Authors: Lesley Pearse

Till We Meet Again (43 page)

BOOK: Till We Meet Again

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Since then it had been one long round of new experiences. Weekends were spent in Wellingtons and jeans, working on the garden. At night when Roy was working she decorated their bedroom. There were visits to his mother and sisters, helping Roy to tile the bathroom. Loneliness and time hanging on her hands were just a distant memory.

She had come to see that Roy had immersed himself in work for much the same reasons she had – a substitute for a loving relationship. He had his own guilt, for not being closer to his wife and perhaps for not being able to give her what she needed when their son died.

But work came second-place to them both now.

Susan was the only sadness in Beth’s life. She knew perfectly well that she couldn’t do anything to help her any more. She knew Susan wouldn’t want her to either. But her affection for her remained, undiminished even in the face of the monstrousness of her crimes, for she knew it was her old friend who had opened up the door to this happy new life.

She and Steven had found a very able solicitor for Susan. Beth had met Thomas Franklin many times and she knew he was right for her friend. The trial was fixed for the start of July and as Susan was pleading guilty to all charges – four to murder and one of manslaughter in Liam’s case – it wouldn’t take too long.

Beth had sent Susan one last letter via Franklin on his last visit, reminding her that she would never forget her, and that if she needed anything she was to get in touch. Franklin had reported back that Susan had smiled as she read the letter and asked him to pass on a verbal message. It was simply: ‘Stop being a wallflower.’

As Beth waited for the kettle to boil, she gazed out of the window by the sink and sighed with happiness. The window looked out on to more fields, with the boundary of the garden marked by a low hedge, and it faced west so it got the afternoon sun. She thought how good it would be on summer evenings to sit at the table eating dinner and watch the sun go down. Iris, Roy’s mother, had commented that she wouldn’t want so much open countryside so close, as any burglar could easily get through the hedge and rob them. Yet Beth felt more secure here than she’d ever felt in her third-floor flat with all its security systems.

‘Where’s that tea, wench?’ Roy shouted from the front door.

‘Just coming, sir,’ she called back. ‘While you wait you could call the vicar and tell him we’re on for August.’

He leapt into the room, rucking up the rug as he ran to sweep her up in his arms. ‘Great!’ he exclaimed as he twirled her round. ‘Now, you are sure, aren’t you?’ he added as he put her down, looking a little anxious. ‘It might be a bit soon for you after Susan’s trial?’

Beth was touched by his sensitivity. Roy had avoided talking about Susan since they became lovers; whatever loose ends he’d had to tie up in the case he’d kept to himself. But clearly the trial was ever-present in his mind, along with the effect it was going to have on Beth.

‘The wedding plans will take my mind off it,’ she said positively. ‘We know what the outcome will be anyway, don’t we?’

He nodded gravely, then grinned irreverently. ‘You’ll be getting life too, remember?’ he said.

‘That’s a joke in the worst possible taste, Roy,’ she said in shocked tones.

‘We can only joke about it,’ he said, catching hold of her two arms. ‘It’s the best way to deal with it that I know. We can’t change anything, Beth, or undo it. It’s happened, that’s all there is to it.’

Beth knew he was right. Almost everyone she knew involved with tragedy, be it firemen, police or lawyers, made jokes to ease the burden of it. It didn’t mean they didn’t care.

‘Well, just don’t refer to marriage as imprisonment then,’ she said, giving him a sharp look.

He slid his arms around her and held her close. ‘But at least it’s an open prison and the governor loves you,’ he said.

‘Roy!’ she exclaimed, but began to laugh anyway. ‘You are incorrigible.’

‘A council estate boy like me can’t understand such big words.’ He grinned. ‘What does it mean?’

‘Incurable,’ she said. ‘So I suppose I’m stuck with it.’

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