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‘Gladys, you can’t give up your house for us. You can’t leave everything behind.’
‘I can. And I am. I told you I will not sit there and rot while you all go off on an adventure without me. I’m coming.’
My heart swelled as she fixed me with a determined grin. Families come in lots of different forms, and maybe mine would include the sweet old lady next door after all. ‘Well, alright. Who am I to tell you no?’
‘Somewhere warm though, remember lad, for the arthritis.’
Dave held out his hand, and I shook it. ‘Ellis, get his details and put the two houses in his name. Make it iron clad so it’s good to go as soon as he’s back with the IDs.’
‘I’ll be back in a few hours. I have a few almost complete ones ready to go at any one time for the people who really need them. Get me the names you want and a picture of each of you against a blank wall. I already have Esther’s.’ We both looked over to where Gladys was sitting next to her, opening a tin of biscuits and encouraging a sugary yellow square into her hand.
‘Your going to have to get her looking more alive if you are getting on a plane with her. There’s no way they aren’t going to be suspicious if she looks like that.’
‘You worry about your job. I’ll worry about mine.’
* * *
Gladys potteredin the kitchen making endless cups of tea as I carried Esther upstairs, stripping off her clothes and sitting her in the bathtub as I used the shower attachment to wash her down. At first she didn’t react, didn’t look at me even, until I gently lathered up shampoo into her hair. The tears fell as my fingers grazed her scalp, soon turning into great, wrenching sobs. I climbed in without undressing and gathered her up against me, letting her cry, letting her dip into the storm of emotions she’d battened down inside.
‘It’s okay, baby. You’ll be okay.’
‘I won’t,’ she sobbed against my chest, her half washed hair sending suds down over my arms. ‘It’s my fault. He’s dead, and it’s my fault.’
‘Look at me,’ I said firmly, tipping her face upward. ‘None of this is your fault. Not a single moment of it. It’s all down to men with too much power, thinking they can control the world. I spoke with Logan briefly, and your dad is in a bad way, but he’s not dead. He’s in hospital and they are doing what they can. Do you remember the last thing he said to you?’
‘To have the baby.’
‘He softened because you are carrying his grandchild. He gave you his blessing.’ I still couldn’t believe it. My child was growing in her, and emotion rocked me at the thought. It wasn’t the time to be celebrating, though, not when she needed me.
‘What about Maeve? I came back to help her.’
I took a cloth and washed her face, clearing the tears and snot and dried blood from her cut. ‘Maeve doesn’t want you to ruin your life for her, any more than you’d let her do it for you. She told me she isn’t the baby, and is happy to look after herself.’
‘I can’t let Harold take her.’
‘You need to look after you and the wee one.’ I spread my hand over her stomach, and she stared at it there before placing her hand on top.
‘You don’t think it’s too soon? We haven’t even started a relationship yet.’
‘I love you, Esther. Despite you being the brattiest little thing, because of it maybe. You are sweet and strong and loving and for weeks now, all I’ve wanted is to spend the rest of my life making you smile. If you feel like it’s too soon, then I’ll support you in that, but for me? I want to keep you, and the baby, forever. I want to marry you and call you my wife. I love you so fucking much it hurts.’
Her tears started anew as she threw her arms around my neck, covering me in shampoo and water as I grinned. ‘I thought I was going crazy for falling for you as quickly as I did, but every day, all I wanted was to find a way back into your arms. I love you too.’
‘I’m sorry that things went down the way they did, and I’m sorry about what happened to your dad. I don’t know how I’ll make it up to you, but I’ll find a way.’
‘It’s not your action to be absolved of. It’s Harold’s. We both know he doesn’t know the meaning of being sorry. I want to kill him. I don’t know how I’ll leave knowing he’s going to go on unchecked.’
‘You have to. For our family.’
‘I know.’
‘Now sit still while I finish washing you and then we’ll find something for you to wear. We need to get out of here as soon as Dave comes back with the documents.’
‘Where will we go?’
‘Anywhere you like.’
‘Did you tell them where you found me?’ She looked back at me over her shoulders and I saw the first glimmer of hope in her eyes.
