The Soft Whisper of Dreams (18 page)

‘Yes. “In the deepest waters ...” and all that. But I really could have done without the rest.’

‘The Reverend, you mean?’ Maddie nodded. ‘Yes. I suppose it’s some sort of insane jealousy. Some men simply can’t accept that their wife comes to love someone else. It’s very sad really, especially for your mother. What a life she’s had.’

‘Absolutely. We didn’t have much time to talk about it and she was too exhausted anyway, but she promised she’d tell me the whole story next time we meet.’

‘Poor woman. Well, she’s safe now hopefully and your sister too. How wonderful to find a sister as well.’

‘Yes, I really like Jane. She’s exactly the way I would imagine a sister should be, not like that spiteful cat Olivia. I forgot to tell you, but would you believe, Olivia tried to get me to give back some of the stuff I took from our parents’ house? Unreal.’

‘I suppose she suffered from jealousy too. Some siblings want their mothers all to themselves and take out their aggressions in different ways. I try to be fair with my children, but it’s very difficult to give them all attention at once. And I have to try extra hard to include Nell so she doesn’t feel as if I treat her differently to my own two.’

‘You’re right. I’m sure that’s why Olivia acted the way she did, but you would have thought she’d grow out of it.’ Maddie shook her head. She didn’t want to think about Olivia, the wound was still too raw.

‘No one stopped her so she just continued. It’s really up to the parents to do something about it, you know, and your adopted mother sounds as if she was too nice.’

‘She was. I’ll always be grateful for her love and for treating me like a true daughter. She did her best.’

‘What will you do now, Maddie? Do you want to go back to London?’

‘No, I think I need to stay here until all this has been resolved one way or another. At least here I have protection now and sooner or later Blake-Jones must be caught. Then I’ll be able to breathe more easily.’

‘Good. I’m glad you’re staying.’

‘Thanks, Kayla. Thanks for everything.’ Maddie squeezed her friend’s hand. It was good to have her back.

Chapter Seventeen

‘Maddie, can we talk for a minute?’ Alex had cornered her after dinner under the pretext of helping her to carry dishes to the kitchen.

‘There’s nothing to talk about, Alex.’ Maddie tried for a nonchalant tone and thought she succeeded fairly well. He hadn’t so much as looked at her all day, so she’d concluded he would prefer to forget their encounter of the night before. Although perhaps he was worried she’d tell Kayla and Wes?

‘Really?’ He sounded angry and she couldn’t understand why. He should be happy she wasn’t making a fuss. Most men would be.

‘Yes, don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone if you don’t. Let’s just forget the whole thing. I already have.’ She actually thought she heard him grind his teeth and turned to stare at him. He looked like a thundercloud and it made her angry. He had no right to look like that. ‘What’s the matter? You got what you wanted, isn’t that enough?’

‘Is that what you think? That all I wanted was one night of ... damn it all, Maddie! I want more than that.’

‘What, you think I’m going to fall into your arms every night? Well, think again, mister. I may have been tired enough to give in to you yesterday, but it won’t happen again. I don’t do one-night stands, and definitely no repeats. Understand?’ And she marched out of the kitchen, head held high. She wouldn’t cry in front of him again. Under no circumstances. In fact, she was done with crying altogether.

‘He’s not going to break my heart,’ she vowed to herself. Let him go and break someone else’s. She had enough to contend with without adding that to the list.

Maddie successfully avoided Alex for the next two days. She only spoke to him if it was absolutely necessary and he spent most of the day overseeing the work on his holiday cottages. She never ventured further from the house than into the garden. A policeman sat patiently nearby as she passed the time by painting flowers and trees, or by playing with the children, and slowly her fears diminished. There was no news about Blake-Jones, but she reasoned that they must surely catch him soon. He couldn’t stay hidden forever.

On the morning of the third day Maddie was having breakfast in the kitchen when Alex came in, looking grimly determined. Kayla, who was doing the dishes, smiled at him and said, ‘Good morning.’

‘Morning. I’m taking Maddie out for a drive as soon as she’s finished,’ he announced, and Maddie choked on a piece of toast. Kayla came over to thump her on the back, and looked from one to the other.

‘Are you?’ she asked mildly.

‘Yes. She needs to get out a bit, she’s been cooped up in the house for days now. It can’t be good for her.’

‘Excuse me.’ Maddie managed to control her coughing at last. ‘But maybe I don’t want to go for a drive.’ She looked daggers at Alex and added mentally, ‘especially not with you.’ She could see that he read her message, but he ignored it.

‘You don’t have a choice in the matter. Wes agrees it would be a good idea. Don’t you think so too, Kayla?’

Put on the spot like that, Kayla faltered, torn between loyalty to her friend, who was obviously not willing to go, and good sense which must have agreed with Alex. ‘Well, yes, I suppose so, but ...’

‘There. You see?’ He turned to Maddie. ‘I’ll meet you outside when you’re done.’ And he turned on his heel and left the two women staring after him.

‘Well. What was all that about?’ Kayla turned suspicious eyes on Maddie. ‘Am I missing something here?’

Maddie felt her cheeks heat up and cursed inwardly. ‘I don’t want to talk about it.’

‘Well, he obviously does. I think you’d better go for a drive and have it out with him. Alex is nothing if not determined.’

Maddie sighed. ‘Oh, okay then. If I must. Really, there’s nothing to talk about though.’ She stomped off to change her clothes and heard Kayla chuckle as she left. That only made her even more furious.

‘So where are we going?’ Maddie sat stiffly upright, with her arms folded across her chest as if he was going to jump her or something. Alex sighed inwardly. This was going to be awkward. She stared straight ahead of her, obviously cross at being out-manouevred.

‘Just for a drive along the coast.’ Alex tried to sound calm and he saw Maddie twitch, as if she had to try hard to resist the impulse to glance at him. Well, that’s a good sign, isn’t it?

Alex steered the car along the tiny winding lanes, keeping as close to the sea as possible. When fifteen minutes passed and he still hadn’t stopped, Maddie became visibly impatient, squirming in her seat and sighing.

‘Aren’t you going to stop soon?’ she asked, frowning.

‘Nope.’

‘What do you mean “nope”? Maybe I’ve got better things to do than going for a drive with you.’

Alex gave her a small smile. ‘What, painting flowers? No, we need to talk.’

‘Fine, but we don’t have to go sightseeing just to have an argument.’ She turned to glare at him, then looked away again when he raised his eyebrows at her, still smiling.

‘Just relax. We’ll go and have lunch at this really nice little restaurant I know of and then perhaps you’ll be in a better mood.’

‘Better mood for what?’ she bristled.

‘You’ll see.’ He smiled again, an enigmatic, infuriating sort of smile, he knew, and Maddie gave it up. She seemed to realise he wasn’t going to tell her anything else, so she would have to be patient.

Alex concentrated on the road. I’ve got to get this right. Mentally, he began to prepare what he was going to say.

Maddie stared out the window at the passing scenery which, despite its incredible wild beauty, hardly registered with her at all. Her mind was elsewhere. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Alex’s capable hands and her heartbeat increased a notch as she remembered what those hands could do to her. She glanced at his profile, then realised immediately that this was a mistake. She didn’t need to be reminded of how gorgeous he was, how utterly irresistible. What did he want to talk to her about? Was he hoping to seduce her again? She was afraid she’d have great trouble resisting.

The problem was, it was so much like last time. She’d felt this way with David – although perhaps not quite as strongly even if it had seemed like it then – and he’d turned out to be a complete bastard. Did she really want to put herself through that kind of pain and humiliation again? But maybe Alex was different? A little voice inside her said she should at least give him a chance and she was torn.

The little car sped along, expertly guided by Alex, and some time later they drove through a small fishing village nestling close to the sea. Maddie watched the houses and people they passed, idly noticing a detail here and there. On the outskirts of the village, however, she sat bolt upright and gasped.

‘Alex,’ she shouted, ‘stop the car!’

He stepped on the brakes and they stopped with screeching tyres by the side of the road.

‘What the hell? What’s the matter? Are you going to be sick?’ Alex looked perplexed, but Maddie ignored him and pushed open the door. Without explanation, she dashed off down the road. Vaguely she heard Alex curse, then slam his own door shut. His footsteps could be heard crunching behind her on the gravel as she came to a skidding halt and he managed to stop next to her, grabbing her from behind. ‘Maddie, for God’s sake, what’s going on?’

‘It’s that house.’ She pointed to a property on the other side of the road.

‘What’s so special about a house?’

‘It’s the house from my dream. Remember I told you about it? Look! See those pointed windows and all the climbing plants? It’s exactly like the house I dream about all the time.’ On the gate was a sign bearing the name ‘Wisteria Lodge’, which seemed an apt choice in the circumstances.

Alex shook his head and rubbed his forehead. ‘Maddie, there could be any number of houses that fit that description. Why should it be this particular one?’

‘I don’t know, but I can feel it in here.’ She tapped her chest. ‘Oh, please, can we go round the back? I have to see the garden.’

‘Maddie, I don’t think ―’

‘Please, Alex? Please? I promise I won’t say another word after that and you can drive me wherever you want,’ she pleaded with him.

He sighed. ‘All right, but if we’re caught trespassing you’re on your own.’

‘Thank you, Alex. Thank you so much. Now come on.’

In her excitement, she grabbed his hand, twining her fingers with his, and this apparently mollified him because he followed her silently across the road. There was a field to one side of the house, and they climbed over the fence and made their way towards the back, keeping an eye out for any bulls or other surprises. A huge hedge surrounded the garden on one side, and it wasn’t until they reached the end of this that they could see in across a low fence. Maddie stopped dead.

‘Oh, my God,’ she whispered and squeezed Alex’s hand so tight he winced.

‘Is this really it? You’re sure?’ He sounded surprised.

‘Yes. See the swing? It’s my swing! And all the roses? Exactly the same, just a bit more wild.’ She drew in a deep breath. ‘I must have been here once. Oh, Alex ...’ Instinctively she turned to bury her face in his chest and his arms closed around her. He held her in a steadying grip, offering support without any kissing this time, and eventually her breathing calmed down and her heartbeat returned to something approximating normal.

‘I’m sorry, I’m usually a very strong person, but I don’t know what’s got into me. It must be the Devon air or something making me feel this shaky.’

‘That’s all right, it’s understandable. You’ve been through a lot lately.’ He continued to hold her and they stood there in the field for a few moments.

‘Excuse me, can I help you?’ The voice from the garden startled them and they both turned to see a man walking down the path towards them. He was huge, with meaty fists clenched as if in readiness for a confrontation.

‘Uh-oh,’ Alex muttered. As the man approached, however, they could see that although he was scowling slightly, there was no menace in his gaze, only a questioning look. Maddie took a deep breath and approached the fence to attempt to explain their presence in the field.

‘I’m sorry if we’re trespassing, I just wanted to have a quick look at the garden of your house. I-I believe I’ve been here before. When I was little.’ She tried a small smile, but it had no effect on the man’s expression. He seemed to be studying her, his head tilted slightly to one side. A distant part of Maddie’s brain registered the fact that he was dark-haired and clean-shaven, not the red-bearded giant of her dreams, and a deep sadness welled up inside her. She must have been mistaken after all. I’m imagining things. Although he could of course have moved a long time ago, whoever he was.

‘I see.’ Communication didn’t appear to be the man’s strongest point, Maddie reflected. She thought she detected a Scottish burr in those two words, but couldn’t be certain.

‘Please forgive us. We’ll be on our way now and I promise we won’t bother you again.’ She gripped Alex’s hand for support once more and half turned to go.

‘Oh, don’t hurry on my account. You can look all you want, won’t bother me none.’ Yes, the accent was definitely Scottish, Maddie decided. She glanced at him in surprise when he continued. ‘What was it you thought you recognised then?’

‘The swing and, er, the roses and those pointed windows.’ It sounded silly now, but there was no turning back. It would have been rude not to answer the man.

‘Oh, aye, they’re very distinctive, aren’t they?’

‘Yes. Yes, they are. Um, have you lived here long, Mr ...?’ Maddie wished Alex would make an effort to join the conversation, but he appeared to be busy studying some far-flung view to their left and had dug his other hand deep into his pocket. He was no help at all.

‘The name’s Ruthven, and no, I haven’t lived here long. In fact, I don’t live here at all.’

‘Excuse me?’ Maddie blinked, sure she’d misheard him.

‘I’m house-sitting. For my brother,’ Mr Ruthven clarified.