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He said nothing, merely switched off the engine and unfastened his key from the ring and held it out to her. ‘You’d better use this, then, to let yourself in.’
‘Aren’t you coming in, then?’ She searched his face, desperate even now to see something that would make her change her mind and realise that she’d made a dreadful mistake, but the mask he wore so often was firmly back in place.
‘No. I shall have to go back. There are things that need sorting out and now is the time to do it.’ He slid the key back into the ignition and started the engine again, turning to look at her, and Beth felt her heart contract. Sitting there with him, his face shadowed by the dim glow from the dashboard, it was hard not to imagine that tonight had all been some horrible dream. He looked the way he always did, the way she pictured him whenever she closed her eyes, but the outward image belied the true character of the man.
‘You go on inside, Beth. I’ll be back later. Don’t wait up for me.’
She nodded and climbed out of the car, watching until the rear lights disappeared, then took a slow, steadying breath as she walked towards the door. It was over. Now all that was left was to tidy up any loose ends. When he got back she would be gone.
CHAPTER TEN
THE sky was leaden, huge black clouds oozing over the skyline, threatening another downpour. Beth drew her coat collar tightly under her chin and hurried along the street, anxious to get into work before the rain set in. It was only a short walk from the drab little room she rented to the estate agent’s office where she worked, but she was already cold, her fingers numb from the icy wind. Winter had arrived with a vengeance, bleak and grey, matching the bleakness in her heart.
The office was quiet that morning, just a few telephone enquiries concerning property which had been viewed at the weekend. Beth handled what enquiries she could, then passed the rest on to her boss and carried on with typing out the details of a house that was to be put on the market. A lot of the work she did was boringly repetitive, but it was enough for her to manage, enough to pay the rent on the room. Most of the time she felt as though she was existing in some kind of limbo, going through the motions of living a life which held no interest for her any longer. All the joy and colour of truly living had died that night she’d learned how David had used her.
Her eyes clouded for a second, the words blurring on the page, and she took a slow, deep breath as she waited for the agony to pass as she knew it would. She tried to stop herself from thinking about David, but just sometimes a thought would slide unbidden into her mind, a thought so rawly painful that it left her shaking. They said time healed, but several months had passed and the wounds were still raw and open. It would take more than time to wipe David from her mind and from her heart.
The door opened, sending a flurry of cold air across the room to where she sat behind the desk. Beth looked up from her work, fixing a smile to her mouth, then felt her stomach lurch when she recognised the couple who had come in.
‘Beth! Oh, Beth, I don’t believe it’s you at last. We’ve looked everywhere for you and now here you are!’ Maggie’s face was alight with joy, her green eyes gleaming with evident relief as she ran across the room and caught Beth’s cold hands in hers. For a moment Beth sat still, stunned by the unexpected meeting, then slowly drew away.
‘Hello, Maggie. How are you?’
‘Never mind about me, it’s you we want to hear about! We almost tore this city apart trying to find where you’d gone to after you left the flat!’
Beth looked away from the glittering green gaze which held a concern she didn’t want to see. She didn’t want anything from anyone now. She wanted to live her life on her own, locked into this state of limbo. It hurt far less this way. ‘There was no reason for me to stay. You must know that.’
‘But why just disappear? You must have realised how concerned we would all be after what happened. David has been half out of his mind with worry, wondering what had happened to you.’
David. The name slid past the barriers she’d tried so hard to erect and she drew in a ragged little breath. ‘I’m sure David isn’t the least worried about what happens to me. I’m no longer his concern.’
