were going and she heard their good wishes ringing out, the laughter, the cheery affection that always came with the arrival of little babies.
On a sudden impulse, she reached out and deleted the message on the phone, not knowing what she’d do, only that her whole life was being re-drawn.
Dan came up some time later when she was changing Mark. ‘You look tired, darling,’ he said gently. ‘Shall I take over?’
She nodded. ‘Headache,’ she mumbled, not looking at him.
His hand stroked her forehead. Massaged the back of her neck and shoulders. Hypocrite! she thought.
‘They’re sleeping now. You have a lie down. I’ll wake you for tea.’
Limp and malleable in her misery, she let him tuck her under the counterpane, her throbbing head sinking into the pillow with relief.
Sleep evaded her. She stared up at the ceiling blankly, quite paralysed by his deceit. He wanted it all. Wife, children, mistress. A stable home, fun and frolics with fringed knickers. Perhaps that was what all men wanted.
But of course she would never agree to such a cosy, convenient arrangement. Dan must leave. He was asking too much of her.
She heard his feet then, running up the stairs. Alerted by his urgency, she sat up in alarm.
‘What is it? What are you doing?’ she demanded in panic when he ignored her, hurrying straight to the wardrobe and flinging the doors open.
‘Call from the doc. The river’s burst its bank,’ he said tersely, grabbing an old pair of thick jeans and a cable-knit sweater. ‘Combination of high tide and floods upstream.’
He saw his mobile on the table and picked it up then yanked off his clothes and hauled on the jeans while Helen stared, confused.
‘Are we in danger?’ she asked anxiously. ‘You said we were safe—’
‘We are.’ Yanking the jumper on at a run, he paused in the doorway. ‘It’s the other poor devils in the village who are in trouble. Water’s six feet deep. You must cope alone for a while, Helen. I’m going out to bring people back here.’
She leapt out of bed, running down the stairs with him, her heart thudding frantically. ‘Dan! You could get into serious danger—!’
‘So could they,’ he said grimly. ‘Be prepared with towels and hot soup or something. Leave it to you.’ He kissed her hard on the mouth. ‘Bye,’ he said huskily, pulling on his waterproofs and jamming his feet into boots. ‘Take care.’
Opening the door, they saw how far the water had come. The lane was awash. Fields beyond were unrecognisable. The flooding was severe, the rain non-stop stair-rods. And Dan was going out in this.
‘Dan!’ she wailed, frightened for him.
‘Go inside. I’ll be fine!’ he yelled, halfway to the car. ‘See you soon.’
And he was gone.
Helen didn’t stop to think. She plugged in the baby alarm and grabbed towels from the airing cupboard, then hurtled down the stairs to make preparations.
He must live, she thought to herself. Even if it was so that he could go off to Celine. It didn’t matter, only that he was safe.
For almost an hour she stood by the window, watching for any sign of him. And then, to her relief, she saw lights through the lashing rain and the wonderful sight of his car turning into the drive.
Helen rushed to flick on the kettle and hurried to welcome the first flood survivors. Over the next few hours, Dan ferried in several cold, wet and shivering groups of people—some of whom were the same friends who had made up their welcome home party.
Although she was busy looking after everyone and dispensing tea, warm soup and cheerful bonhomie, she constantly feared for Dan’s life. It was dark now. If she stood by the open door she could hear the water roaring down the lane.
A kind hand caught hers and she turned her terrified gaze to see the sympathetic face of Mrs Reid, from the village post office. ‘He’ll be all right,’ she said gently. ‘He won’t take any unnecessary risks, not with you and the babies here.’
‘Won’t he?’ she mumbled, thinking that no one here knew Dan at all. They’d be shocked if she yelled out he was a liar and a cheat. An adulterer without a conscience, smiling, pretending to be in love…
‘Come on, love,’ soothed Mrs Reid. ‘You look all in. Take a break and we can all manage now we know where everything is.’
‘There’s beds to organise—’ she began shakily.
‘And babies to mother. You see to them when they need you, and see to your man when he comes home. We can get blankets and cushions and set up camp in the sitting room. And we can peel some spuds for chips. Sit down, have a cup of tea and keep your strength for where it’s needed.’
She was forced into a chair. Her man. Huh. She had no claim on him. He only wanted the babies and, because she came with them, he had to let her tag along, too.
It grew very late. Many of the dozen people Dan had brought back were snoozing or talking quietly in the kitchen by the roaring fire in the inglenook. Cold and despairing, she fed the twins again and settled them for their night-time sleep.
Then she stood by the hall window, watching, waiting, a terrible sucking sensation in her stomach as the time dragged by and there was no sign of Dan.
When the phone rang, she leapt for it in one bound. ‘Yes?’ she answered in a panicky voice.
‘Me. I’ll be back in ten minutes. Just checking with the doc that between us we’ve got everyone to safety. Are you all right, darling?’
‘Yes,’ she said tinnily. ‘Oh, thank heaven you’re alive! I was so scared! Come back. Come back soon. Take care—’
‘Of course I will. I wouldn’t risk our happiness now for anything.’
She sniffed, beguiled by the silken w
ords. ‘Wouldn’t you?’
‘Never, my darling. Never in a million years.’
His warm, golden voice washed over her. There must be some mistake, she thought suddenly. Or perhaps Celine was up to her tricks again. This was a test of her belief in him. Could she risk her heart and trust him?
‘Please come back safely,’ she whispered.
‘You bet. Save me a cuddle. Can we cope with one more family? The doctor is stacking them up two deep and we can manage, can’t we? Seven people. A young mother, her five children—one is a two-month-old baby—and the grandfather. The doc’s checked them over. The old man’s shaking like a leaf and the mother’s petrified for her kiddies—’
‘Bring them,’ she said firmly. ‘We have plenty of willing hands here.’
She took the mother and children under her wing when they arrived, barely taking time to do more than hug Dan briefly. Later, when mother and the youngest children were all tucked up in her big bed, the older ones curled up on plump duvets on the floor, Helen watched Dan relaxing the old man with reminiscences about the village in the past.
‘Deserves a medal,’ said a sleepy Mrs Reid, looking up at Helen.
She nodded, her expression solemn. ‘A good man. Kind. Thoughtful.’
‘Keep hold of him, love. Don’t let him go.’
‘No,’ said Helen slowly. ‘I won’t.’
And she walked over to Dan, kissing him on the forehead and looping an arm around his shoulders, joining in the amiable chat with the old man. She and Dan would work things out. All these people had put their trust in him. So could she.
‘Where are we sleeping, darling?’ he asked when they’d settled the old man.
He rubbed a weary hand over his five o’clock shadow and she felt her heart lurch. He’d put himself through hell to give virtual strangers a warm, dry bed for the night—and perhaps for the foreseeable future.
‘With the babies. Two of the men put their little cots in the boxroom for me. It’s a single bed so we’ll have to breathe in all night.’
‘Come on. Everyone else is asleep now. Let’s get what sleep we can. We’ve one hell of a breakfast to organise in the morning!’
Helen laughed and held his hand as they went up the stairs. ‘I think there’ll be plenty of cooks.’
She glanced in on their bedroom and the sleeping children. The young mother was nestled up in the big bed with two kiddies, the baby tucked up in a drawer, quite peaceful and unaware of the drama. She and Dan smiled at one another.
‘I love you,’ he said softly.
‘I know.’ And she did. Had never felt so sure.
‘I’d make love to you but I’m bushed. Cuddle?’
‘Please.’
Gently she helped him out of his clothes and held him close, her eyes bright with tears as she breathed into his shoulder.
‘Was it dangerous?’ she asked.
His lips found her temple. ‘Yes. I have to admit, it was. The current was so strong that I had to fight to keep the car on the lane—not that I could see where the lane was. But someone was watching over me. And I was sure I’d be OK. I knew I couldn’t have found happiness only for it to be torn from my grasp.’ He laughed, drawing her down to the bed and helping her to undress. ‘I had a phone call halfway through one dodgy manoeuvre. I was lifting the old man out of a window when my mobile rang. I thought it was you and hurriedly helped the poor guy into the car so I could see what was the matter. It turned out to be Celine! I could have brained her! But she wasn’t to know what I was doing of course.’
Helen’s heart missed a beat. ‘Oh?’ She tried to sound casual. ‘What did she want?’
‘To step up our meetings. And if you’re wondering why I’d meet her, well…I can tell you now,’ he murmured, kissing the nape of her neck and holding her tightly. ‘She’s my PA. Are you annoyed?’
‘Should I be?’ she breathed tensely.
‘Lie down,’ he coaxed, snuggling up to her. His mouth wandered over her jaw. ‘After what happened before, you might. When I knew you were expecting twins,’ he went on quietly, ‘I realised that I had to quickly find someone who could take over and run the business end efficiently. Diane had said there was only one person who could do that without hours and hours of training. So I bit the bullet, rang Celine and offered her a substantial rise in salary.’
And what more did he offer? she wondered, with a brief flash of her old doubts.
‘She took a lot of persuading. We’d had a spectacular row after that time she pranced about in your blue towel. Because I’d been shocked by her behaviour I said some pretty hard things to her. But we talked things through and she came round, eventually.’
Persuaded how? Helen thought.
‘She’s been brilliant, sweetheart,’ he crooned. ‘She’s brought in some highly lucrative contracts. My hunch worked. I’m making her a partner.’
Helen closed her eyes. The woman would always be there. A spectre. A ghoul, haunting her, denying the total happiness she’d imagined…
‘You must know that I love you,’ Dan said softly. ‘You are everything to me. I fell in love with you the moment I saw you in your pigtails and school uniform, chatting to Ted Downey by the bike shed. I adore your kind heart, your funny turns of phrase, your optimism and joy and wild exaggerations. I love every part of you to pieces.’ His voice shook. ‘I have never, ever, been unfaithful to you, not even in thought. I couldn’t be. You absorb my whole mind and body and soul. Every part of me is tuned to you and you alone. And I will feel like that till the day I die.’
There had been a solid truth in every word. Helen tried to think beyond the events that had made her doubt him and concentrated on Dan himself. Her furrowed brow cleared.
‘I know that,’ she said huskily. And he held her so tightly that she could hardly breathe.
‘I knew when I married you that it would be for ever. When you saw Celine and me, half naked, apparently caught red-handed in some love-tryst, I was appalled.’ He gave a rueful laugh. ‘My jaw must have dropped to the floor.’
‘I thought you were struck dumb by her beautiful body.’
Dan looked shocked. ‘By disbelief,’ he corrected. ‘I couldn’t believe what she was doing. It was like a bad dream. I’ll never forget that moment as long as I live.’ He shuddered. ‘And your reaction was unnerving. I could hardly speak for fear and anger.’
‘Anger with me?’ she asked.
‘Yes. I was angry with her, too. I know we must have looked guilty but I was shaken rigid that you thought I could ever have cheated on you, and lied to you as well. Her stupid little game had put our marriage in jeopardy. All I could do was to hope you’d know that I would never throw away what we had between us. But Celine threw a spanner in the works by pretending we’d been lovers.’
‘But you hadn’t, had you?’ she said, her confidence growing.
‘No, darling. I love you so much!’ he said passionately. His black eyes blazed in the darkness. ‘And later I made it worse by ringing her. I wanted her to tell you the truth—’
‘And I heard, and thought you were making an assignation.’ Her hand stroked his face. ‘Poor Dan. You must have been frantic.’
‘I was. I would have called her again immediately after that but you’d fainted and my mind was pre-occupied with the fact that you were pregnant. I kept trying to reach her but she’d changed her mobile number. Eventually Diane let me know how to contact her—Celine had asked for a reference—and that’s when I managed to take her on the payroll again. But she wouldn’t talk to you because she was too ashamed of what she’d done. So I knew that my only hope was to make you realise that I could be relied on.’
‘You never said anything when I said I’d cite Celine in our divorce,’ she reminded him softly.
‘I couldn’t say anything, full-stop. My emotions got the better of me. I was close to breaking down totally.’
‘Oh, my poor darling. I love you. I believe you,’ she whispered.
Dan drew
back a little, his face radiant. ‘So…you’d come to Celine’s wedding?’ he asked with a twinkle in his eyes.
‘Her…what?’
‘She’s fallen madly in love with one of my clients,’ he explained with a chuckle. ‘And finally she’s plucked up courage to talk to you because she wants no bad feeling. She tried to get hold of me earlier and thought she’d left a message but something must have gone wrong with the connection. But you see, time is of the essence for her. She needs us to get everything that’s outstanding in the business safely under wraps before she goes on honeymoon.’
Helen smiled, remembering the text message. ‘I see,’ she murmured.
‘In fact Celine was so anxious about seeing you that she decided to come over today. The doc picked her up in the village earlier, from her stranded car. She’s one of his flood refugees.’ He kissed Helen gently on the lips, his mouth lingering a while, his eyes dancing in amusement. ‘I thought it unwise to bring her here till I’d primed you.’
Snuggling into his warm body, Helen laughed softly. ‘In case I tore her hair out?’
He grinned. ‘You were terrifying.’
The breath caught in her throat. The movement of his hand over her body was electrifying. But he was tired.
‘Sleep,’ she soothed.
‘To hell with sleep,’ he growled.
Her mouth went dry. ‘Dan!’ she whispered in delight.
‘I want you,’ he muttered passionately. ‘Want you, need you, adore you, hunger every moment of my life for you. Love me, Helen.’
His mouth claimed hers in total possession and her body leapt with joy. The harsh abrasion of his unshaven chin rasped over her shoulder as his kisses wandered in frantic, moaning fervour.
She thought she would die of love, falling, falling deeply, helplessly into a whirling pool of magical sensation where the touch of Dan’s body was the focus of her whole mind, her heart, her very soul.
He loves me, she thought ecstatically. Loves me.
Sliding against him, kissing, nibbling, demanding, she let her heart flow to his. Delicate, agonisingly erotic flames began to ignite every part of her and she was trying to suppress her moans, releasing her need to yell by sheer physical action.
