Gracie

by Marie Maxwell

  But worst of all, Sean had told her he was going to work and had instead secretly gone to visit his mother. Sean had lied. He had put his mother first once again.

  It was as she focused on them, analysing their every movement from a distance, imagining the conversation and wondering what to do next, that she had seen Gracie out of the corner of her eye. She was wheeling a pram along the road, a pram that Jennifer knew contained the baby, who was a stumbling block to her complete ownership of Sean Donnelly.

  Jennifer watched from her hidden position as Gracie carefully pushed the pram into just the right place under the overhang of the porch; she watched her turn it around so the sun shone down on the tasselled canopy and not the baby, and then she watched her sister go back inside.

  Jennifer stared across the road, taking in every detail.

  It was a big and bouncy coach-built pram with huge wheels and a cream and silver body that caught the weak sunlight as it filtered down and magnified it. As she watched the canopy’s fringe flutter gently in the breeze the picture postcard image of domesticity and motherhood infuriated her.

  Without planning or formulation Jennifer had instantly known what she was going to do – and at that moment it seemed like the best idea in the world.

  One that would teach them all a lesson.

  She had left her deckchair and strolled over the road, her head down and the collar of her jacket up. She walked quietly up the path and then, ducking down just enough not to be seen through the windows, she swiftly lifted the baby out of the pram, pulled out the blanket and strolled casually away with the child in her arms, hoping no one had seen her.

  And no one had. The whole exercise had taken seconds.

  Jennifer walked along the pavement a short way then crossed over, went down to the beach and settled on the far side of the breakwater, which was out of sight of the hotel. She swaddled the baby up tightly in the expansive crocheted blanket, tucked her up against the seaweed-clad panels, out of sight, and then waited expectantly for the furore.

  ‘But she’s sickly, she needs to be here with her mother …’ Gracie screamed as the implications of what had happened hit her. ‘How can they do this? How can they? Where’s Sean?’

  Gracie was running back and forth in the middle of the road like a mad woman.

  ‘Come here …’ Ruby pleaded as she tried to catch her. ‘This won’t help. We have to go inside and think, and decide whether to phone the police.’

  But Gracie wasn’t listening. She just kept repeating herself over and over. ‘They’ve taken Fay …’

  ‘Who has? Who do you think has picked her up?’ Ruby grabbed Gracie by her upper arms and gently shook her. ‘Who?’

  ‘Sean and his sodding mother of course! You said he was here and now Fay’s gone; they’ve taken her.’

  ‘But Sean and his mother are over there. Look, they’re over there walking this way, they haven’t got Fay …’

  Gracie looked over to where Ruby was pointing and saw them walking in her direction. Rosaleen had her arm hooked through her son’s and both had their heads down, engrossed in their conversation.

  ‘I don’t understand, where’s Fay then?’ Her hand flew up to her mouth as she tried to block the scream. ‘Oh my lord, Jennifer … this is the sort of thing she’d do when she’s having one of her jealous turns!’

  She ran over to them.

  ‘Have you got Fay? Where’s my baby? Has Jennifer got her?’ Gracie pummelled Sean’s chest with her fists as she screamed questions at him.

  ‘What are you talking about?’ Sean asked as he grabbed her wrists to stop the attack.

  ‘Someone’s taken Fay out of her pram! She’s gone, my baby’s gone …’

  ‘And you’re thinking it was us? That we have Fay?’ Rosaleen Donnelly’s shock was so apparent that Gracie knew it wasn’t them. It had to be Jennifer.

  ‘Does she know you’re here?’ she screamed at Sean, her face inches away from his. ‘Does Jennifer know?’

  ‘What’s that got to do with this?’ he asked, but Gracie knew he was being evasive. She also knew from the guilt written all over his face that Sean had gone to see his mother without telling Jennifer.

  ‘Jennifer has her.’ Gracie took a deep breath and looked around, her eyes taking in every person she could see and then she looked further, desperately scanning the beach.

  ‘She has her, I know she has, and she’s watching this and enjoying it. This is for your benefit …’

  ‘Are you mad, Gracie? Why in heaven’s name would she do that? She doesn’t want anything to do with that baby.’

  Gracie vaguely registered Rosaleen Donnelly as she took a step away from her son and turned to look at him.

  ‘That baby? Did you just say that baby? That’s your daughter and she’s missing, and all you can say is that baby? Now get yourself together and find out what’s going on, Sean Donnelly! Be a man!’

  Sean looked at his mother, put an arm around her shoulder and pulled her in to him.

  ‘I didn’t mean it like that, Mam.’ He looked at Gracie. ‘Where shall we start?’

  ‘With Jennifer.’

  ‘I’ll drive Sean to find her,’ Johnnie said.

  Jennifer watched the scene unfolding with delight. She loved seeing the friction between Gracie, Sean and Rosaleen.

  That’ll teach them, she thought as she savoured it all, but then the baby started to whimper.

  ‘Shut up, they’ll hear you.’ She put her hand on the baby and half-heartedly pushed her back and forth, rolling her in the sand, while still keeping an eye on the chaos around the hotel.

  But then the whimpering turned into a full-blown cry and, despite Jennifer’s efforts to stop her, the volume increased.

  Jennifer peered over the top of the breakwater and again smiled at the chaos she had caused.

  She had wanted to teach them all a lesson and she had succeeded, but now she had had enough. She was bored.

  As she watched everyone in deep conversation she took her chance and ducked off in the other direction, leaving Fay alone and crying, tucked out of sight behind the breakwater strut, with the tide slowly but surely coming in.

  ‘Excuse me,’ the woman said as she approached one of the guests standing on the edge of the group outside the hotel. ‘I heard someone say there’s a baby missing. There’s a bundle down at the water’s edge over there that my dog was sniffing … I didn’t take any notice but maybe …’ As she pointed her voice trailed off because everyone started running.

  ‘She’s here, we’ve found her …’

  Gracie ran down to the spot with Sean alongside her. She was scared as she had never been scared before but then she heard the cry.

  ‘See? I told you it wasn’t Jennifer …’ Sean said.

  ‘Then who do you think it was, Sean?’ She screamed at him. ‘Who else would have dumped Fay on the beach?’

  ‘I don’t know, I don’t understand it – but Jennifer isn’t here and Fay is safe.’

  Gracie held Fay to her. ‘Listen to me, Sean; listen to me! As long as you are with Jennifer you will never see Fay again. She’s dangerous, and so are you when you’re with her.’

  Sean shrugged and walked off, oblivious to the look of horror on his mother’s face.

  THIRTY-TWO

  ‘Hello Gracie,’ the man said as he approached her on the pavement. ‘Fancy a spin on the rollercoaster and an ice cream?’

  Gracie was just going into the chemists on the Broadway in Thorpe Bay when Edward Woodfield appeared in front of her. For a moment she didn’t recognise him. The voice was familiar, with its gentle tone and perfect enunciation, but his whole appearance was so different. She was momentarily thrown as she realised who it was, and she looked at him with a mixture of shock and curiosity.

  ‘Edward? Blimey! What are you doing here?’ Gracie looked around nervously.

  ‘I’m sailing back to Africa next week and I wanted to let you know so I decided to drive down and tell you face to face …’ He pau
sed and grinned. ‘Don’t look so shocked, I didn’t just turn up at the hotel. I telephoned when I arrived in Southend and Ruby told me you were at the shops. Luckily she gave me directions.’

  ‘She shouldn’t have done that.’ Gracie said, trying to compose herself and pretend nothing out of the ordinary was happening.

  ‘Don’t blame her, she was just trying to be nice. Did you tell her we’d spoken the other week?’

  ‘Yes, I did. Ruby is the only person who knows everything about me, the only person I trust with everything. And it works the other way, of course… .’

  ‘It must be nice to be close friends like that. I don’t think men do that sort of thing … Look, can we go somewhere to talk? I’m not trying to pressure you, just a chat, as old friends. I know your situation and I’d never compromise you.’

  ‘I don’t think it’s a good idea, even if you are going back to Africa. I’m still a married woman,’ Gracie said, edging away. She didn’t want to be that close to him, she didn’t want to remember their kiss.

  ‘You’re probably right, but you did phone me and then you stood me up so I thought it would be nice to have the catch-up we didn’t have in Melton.’

  ‘I’m sorry about that. I had to get back to Southend straight away. But Louisa guessed who it was, you know. You remembered me.’

  She started walking but he fell into step beside her.

  ‘Louisa is the nearest thing to a Ruby that I have. But I don’t tell her everything, because she’s my brother’s wife, and if it came to the wire that would be where her loyalties lie.’

  Gracie started laughing. ‘Sibling loyalty? Wish my sister had heard of it …’

  ‘Why do you say that?’

  ‘Never mind, it’s a long story and I have to get back to work …’

  ‘Well, as I’m here we might as well have that chat, don’t you think? I won’t be back in England for another three years. Let’s go and sit over there and talk.’

  As Edward looked at her she could feel herself weakening, in exactly the same way she had when they’d met. But there was something different about him, and it took a moment for her to realise that beneath the beard there were scars and he didn’t lope along as he had before. And then she remembered that he’d told her on the phone that he’d had an accident. An altercation with a tree. She realised, looking at him, that he had made light of it. It had to have been far more than an altercation.

  ‘Look, you can come back to the hotel with me if you wish,’ Gracie said, softening. ‘We can talk there but I can’t be seen with you, not at this moment. I don’t want anything to go wrong with …’ She stopped herself. ‘I just don’t want to be seen doing anything untoward.’

  ‘Look, I’ve borrowed Harry’s car – I’ll give you a lift,’ Edward said quickly, indicating a vehicle parked a little further up the road.

  ‘Nice car …’ Gracie smiled as she lowered herself into the passenger seat of the dark green sports car and stretched her legs out. She tucked her shopping bag down by her feet and rested her arm on the cutaway door.

  ‘It’s a Triumph,’ he said.

  ‘I know, I can read. Now no trees this time, please,’ she said and Edward laughed.

  ‘Definitely no trees, especially in Harry’s car.’

  Under Gracie’s directions, he drove the long way back to the hotel through the country lanes of Barling and Wakering, and then from end to end of the seafront, with Gracie holding onto her hair which was trying to stand up on end.

  When they finally arrived at the hotel, Edward parked a little way away and let Gracie go on ahead before following her.

  Gracie was in the lobby when he entered. ‘If you’d like to come this way, Mr Woodfield, Miss Blakeley is in her office.’

  He remained straight-faced and as they walked into the office Ruby jumped up from her chair.

  ‘Oh my, oh my, whatever happened to you?’ she asked by way of greeting.

  ‘I had a car accident a while ago …’

  ‘Well, the beard suits you, you look very distinguished but I can’t say the same for Gracie. Your hair … have you looked in the mirror?’

  Gracie blushed and tugged at her hair with her fingers. ‘Oh well, can’t be worse than the rollercoaster.’

  The three of them laughed at the shared joke and it eased the awkwardness of the situation.

  ‘Well, I have to go and do something or other so I’ll leave you to it,’ Ruby said, still smiling. ‘But don’t forget dragon lady and satanic friend are leaving this morning. Johnnie’s taking them to the station in about an hour.’

  ‘Praise the Lord and bang the tambourine, I’ll be there to wave her off with streamers,’ Gracie smiled.

  ‘I’ll bring you tea. I’m getting good at handing out tea trays to you, aren’t I? Aunt Leonora taught me well!’

  Ruby grinned as she left the room and pulled the door shut behind her.

  ‘Did you have the accident in Africa?’ Gracie asked, not only to break the ice but also because she was curious. If he hadn’t come up to her at the shops she doubted she would have recognised him, he looked so different.

  ‘No, near home. I was on the last bend before the drive when I had an encounter with a very large aged tree. The tree survived.’ He laughed. ‘And so did I. Eventually. The car didn’t make it, though! I’ve not been back to Africa yet. Saffron Walden has been my prison since the day of …’ he stopped and looked away.

  ‘Since the day of what?’

  ‘The accident, since the day of the accident. But that’s unfair of me. My family have been wonderful, especially Louisa. She’s turned out to be such a gem during my time out of action. I feel really embarrassed about how dismissive I was of her previously.’

  Gracie felt a strange twinge of jealousy but quickly brushed it away.

  ‘How is Louisa? I know it was she who answered the phone when I rang to tell you I couldn’t meet you. And she recognised me. I can’t imagine how she did that after one brief meeting on the beach …’

  ‘I confided in her just a little. She’s been good to me.’

  Again, Gracie felt an odd jealousy.

  ‘I’ll go and chase up the tea. Ruby’s rushed off her feet so she’ll probably forget.’

  ‘Is it okay for me to be in here? I don’t want to upset anyone, especially your husband …’

  ‘How much did Ruby tell you?’

  ‘Only that you and Sean weren’t together and that you were having a bad time.’

  ‘Did she also tell you that Sean and I have a baby? A daughter?’

  ‘No, she didn’t, I had no idea.’ The expression on his face was hard to read but Gracie had immediately decided she was going to be open and honest.

  ‘There are a lot of things about me you have no idea about.’

  As she looked at him she remembered the day they had gone to buy the ice creams. It was a memory that she had successfully locked away but as she looked at him she was instantly transported back there. It seemed so long ago in one way, but in another it was as if it was happening all over again.

  ‘I hadn’t expected it to be that easy to get you alone,’ Edward said as they walked side by side as slowly as they could, towards the ice cream stand that was furthest away. ‘It’s lucky they’re all too lazy to want to go ice cream hunting.’

  ‘Ruby wasn’t being lazy, she knew what was happening.’

  ‘What did she know was happening? I need to know because I don’t even understand it myself.’

  He looked at her curiously as he walked closer to her side so their hands were nearly touching. Nearly, but not quite.

  ‘She just knew something was up, she knows me too well,’ Gracie said without moving away, but ensuring there was no contact.

  ‘Yes, something was definitely up; I knew when I saw you. I want you to know I don’t make a habit of proposing to random young ladies. This has never happened to me before. Love at first sight? I always thought it was a myth …’

  Gracie stopped walki
ng and turned towards him.

  ‘I shouldn’t be here with you. I should have told you when we were at the beach …’

  ‘Don’t tell me anything I don’t want to hear, not right now, please …’ he interrupted her.

  She looked at him intently. Something told her that he knew what she was going to say, that he’d already seen the ring that she had tried to hide.

  ‘No, I have to tell you. I’m engaged to be married.’ Embarrassed she looked down at her feet.

  ‘I know, I saw the ring.’

  ‘I thought you might have and I’m ashamed of myself for trying to hide it. But what you don’t know is that I’m getting married on Saturday. This Saturday.’ Gracie paused. ‘And I shouldn’t be walking along here with you; I should be back at Ruby’s hotel getting everything ready for the day.’

  Edward Woodfield didn’t say anything; he just looked a little puzzled. She could see he was trying to absorb the information she’d just given him.

  ‘Is that what you want to do?’ he asked.

  ‘We still have a lot of preparations …’

  ‘I don’t mean do you want to go home, I meant do you want to get married on Saturday – to someone who isn’t me?’

  ‘Please don’t ask me that, it’s not fair.’

  ‘Okay. Well, let’s pretend for a few minutes that isn’t what’s happening. Let’s just walk and talk, and get to know each other …’

  And they had. Then, when they were nearly back to the spot on the beach, they ducked behind the line of huts and vendor stands blocking them from sight of the others. Edward turned to her.

  ‘Please don’t marry someone else, Gracie. I know we’ve only just met but I feel I know you already. I wouldn’t presume to ask you to call your wedding off and elope with me but at least delay it … Please?’

  She looked at him and smiled. ‘I’m sorry,’ was all she said.

  He glanced around and then leaned forward, took her face in his hands and kissed her gently on the lips. She didn’t pull away, simply savoured the moment with the stranger.

  By the time they got back to the group Gracie had just two thoughts in her head.