Chapter 2

Supper was delicious and all three of them were hungry. Mary wanted to hear more of Becca's story which Becca diffidently told. Steven would chip in proudly to accentuate what he thought Mary should hear when Becca appeared to be glossing over an achievement.

"But when did you fall in love?"

"Over two years ago," said Becca, "but this elderly gentleman was pig-headed about the age difference."

Steven had the grace to look ashamed.

"So you told him."

"You bet. I had to go into the coma before he came to his senses." She smiled lovingly at him.

Mary looked between them and saw the love.

"Good," she said. "Very, very good. I loved Aunt Betty and I reckon I'm going to love Aunt Becca too."

"Don't you dare!"

"Love you?" Mischief filled her face.

"No! Call me Aunt or Aunty. I told you about Isobel."

"Very well, Aunty Becca."

"Grrr!"

They all helped clear away and wash up before taking their coffee through to the sitting room. Mary was feeling a lot better but the anxiety and pain were not far below the surface. The girls sat on the sofa once more.

"Now then, Bec ... Mary, my dear, your turn," said Steven.

Mary looked down wondering how to begin. The other two waited patiently. She took a deep breath and looked up.

"I don't regret running away with Ray one bit," she said. "I loved him then and I love him now. If I'd told Mum she would have forbidden it so I eloped. By leaving in the morning we were on a plane and well on our way to Australia by the time Mum raised the alarm. We were still worried about being caught when we got to Melbourne but Ray had a mate who worked at the airport and he rang him from a public phone in the baggage area. He gave us directions and we bypassed immigration and customs and were in. He also put us up until Ray found a job and we could afford to rent a flat. Ray got a job with a travel agency and I followed him there as a receptionist."

"What about his family?" asked Steven.

"None. His mother died giving birth to him. His father looked after him until he was seventeen and then was killed when his horse threw him. Ray sold the farm and came over to England to escape. He was working at a travel agency here when I met him."

"How did you meet him?" asked Becca.

"Our youth club at Dewsbury had an arrangement with the one here. They'd have a joint dance every six months at alternate ends. He came to Dewsbury. We hit it off that first evening and he would come over on the bus to see me at our club. It only took three weeks before we realised we were in love and started to plan our future."

"So what's gone wrong?" asked Steven gently.

"There was another guy at the agency in Melbourne called Barrie. He's good looking, charming and to all appearances a nice fellow although I've never really trusted him. Anyway, he and Ray became friends. They were sent off to Bangkok for three days to get to know the place so that they could give customers first hand advice. That was good but Barrie noticed that a lot of our customers booking holidays in Bangkok were middle-aged single men. He put two and two together and realised that they were after girls. He persuaded the management to let him go back there and came back with cut price agreements with the brothels, not that he ever mentioned that to the management. At first he handled these arrangements himself but as word got round he got Ray and another guy called Terry into the act. Being on a salary and commission, Ray began to earn more money. He told me why and I said I didn't like it much but what these middle-aged men did with their lives wasn't my concern.

"Then one day I overheard a conversation between Terry and a customer. Terry was saying that he could arrange access, for a price, to a fourteen year-old girl for the week the customer was in Bangkok. That was too much. Prostitutes are prostitutes and it's their choice. It isn't for thirteen and fourteen year-old girls. It's slavery and rape."

Becca nodded vehemently and took her hand.

"I challenged Ray that evening and he admitted that they were making a lot of money out of this. He brushed off the moral aspects of it but I wasn't prepared to. I told him that he was in a vice ring and that he had to get out of it. He said that he couldn't and that the other two would come after him if he tried. We argued about this every night for a fortnight and got nowhere. He was frightened of getting out. I was frightened too but I couldn't be a party to what I considered criminal and beastly so I threatened to leave him. He still wouldn't get out of it so here I am."

Becca squeezed her hand gently.

"What do you reckon he's going to do?" asked Steven.

"I don't know. He can say we had a row or I was homesick or something and that'll be the end of that. On the other hand, he may decide to come after me. If he does we could be in danger. I can see Barrie wanting to silence us."

"Which would you prefer?" asked Becca softly.

"For him to come after me. I still love him. It's just that I can't live with him if he's involved in this foul trade."

"Are you married?"

Mary nodded. "Just the two of us and Bob, the airport friend, as best man. I didn't update my passport so I'm back here as Becca Hardacre still."

"Does Barrie know your maiden name?" asked Steven.

"I don't think so."

"Good."

"Why?"

"Because there can't be more than half a dozen Hardacres in either Dewsbury or here and a quick look in the telephone directory would soon bring someone looking for you here."

"That's what Ray's going to do if he comes, isn't it?"

"I expect so. I think you're probably safe until Ray arrives but if they silence him before he can leave we won't know. If they do silence him they won't know your name so they can hardly come after you. They wouldn't necessarily know that you came from this part of the world anyway."