Chapter 1

The Ainsworth household was not an orthodox one. Bill and Theresa had married ten years ago. He was now thirty-nine and she fifty. Her daughter by her first marriage, Wendy, was ten years younger than Bill and lived with them. On medical advice, Theresa had had a total hysterectomy after Wendy was born. Wendy had acted as a surrogate mother to provide Bill and Theresa with twins, Tom and Hettie, who were now aged eight. She was, in effect, Bill's second wife. All the same, to save any gossip the three of them had stayed at Bill's old house once Wendy began to show and until she weaned them.

Bill had saved her from prostitution, a stalker and from a possessive man, Stephen Walker, who had brutally whipped her. She was deeply grateful to him and also loved him. He had loved her but not in the same way as he loved her mother. Over the years though his love had grown and he did now love her as a wife.

After the twins were born Bill and Theresa reminded her that, much as they would miss her, she had paid off her self-imposed debt and they would never stand in her way if she met another man and wanted to marry him. Wendy was scornful.

"Not going to happen," she said. "I love you, Bill. You've taken Dad's place in my mind and my heart. I belong to you and you belong to me as well as Mum. It's very considerate of you both but I'm staying; unless, of course you kick me out."

"And that's never, ever going to happen, my darling," replied Bill hugging her.

The twins were a delight. They were devoted to each other but far from inseparable. They both went to the village primary school and each had their own circle of friends but, because they were twins, the two circles were interwoven. Both were bright and showed every sign of being accepted for the grammar schools in Pitsbury. Tom was a gentle boy and, like his father, thoughtful of others but he was far from being wet. He played football and cricket with enthusiasm and trees and water were like magnets. Hettie was a tomboy. Anything Tom did she did too. It was clear though that she was going to be a little, dark haired beauty like her mother and sister. Both were competitive and vied with each other for better gradings. As a result they both had straight 'A's.

After giving birth to the twins Wendy, having obtained a good degree in aeronautical engineering, landed a job five miles away with a defence public private organisation where she did research. It was the same organisation her father had worked for before it was privatised and had been part of the Ministry of Defence. Before long she was working on two highly classified projects. Bill and Theresa of course had no idea what these projects were but were thrilled that she was doing well and enjoying her work. After about six years she had been promoted to assistant project manager with full responsibility for one of the projects she had been working on. It had moved on from the research to the design and development stage.

"It's brilliant," she told Bill and Theresa. "I'm the youngest APM in the place. It just shows that Richard Bartlett (her project manager) has faith in me. I shall jolly well make sure that I don't let him down."

It was quite clear that she did not. She happily put in long hours for which she received no extra direct payment but at the end of her first and subsequent years she received hefty bonuses. Despite her hard work she remained her usual cheerful, vibrant self at home. The twins adored her. They were unaware that she was actually their mother.

Bill continued working for the family firm of solicitors. It was an hour's drive away so he and the girls agreed that he should spend the week in his old house. Theresa normally joined him for Tuesday and Wednesday nights. He was never sure which girl would sleep with him on which night at the weekends. That was something they decided and they never told him how they worked it out. He was happy and so were they.

By now his father was in his early sixties and contemplating retirement. Bill, as the elder brother, would succeed him as senior partner. Bill's younger brother, Frank, had married young and he and his wife, Jane, had produced three children in as many years. They had called a halt after that but their eldest son, Roddy, was now sixteen and, without pressure, had assumed that he would follow in his father's footsteps. It would however be five or six years before he had completed a degree and the requisite training.

Although not an orthodox household, to all outward appearances they were perfectly normal. Whatever suspicions members of Bill's family may have entertained nothing was ever said and it was clear that Theresa and Wendy were much loved by them all. Certainly they themselves were very happy. Theresa took up golf and she and Bill played at weekends once or twice a month. Both girls enjoyed sailing and the twins soon learnt to as well. In fact, they had a lot of success in junior races. In addition there were dogs to walk and occasional visits to the theatre for a play or a concert. They led a happy, healthy outdoor life.

There was a woman in the village in her mid-forties called Hilda Perkins. She had always lived there and was a pillar of the church. Theresa had been acquainted with her for years and remembered that even in her twenties she had the look of confirmed spinsterhood. She started the rumour at the Women's Institute.

"I reckon that Bill Ainsworth's a bigamist," she said.

"No," said one of the other women scornfully. "There's plenty of adult daughters who live with their parents."

"She's not his daughter. She's his step daughter."

"So?"

"Just don't seem right to me. I bet those kids are hers."

"Hilda!"

"Not natural having babies in your early forties."

"It is these days."

Hilda snorted but said no more.

Inevitably, someone who had been present told someone else what she had overheard and the rumour started to spread. Nobody would admit to believing it but the Ainsworths began to get odd looks when they went to church. They noticed it themselves. Theresa asked Poppy Reynolds if she knew what it was about.

"Yes," said Poppy, "that stupid Hilda Perkins started it. She said she reckoned Bill was a bigamist and then added that she thought it pretty odd you having the twins at your age."

"Well, he's not a bigamist. I can promise you that."

"'Course he isn't but you know what people are like. Nothing like a bit of gossip particularly if there's a whiff of sex about it. Everyone will tell you they don't believe a word of it but they'll still shake their heads and roll their eyes for a cheap thrill."

While the rumour was untrue it was too close to the truth for comfort and the three of them discussed the problem at length.