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Back The Scarlet Dress Save as PDF
Chapters (84)
  1. Dedication
  2. Prologue
  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. Friday
  24. 21
  25. 22
  26. 23
  27. 24
  28. 25
  29. 26
  30. 27
  31. 28
  32. 29
  33. 30
  34. 31
  35. 32
  36. 33
  37. 34
  38. 35
  39. 36
  40. Saturday
  41. 37
  42. 38
  43. 39
  44. 40
  45. 41
  46. 42
  47. 43
  48. 44
  49. 45
  50. 46
  51. 47
  52. 48
  53. Sunday
  54. 49
  55. 50
  56. 51
  57. 52
  58. 53
  59. 54
  60. 55
  61. 56
  62. 57
  63. 58
  64. 59
  65. 60
  66. 61
  67. 62
  68. 63
  69. 64
  70. 65
  71. 66
  72. 67
  73. 68
  74. 69
  75. 70
  76. One Week Later
  77. 71
  78. Afterwards
  79. 72
  80. Acknowledgments
  81. Reading Group Questions
  82. More from Louise Douglas
  83. About the Author
  84. About Boldwood Books

‘Why are you here?’ he asked her.

‘Marnie’s father’s downstairs,’ said Zoe without missing a beat. ‘She kindly popped up to say “hello” to Camille.’

‘That was good of you,’ said Mr deVillars coldly.

‘Camille was pleased to see her.’

Camille’s face had blanked when her husband came into the room. Her eyes had become unfocused, her expression neutral. She was picking at something invisible on her lap. Either she was a good and practised actor, or she really had slipped out of lucidity.

‘It’s late,’ Mr deVillars said. ‘Camille needs to settle.’

Surreptitiously Marnie signed: Will you be all right? but Camille wasn’t looking and there was no indication that she had understood.

The nurse touched Marnie’s arm.

‘Don’t worry. We’ll be fine.’ She hesitated, then said in a low voice: ‘Could Maya stay with you tonight? That means I can sleep in this room, with Camille.’

‘There’s no need for that,’ said Mr deVillars.

‘To be on the safe side,’ said the nurse. She turned back to Marnie. ‘Tell Maya she can pick up her school things in the morning.’

Mr deVillars said: ‘Zoe, show Marnie out, will you?’ but both Zoe and Marnie saw the panic in Camille’s eyes at the prospect of being left alone with her husband. Marnie indicated that she could find her way down the stairs perfectly well on her own.

* * *

In the ground-floor hallway, she paused. She could hear her father’s voice, and Will’s in the boot room on the other side of the kitchen. Apart from that, all was quiet. She listened for a moment and then crept across the grand wooden parquet floor and pushed open the door to the living room. The walls were lined with paintings, the bookshelves busy with photographs. Marnie eyes scanned them until at last she found what she was looking for: a school photograph, a cricket team; two rows of floppy-haired young men sitting outside an imposing pavilion; sweeping green countryside behind.

She read the caption. ‘St Aubin’s School U-19s’ Cricket First Eleven’. The players were listed by name. The batsman in the centre of the picture, the one with his arms folded and one leg crossed over the other was Guy deVillars. The picture had been taken in the same location as the picture in Alice’s tin. The poses were almost identical and the faces of the young men were similar but the picture in the tin had been taken decades earlier. The man in the centre of that picture was not Guy deVillars, but his father, Edward.

Camille was right. Edward deVillars was Alice’s father.

65

‘You saved a life tonight,’ said John Morahan.

Will cradled the dog’s head on his lap. She gazed up at him sleepily.