AllFreeNovel
Share Us
His stepmother’s eyes glistened with tears. ‘I thought about it. I truly did. But your father had parental rights to you which I didn’t. And anyway, how could I take you away from everything you had here? My escape was dangerous and I wasn’t sure where I was going. I planned to wait until I was settled somewhere and then write to you, to let you know that I was all right. But then…’
She looked out of the window, across the gardens and the trees to the sea which sparkled under a blue sky.
‘But then people thought you were dead and it was easier to keep it that way,’ said Geoffrey dully.
Audrey nodded. ‘I realised that Edwin would never come looking for me if he thought I’d drowned that night.’
‘But I saw you,’ said Geoffrey plaintively, now more nine years old than seventy-six. ‘Did you know that I saw you walking into the water?’
‘No, not at the time. I wasn’t sure if Edwin assumed I’d walked into the sea or if someone had seen me doing so. But I never thought for one minute that it would be you. I timed my escape so that you and your father would be eating in the dining room, on the other side of the house.’
‘I wasn’t well and wasn’t hungry.’
‘I know that now. Your son and Clara told me. I’m so sorry, Geoffrey. I’ve thought of you constantly over the years and have often longed to be in touch.’
‘You could have contacted me after my father died.’
Geoffrey’s voice still sounded plaintive, pleading even, but he didn’t care.
‘Perhaps I should have, but you were an adult by then and I thought you were better off without me. I was afraid that you wouldn’t want to know me. And I was afraid because…’ – she stopped and swallowed – ‘I was afraid because I’m a thief.’
Geoffrey stared at her. ‘What do you mean?’
‘When I left, I took something with me, to fund my new life. I figured I was owed it because I would never have a proper divorce settlement. But then I realised that what I’d done could be viewed as theft.’
‘What did you take?’ Geoffrey asked, although he knew.
Audrey pushed her hand into the navy handbag still slung over her shoulder.
‘This,’ she said, thrusting out her hand. A muddle of gold and glinting diamonds nestled in the palm of her hand.
There was an audible gasp from the corner of the room and Clara stepped forward, out of the shadows.
‘Is that the necklace that you told me fell off into the sea?’
‘Yes. I’m sorry that I lied to you, Clara. But it was just one of many lies I’ve told over the decades as I became a different person to escape my past. At first I was frightened to sell the diamonds, in case they led Edwin to me, and then I felt too guilty to let them go because they weren’t truly mine to part with.’
She turned back to Geoffrey, whose eyes hadn’t left the sparkling jewels. ‘Here,’ she said, thrusting them into his hand. ‘They’re yours. They’ve always been yours.’
Geoffrey brushed his fingers across the diamonds that glinted like ice. The necklace was heavy in his palm.
‘I’ve said what I came here to say and have done what I needed to do,’ said Audrey, slowly pushing herself to her feet. ‘But I have one final thing to ask. Have you had a good life, Geoffrey?’
The question took him by surprise and he paused. How could he sum up his whole life? Audrey waited, her eyes pleading with him to say yes.
Geoffrey nodded. ‘I have. My father was distant but he provided well for me. I married late and had River but my wife and I divorced. She was much younger than me.’
He could see it clearly now: he’d been following in his father’s footsteps. Young woman, older man. And although he’d never laid a finger on his wife in anger or prevented her from living her own life, he’d been cold, just as his father had been.
If only he could step through time and change the kind of man he was back then. Perhaps he wouldn’t be the kind of man he was now.
‘Anyway.’ He cleared his throat. ‘Since then, I’ve lived a comfortable life here at Brellasham Manor. Though I’ll soon be leaving.’
‘So I heard,’ said Audrey, leaning on her walking stick. ‘Which was another reason for seeing you and returning the necklace. I gave you nothing useful as a child, Geoffrey, but perhaps the diamonds will be useful now. Goodbye, my boy. Please take care of yourself.’
She turned and began walking slowly towards the door.
‘Will I see you again?’ Geoffrey asked.
