Chapter 48

Jenny was already home when we arrived, she was chatting with Helen over a bottle of wine in the kitchen.

Belle dropped her bag at the door and ran into Helen’s arms, “Where’s JoJo?” she asked, “you said JoJo was coming, I’ve got a meal planned for you all.”

“She’s on her way,” Helen laughed, “and there’s no way I’m letting you cook for so many people, we’ll order a Chinese.”

Janet stepped into the kitchen, “hello school counsellor.”

“Err, I am really the school counsellor.”

“I didn’t even know the school had a counsellor on the staff.”

“They do now, I’m doing it on a voluntary basis.”

“You’re not mad with us for meddling?” Poppy asked.

“Not at all,” Maisie replied, “it’s all worked out, and I’m sure you had some grand plan all along.”

“Not really,” Belle replied, “I just wanted to be your friend. Then, the more I learnt, the more determined I was to help you any way I could.”

Jenny held her hand out for Poppy, “can we have a chat, upstairs.”

“Can Belle come?” Poppy asked.

“Of course Belle can come, and grab some tissues, we’re all going to need them”

“What can you tell us about this Amber person we’ll be living with?” Janet asked as we waited for Jenny to return with Poppy and Belle.

“She’s the receptionist at a lovely hotel,” Helen started, “I actually know her a little as I stay in that hotel whenever I’m in York.”

“Belle and I stayed there when we went to visit her grandad,” I paused, working out a way to skirt around the details, “Belle struck up quite a friendship with Amber while we were there. Amber recognised Belle from the stories when she ran away. She only lived a couple of streets away from Belle and used to pass her house on the way to school, so she’s really happy to now be living in the house.”

“Why did Belle let Amber rent her house after such a fleeting meeting?” Janet asked.

“What you need to understand about Belle is that she only ever wants to help people. She had a wonderful childhood that was cut short by her parents’ deaths. She knows how important it is to be happy and secure.

“While we were in York her grandad mentioned her mum’s will. So we went to see her mum’s solicitor, who was lovely, and helped Belle change her name legally while we were in the office.

“Then she reads the will, and Belle finds out she’s got a lot of money from the insurance, and a house that was fully paid for by her dad’s boss, who’d been having an affair with her mum since before she was married.”

Janet raised her eyebrows at this, “did Belle’s dad know this?”

“We’ve no way of knowing, but we think not. Anyway, once Belle found out she had a house that she didn’t need, and can’t sell for a few years, she remembered Amber’s little apartment and decided she could live in the house, kind of as a live-in caretaker.”

“And you say Amber might be able to find me a job?”

“That’s what she says, they’ve a couple of vacancies in the office, obviously there’s no obligation, if the jobs aren’t suitable, you’re free to look elsewhere.”

“I’m happy to do any work, although I’m not sure I’d be ready to clean hotel rooms, I’ve heard all kinds of seedy stories about what people get up to.”

“Mum!” Maisie cried, “stop thinking bad of people, I’m sure people behave well in a nice hotel.”

I could barely keep a straight face thinking about what Belle and Amber got up to in that room, then Amber and myself. Oh god, Janet would throw a fit.

“I’m sure Amber has a good job lined up for you.” I replied, then almost burst out laughing as Lia whispered, “isn’t that where Belle fisted Amber?” into my ear.

“Anyway,” Helen broke in, saving me from trying to explain my red face, “I think we’d better order some food, is Chinese ok for everyone?”

We agreed it was and Helen rang the takeaway to order a banquet for 10, there’d be something for everyone in the box when it arrived.

“I think I’ll go see how they’re doing upstairs,” Helen said as she put her phone away, “I need a word with Poppy in private anyway.”

While Jenny and Helen chatted with Poppy and Belle in my office, Lia brought down a couple of suitcases and they packed everything Maisie wouldn’t need tomorrow.

Maisie nipped into the lounge and tried on a bra to show Janet, she was so happy with it she ran out to show Katie and Lia, “Mr Harrison can see you!” Janet cried.

“So! It’s not like I’m naked!”

“It doesn’t matter, you shouldn’t be showing your secret things to men.”

Lia was almost doubled over with laughter as Maisie ran back into the lounge to get properly dressed.

“My god!” she gasped, “she’s got the biggest tits I’ve ever seen, and she’s Belle’s age. How big will she be when she’s my age?”

“I know, I feel so sorry for her,” Katie replied, “but damn, she looks good with the new bra and that smile.”

“Think she should have put the knickers on though,” Lia laughed.

“What?” Katie replied.

“You were so busy looking at her boobs you didn’t notice she had nothing else on?”

“Oh my god, really?” Katie laughed as she looked at me, “did you notice?”

“I was looking at the bra,” I replied.

“I’m going to lend Belle my razor,” Lia said, “she can show Maisie how to tidy herself up downstairs. If she wants to attract boys she needs to keep herself trimmed.”

“Don’t boys like pubes?” Katie asked.

“None that I’ve spoken to.”

“Weren’t you a virgin until...”

“I was, but that’s not to say I’d never talked to boys. Anyway, most of them like to be able to see what they’re eating, so to speak, but don’t mind a neatly manicured lady garden, if you know what I mean.”

“Like mine,” Katie replied proudly.

“Exactly like yours.”

Maisie was fully dressed and her things packed away by the time Poppy and Belle returned.

Together we set the table in the dining room for 10, JoJo arrived just before the food, she helped Belle carry the meal in as everyone took their seats.

“This is my friend Maisie,” Belle told JoJo as they spread the takeaway cartons along the table, “and her mum, Janet. Maisie, this is JoJo, Helen’s, err, protégé, is that the right word?”

“It’s kind of the right word, she’s an aspiring model and I’m helping her,” Helen explained.

“I thought you were a psychologist,” Janet asked Helen.

“I am now, I used to be a model, I kind of still am, part time.”

“And she was on Celebrity Big Brother,” Maisie added, “I’ve seen her photos, on the internet.”

“There are quite a lot of my photos out there, and I’m not ashamed of most of them,” Helen laughed as she scooped a generous helping of Special Fried Rice onto her plate.

“Are they risqué?” Janet asked.

“Some of them are, is that a problem?”

Janet shrugged, “I guess it isn’t, not anymore.”

“It never was a problem mum; you’re still letting dad do your thinking for you.”

Janet patted Maisie’s hand, ‘I am, and it will take a while to adjust, give me time.”

“I took some risqué photos today,” JoJo announced.

“Yayyy!” Belle cheered before Poppy slapped her hand.

“You’re not supposed to sound quite so excited about it,” Poppy chided her playfully.

“I’ll let you look at them later, they’re very arty, nothing sordid.”

“Can I look at JoJo’s pictures mum?”

Janet looked across to Jenny, “you’re OK with Belle looking at pictures of naked women?”

“If you knew some of the things she’s seen and done to survive on the streets...” is all Jenny told her in answer.

“Well, if you put it that way. This is all so far out of my frame of experience, I’m sorry if I sound like an old fuddy-duddy. These photos, they’re nothing too explicit?”

“Just my boobs, and my, err ... well, nothing you’ll go to hell for looking at.”

“I guess it’s OK if you show them to Maisie, after all, she’s a girl with all the same parts.”

“Just mine are frigging huge!”

“Language Maisie, there’s no need for profanity.”

“Sorry mum, I guess I’m getting a bit giddy.”

“You’d better get some food on your plate,” Poppy advised, “or Belle will eat it all.”

“She’s not kidding,” Belle told her, “I could eat everything on this table.”

“You’re so tiny, where do you put all the food,” Maisie asked, as she hurriedly scooped food onto hers and Janet’s plates.

“I guess I just work it all off, nervous energy you know, I’m hardly ever still.”

“I thought you were going to say something else then,” Maisie smirked.

“Well, there’s that as well, but not on school nights, or rather, not often on school nights.”

Janet looked up at that, surprised.

“Like I said before, they’re very responsible kids.” I told her, “they take their schoolwork very seriously.”

“We’ve both got a couple of years missed school to catch up on,” Poppy added, “I want to go on to sixth-form, and I can’t do that if I don’t pass my GCSEs.”

“And I’m doing food tech, which is great, and I’m really good at it, but I’ve got so much Maths, English and Science to catch up on. It’s a lot of work, but it’s fun, you know, working together upstairs. Lia is really clever, she was more sensible than me and Poppy, she spent her time on the streets learning in the library. I wish I’d done more studying when I had chance.”

We ate quietly for a while until we were interrupted by the Buffy The Vampire Slayer theme from the kitchen.

“Ahh sorry,” Lia sighed, “that’s my phone. Hang on, the only people with my number are in this room.”

She dashed into the kitchen, “oh my god! It’s Lady Marina!”

“Answer it, quick!” Katie cried.

“Who’s Lady Marina?” Maisie asked.

“She’s a princess, Lia snogged her last week, she was in the papers!” Belle replied in a scandalised whisper.

“Oh my god, I remember, she’s the mystery brunette?”

Janet looked like she was going to complain about Maisie’s blaspheming, but she decided not to, instead she looked at Katie, “why did you let your girlfriend kiss another woman?”

Katie was puzzled, “why shouldn’t she, it’s not like she belongs to me, besides, we both kiss Poppy and Belle all the time, it’s fun! Anyway, Marina is a princess, who’d pass up the chance of kissing a princess? They only did it to wind up the press anyway.”

Janet weighed this up, “there’s a lot here I’ll never understand, you live very different lives to ours, but you’re happy, and kind, and who am I to criticise anyone’s lifestyle.”

Lia ran in from the kitchen, “do we have any plans for the Saturday after next?”

“I don’t think so,” I answered, “what about you Jenny?”

“Doesn’t ring any bells.”

“That’s great, because we do now. We’re going to the Savoy!”

“The Savoy?” Jenny asked, her fork poised in mid-air, “why?”

“Because Lady Marina has booked it for our grand charity launch, she’s got loads of her celebrity friends, there’ll be hundreds of people there.”

“What?” Poppy cried, jumping out of her chair, “The Savoy, for us? Seriously?”

“Yes, seriously.”

“Oh man, so this is it, we’re going live, for real,” Poppy sighed as she sat back down heavily.

“You need new outfits,” Helen said brightly, “something glamourous, but not too showy, I think anything too flash would be vulgar, considering the cause you’re launching.”

“We could get something from the Samaritans shop at Marylebone,” Lia replied, “they have designer stuff.”

“That’s a great call,” Poppy agreed, “Oh shit Lia, are we even ready to go, you know, is the charity actually going to work?”

“Relax, Poppy. I have it under control. Jeremy has lockups all over the place that he’s filling up with donations, we’ve three kitchens lined up, and I’ve got 30 people signed up to help.”

“30 people, who are they? Oh my god Lia, I’ve been so wrapped up in school and other dramas, I’ve not been concentrating on what you’ve been up to.”

“It’s OK, I understand, you put me in charge of the day to day running, and that’s what I’m doing. At the moment, I’m working from the kitchen and your homework room upstairs, so I’m having to pack everything away when I finish for the day. When I get my office, I can keep my work spread out, and you’ll be able to see what I’ve been up to.”

“I’m so grateful for everything you’ve been doing Lia.”

“And I’m grateful you’ve given me a roof over my head, and someone to share my life with.”

“You’ll have to come to our charity launch,” Belle told Maisie, “and you Janet, it’s going to be amazing, Lia’s friend Lady Marina is organising it, she’s getting lots of glamourous people to come and give us loads of money to get the charity running properly.”

“What’s the aim of your charity,” Janet asked.

“Essentially, we want to help street kids. They need food, that’s a given, and we’ll get them food. We’ve been sourcing surplus from supermarkets and wholesalers and market traders. Most of this food is ingredients, which is great if you’ve got cooking facilities, not so good if you’re living under a bridge, so we’ll be setting up field kitchens to make soup and casseroles and sandwiches. What street kids lack, apart from food and shelter, is a little dignity, so we’ve also been intercepting sanitary products, and soap, and deodorant, and clothes and combs and shampoo, and condoms, because STIs are a real problem on the streets. My friends have also been getting doctors on board to set up street clinics, walk in clinics in church halls, soup kitchens, anywhere there’s somewhere that offers a bit of privacy for a chat with a GP. Most of this is Lia’s work.”

“I’ve just been riffing off your ideas, Poppy.”

“It was your idea to get the kids birthday cards and presents.”

“None of this good work you plan is about getting the children off the streets,” Janet asked.

“There are charities that offer shelters,” Lia started, “and ironically, I’d just got a place in one when Poppy and Katie came to find me. These places are warm, they’re dry, and they’re usually safe, but they’re also temporary. The one I was in would only let you have a bed for two weeks, after that you’re back out on the streets. In those two weeks you have to find a job, then find and rent a room. If you don’t manage that you’re out.

“One of the reasons some people avoid the shelters is because they simply can’t bear the crushing disappointment of going back out on the streets after two weeks inside.”

“So, our plan is to work with other charities,” Poppy added, “to help people find work, we’ll go into large employers and see if there’s any who can employ people who may be fragile, they may have mental illnesses, they may have never worked before. These people are not the ideal candidates, but they need a helping hand to lead them back into society.”

“I’ve been chatting with a few mental health charities,” Helen joined in, “trying to get some people together who can offer a few hours a week to visit shelters and kitchens, a few of the larger squats.”

“A lot of the kids are sceptical,” Belle explained, “they don’t trust anyone, including other street kids. They’re the ones we tended to keep clear of when we were on the streets ourselves, and they’re the ones we’ll have the hardest time working with.”

“But we’re not going to ignore them,” Lia continued, “we’ll go in with one of Jeremy’s guys as back up, and we’ll try to win them over with kindness.”

“Jeremy’s the one we spoke about earlier?” Janet asked me.

“Yes, he’s saved Poppy’s life a couple of times,” I replied.

“He works for the Salvation Army,” Belle added, “but he spends most of his time deep in the streets, helping the kids that everyone else has abandoned. He loves all the kids and will do anything for them. He loves Poppy the most, and he went berserk when she was kidnapped by those bastards. Anyone who messes with Jeremy’s kids soon regrets it.”

“Don’t get us wrong,” I hurriedly told Janet, “Jeremy is an amazing guy, he considers all the kids he works with as his own kids, and he loves them and protects them, he’ll do anything to them safe, and stop at nothing if anyone dares to hurt his kids.”

“I must add,” Belle continued, “he loves them like a father should love his kids, he does not love them in any kind of pervy way.”

“I can confirm that,” Poppy added, a note of shame in her voice, “one time I offered to, err, you know, pleasure him orally, and he very politely refused my offer. Contrast that with the St James Mission, where the paster refused us entry to their shelter one terrible November evening unless I did similar things to him.”

“And we got wet that night, didn’t we,” Belle laughed, “and I’ve never been prouder of you.”

“Yeah, you didn’t feel that way when you had a cold for the next week.”

“Does that happen a lot?” Janet asked.

“What, men demanding sexual favours in return for food and shelter?”

“Yes, that.”

“All the time, unfortunately, and sometimes I’d do what they asked, sometimes I didn’t. The pastor at the mission that night was a repulsive prick, I wouldn’t have slept with him if he gave me a million pounds. Other guys, well, if they were nice about it, I was nice to them.”

“And you’re not ashamed of what you did?”

“Not at all,” Poppy replied, proudly, “I did it to survive, and to help my friends. There’s only one thing I’m ashamed of, apart from all the drugs I took, and abandoning my friends for a while, and that’s coming on to Jeremy. He’s the most upright, honest, decent man out there, and I tried to seduce him,” Poppy banged the table with both hands as she shouted, “that’s the only thing I’m ashamed of.”

“I’m so sorry Poppy, once again, we’re from a different world to you all, and our values are perhaps a little restricted.”

“It’s OK, Janet, sometimes I feel a little defensive, and I had some very bad news earlier. I apologise for shouting. Do you want to go and watch a film or something while I clear the table.”

“It’s OK, we’ll clear the table,” Lia offered.

“No, Lia, I want to be alone for a bit, I need to think about Misha. I’ll be fine, I’m not sad now, I’m just angry, I want to try to remember who did it.”

“Can I stay, to help,” Helen asked.

“You can stay Aunty Helen; you’ll be able to help me.”

Belle turned on the TV and spent the next five minutes with Maisie and Katie working out which film to watch, they decided on Toy Story 4.

As we settled back to watch the movie, JoJo asked Belle if she had her iPad handy.

“Yeah, it’s over there on the record shelves.”

“Great, I’ll airdrop you some photos, you can look at them once we’ve gone. I’d rather not be in the room when you look at them.”

“Why, are they bad? Has Helen seen them?”

“Helen was in the studio, but she’s not seen the finished photos. I guess I’m nervous about your reaction. Cameras can be so unforgiving, they catch things that our eyes sometimes miss.”

“OK, we’ll look later, when you and Helen have gone. Do we get to see your tattoo?”

“I’m afraid not.”

“Oh, have you had it lasered?”

“Ha, no, nothing that drastic, the make-up artist covered it up with some concealer the same colour as my arse cheeks.”

“So, your arse is bare in the photos?” Katie asked.

“I’m fully nude, as god intended.”

“I’m not sure I want Maisie to see you If you’re fully naked.”

“There’s nothing sordid, you can see my boobs, my bum and my lady garden, my legs stay closed.”

“Lady garden?” Janet asked.

“Pubes mum,” Maisie answered.

“Oh, that’s a nice word for it, I like that.”

“I’ll send you two folders,” JoJo whispered to Belle, “keep the second folder away from Maisie, they’re just for you and your sisters.”

Belle beamed, “I’ll keep that one private, I might not even show Poppy.”

“Now that wouldn’t be fair, would it.”

“Hahaha, don’t worry, Poppy will be very happy to see the photos in the special folder.”

Toy Story was nearly over by the time Poppy and Helen joined us, JoJo moved off the sofa and let Poppy sit with Belle. Poppy put her head on Belle’s shoulder, Belle wrapped her arm around her girlfriend.

“Are you OK, sweetie?” Belle asked.

“I am now.”

“Did you work out who did the horrible stuff to Misha?”

“I don’t know his name, but I know who he is, if that makes sense.”

“Who is he?”

“He’s the guy who runs it all, all the girls and drugs, Kenzie’s boss.”

“Does mum know who that is?”

“No, and Jeremy doesn’t either. They know there’s someone, but it’s all a big secret. I can’t even describe him properly, Helen’s just tried to hypnotise me and there’s just this black hole in my memory, which is just weird, I see him raping Misha, I see him kill her and carry on raping her, then as he turns and comes for me, it all goes black, like I passed out or something. I know I didn’t pass out right away, or at least I think I didn’t, because I also remember a lot of pain, but I can’t see anything.”

“Did he blindfold you, or put a bag over your head.”

“I ... don’t ... think ... so...” Poppy answered uncertainly, “I’ve been blindfolded before, you know, I won’t go into why, but this is different. With a blindfold you know you’re blindfolded, there’s usually light around the blindfold, and with a bag you can see through the bag a bit, yes, I’ve had both done to me, I’m not proud of some of this stuff. That night though, it’s all gone.”

“I think something truly horrific happened,” Helen explained. “The brain is a remarkable organ, yeah sometimes it plays massive tricks on us, making us think about stuff we really don’t want to, but sometimes it knows there’s a memory you really, really do not want to be reliving any time soon. Those memories it keeps locked away, buried so deep even hypnosis won’t reveal it.”

“Will she ever remember it?” Belle asked.

“Maybe, maybe not. That memory could stay buried forever, or it may come out when you feel able to cope, feel able to rationalise what happened to you, or the memory could be triggered by other events, for instance, if you ever meet the person in that nightmare.”

“Oh god, I don’t want to meet him again. That man is pure evil. I thought Kenzie was evil, especially the way he killed Gemma right in front of me, while he was raping her ... I’m so sorry Maisie, and Janet, you didn’t come here to hear horrible stuff like this.”

“It’s OK,” Janet replied quietly, “if you need to say this stuff, to get it out of your mind, just go ahead.”

“I’m nearly done now, the way Kenzie looked right in my eyes while he strangled Gemma, like he was telling me I was next, that look, it was just dripping in hatred. But that night, the man who killed Misha, it wasn’t hatred, he felt nothing. He has no soul, no feelings for anyone, she was just a body to use, and after he used her, he dumped her, then I think he used me, but I don’t know for sure.”

“Shall we catch Frozen for a bit,” Belle chimed in after the room fell silent, “you know it always cheers you up.”

“There’s only one thing that will cheer me up right now, and we can’t do it with guests in the house, but we’ll see if Frozen helps a little.”

“I can kiss you for a bit, in the kitchen, while no-one’s looking.”

“You’re so adorable Belle, maybe later, let’s watch Elsa and Olaf for a bit.”

“I think we’ll get going,” Helen said as Belle scrolled through the Disney+ library, “Nita will be home soon.”

“Was she working today?” Katie asked.

“Kind of, she was speaking at a conference in Manchester.”

“Oh wow, she’s really important if she’s giving speeches at conferences.”

“Nita’s probably in the top 5 in her field in this country.”

“She seems so normal, not all high and mighty like some people get.”

“Because she is normal, but also super talented. Like Belle, she’s probably the most naturally gifted pianist I’ve ever seen. and whilst I’m not sure I’d class her as normal, she’s certainly not all high and mighty.”

“Oi, are you talking about me,” Belle cried as she paused the film, “I heard my name.”

“I was complimenting you,” Helen laughed.

“Ahh, OK, as you were,” she replied as she turned back to the TV.

“So, we’ll be off. Best of luck with the trains tomorrow, say hello to Amber for me.”

“I will, shall I give her a big hug from you?”

“I was never that close with her, but feel free to hug her anyway.”

“I definitely will.”

Belle had her iPad open as I came back from walking Helen and JoJo out. Maisie and Poppy were looking over Belle’s shoulders.

“She’s so pretty,” Maisie said in an awed whisper, “and I’m not even into girls.”

“We’re allowed to appreciate beauty all places,” Janet told her, “JoJo definitely is pretty, and she’s got a lovely figure.”

“Yes,” Maisie agreed, sadly, “I bet she doesn’t get backache just from standing up for a while.”

“We’ll see how your new bras improve things,” Janet replied, “we can buy you more of the same kind.”

“I still want a reduction as soon as I’m allowed.”

“But those operations are so expensive.”

“Helen said I might be able to get it on the NHS if they’re effecting my health.”

“It doesn’t matter, I already told you, I’m happy to pay for the operation, and an entire new wardrobe afterwards. I’m taking no arguments about this, I have the money.”

“You barely know my daughter, and you’re willing to spend so much money on her.”

“I felt an immediate connection when I first saw Maisie, and I think it’s because of her past trauma...”

“Were you abused by your parents?” Janet asked kindly.

“Oh gosh no, my parents were wonderful people. My uncle though, he was a different matter entirely. He was a serial abuser and exposed himself to me a couple of times. After my parents died, he won custody, but my grandparents appealed and I lived with them for a few months, then my gran died, and my grandad isn’t well, and the courts gave me back to my uncle. A very kind police lady helped me run away that night.”

“Oh gosh, and where’s your uncle now?” Janet asked.

“He died, in prison.”

“So, he’s out of the picture.”

“Very much so, and on that note, please don’t mention Liam when Amber is around.”

“Did he...”

“Not Amber, but he did rape her girlfriend, and she killed herself afterwards, so it’s kind of a sore subject.”

“Thanks for the warning, is there anything else we shouldn’t talk about.”

“Not that I can think of. I’m sure she’ll let you know if there’s something she doesn’t want to talk about.”

“You said she had a girlfriend before, is she...”

“She’s bi-sexual I think, but she’s not seeing anyone at the moment, or at least she wasn’t a couple of weeks ago. She’s a big girl, if she meets someone, I’m sure she’ll find a way to manage her love life without causing any embarrassment for yourselves.”

“We’ll be living in her house,” Janet started, “well, your house, but she’s the main tenant, if Amber wants to bring a girl home, or a boy, we’ll stay out of their way.”

“I’m certain you’ll find a way to work everything out. It’s quite a big house, or it is in my memory. The master bedroom is on one side of the landing, next to the bathroom, the other bedrooms are on the other side of the landing. It should be pretty private. Besides, it might not just be Amber who brings a friend home, you might find a boyfriend, Janet.”

“Oh no, I’m too old for that.”

“Oh no,” Poppy joined in, “you’re only what, 35?”

“I’m 33, I married David when I was 18, he was older...”

“See, even better ... hang on, when you say older, how much older?”

“He was 50 at the time, he was a mature student at the university, I worked in one of the student bars, he was different, and charming, and well, we hit it off. My friends thought I was weird, and in hindsight, maybe I was.”

Jenny leant forwards a little and touched Janet’s hand, “Could I ask you a question? You don’t need to answer.”

“Of course, ask anything, I might not answer if it’s too personal.”

“David was kicked out of university, but the university have sealed his file.”

“Ahh, there was something of a scandal, he was involved with a couple of lecturers, and he may have interfered with ... with...”

“A lecturer?” Jenny replied, surprised, “that’s not really a scandal, especially as he was a mature student anyway.”

“Not the lecturer, her daughter, she was only a toddler.”

“Mum!” Maisie cried, “he did that and you still married him! Why?”

“You don’t understand, he has this power, I couldn’t help myself, it’s like he’d hypnotised me.”

“Did you feel different when you were away from him,” Jenny asked, “did you find yourself questioning his actions, but as soon as you met him again, you forgave him?”

“Yes! I did, how did you know that?”

“Pheromones, I bet he used a pheromone spray, that coupled with his charismatic personality would leave you questioning your own beliefs about him.”

“I guess that could be how it happened, he always said it was an illness, and he was getting treatment, and every time I believed him, we both did, didn’t we Maisie...”