Page 86 of The Winter Bride

‘Course I bloody am,’ Peggy responded indignantly. ‘An’ they say he’s confessed to the other murders an’ all. I reckon he’ll swing fer this an’ serves ’im right, that’s what I say. At least now when you visit ’ome yer won’t ’ave to keep lookin’ over yer shoulder all the time.’

‘How has his mother taken the news?’ Annie asked.

‘Huh! As yer can imagine, she’s sayin’ it’s all lies, but then she ain’t all the ticket nowadays anyway. If it were anybody else, I could feel a bit sorry fer ’er, but after how she’s treated you I ain’t got no sympathy. Seems to me the only decent one to ever come from that brood were your Monty, God rest his soul. Anyway, I thought I’d let yer know cos I’ve no doubt it’ll be splashed all over the newspapers tomorrow an’ I didn’t want yer to find out that way.’

Annie felt badly shaken and it was only when she put the phone down that she realised she was trembling. She had no doubt that what Peggy had told her was true, but it still took some sinking in. And to think that she could quite easily have been one of his victims.

Nancy immediately noticed how pale she was when she went back upstairs but didn’t ask any questions until Adam was safely tucked up in bed.

‘So?’ she asked. ‘What did Peggy want? Yer were as white as a ghost when yer came back upstairs.’

Haltingly Annie told her what Peggy had said.

‘I always thought he were evil.’ She shuddered. ‘But at least the women o’ Nuneaton will be able to venture out at night again. An’ it means you won’t ’ave to dread bumpin’ into ’im again either.’

‘Yes, there is that,’ Annie said distractedly. She thought of the brick that had been hurled through the window and the attack on Nancy and the fire back in Nuneaton. If it had been Reggie who had done these things then it meant she was finally safe.

Chapter Forty-Three

The next phone call that came the following week was from Annie’s mother.

‘I was wonderin’ if you’d care to spend Christmas ’ere with us?’ she asked.

Annie was so shocked that for a moment she couldn’t reply. ‘But where would we stay?’ she asked eventually.

‘Well, er . . . the thing is, Luca an’ I ’ave decided to try an’ make a go of it again so ’is trailer is empty now an’ yer could stay in there with Adam if you wanted to. We thought a family Christmas for all of us together was long overdue. What do yer think?’

Annie felt a large lump form in her throat. She was being asked to spend Christmas with her family – her real family – for the first time ever. It was what she had always longed for and dreamt of. But then she thought of Nancy. As tempting as the invitation was, she didn’t want to leave her alone and she doubted Nancy would want to leave Jamie.

‘You’ll be comin’ for the weddin’ soon anyway,’ Charity went on persuasively. ‘So we thought when it’s over yer might as well come straight ’ere an’ stay till after the New Year. It don’t make much sense for you to have to go all the way to London to just come back again. So will yer give it some thought?’

‘I think it’s a lovely idea,’ Annie said truthfully. ‘But I can’t confirm until I’ve asked Nancy what she wants to do. I wouldn’t want to leave her here all alone. Can I tell you my decision when you phone next?’

‘Of course,’ Charity assured her. She was just relieved that Annie hadn’t dismissed the idea. They chatted for a few moments more and when she put the phone down Annie made her way back upstairs to talk to Nancy.

‘So, I’m not sure what to do now,’ Annie admitted when she’d told her about the invitation. ‘I’d like to go but if you don’t want to there’s no way I’d leave you here all alone.’

Nancy chuckled. ‘Funnily enough, Jamie’s mam an’ dad invited me to stay wi’ them fer Christmas just the other day an’ I turned ’em down for exactly the same reason. I didn’t want to leave you ’ere alone. But you must go, Annie. Now that you’ve finally found yer family you should spend time gettin’ to know ’em.’

‘If you’re sure you’re happy with it that’s what I’ll do then,’ Annie agreed.

Over the next week Annie was kept busy looking after Adam and making sure there was enough stock in the shop to last Ruth over Christmas. They were busy, as women wanting new outfits to wear over Christmas came and went, and trade had never been better.

The night before Annie was due to leave for Nuneaton, Nancy went to stay with Jamie’s parents, taking Alfred with her, and loaded down with prettily wrapped presents that Annie had bought for her and Jamie’s family.

‘And just make sure you don’t get peeking at them before Christmas day,’ Annie chuckled as Nancy wiped away a tear.

‘I won’t.’ She gave Annie and Adam a hug. ‘But I’ll miss you an’ look forward to seein’ you in the New Year.’

‘We’ll be back before you know it,’ Annie told her.

After Nancy had left with Jamie, she set to packing all the presents she had bought for everyone at home, along with the clothes that she and Adam would need. She was excited yet also a little sad as she thought of Alex. No doubt he would be spending Christmas with his wife and daughter. If only he could have spent it with her, her life would have been perfect, but Annie knew that it was rare to have everything you wanted and tried to count her blessings. Soon Peggy and Levi, two people she loved, would be man and wife and she had no doubt they would live happily ever after – they were perfectly suited to each other. And then she and Adam would be spending their first ever Christmas with her real family. There had been many times throughout her life when she’d thought this was never going to happen, so she felt guilty for wishing for more as she tucked Adam into bed early. They had a very early start the next day and she still had a lot to do.

The journey to Nuneaton was uneventful and when they arrived at the cottage, Peggy was a bag of pre-wedding nerves.

‘Eeh, I can’t ’elp wonderin’ if I ain’t too old fer all this malarky,’ Peggy told her after giving her a warm welcome.

‘Rubbish,’ Annie scolded her. ‘People a lot older than you get married every day and you and Levi are perfect together.’