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Back Where The Story Starts Save as PDF
Chapters (65)
  1. TITLE PAGE
  2. COPYRIGHT PAGE
  3. CONTENTS
  4. PROLOGUE
  5. 1
  6. 2
  7. 3
  8. 4
  9. 5
  10. 6
  11. 7
  12. 8
  13. 9
  14. 10
  15. 11
  16. 12
  17. 13
  18. 14
  19. 15
  20. 16
  21. 17
  22. 18
  23. 19
  24. 20
  25. 21
  26. 22
  27. 23
  28. 24
  29. 25
  30. 26
  31. 27
  32. 28
  33. 29
  34. 30
  35. 31
  36. 32
  37. 33
  38. 34
  39. 35
  40. 36
  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. 49
  54. 50
  55. 51
  56. 52
  57. 53
  58. 54
  59. 55
  60. 56
  61. 57
  62. 58
  63. BOOK CLUB QUESTIONS
  64. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  65. ABOUT THE AUTHOR

But what could Grace do? Bigamy was a crime and a salacious one at that. Charles was a public figure in certain circles. If the story got out, it would be in all the papers. Hector and Clio would be publicly shamed, hounded at school, ostracised. She had pictured the headlines. ‘Shocking bigamist comes a cropper.’ ‘Double trouble for Apollo’s fiddle player.’ How could she put her precious children through that? And then Charles would be arrested, probably sent to prison. That would be the end of the business here, too. She wouldn’t be able to bear opening the Hall to the public knowing that people were just coming to visit out of morbid curiosity or scorn. She would have to dismiss most of the staff as well, for if the Hall didn’t open there would be nothing for them to do.

The only solution available to Grace, as she saw it, was to keep her mouth shut and pretend that she believed Charles’s story about following the Grand Prix, attending other races and going to random work meetings that appeared to make no sense. She had let him carry on for the sake of everything she held dear, and now the burden of keeping his double life a secret still fell to her, for if she let it escape out into the world it was she that had the most to lose.

And poor Melissa. Her solution to Charles’s infidelity was to take her own life. Grace would never know how her mind had tortured itself into seeing suicide as her only solution, but Grace had to assume that part of her reasoning was Charles’s decision to abandon her. The timing was too big a coincidence to be otherwise. Melissa must have found out who Ray really was, and for her that truth and all it dragged along with it had been too much to carry.

How much responsibility for that, she wondered, would fall at her feet? Charles’s behaviour was unforgivable, and yet it was Grace herself who had let it go unpunished for all those years. Did that make her as culpable as Charles? In her heart, Grace knew that it did. Through her silence she had caused almost as much damage as Charles. In protecting her own life and those of the people she loved, she had not given any thought to the other family caught up in this mess. And now it was too late.

Grace poured herself another finger of whisky and drank it without even being aware of what she did. She sat there numbly until her thoughts settled. Well, she couldn’t do anything about Melissa now; that ship had sailed. But perhaps she could help Leah. She wasn’t sure what she would do, but she had to do something.

48

48

GRACE – THEN