Emile nodded as Mel piled into his car. It was almost as if Mel couldn’t get away from the place quickly enough, but then Jess supposed that this was understandable.
‘Are you sure you wouldn’t like us to wait for you?’ Emile asked, glancing towards the house with a frown on his handsome face.
‘No, honestly, I shall be fine,’ Jess assured him. ‘You two go on – I’ll be with you in no time.’
Nodding, he slid into his car and she stood and watched as he pulled out of the courtyard with the removal van close on his tail. And then she stood listening to the birds for a while before going back into the house. It felt strangely empty although the majority of the furniture and all the carpets and curtains she had bought would be staying there. She had taken only the minimum of things, as most of them would be far too big for the tidy four-bedroom detached house she had bought for herself and Mel in nearby Hartshill. It was a lovely house although it was a complete contrast to Stonebridge House. It was very modern and airy, but both she and Mel had taken to it straight away. Now she wandered from room to room, running her hands along the polished mahogany furniture and staring from the windows. The new owners were a lovely couple in their mid-forties and they would be moving in the next day. They were intending to run a bed and breakfast business just as she herself had once intended to do, and she hoped that they would be happy there.
Alfie stayed close to her side as if he sensed that something was going on, and she bent to stroke him, whispering, ‘It’s all right, boy. You’re coming too, don’t worry, and we’ll be right close to Hartshill Hayes so you’ll be able to go for some lovely walks there.’
He wagged his tail as if he understood every word she said as she slowly climbed the stairs to pause in the doorway of Jo’s old room. It still hurt her to go in there, but she somehow felt as if she should say a final goodbye. Not that she felt as if she was leaving Jo behind. She knew that the girl would live on in her heart wherever she lived.
It was as she was standing there that she heard footsteps on the stairs and the next minute Laura burst breathlessly into the room.
‘Oh,’ she gasped, as she leaned against the doorframe. ‘I was worried that I’d missed you but then I saw that your car was still outside so I guessed I’d find you here.’
Seeing the tears in Jess’s eyes she hugged her lovingly. ‘Don’t worry, pet,’ she said gently. ‘It will get easier.’
Too full to speak, Jess merely nodded, and then after looking around for a final time they walked downstairs together and once outside, Jess locked the door. Emile would drop the keys into the estate agent for her later that day.
‘I suppose this is it then.’ Jess looked at her friend. ‘You take care of that lovely new grandson of yours and I shall be round to see you as soon as I’ve got straight in the new house.’
‘You just make sure that you do.’ Laura was sad to see Jess go, but she knew that she was doing the right thing. There was nothing here for her any more and it was time for her to move on. She smiled as she thought of Emile. He had been marvellous to Jess and Mel over the last months, and she had watched the closeness between them grow. Although Jess hadn’t realised it as yet, he was obviously hopelessly in love with her, so who knew what the future might hold? Laura had a sneaky suspicion that Jess was beginning to return his feelings and hoped that when she finally felt ready to leave the past behind, the couple would find peace together.
Now she hugged her friend again and ushered her into the car. ‘Go on then,’ she ordered bossily. ‘And you just be happy, do you hear me? That’s an order.’
‘I’ll try,’ Jess promised as Alfie jumped onto the back seat and she got behind the wheel. And then Laura stood and waved until she had disappeared off down the drive.
It was only then that she turned to look at the girl at her side, who was whispering in her ear.
Martha had appeared in Blue Brick Cottage the day that baby Lucas had come home from hospital, but then that was no surprise to Laura. She had been expecting her.
Her thoughts raced back to the evening she had gone to the youth club that Beth had attended to speak to the person in charge about the boy who might have had sex with her daughter, only to be told that Beth hadn’t been there for months. From then on it had been easy to put two and two together. Beth had been with Simon, and when questioned, the girl had admitted that it was Simon’s child that she was carrying. But how could she have told Jess that? It wasn’t Jess’s fault, after all, and Laura couldn’t see the point in burdening her with any more worries. She had too many revelations to come to terms with as it was, without the added knowledge that her husband had fathered Beth’s child. She could only pray that the boy hadn’t inherited his father’s badness, but only time would tell. And so the Fenton curse would live on, and from now on Martha would be her constant companion, just as she had been Jess’s – unless she could find some way to break the curse and allow Martha to move on, that was . . .
Sighing, she glanced at Martha and side by side they set off towards Blue Brick Cottage.
Whispers Page 39