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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

Later, when Pip had gone home and Evelyn was making her way to bed, she thought about Scarlet. She liked to imagine her as an adult, maybe with children of her own by now. Until she met Pip, she had only allowed herself to think of Scarlet as a three-year-old, preserved precisely as she had been when she died. But now she had a clearer idea of what Scarlet might have become, and it had opened up a whole new chapter for her. It was bittersweet, of course; it always would be, but she could open and close the book whenever she wanted to. And she had Pip to thank for that.

49

49

Pip was sitting at the kitchen table, a mug of strong tea steaming at her side and her laptop open. She scrolled down and down. All the flats she had seen thus far had either been too far out of central London or too expensive. Although she had some savings, her income had dried up once she had stopped work. Hopefully things would pick up as soon as she started again, but there was no guarantee how quickly that might happen, and she didn’t want to saddle herself with a rent that would quickly become a millstone around her neck.

She was starting to think about going back. The day before, she had taken her courage in her hands and rung her clerk in chambers, the person in charge of her workflow. Matt had been her clerk from the very beginning of her career and she had always believed he had a particular soft spot for her, passing her the juiciest cases and covering up for her if she made a mistake.

‘Matt,’ she said when she heard his voice at the other end. ‘It’s me. Pi . . . Rose.’

‘Rose! Hi! How are you?’ He sounded so delighted to hear from her that it made her want to cry. ‘Please tell me you’re ringing to say you’re coming back. I’ve got briefs coming out of my . . . Well, I’ve got loads of work for you. Just say the word and I’ll start pushing it in your direction.’

Pip felt a little overwhelmed. This wasn’t quite what she had been expecting when she’d picked up the phone, but it was so lovely to hear that she hadn’t been forgotten.

‘I’m not quite sure when it will be,’ she said vaguely. ‘But I’m hoping it won’t be too long now.’

‘Well, I’m thrilled to hear you’re on the mend,’ said Matt. ‘And as I say, whenever you feel ready to come back, just let me know.’