1848453051 (8 page)
Authors: Linda Kavanagh
‘Well, you know that I’m here for you, day or night. If anything goes wrong, pick up the phone and call me. On second thoughts, forget the phone – just get out and come here straight away.’
Laura shook her head vehemently. ‘It wasn’t like that – you’re
making a mountain out of a molehill. Look, I’m going home. Thanks for the coffee.’
Kerry smiled, trying to lighten the atmosphere. ‘No need to say thanks – you didn’t even drink it.’
A
s Tony Coleman made his final nightly check on the machinery in the factory, ensuring that everything was turned off and the safety switches turned on, he wondered yet again how he might advance his suit with Ellie. Perhaps he should make another attempt at asking her out. After all, a widow must get lonely, and he was comfortably off and could give her a good time.
He’d fancied Ellie ever since she’d arrived at the factory, but back then she’d been married, so he hadn’t given any serious thought to a relationship with her. But after her husband died, he’d begun looking at her in a very different way. She was gorgeous – any man could see that, but she’d never shown any interest in him. His heart had plummeted when he’d heard she was leaving the factory, but then it had occurred to him that he was being handed an even better opportunity. If he offered to help her establish her new business, he might gradually worm his way into her affections …
Ellie didn’t seem to go out much – he’d never seen her socialising in any of the local pubs. Then again, perhaps he should be relieved that she wasn’t out and about, since undoubtedly she’d have been snapped up by now. She was a stunning-looking woman, with those luscious lips, big blue eyes and the figure of a goddess. Perhaps he should make another move soon, before some other guy set his beady eyes on her. Surely his position as factory manager must count in his favour?
From time to time, he’d seen Ellie shopping in the village, and he always made a point of stopping to chat. Several times, in a roundabout way, he’d invited her to the cinema, but she always seemed to avoid giving him a direct answer, or suddenly found some reason why she had to rush away. Perhaps she was shy? Just because a woman was beautiful didn’t mean that she was supremely confident. In fact, he liked the idea that Ellie mightn’t realise just how gorgeous she was! Or maybe she was playing hard to get?
As he shut the main door of the factory, turned on the alarm and headed for his car, he decided to make another attempt at winning Ellie’s affections. He’d call on her again and invite her to see the latest blockbuster, which had received wonderful write-ups in all the newspapers. Perhaps a ‘softly softly’ approach would work best – by initially suggesting an occasional cinema outing together, he’d gradually manage to turn a series of companionable outings into something more …
He smiled to himself as he got into his car. Ellie was a prize worth winning; there was no doubt about that.
Tony nursed a pint – and his bruised ego – in his local pub, as he tried to come to terms with the earlier events of the evening.
He’d risked calling on Ellie, and had been surprised when she’d accepted his invitation to the cinema. But after going out of his way to drive her home, he’d been sent packing with a flea in his ear!
He felt aggrieved and angry at being treated in that way. After all, he’d paid for the cinema tickets
and
used his own petrol to drive her home!
He supposed he’d only got himself to blame – he should have played it cool and taken his time in courting her, like he’d planned to do. It was never a good idea to declare yourself too eagerly where women were concerned – they walked all over any man who was decent enough to let them know how he felt. Tony was also peeved because Ellie had always maintained that she was single. Yet he’d got the distinct impression that there might be another man somewhere in the background …
Tony took a final swig of his pint angrily, then slammed down his empty glass. Maybe Ellie Beckworth was putting it about for someone else – if so, then she definitely wasn’t the kind of woman he was after. All in all, he’d probably had a lucky escape. It would be a long time before he bothered with Ellie Beckworth again …
A
week later, a radiant Laura arrived at Kerry’s apartment, after work. ‘I’ve got wonderful news!’ she told her friend. ‘I’m pregnant!’
‘Congratulations!’ Kerry said, hugging her tightly.
‘Jeff is over the moon!’ Laura told her. ‘He couldn’t be nicer to me – he’s treating me like a queen! He brings me breakfast in bed and the morning newspaper before he leaves for work. I couldn’t be happier either – I feel cherished and very special.’
Kerry smiled noncommittally.
‘That business earlier – it was just a silly mistake,’ Laura whispered. ‘Please forget about it, Kerry. Jeff never meant to hurt me.’
Surreptitiously studying the side of Laura’s face, Kerry could see that the bruising had more or less healed, and there was little evidence of Jeff’s handiwork any longer.
Nevertheless, Laura could see her friend looking, and felt a pang of remorse. She wished she hadn’t told Kerry about what had happened, but she’d been feeling vulnerable and shocked at the time, and had needed the support of someone who cared about her.
Jeff hadn’t meant to hurt her that day when he’d lost his temper. She loved him so much, and she wasn’t going to let one silly little fight ruin their future together.
Kerry hugged her again. ‘I’m so happy for you, love. Are you hoping for a boy or a girl?’
Laura gave her a dazzling smile. ‘I’d love a little girl, but Jeff wants a boy. But I’ll be happy just as long as it’s a healthy baby.’
Smiling, Kerry nodded. Perhaps she was being uncharitable, but she couldn’t help wondering how Jeff would react if he didn’t get the son he wanted. For Laura’s sake, the baby had better be a boy.
Darren received the news of her pregnancy with equanimity.
‘Well, congratulations, Laura,’ he said, but there was no delight in his voice, and she felt oddly deflated by his response.
He stepped out from behind his big desk and hugged her, but she had the feeling that it was a sympathetic hug rather than a celebratory one, and she felt decidedly disturbed by it.
‘I hope you’ll be staying on?’
‘Of course!’ Laura assured him. ‘You know I love my job, and as long as you’re willing to keep me on, I’m happy to be here!’ She smiled, willing him to smile back. ‘And when I come back after maternity leave, I’ll be able to use the university crèche.’
Darren nodded, but there was no smile forthcoming. ‘I wish you well, Laura,’ he said solemnly. ‘I hope that everything works out according to plan.’
He wished he could appear more enthusiastic, but there was a lump in his throat that he simply couldn’t dispel. He’d already seen the bruises on her face, and Timmy had approached him with his suspicions too, wondering if there was anything they could do. Now Laura’s pregnancy was another unwelcome surprise, and Darren was finding it impossible to be anything other than worried. Lately, Laura seemed to be rushing headlong into life-changing situations without much thought.
Or was it simply because he was jealous of the man who’d had the courage to woo and win her?
No matter how hard Darren tried to dismiss it, the quotation: ‘Faint heart never won fair lady’ kept circling around his brain. Maybe, if he’d had the courage of his convictions, Laura would now be safe, and expecting
his
baby, not another man’s.
Laura looked at her boss tentatively. It was clear that Darren had terminated their discussion, and she felt disappointed by what she sensed was his disapproval. Why couldn’t he be happy for her? Why couldn’t everyone be happy for her?
As she left his office, she felt tense and stressed. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. People were supposed to be pleased when someone became pregnant. But even Maria, Timmy and Greta had been less than enthusiastic when she’d told them in the canteen a little earlier. Was it because they suspected that Jeff had hit her? She’d explained away her bruises as an accident, but she’d seen the knowing looks on her colleagues’ faces, as though they’d seen straight through her lie.
She sensed that Kerry had reservations, too. Well, she’d prove them all wrong! She and Jeff would live happily ever after, and this child of theirs would put the final seal on their happiness.
Returning to her office, Laura sat down at her desk and surveyed the pile of essays that needed marking. Try as she might, she couldn’t focus her mind on them. She managed to struggle through the first few papers before deciding that it wasn’t fair to the students since her mind was on other things.
She turned to the window in her office and gazed out across the campus to the sports fields in the distance. She felt very much alone. Somehow her marriage and pregnancy were isolating
her from her colleagues; yet, in another sense, she’d always felt alone, ever since the death of her parents and brother.
But then she smiled, patting her belly. ‘At least I have you, little person,’ she whispered. ‘So I’m not really alone any more.’
S
ylvia Thornton was emptying the pockets of her husband’s suits as she prepared to take them to the dry cleaners. Suddenly, her fingers closed around a rolled-up piece of paper. Curiously, she opened it, and discovered that it was a receipt from a well-known firm of London jewellers, and the item purchased had been a very expensive diamond and gold ring.
For a moment, Sylvia’s heart stood still, and she found herself considering, for the first time ever, if Alan could be having an affair. The thought of him with another woman was sheer torture – surely he’d never do such a thing to her?
Since she and her husband maintained a glittering social calendar, and every day he was at the factory, she’d assumed he’d have little time for dalliances elsewhere. Now she wondered just how naïve she’d been.
Clutching the receipt, Sylvia mentally ran through the list of her friends … well, if she was honest, they were really only acquaintances – women from the same wealthy circle whom she joined at charity luncheons and on visits to health spas or nail bars, or at the golf or tennis club. Could Alan be having an affair with one of those women?
Sylvia’s eyes narrowed. Perhaps it was with that minx, Janette Walker. Whenever she and Alan encountered Janette and her husband – the permanently inebriated Matthew – the woman was always quick to slip her arm through Alan’s, and flirt outrageously with him, regardless of Sylvia’s presence. On the other hand, could it be someone from the factory? And if so, did the rest of the staff know? Her face reddened with shame at the thought of such duplicity on Alan’s part, and such humiliation on hers.
But then, with a feeling of enormous relief, Sylvia remembered that her own birthday was only two weeks away – no doubt the ring was intended as a gift for her! Smiling, she replaced the receipt in one of Alan’s other jackets. She wouldn’t spoil the surprise by letting him know that she’d discovered what he’d bought her.
On the morning of her birthday, Alan was already up by the time Sylvia awoke. Slipping on her dressing gown, she padded downstairs to the kitchen, where she could hear Alan whistling as he prepared breakfast.
He was smiling broadly as he greeted her. ‘Good morning, love. Happy birthday!’
‘Thanks – I didn’t expect to sleep quite so late.’
Warily, she eyed the breakfast table. Alongside the morning papers, Sylvia could see two gift-wrapped boxes. She guessed that the bigger one was a gift purportedly from young Pete to his mummy. A smaller box stood beside it, and Sylvia’s heart did a quick somersault. Thankfully, it looked exactly like the kind of box that would contain an expensive gold and diamond ring. Relief flooded through her. She’d been silly to worry, and everything was going to be fine.
Smiling, Sylvia sat down at the table, just as Alan began singing ‘Happy Birthday’ as he carried two plates of scrambled eggs and buttered toast to the table.
Leaning forward, he kissed her. ‘I’m hoping we might manage to have breakfast together before Pete wakes up.’ He looked at her expectantly. ‘Go on – open your presents!’
Taking a deep breath, Sylvia picked up the bigger gift box, the one whose label read: ‘To Mummy from Pete xxx’.
She smiled as she unwrapped a pair of pretty gold filigree earrings, ornately shaped in the letter ‘S’.
‘Obviously, I had to help him,’ Alan joked. ‘I mean, he hasn’t learnt his alphabet yet!’
‘They’re lovely,’ Sylvia replied, standing up and crossing to the mirror where she slipped on the earrings and stared at her reflection.
‘Aren’t you going to open
my
present?’
‘Yes, of course.’
Returning to the table, Sylvia’s heart was beating so wildly that she felt certain Alan must hear it. She smiled as she lifted up the small box. All she had to do now was open Alan’s present, find the ring inside, and all would be well again. She could abandon all her silly suspicions and enjoy the rest of her birthday. Flowers had already been delivered from Daddy, and she knew he’d slip her a cheque later that evening when they all met for dinner. It would be for a generous amount too but, right now, all she was concerned about was the contents of the box she held in her trembling hand.
Her fingers shook as she tore off the gift-wrapping, and her heart sank like a stone as she gazed at the bracelet lying on a bed of soft tissue paper inside.
