Chapter 33

A very happy Richard drove home. He fed the dogs, made himself a cup of tea and picked up the paper. That was habit. He left it unopened as his mind ranged over the last two days: full days and blissfully happy days. He relived the scene in the jewellers, Deborah's hesitant choice of ring and his immediate agreement. Her happiness. Her dealing with the pompous maître d'hôtel. Her happiness. Their teasing and tickling on the way home. Her happiness. The enthusiasm of his sons and their wives. Her happiness. And on and on. Her happiness. And what had happened? She had made him laugh more than he had done for two years. She had challenged him intellectually. She had shown him a love, both physical and mental that even his beloved Rachel had never surpassed. Richard was in heaven.

His blissful reveries were interrupted by the telephone. Grudgingly he answered it.

"Hello?"

"Richard? Liz!" She did not wait for an answer. "I didn't get a chance to talk to you one to one today so I'm going to nail you while I can. First of all, I want to apologise for being so stuffy when we first met on that walk back in February. I was being over protective. I don't know what Deborah told you about Jeremy but I suspect it was only his abuse of Annette. Richard, I never liked him but Deborah was besotted. He's handsome, charming, suave and probably good in bed but once he'd married my beloved, beautiful and vital sister he began to dominate her. I don't think he ever used physical violence but he just squashed her. She always denied it but she was like a little mouse round him and that is not her. I imagine she told you that she loved him up to the time she discovered about his abuse of Annette. She convinced herself that she did so that when everything went pear-shaped she hung on to that and persuaded herself that she had been a bad mother. She never was."

"I'm sure of that."

"Thank God she recovered sufficient spirit to deal effectively with the bastard when Annette came to her but she still lived with the self-deception that she had loved him up to the day before."

"That's what she told me."

"I'll bet. It's still a safety net. She said that every time she convinced herself that she had done the right thing there was a little nagging voice at the back of her mind..."

"Not any more. I sorted her out on that one when she told me the story."

"Well done you! Anyway she got better and better over the last nine months but was still reclusive. That day we met you was the first time for years that I saw her sense of fun poking through again and I didn't want it dashed by some strange man. I'm sorry I was such a killjoy."

"I don't blame you, Liz. Not one little bit. Don't worry about her anymore. I love her more than I could ever have believed possible. Sharon has pronounced us soul-mates and I'm beginning to believe we were destined to meet. I shall not let anything hurt her mentally or physically."

"Thank you, Richard. I got that impression today and it's quite clear that she's head over heels in love with you. But please, please keep an eye out for Jeremy. He gets single minded and is quite ruthless in achieving his ends. He'll be jealous of you, he'll want revenge on Deborah and, I'm willing to bet still has designs on Annette. He may well use her to get at you and Deborah."

"You're dead serious about this, aren't you?"

"Yes. Dead serious."

"OK and thanks. I may have some allies I didn't know about until yesterday. If I have and he sticks his head above the parapet we'll have him. I'll keep you in the picture. The first thing that strikes me though is not to announce our engagement in the papers."

"Absolutely right! I hope your hoped-for allies turn out to be just that."

"I'm pretty sure they will."

"Good! I hope to see you again soon and for you to meet Rod. I'm sure you'll get on like a house on fire. He, incidentally, is another ally for you if needed. He's a complete fan of Deborah's and can't stick Jeremy. By the way, I don't intend to tell Deborah about this conversation. It's up to you."

"Thank you. It's good to know Rod's on our side too but I hope and pray I won't need him or them for that matter."

"So do I. Now I must go and do something about supper. Goodbye, Richard and thank you for loving my very precious sister as you do."