by Anna Jacobs
‘Give us a little time to pull ourselves together,’ Dan said. ‘It was a close call.’
‘So your colleague said.’ The policeman whistled softly. ‘You’re lucky to be alive, lady.’
‘I know.’ Gabrielle looked towards the window. A moon was riding low in the sky. ‘I’d like to go outside and breathe some fresh air. Would that be all right?’
‘We’d like to get you seen by a doctor as soon as possible,’ the officer said.
‘I’m not hurt.’
‘Maybe not physically, but it’ll probably affect you mentally.’
‘I’ll keep an eye on her,’ Dan said. ‘I’d like some fresh air, too.’
‘It’s spoiled the house for me,’ she said as they went to sit on the stone bench at the side of the garden. ‘I don’t want to stay here any more.’
‘Neither do I. We can go to a hotel tomorrow, or to one of the other houses. Whichever you prefer.’
‘A hotel, one full of n–normal people and simple problems like what time they serve breakfast.’ She shivered.
‘Then that’s what we’ll do, my love.’
She was shivering partly with cold now, he thought.
‘If you’ll let me go for a few minutes, I’ll pack some clothes for you and—’ he began.
‘No. I’ll pack my own bag.’
‘Are you sure you can manage?’
‘Yes. I may have nightmares, though, and you have to promise to hold me if I do.’
‘Any time. You’re a brave woman, Gabrielle.’
She shook her head. ‘I was helpless.’
‘I mean now. No hysterics and you’re even starting to function properly again.’
‘I’m alive. That is … an amazingly sweet thought. It’ll help me get through whatever’s coming.’
As they packed, she said quietly, ‘At least Stu didn’t kill me as he’d been ordered.’
‘He was playing way out of his league, but he led us to the Black Widow. She’d have killed him sooner or later, but now he’ll help put her inside for the rest of her life. An Interpol team has been waiting to pounce on her.’
‘She must be evil.’
‘Some people are. Stu will be locked away for a good long time, but he’ll probably get a lesser sentence because he turned on them and saved your life.’
‘Yes. I suppose so. I hope I never have to see him again.’
‘You may have to give evidence, but you’ll not be near him. Oh, Gabrielle!’ Dan suddenly pulled her close. ‘I love you. I love you so much.’
She smiled up at him. ‘Good. Because I love you, too.’
But she shivered and stopped a couple of times for no reason as she was packing.
They both let out a long sigh of relief as they left the house.
Epilogue
A month later
All the lights were on in the small house in the centre of Top o’ th’ Hill, where Dan and Gabrielle were now living. Even the three-storey house had been too far away from people for her to live comfortably there.
‘You’re all right about going to the party tonight?’ he asked. ‘There will be a lot of people.’
She nodded. ‘Of course I’m all right. Stop treating me as if I’ll melt in the rain.’
‘You’re still having nightmares.’
‘And you’ve been there each time to hold me till I recover.’ She gave him a quick hug then turned back to the mirror to finish pinning up her hair.
‘My counsellor says I’m doing well, and working at the antiques centre gives me something positive to look forward to. Actually, it’s Toby who helps me most. He comes to greet me every day when I arrive, and tells me the bad man won’t ever hurt me again. He’s going to show me the secret room next week.’
‘Chad and Emily are great with those young people, aren’t they? In fact, they’re a lovely couple. I’m glad we’re going to their party.’
‘Yes. And Emily’s daughter might not be related to me by blood, but Libby and I have decided to consider each other cousins.’ Gabrielle stepped back from the mirror. ‘There. How do I look?’ She twirled round in front of him.
‘You look wonderful.’
‘You make me feel wonderful.’
Chadderley Antiques was lit up brightly, like a giant jewel nestled against the darkness of the moors that surrounded it.
There were security guards on duty outside, checking each car that pulled up.
‘Can’t be too careful with such valuable antiques,’ Dan commented. He let a burly young man park his car, showed their invitation and offered Gabrielle his arm.
They walked slowly up the steps to the entrance and stopped inside to say hello to their hosts, then moved on towards the café and corridor area where the guests were assembling.
Toby immediately rushed towards them. ‘I found a ring for you. I found a ring.’ He held it out. ‘You need a ring to get married. I’m going to marry Ashley.’
He thrust a tatty box into Dan’s hand. The ring inside it looked grubby but was quite pretty. Some piece of costume jewellery that had caught the young fellow’s eye, Dan thought. He wanted to buy a much more splendid ring for his wife-to-be.
Chad came past just then and stopped to look at what Dan was holding. ‘Where did you get that?’
‘Toby just gave it to me.’
‘I found it at the market,’ Toby said. ‘You need a ring to get married.’
‘May I?’ Chad took the ring from the box, studied it and pulled out a small magnifying glass. ‘It’s gold.’
Gabrielle and Dan looked at him in surprise.
He continued to examine it. ‘And if I’m not mistaken, that’s a rather good-quality diamond.’ He turned to Toby. ‘How much did you pay?’
‘Five pounds.’
‘You’re very clever. This is a good ring.’
Toby beamed at him. ‘It’s pretty. You need a ring to get married.’
‘How did you know we were going to get married, Toby?’ Gabrielle asked.
‘The Lady told me. I’m going to marry Ashley. So I need a ring, too. I have to find a ring for Ashley.’
As he spoke, the young woman came up to him. ‘Is it a good ring?’ Ashley asked Chad. ‘Toby’s been so excited about it.’
‘It’s a very good ring.’
‘He wouldn’t even let me wash it.’
‘I’ll do that for you. It needs some specialist cleaning.’
Dan looked at him. ‘Will that take long?’
‘No, only a few minutes. It looks worse than it is. Why?’
‘I’d like to announce our engagement tonight.’
Gabrielle tugged at his arm. ‘You know I don’t want any fuss.’
‘But I do, my darling. I want to tell the whole world that we’re going to get married.’
Ashley clapped in excitement, Toby beamed and Chad held out his hand for the ring.
‘I’d better clean it straight away, then. I have an electronic gadget that’ll do most of the work.’
Emily smiled at them. ‘We’ve been waiting for you to tell us.’
‘Is it that obvious?’ Gabrielle asked ruefully.
‘The love between you shines brightly. Don’t even try to hide it.’
Later that evening, after Chad had made a gracious speech to his friends and favourite customers, he held up his hand to stop them moving away. ‘There’s one more thing. We have an engagement announcement tonight. Dan and Gabrielle, will you please step forward.’
Blushing furiously, Gabrielle let Dan take her hand and lead her into the spotlight.
Chad beckoned to Toby. ‘Here. You found the ring. It’s clean now. You can give it to Dan.’
Beaming, the young man took it, studied it for a moment, then handed it to Dan. ‘It’s pretty.’
‘Very pretty. Thank you so much for finding it.’
Dan turned to Gabrielle and raised her hand to his lips. ‘We’re getting married as soon as it can be arranged.’
‘Not a fancy wedding.’
‘No. That’s not our style. But we will invite all our friends.’
‘Yes. I’d like that.’
As he slipped the ring on her finger, she could have sworn a light shone in one corner. As the light faded, the troubles and bad memories seemed to slide gently to one side and she forgot everything but the man she loved and the life they would build together.
Hope shone brightly in her – no, not hope, certainty that they would be happy.