Thea could see her own feelings of disgust clearly reflected in the faces of the other two.

345

Chapter Twenty-Five

It was almost eleven when she got back to Broad Campden, having returned the borrowed car and been given a lift by Barkley. Fridays were popular for funerals, but she could not recall Drew saying there was one that day. The family car was in the driveway, which was not conclusive evidence of anything. She quietly opened the front door, eager to surprise him and the children.

But she had reckoned without her dog. Hepzie came flying out of nowhere less than a second after Thea stepped into the hallway. The spaniel’s ears flapped and the pink jaws flopped. The dog wriggled and leapt and slavered and wagged, and Thea gathered her clumsily to her chest for a prolonged and guilty hug. Still no sign of human life, she noticed.

They must be outside, she concluded, so she went through to the back door and looked out. A strange little tableau met her gaze.

Stephanie and Timmy were washing the hearse, very seriously and quietly. Soapy water dripped 346down the headlights, thanks to Timmy’s efforts, and Stephanie was giving the long side windows a similar concentrated attention.

Drew was lying on a garden lounger, his head turned away, facing a big straggly rose bush that had boasted four handsome pink blooms in recent weeks. Now the petals had turned limp and brown around the edges. A few lay scattered on the ground. Seeing that Timmy had spotted her, she put a finger to her lips and advanced on her husband. ‘Oh!’ cried Stephanie, as she too realised what was happening.

Drew slowly turned his head, and Thea stopped, aghast. ‘My God! What happened?’ she gasped.

There was a white surgical dressing on one cheek, and as she scanned his whole body, she realised he was wearing a dressing gown. ‘What …? When …?’ she stammered. Whirling round to the children, she demanded, ‘What’s been going on? Why didn’t somebody tell me?’

‘I fell downstairs, and landed on that bucket we’d left there for the past month or more. Cut my face and broke three ribs. Nothing serious.’

But his expression was serious, and Thea knew several long moments of horror; not only at his injuries, but her own desertion and his failure to inform her of the accident. Multiple horrors, in fact. ‘Oh, Drew,’ she said. ‘How absolutely terrible.’

‘Not really,’ he argued. ‘I’ll mend.’

‘Yes, but – I should have been here. I could easily have come home to look after you. Why did you keep it secret from me?’ How can I ever forgive you for 347that? asked an inner voice that made her shudder.

‘I didn’t want to make a fuss. There was no need for you to be here. It’s not as bad as it looks. I even did a funeral yesterday.’ He managed a lopsided smile. ‘Although one of the sons had to help Andrew with the lowering. I’m not supposed to do any heavy lifting.’