by Helen Phifer
Joss came back to her. ‘I’m sorry, Betsy. I’m so pleased that you want to move in. When should I bring the horse and cart to collect you?’
‘Tomorrow would be fine. I have very little to move. There is nothing in that house except for my clothes and books that I would want to keep. You have everything in here that I could ever need.’
‘That is grand that you want to move in so soon. I will come and fetch you tomorrow afternoon. Would you like to come upstairs and pick a room to sleep in now and then I can get it cleaned out and ready for you?’
‘Joss, I would sleep anywhere as long as you are close by. Is there a room next to you so the boys will not notice me slipping in and out of your room when they go to bed?’
He nodded. ‘Yes, come on. I’ll show you the one that the boys are in now. I can move them further down the corridor to give us some privacy if you like.’
Yes, she liked that idea very much indeed, and it would show them she was to be in charge if they had to leave their room and give it to her. Things were happening very fast but that was fine by her. The sooner she left that dingy hovel she called her home the better.
Chapter Nine
The door opened and Will didn’t know if he wanted to hear what the doctor was going to tell him. The woman smiled at them—Jake and Alex were standing next to each other behind him.
‘Mr Ashworth?’
Will stepped forward and nodded.
‘I’m pleased to tell you that we’ve managed to stabilise Annie. She has a punctured lung and is being prepped for surgery. The bad news is she is in a coma due to the head trauma. I see from her previous X-rays that she’s already sustained quite serious injuries to that part of her brain. Her signs are all good, though, and once we’ve sorted out the lung she’ll be transferred to the Intensive Care Unit, where they’ll take good care of her until she decides to come back to us.’
‘Oh, thank God for that—thank you. Do you have any idea how long she could be in a coma?’
‘I’m afraid I have no idea. That will be down to how fast her injuries take to mend and how strong she is. Would you like to come and see her before we take her down to Theatre?’
His eyes moist with tears, he nodded and followed her as she turned and led him through the curtains into the resuscitation room to where Annie was wired up to so many monitors and tubes he hardly recognised her.
‘It’s just until she’s breathing properly on her own; my colleagues inform me that Annie is a bit of a legend here in the department and they all think she’ll make a full recovery.’
He looked at the doctor and nodded. ‘Yes, I suppose she must be.’
Then he stepped forward until he was close enough to bend down and kiss her cheek. ‘Oh, Annie, I love you so much. Please get better soon.’
Tears fell onto her cheek and he reached out to wipe them away. He straightened up.
‘Can I stay with her until they take her down, please?’
The doctor nodded and walked away. Will picked up Annie’s hand and held it, stroking his finger along her thumb. He’d heard countless times about how someone in a coma could hear what was going on around them and that you should talk to them, so he began to tell her all about his not so exciting day at work and anything else that entered his mind until the nurses and the porters arrived to wheel her down to surgery. He kissed her once more then watched as they wheeled her away.
A young student nurse came over to him. ‘Are you okay? Would you like to go back to the relatives’ room or you can come and sit on a chair near to Theatre if you like. It’s a bit busy in there though so you might want to stay up here.’
‘If you don’t mind, I’d like to be as near as possible. Can I just tell my friends they should go and I’ll ring them if there’s any news?’
‘Of course you can. I’ll wait in reception for you and then I’ll take you down.’
Will walked back to where an anxious Jake was pacing up and down.
‘She’s gone to surgery then she’ll be going into Intensive Care so you might as well go home and I’ll ring you once she’s out.’
Jake looked at Alex, who shook his head, and for once Jake didn’t argue.
‘Are you okay on your own? I can stop if you want me to.’
‘No, there’s not much point, but thanks, anyway. They’ll only let me in to see her tonight. You’ll be able to come see her tomorrow and I don’t mind being on my own. In fact I’d rather be on my own.’
Alex reached out and squeezed Will’s arm. ‘We understand and you’ll let us know if there’s any news?’
‘I’ll ring you as soon as there is. Thanks, guys, I appreciate it.’
Jake stepped forward and hugged Will. ‘She’ll be okay; she’s used to being battered and abused so this is just a glitch. She’ll be back to normal in a few days, looking for the next disaster to walk into.’
Alex looked at Jake in shock; he never failed to say the wrong thing. He grabbed Jake’s arm and led him to the door, pushing him out.
‘If you need anything at all, Will, give us a ring. One of us can be here in less than five minutes.’
He shoved Jake out into the corridor before he could say anything else. Will smiled to himself. Jake was right; Annie had been battered and abused by her husband, Mike, but she’d come through it and escaped him. She’d beaten a serial killer in a fight for her life and saved them both, so this should be like a walk in the park for her. He just hoped she had the strength to fight back this time because he didn’t want to imagine a life without her.
He watched Jake and Alex for a minute; they were standing outside Alex’s car having a domestic. No doubt Alex had been mortified at what Jake had just said, but that was Jake. They both got into the car and he heard the doors slam through the double glazing unit.
He turned and walked out into the reception area and the waiting nurse, who smiled at him. She led him down to the theatres, where there were some chairs partially hidden behind a screen; he thanked her and sat down. He thought about ringing his dad and Lily but they had enough to contend with and he didn’t want to make his dad come down here when he wasn’t in the best of health and Lily would insist on coming. So he didn’t bother; he would wait until tomorrow before phoning them and then they could decide whether to leave Tom at home with Amelia while Lily came. Will had thought a lot about why he had taken a dislike to Amelia when he didn’t even know her and he’d never seen her before in his life. But it was the fact that she seemed so at home in his dad’s house and she gave the impression that she knew him and didn’t really like him. Which he thought was odd, but at least she wasn’t a permanent fixture; Lily had made sure that it was agreed Amelia’s position was only a temporary one.
***
Tom had stayed in bed all day, his stomach churning and his appetite non-existent. Lily had come back and fussed around him, wanting to call the doctor out. What was he going to say? He wasn’t well because he’d just found out he’d fathered a daughter he knew nothing about and hadn’t provided even a pair of shoes for her since she’d been born? Tom wasn’t like that; it wasn’t in his nature. If he’d known, he would have made sure she was taken care of from the day she was born. It wasn’t fair that he’d never been given the chance and, if it was true, he could understand why she would be angry with him. He didn’t know what to do; he was embarrassed that he had never stepped up to the mark. He didn’t want Will or Lily to think he was a disgrace and he didn’t know how to even contact whoever had sent the card; of course it could be a total hoax from some jealous person—but why now?
He shut the laptop. The only link he’d found when he’d searched the Internet had been the death notice for Emma Jackson, who had died last year in a hospice near to Blackpool. It had said ‘dearest mum to Amy’ so she did indeed have a daughter. He’d then tried searching for Amy Jackson but there were hundreds of them so he gave up. His head was hurting and he felt sick to the very bottom of his feet.
Lily came back in to check on him, feeling his fo
rehead with the back of her cool hand.
‘Lily, for the love of God, I’m fine. I just feel a bit run down; I just need to sleep. Will you please stop fussing?’
‘If you’re not any better by tomorrow I’m ringing the doctor, Tom, I’m not taking any chances with you. I’ll leave you be and sleep across the hall tonight; if you want me just shout. I hope you feel better soon.’
She went out of the room, softly closing the door behind her, and he felt even worse. He’d never lied to her since the day they had met; he didn’t lie to anyone. He turned on his side and shut his eyes, hoping that he’d wake up and this would all be a bad dream.
1782
Betsy had settled into Joss’s home as if she was meant to be there. The boys were a bit of a handful but she had locked them in the bedroom one day whilst Joss was out at work and neither fed nor watered them. After six hours they had begged her for a drink and promised her they would no longer be bad for her. That was a week ago and it seemed to be working, although they were keeping away from her full stop. She had expected them to go running to Joss but they had not said anything to him because she knew that if they had he would have taken the belt to them for not doing as Betsy had told them in the first place. Joss was such a gentle father unless the boys needed disciplining but she respected that and enjoyed it. A couple of times she had told him little white lies about his boys so Joss had sent them to bed, banishing them to their room, so it gave her some time alone with him.
She liked cooking and cleaning. It was such a pleasure in the large bright room that was his kitchen, which was nothing like the squalid corner of her mother’s house. Most of all she liked to potter around in the garden. Joss had built her some raised beds to plant some herbs and vegetables in and she liked nothing more than digging in the soil and planting seeds, weeding and watering them. There was something so satisfying about the feel of the earth underneath her fingers. She also enjoyed picking the fruit from the trees out the back of the house in the orchard. Joss’s mother had spent a morning with her, showing her how to make jams and chutneys to store in the larder. Betsy would not say that she liked the woman much but she had been kind to her and still took the boys to the farmhouse to sleep every weekend, giving her and Joss some time on their own.
The only problem was that Betsy wanted Joss to herself all the time and she didn’t want to share him with his horrible boys or his parents. She wanted it to be just the two of them in this big house but she knew he loved his boys a lot more than he loved her. She had made a point of studying him carefully at first whenever they walked into the room and his face lit up. He would play fight with them and tell them such stories even she enjoyed to listen to them because she loved the sound of his voice.
A fistful of brown earth splattered against the kitchen window she had cleaned only an hour earlier, making her jump away from the stove and the broth she was stirring. It was followed by some loud shrieking. She ran outside to see what was going on and felt time stand still as every single part of her body filled with a bright red rage. The boys were knee-deep in her vegetable garden; the rows of seedlings which had begun to sprout were trampled and spread all over, clumps of soil had been thrown onto the lawn and at the house. Betsy looked at the mess and then the boys, who stopped mid-throw, the expression on her face making them realise the gravity of what they had done as it began to sink in. They looked at each other then at Betsy.
‘Sorry, we were just playing. We forgot this was your part of the garden.’
She couldn’t speak; she wanted to drag both of them out of the soil by their hair and beat them with the sweeping brush until they could not move and then some more. Instead, she turned and walked back into the house, not trusting herself to speak or to look at them. She knew exactly what she was going to do. She went into the kitchen, slamming the door closed behind her so the boys couldn’t come inside, although she didn’t think that they would dare. Then she went into the larder and moved the assortment of jars to one side until she could reach the small tin she had hidden at the back, containing the arsenic she’d used to poison her mother. The little swines could have a taste of her medicine; see how much trouble they got into and how much mess they could make when they were lying in their beds vomiting blood. Joss had said his parents were coming for tea so she might as well use some on their broth as well and be done with them all. She separated enough mixture into another pan for her and Joss and left the biggest pan on the stove, adding the contents of the box of arsenic then as many spices as she could to disguise the taste. She was furious but she wouldn’t tell Joss about it because then he would have a reason to suspect her when they began to take ill. Her life would be perfect with just her and Joss—no horrible children or interfering parents.
Betsy began setting the table and put the bread she had made into the oven so it would be warm when she served it with the broth. She wanted it to be just right. After the broth, she had a chicken that she had roasted and some potatoes. She hoped the boys would begin to feel ill and go up to bed, leaving her and Joss alone for the night. Joss arrived home just minutes before his mother and father and Betsy shooed him to the bathroom to clean himself up a little. He laughed at her as she slapped his arm when he tried to grab her and pull her close to him. He came back down with the boys, who had cleaned themselves up and were being very quiet. Joss sat down, nodding at them to follow suit.
‘Now then, what’s the matter with you two—cat got your tongue? It’s not like you to not be talking my head off.’
‘Nothing, we are just being quiet for a change so Betsy doesn’t get mad at us.’
She put the warm bread on the table and smiled at them. ‘As if I could stay mad at you two for long. I have never known two boys who cause so much mischief but I think the world of you both so think yourselves lucky for that.’
They looked at each other and smiled, relieved that she wasn’t about to tell their father about what they had done earlier. The kitchen door opened and in walked Joss’s parents, who walked straight across to the boys and began fussing over them. Joss’s mother bent down and kissed both of them on the cheek and then she turned and kissed Joss, and nodded her head at Betsy, who gritted her teeth. The woman could be so fickle, only speaking when the mood took her.
Betsy smiled at her and turned to stir the broth. She took the heavy pan and ladled it into four bowls then carried them over to the table, first giving it to the boys and then Joss’s parents. She turned her back and then poured hers and Joss’s broth into two more bowls. She carried those over and then sat down, waiting for Joss to say a prayer. Her stomach was churning. What if they could taste the poison she had laced their soup with? They would know what she had tried to do and then she would be in trouble, but before she knew it they were all dunking thick wedges of the soft white bread she had made and smothered in butter into their broth and talking about the news from the neighbouring village that the blacksmith there had been struck down with some illness that might even be a case of the Black Death. If they thought the soup tasted funny, none of them complained and for a minute Betsy had second thoughts; did she really want to kill two boys and their grandparents? Then she thought about the mess they had made of her little garden and the fact that she and Joss deserved to be on their own and decided that yes, she did. Of course Joss would be devastated but she would be here to comfort him in his hour of need. It never occurred to her just exactly what would happen to her if they all died and someone realised she had been the one to administer the poison. Too wrapped up in creating her perfect life, Betsy laughed and talked away with them until they had finished. She cleared away the dishes and then began to serve the next course. Up to now, none of them looked as if they had noticed anything amiss.
Halfway through the chicken and vegetables, both boys groaned and held onto their stomachs. Joss’s mother stopped and asked them what was wrong.
‘I do not feel well…my stomach is hurting.’
The other boy nodded in agreement
.
Betsy looked at them both. ‘Maybe it was all the dirt and mud you were throwing around this afternoon. They made such a mess and they were pitted.’
She looked at Joss when she said this and he looked at the boys.
‘Did you wash your hands, both of you, before you began to eat?’
They nodded in unison.
Joss stood up and walked across to feel their heads, which were hot and clammy.
‘I think you should both go and lie down for a while until you feel better.’
They stood up from their seats and made to leave the room.
‘Goodnight, boys. I’ll come up and tuck you in shortly. See if there is anything you need.’
Joss’s mother stood up. ‘There’s no need; I will take them to bed and make sure they are not wanting for anything.’ The two groaning boys and Joss’s mother left the room. Joss and his father began discussing whether or not they should sell some of the cows and buy some new ones. Betsy felt sick. She looked down at her plate and hoped that she had not got the pans mixed up and poisoned herself, then she told herself to stop being stupid. She had been very careful. After half an hour Joss’s mother came down the stairs, her face white.
‘They are asleep now, Joss, but if they don’t get any better by the morning then make sure you send for the doctor. Come now, I do not feel that well myself; I want to go home and lie down. I fear whatever the boys have, I may have caught it as well.’
She walked to the kitchen door and Joss’s father followed her.
‘Thank you both; I hope the boys are better by the morning.’
Betsy picked up the plates from the table and turned to put them in the sink. She did not want Joss to see the smile which had spread across her face.
Chapter Ten
Annie found herself in her house. It was very different to how it looked now and she realised that this was what it must have looked like when the painting had been commissioned. She walked under the porch but this time she didn’t shiver or feel uneasy. Inside, she could hear a woman humming to herself and the clatter of pots and pans from the kitchen. Annie froze: it was the girl from her dreams. She didn’t notice Annie because she was too busy mixing something into the soup. Not wanting to stay and watch her, she heard the sound of laughter coming from upstairs and wandered up to see two young boys playing in their bedroom, which was next to the one that she and Will were going to share.
