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Back Reluctantly Home Save as PDF
Chapters (55)
  1. TITLE PAGE
  2. COPYRIGHT PAGE
  3. 1
  4. 2
  5. 3
  6. 4
  7. 5
  8. 6
  9. 7
  10. 8
  11. 9
  12. 10
  13. 11
  14. 12
  15. 13
  16. 14
  17. 15
  18. 16
  19. 17
  20. 18
  21. 19
  22. 20
  23. 21
  24. 22
  25. 23
  26. 24
  27. 25
  28. 26
  29. 27
  30. 28
  31. 29
  32. 30
  33. 31
  34. 32
  35. 33
  36. 34
  37. 35
  38. 36
  39. 37
  40. 38
  41. 39
  42. 40
  43. 41
  44. 42
  45. 43
  46. 44
  47. 45
  48. 46
  49. 47
  50. 48
  51. 49
  52. 50
  53. 51
  54. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  55. ABOUT THE AUTHOR

‘I wanted to know how you managed it,’ she said, her voice faltering. ‘I needed to know how you could live with that level of guilt and not let it consume you. I just can’t do it. I’m crumbling under the weight of what I’m carrying. I can’t get out from under it. And yet you seemed untouched by it. I just wanted to know how you coped without falling apart.’

‘And now?’ Evelyn asked archly. ‘Now that you know I am not the panacea to all your ills?’

Pip’s shoulders sagged. ‘Please don’t be like that,’ she said. ‘Of course I knew that you hadn’t really been to blame. I felt it in my heart. It was like I knew you, after reading so many of your inner thoughts.’ Here she blushed, a pretty pink colour that washed across her face like a sunset, and Evelyn felt herself soften.

‘And I knew that the woman from those pages couldn’t have hurt her own child. I just didn’t know what had actually happened. And now I do, now that everything makes more sense to me, I know I was right about you in the first place. Of course you couldn’t have done anything that might have harmed Scarlet.’ Pip bit her lip. ‘And how about you, Evelyn? Do you still want to spend time with me, knowing I doubted you?’

Evelyn had to think about it for less than half a second.

‘I wouldn’t want to spend time with you if you hadn’t doubted me,’ she replied.

42

42

Tea and scones finished and with their relationship on a slightly firmer footing, they set back off along the prom towards the house. Evelyn reached for Pip’s arm for support without comment this time, and Pip’s heart warmed at the intimacy of the gesture. It felt good to be trusted like that, to be needed.

The wind was still blowing in off the water, although the sky was now a cloudless, perfect blue. Pip wished they had a kite, and then wondered where the thought had come from. She hadn’t flown a kite in as long as she could remember. Was her old one still buried in a cupboard somewhere at the farm? She’d ask her mother when she got back. Hell, she might even buy herself a new one and bring it down to the beach. She pictured herself running along the beach tugging at the string, a huge brightly coloured diamond flying along behind her, its tail ribbons dancing like little butterflies. Did you ever get too old for things like that? Rose would have thought you did, but Pip definitely didn’t agree.