As he drove back to his flat in Kensington, he wondered what the magic ingredient was that Lenny possessed to keep him enthralled as well as his wife, no matter what he did to her.

Chapter Fifty-Seven

‘It was a spur-of-the-moment thing, Mum. We decided to have a bit of time together as a family.’

Ivy Conway wasn’t so sure but she was too shrewd to say it. ‘You’re wearing a lot of make-up these days.’

Sharon sighed heavily. There was still a bit of bruising but nothing she couldn’t cover with a decent foundation. She knew her mum was aware that something had happened, but she was fucked if she would give her the excuse to turn on her Lenny.

‘Look, Mum, if you have something to say, then fucking say it, will you? If not, drink your tea and leave me alone, yeah? Think you could manage that?’

Ivy was more convinced than ever that something was radically wrong in this house and she also knew she would not get to know unless this little madam here decided to tell her. The two boys were creeping around like mice, not in their usual smashing-and-crashing mode she knew so well. It was normally like Casey’s Court in this house, and now it was as quiet as a library, as if everyone was afraid to raise their voices. She loved this house; it was a detached four-bedroom with a large garden and she envied her daughter her beautiful home. Money was no object with this lot, and they lived in the best part of Manor Park. Suddenly she realised what had been bothering her since she came into the house.

‘Where’s the telephone table?’

There was a new one by the front door, and it was much bigger and more opulent than the one it had replaced. She had always admired the old one though and she said brightly, ‘I’ll have it, Sharon, if you’ve got a new one.’

Sharon smiled tightly and said quietly, ‘The boys broke it, Mum, rough-housing in the hallway.’

Young Lenny looked at her with the eyes of an ancient as she lied to her own mother’s face.

Ivy was upset. That table would have looked lovely in her hall. ‘Break the house up around you, they will, those little sods.’

She frowned crossly at her grandsons as they played with their cars quietly on the kitchen floor. Young Lenny glared back at her and she shook her head at the cheekiness of the lad.

Sharon busied herself making more tea; she couldn’t look her elder son in the eye. But she shrugged; what was one more lie on top of all the others she had told? She blinked back the tears that were threatening to come. She loved her Lenny so much and that love was so big it included hiding from the world what he had done to her.