The Soft Whisper of Dreams (23 page)

‘You’re Maddie’s father?’ Alex was the first to find his voice.

‘Indeed I am.’

‘How do we know you’re telling the truth?’ Alex spoke again, voicing the question that had hovered on Maddie’s tongue as well, although truth be told, she had a gut feeling this man wasn’t lying. He really was her father.

‘Well, look at us – same hair, similar features, both tall. Don’t you think?’

Alex nodded. ‘Yes, but that doesn’t mean you’re her father. You could be related some other way.’

The man shrugged. ‘I’d be very happy to do a DNA test, if that’s what you want. In fact, I think it’s a very good idea for both our sakes.’ He turned back to Maddie. ‘Is Maddie the name they gave you?’ She nodded and he said, ‘Hmph, they could at least have let you keep your name.’

‘Please, Mr ... I mean, er, could you explain to me what happened? I haven’t got a clue what you’re talking about.’ Maddie was close to tears again, but it was pure joyful emotion this time, not sadness. ‘I only found out a short while ago that I was adopted and when I finally traced my real mother, Ruth that is, she was too ill to tell me the whole story.’

‘Ruth is ill?’ She saw instant concern on her father’s face and hastened to reassure him.

‘No, no, she’s all right now. Although she’s had an accident as well so she’s in hospital, but the doctor says she’ll be fine. Never mind, I’ll tell you about that later, only please won’t you explain?’

‘Very well.’ Her father went to sit down on a garden chair nearby and Alex took Maddie’s hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. She plaited her fingers with his and hung on for dear life. She needed his strength again and was grateful for his support. Thank goodness he came with me after all!

‘I don’t really know where to start. At the beginning I suppose.’ Her father took a deep breath and stared into the distance as if seeking the right words. ‘I come from Scotland originally, as you probably guessed, but I moved down here about thirty years ago in order to paint. The light is so remarkable here, it makes for extraordinary paintings, but that’s irrelevant ... Anyway, a year or so after I arrived, Ruth, your mother, was visiting friends here in this village one summer, a couple of years after her marriage to that Blake-Jones fellow. We met at a party and it was love at first sight, I think for both of us. You might wonder how she could fall in love with someone else so soon, but you see she found out immediately after she married him what sort of man Blake-Jones was and she was very unhappy. Here in the village she could be herself and I suppose she was desperate to have some fun while she was away from him and his bullying ways. I knew nothing of the marriage and she didn’t tell me until much later.’ He paused to take a sip of his drink.

‘So, the inevitable happened and you were conceived that summer, but Ruth went back to her husband believing she could fool him into thinking you were his. Unfortunately for her, she had terrible morning sickness almost from day one and he soon cottoned on to what was happening. He sent her to stay with relatives in Wiltshire until you were born and told her to have you adopted at birth. That was when she turned to me.’ He cleared his throat and looked at Maddie.

‘I’ve always loved children, so it seemed like the perfect solution for me to take care of you by myself and from the moment I first laid eyes on you, I adored you.’ Maddie’s heart constricted and she swallowed a sob. ‘Ruth told her husband you’d been adopted and from time to time she managed to come and see you. It wasn’t an ideal situation, but she refused to leave her husband and I never knew why until much later. At the time I thought she’d decided she loved him after all. I was too busy with you to worry about that.’

‘So I did live here,’ Maddie whispered. ‘It was my swing. I knew it.’

Her father smiled. ‘Indeed. You loved that swing. I could have pushed you all day and you would still not have tired of it. Those were happy days.’ He grew serious. ‘It didn’t last though. That bastard Blake-Jones became suspicious and followed Ruth and of course he discovered her secret. One afternoon when I was busy inside the house, you were playing here in the garden. He must have sneaked round the back and snatched you as quick as a flash. When I came out to bring you in for tea, you were gone.’ He passed a hand across his brow. ‘I can’t tell you how I felt that day. Despair, utter despair hardly comes close to describing it. I guessed, of course, what had happened. What I didn’t know was what he would do to you. I feared the worst.’

‘What did he do? I have dreams of being kidnapped and in one of them he put me in the boot of his car, but I don’t remember anything after that. It’s as if I have blocked it out.’ Maddie frowned, trying once again to recall more details.

‘Perhaps that was just as well for your sake. I searched everywhere, I called the police, I even went to Ruth’s house, but it was no use. He denied point blank ever having been near this house and said that neither he, nor Ruth, knew who I was. Ruth was so terrified of him, she agreed with everything he said. I was furious, but helpless.’

‘So what happened then? Did you ever find out?’

‘Ruth eventually told me he had forced her to sign adoption papers for you, but she didn’t know where you were. When I tried to approach the authorities, I was met by a blank wall. Because I wasn’t named as your father on the birth certificate, they refused to give me any information about your whereabouts or to return you to me. Blake-Jones had done his work well and I couldn’t prove a thing.’ A bleak look settled over his features. ‘Believe me, I tried everything.’

‘Oh, how awful ...’ Maddie put out her hand to touch his arm and he put his large one on top of hers.

‘Yes. I even hired a private investigator, but he couldn’t come up with anything useful, so in the end I had to give up. There was nothing I could do. I tried to put the whole episode out of my mind and travelled abroad. I even married and had two more children, both boys thankfully as I didn’t want any girl other than you, but I never forgot you and I always returned to this house. I couldn’t bring myself to sell it. You see, I hoped that when you grew up you would come looking for your roots and I was determined to be here when you did. But the years passed and you never came. In fact, I was thinking of selling up only last month. I’m divorced now and thought I’d go back to Scotland.’

‘I didn’t know.’ Maddie shook her head, sadness churning in her gut. ‘My parents never told me I was adopted. Perhaps that horrid man had made it a condition, or perhaps they simply didn’t want me to know. Either way, I only found out when they died in a car crash a couple of months ago.’

‘Oh, sweetheart. What a mess …’ They both sat quietly for a while, thinking about all the time that had been lost. Finally Brian took a deep breath and asked, ‘What made you come here, then, if you didn’t know about me?’

Maddie told him about the dream and how she had recognised the house as they were driving past, and her father smiled.

‘It must be fate. You were meant to come back to me and I can’t tell you how happy I am. You will visit again, won’t you?’

‘Of course I will. We’ll have to get to know each other all over again. Did you say that you’re an artist?’

‘Yes. Not a brilliant one, but I get by.’

‘Maddie paints too,’ Alex, who had until that point remained silent, entered the conversation. ‘She’s very good.’

‘Really? It must have been in your genes. Excellent, I’d love to see some of your drawings.’

‘No, no, I’m not very good at all. Alex is exaggerating,’ Maddie said hurriedly.

‘Don’t listen to her, Mr Ruthven, she’s too modest.’

‘Call me Brian. Any friend of Sorcha’s is my friend.’ Maddie’s father held out his hand and Alex shook it.

‘Thank you. I’m Alex Marcombe.’

‘Are you now? I’ve heard of your lovely house.’

‘It’s my brother’s actually, but yes, it is beautiful. You must come and visit. Paint it maybe?’

‘I’d like that.’

They continued to chat for what seemed like hours and Brian served them tea in the garden with home-made scones. ‘I hope you remember what a good cook I am,’ he joked and Maddie smiled back.

As the shadows lengthened she realised it was time to go. She didn’t want to leave now that she had finally found her father, but they had a lifetime to become acquainted and Kayla would be worried about her. Reluctantly she said, ‘Well, I suppose we’d better be on our way.’

‘I hope you’ll come back soon,’ Brian said and stood up to put his cup on the tray.

‘How about tomorrow?’ Maddie suggested and went over to give the big man a tentative hug. He returned it with a bear hug and when she looked up she thought she saw tears in his eyes, but he quickly blinked them away.

‘Tomorrow will do just fine. Bring your paintings, please, I’d really like to see them.’

‘Okay, er, Dad.’ It felt strange, but right, to call him that. ‘See you then.’

They turned to leave the way they had come, through the back gate, but before they had taken more than a few steps, a shot rang out.

Almost in slow motion, Maddie watched in horror and disbelief as her father fell onto the grass with a scream of agony, clutching his leg, and she turned to confront their attacker. She wasn’t surprised to catch a glimpse of the Reverend Blake-Jones crouching behind the fence with a shotgun aimed straight at them. A black fury welled up inside her. He had taken away her father once, she wouldn’t let him do it again.

‘You bastard,’ she screamed and ran towards him, heedless of the danger.

‘Maddie, no!’ Alex shouted and jumped on her, pulling her to the ground.

‘Sorcha, for God’s sake ...’ her father groaned.

Blake-Jones stood up and sneered. ‘I’m not the bastard around here,’ he spat. ‘You’re the bastard and you should never have been born. Now come over here, nice and slow, or I’ll shoot your precious friends. Don’t think I won’t do it.’

Maddie looked at Alex. Did she have a choice? He shook his head as if to say, ‘don’t go’, but she made up her mind. She couldn’t let Blake-Jones hurt her father or Alex. She would have to do as he said and hope she could escape from him later. Slowly she got to her feet.

‘No, Maddie, there must be another way,’ Alex hissed.

‘No tricks now, or I’ll shoot you all anyway,’ Blake-Jones called.

‘I must, Alex,’ she whispered. He held on to her hand, but she shook it off. It was her the madman wanted, so it was up to her to think of a way out.

Blake-Jones opened the gate, came into the garden and stopped near the swing. When Maddie reached him he grabbed her arm and yanked on it roughly so that she spun away from him and faced the others. His arm snaked around her, holding her tight and Maddie felt the familiar panic building up inside her. The scenario was almost identical to that of her dream. She was by her beloved swing and he was forcing her away. If she glanced over her shoulder she could see his dark, evil face and when she tried to scream nothing happened. A strangled sob escaped her.

Maddie closed her eyes. It was the nightmare all over again.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Maddie tried to kick-start her brain. There must be something she could do. Anything!

Then it dawned on her. This wasn’t a dream and she was no longer a little girl. She was a grown-up and almost as tall as Blake-Jones, who was average size for a man. And she had taken self-defence classes. This realisation banished the sensations of panic and gave her the faith she needed. I can fight back this time and I damn well will. Holding on to that thought, she jabbed the hateful man in the stomach as hard as she could with a sharp elbow and had the satisfaction of hearing him grunt in surprise and pain. Before he had time to recover, she flung away from him and kicked at the hand which held the shotgun and he screamed out as her foot connected with it. The weapon clattered to the ground.

‘I knew those kick-boxing lessons would come in useful one day,’ she muttered and tried another kick. This time he was ready for her, however, and he simply grabbed her leg and twisted so that she fell down. ‘Ouch!’

Maddie was by no means beaten though, and quickly bounced to her feet, the way she’d been taught. She aimed a punch at his face, missed, and hit his arm instead. It was enough to stop him from retrieving the shotgun, but the clout she received in return made her ears ring. She shook her head, but kicked out gamely, a double-kick. The first one missed, but she feinted slightly and the second one connected with Blake-Jones’s crotch. He doubled up in pain and let out a keening wail. Alex took this opportunity to run over and snatch up the weapon, before aiming an almighty punch at the man’s jaw. Blake-Jones reeled back, then launched himself at Alex with a roar of pain and fury. Alex threw the gun to Maddie, who caught it deftly. She watched with bated breath as the two men fought.

Her father had by this time managed to stand up, and limped over to Maddie. ‘Dad, are you alright?’

‘I think so. Just a flesh wound, but it hurts like hell. Give me the shotgun, please.’

Maddie handed it to him gladly. She didn’t like guns of any kind, not even on television. She moved towards the fight between Alex and Blake-Jones to try and help, but Alex called out, ‘Stay away, I can handle this.’

Maddie nodded. She trusted him and he seemed to know what he was doing. Without thinking she began to gnaw at her already abused nails.

It should have been an uneven match, with Alex half the older man’s age and considerably fitter, but Blake-Jones fought like a man possessed. Alex appeared to be equally furious, however, and eventually gained the upper hand, sending the older man sprawling. When Blake-Jones stayed on the ground, Alex stopped and caught his breath.

Maddie’s father limped towards the prone man and pointed the weapon at him. ‘Stand up,’ he snarled. ‘This time you’re not getting away with your evil schemes.’ He turned slightly to order Alex to call for the police and in that split second Blake-Jones managed to stagger to his feet. When Brian turned back to his prisoner, it was to find him charging towards him with hatred shining out of his eyes. Reacting purely on instinct, Brian pulled the trigger.