The Soft Whisper of Dreams

by Christina Courtenay

  Chapter Fourteen

  Maddie came slowly into the ward the next morning bearing two small bunches of flowers, peering into the various beds to find the right one. She found Jane in the far corner, next to a window, sitting propped up by a mountain of pillows. She drew in a hissing breath and felt tears gather in her eyes.

  ‘Oh Jane, I didn’t realise quite how bad ...’

  Jane attempted to smile, but it was a rather lopsided effort, and Maddie sat down on the side of the bed and gave her a cautious hug. There seemed to be bandages and bruises everywhere and she was afraid to hurt Jane even further.

  Her sister had called earlier that day to tell her what had happened, but she’d only given her the bare bones. Maddie hadn’t grasped the full extent of the attack. ‘And your mother? Is she the same?’

  ‘No, actually I think she looks marginally better than me. She had the sense to pass out long before I did.’ Jane attempted another smile. ‘I made the mistake of fighting back you see.’

  ‘Oh, Jane.’ The feeble attempt at a joke tore at Maddie’s heart. Jane was being very brave and it made Maddie even more furious with the man who had done this to her. She clenched her fists. He had to be punished. ‘Have you told the police?’

  ‘Yes. A constable came to take down my statement after I spoke to you. They’re going to arrest my father.’

  ‘Thank God for that. At least you’ll be safe for a while, but you must get away. You can’t stay here.’

  ‘I know. I was hoping you might be able to help us. Do you know anywhere we could stay in London, just until we decide what to do?’

  ‘You can stay at my place. I’m sure my flat mate wouldn’t mind. My bedroom is big enough for two. You should be all right there for a while.’

  ‘You’re sure that would be okay?’

  ‘Yes, of course. I’m happy to help you any way I can. Do you have any money, though?’

  ‘A little. I’ve been saving for this for a while. It will last until I can find a job.’

  ‘Good. Don’t hesitate to ask if you need any more. I’m not rich, but I have some savings.’

  ‘Thanks, Maddie.’

  The two girls embraced once more, then Jane said, ‘I think we should visit Mother now. We have to face her together.’

  ‘Are you sure? I mean, she’s been through a lot. The shock of seeing us together might be too much for her.’ Maddie was unaccountably afraid of coming face to face with the woman who she now knew to be her birth mother. She didn’t think she could bear another rejection. ‘Remember how she reacted last time.’

  Jane squeezed her hand. ‘It’ll be all right. You’ll see. Trust me.’

  Maddie closed her eyes and took a deep breath. ‘Okay, let’s do it before I chicken out.’

  She helped Jane out of the bed and they made their way towards a private room further down the corridor. ‘The doctor thought it best for her to be alone,’ Jane whispered before knocking on the door.

  ‘Come in.’ The voice was feeble, but clear.

  The two girls entered.

  ‘Hello, Mother.’ Jane shuffled in first with an attempted smile and her mother smiled back as far as her swollen cheek would let her. Then the smile faded abruptly as she caught sight of Maddie. She turned to Jane, confusion written all over her face.

  ‘Jane? Wha-what’s going on? Who, I mean, why ...’

  ‘Shhh, calm yourself, Mother. This is Maddie, who’s come to visit us, and I think you know who she is.’ When Ruth simply stared at Maddie and said nothing, Jane prompted her, ‘Don’t you?’

  Ruth put up a hand to cover her mouth and large tears welled out of her eyes. She shook her head and struggled to say something, but no sound emerged. Only sobs.

  The disappointment and sadness hit Maddie with the force of an anvil. ‘I told you, Jane,’ she said. ‘I knew it would be too much. I shouldn’t have come. I’m so sorry.’

  ‘Yes, you should.’ The vehemence in Jane’s voice made Ruth jump and she stopped in mid-sob to stare once more from one girl to the other.

  ‘No, I’ll leave you now. Call me tomorrow and I’ll give you that address.’ She fumbled in her purse and fished out a key ring. ‘Here are the keys to my flat.’ She gave Jane a quick hug and headed for the door. She couldn’t stand to stay another second.

  ‘Nooo! No, don’t go, please.’

  Maddie stopped and glanced over her shoulder and was astonished to see Ruth holding out her hands towards her. As if in a dream, she turned around and retraced her steps.

  ‘You want me to stay?’

  Ruth nodded and patted the bed next to her. ‘If-if you can bear it.’

  ‘Bear it? What do you mean?’ Maddie sank onto the edge of the bed, totally puzzled.

  ‘I let them take you,’ Ruth was wracked once more with sobs. ‘Ca-can you ever f-forgive me?’

  Maddie suddenly understood. Smiling, she took Ruth’s hands into her own and squeezed them. ‘Yes, I think so, but you’re going to have to explain. You really are my mother?’ Ruth nodded. ‘Well, I’m sure you had a good reason for having me adopted, but ...’ Maddie hesitated. Maybe now was not a good time to ask. ‘Perhaps you’d like to tell us about it some other time.’

  Ruth nodded once more. ‘I will, I promise, but it’s a long story … May I hold you? Just once?’ she whispered. Maddie went willingly into the open arms, and suddenly she felt whole again. It was a wonderful feeling and she closed her eyes to savour it to the full.

  ‘My own dear little Sorcha,’ Ruth sobbed. Maddie remembered that Sorcha was the name she’d been given originally. She felt tears start in her own eyes and when Jane hugged the two of them from the other side of the bed, they all began to cry together. But they were tears of joy. Maddie thought she had never been so happy in her life.

  ‘The police haven’t been able to find him.’

  The two girls were standing on the railway platform and Jane was holding Maddie’s hands. There was a sad expression on her face. ‘He must have gone into hiding as soon as he realised that Mother and I had been taken to hospital.’ A train thundered by on a different track.

  ‘Yes, I’m sure you’re right.’ The familiar sensation of dread was lurking at the back of Maddie’s mind, but she banished it for now. There would be time enough to think about it later. For the moment she had to say goodbye to her newly discovered mother and sister.

  Under police protection, the two women had returned to their home and packed up their belongings. Anything which couldn’t be carried had been sent to temporary storage and everything had been arranged for their journey to London. Ruth agreed to all the girls’ suggestions without fuss. It seemed as if she was still in a daze, not quite able to comprehend what was happening to her, and the doctor had told Jane and Maddie that it was probably for the best.

  ‘You will be careful, won’t you?’ Jane hugged Maddie fiercely and the hug was returned in equal measure.

  ‘Of course. You too. He just might follow you, you know. Don’t let M-Mother go anywhere on her own, will you?’ Maddie stumbled slightly over the unfamiliar word ‘mother’, but she enjoyed saying it. She had always called her adopted mother ‘mummy’, so in some way it seemed fitting to call her real mother something different.

  ‘I promise. Take care now.’

  Maddie embraced her mother, who patted her on the cheek and whispered, ‘Darling Sorcha, thank you for your help. We’ll see you soon.’

  Maddie smiled. Her mother refused to call her anything other than Sorcha because, as she said, that was how she had thought of her during all those years. ‘To me you’ll always be Sorcha,’ she’d explained and Maddie understood.

  As the train pulled out she waved, then turned to go back to the car park. She wiped away a tear surreptitiously. I’ll see them again soon and then I’ll find out the truth. Anyway, she appeared to be turning into a dreadful cry baby and she was determined to put a stop to that. Normally, she never cried.

  Reminding herself that she had nothing to cry ab
out, quite the opposite, she headed back to Marcombe Hall.

  ‘She went to the hospital yesterday?’ Alex frowned at Foster. He’d found him near the old stable block, which was now used for garaging.

  ‘Yep. Brought flowers and was in there for ages.’

  ‘But she doesn’t know anyone around here. Who the hell would she go and visit?’ Alex couldn’t understand it.

  ‘Well, today she went to the train station to wave off two women. One had lots of bandages, so maybe they were the ones she visited? They seemed very friendly, hugging and stuff. And then she came home.’ Foster scratched his chin which sported a considerable amount of stubble.

  Maddie kept driving to Dartmouth and at first Alex had thought maybe she had a secret lover there or something. But Foster insisted all she did was talk to some dark-haired girl, younger than herself, or browse the shops.

  ‘Never goes indoors at all, except for shopping,’ Foster had reported.

  ‘Wonder who they are?’ Alex mused out loud now.

  ‘No idea,’ Foster said. ‘Want me to try and find out?’

  ‘No, don’t bother. They can’t be anyone dangerous if they’ve been in hospital. Besides, they’re obviously gone now.’ Alex dry washed his face, trying to rid himself of the tension headache he could feel building up behind his eyes. He wished for the hundredth time that Wes and Kayla would come back so they could look out for Maddie instead of him, but there seemed no chance of that. Kayla’s mother still needed them as her father wasn’t fully recovered yet.

  ‘Anything else to report?’

  ‘Well, there was some oily geezer watching them as well. I noticed him ‘cause he was wearing a knitted hat, one of them beanies. I mean, seriously – who wears a hat in this heat? He kept popping up behind corners, spying on the women, but when I asked him what the hell he was looking at, he scurried off, quick as you like. Maybe he was the dark-haired girl’s ex or something?’

  ‘Hmm, wasn’t there someone wearing a hat in the pub the other night? I remember thinking he must be mad. Like you said, it’s not exactly the weather for it.’

  ‘Yeah? I don’t remember that.’

  ‘Well, keep an eye out for him and if you see him again, grab him would you please? I’d like a word. He might know something.’

  ‘No problem. Want me to keep following Maddie then?’ Foster asked.

  ‘If you don’t mind? I’d rather have you help me with the painting, but I daren’t let Maddie out of sight. Who knows when or if the madman – or woman – will strike again?’ And why can’t I stop worrying about her? It’s not as if she cares about me. But he couldn’t help it and he wanted Maddie safe even so.

  ‘No worries, I’m happy to keep watch.’

  ‘Sure? You’re doing a great job. I hope you’re not finding it too boring?’

  ‘No, it’s okay. Better than slaving away over a paint pot.’ Foster grinned.

  Alex smiled back. ‘Thanks, Foster, I owe you. I’ll try to give you the day off tomorrow. I’m going to ask her to come sailing with me, although she might say no. If she does, I’ll let you know.’

  ‘Okay then.’

  ‘For now, she’s inside doing baking, so I can keep an eye on her myself for the rest of the day. Why don’t you go to the beach or something?’

  ‘Great, thanks. I might just do that. I met this really gorgeous little brunette the other day, called Sally. She seems to spend a lot of time on the beach.’

  ‘You’d better hurry then, but if I were you I’d get rid of that fuzz on your chin first.’

  ‘No, she said she liked it last time. “Designer stubble” she called it and ran her fingernails through it. Fair made me shiver, I can tell you.’ Foster shuddered in anticipation as if to emphasise his point.

  Alex laughed. ‘I see. I’ll keep my advice to myself then. Maybe I should try growing some myself?’

  ‘Yeah, I would. What you got to lose, eh?’

  ‘What indeed.’

  Against her better judgement, Maddie agreed to go sailing with Alex again. She knew that she should have said no, and she almost did, but after the departure of her mother and sister she felt lonely and in need of something to do. She was tired of twitching at the slightest sound and sailing seemed like a good idea, even if it meant spending a whole day in Alex’s company. At least out at sea there wouldn’t be anyone around to attack her.

  They set off just before lunchtime the next day, heading in the opposite direction along the coast to where they’d gone the last time. There was a fresh breeze filling the sail and the little boat bobbed along at a rapid speed. Maddie positioned herself near the prow and revelled in the sensation of being carried across the waves. The wind made her hair flap out behind her like a pennant and she could taste the salty spray as it came up to cover her in a fine mist.

  ‘This is lovely!’ she called out to Alex, who was busy doing something with ropes. He just smiled and nodded and she had to look away. He was looking decidedly piratical today with a five o’clock shadow covering his jaw. When he smiled, his teeth flashed extra white because of it and she had a sudden longing to be in his arms again, being kissed senseless and … Damn it! I’ve got to stop thinking about him that way. She took a deep breath and concentrated on sunbathing.

  Half an hour later they rounded a headland and the wind direction changed abruptly. Alex made some adjustments to the sail, but just as he appeared to have everything under control there was an almighty crash and the mast broke off at the bottom, almost capsizing the boat in the process. It landed only inches from Maddie, who nearly jumped overboard in fright. She let out a shriek and looked at Alex who was standing stock still, staring at her as if turned to stone.

  ‘Alex? What the hell just happened?’

  Maddie’s words seemed to jolt Alex out of his trance and he came rushing over towards her, taking her by the shoulders.

  ‘Are you all right? Bloody hell, that was close!’

  ‘Yes, yes I’m fine, but why did the mast break like that?’

  ‘I don’t know.’ He looked bewildered, then turned slowly to go and inspect the damage.

  ‘Bloody hell,’ he muttered again, and attempted to pull the mast into a more even position so the little boat wouldn’t keel over.

  ‘What’s the matter?’ Maddie came over to help him, and together they succeeded in placing the mast along the middle of the boat and hauling in the flapping sail.

  ‘Look at the bottom of the mast.’ Alex nodded in that direction. ‘It looks like someone has sawed through it almost completely, leaving just a tiny bit. After sailing for a while, even the smallest gust of wind would have broken it off.’

  ‘Oh my God!’ The cold dread squeezed Maddie’s insides once more, and she had to sit down when her legs suddenly turned to jelly. ‘You mean, someone did this deliberately?’

  ‘Yes, exactly.’ Stowing the sail away under deck, Alex went to the back of the boat and tried to start the little outboard engine. ‘We’ll have to return to shore.’

  That was easier said than done, however, as the engine refused to splutter into life. When Alex examined it more closely, he found that it too had been tampered with. He swore a blue streak.

  ‘So now what do we do?’ Maddie looked at the rapidly receding shore line and saw that the boat was quickly heading out to sea, carried along by the current.

  ‘We’ll have to radio for help.’ With a grim expression on his face, Alex went below deck and Maddie heard him talking. She sighed. Jane had been right. Her father was still dangerous and he hadn’t given up. Not by a long shot.

  Alex emerged from below, slamming the hatch to behind him. ‘Shit!’ he exclaimed. ‘The bastard’s broken the radio too.’

  ‘Oh, no, you’ve got to be joking!’ Maddie swallowed hard, but the cold feeling in the pit of her stomach grew since she could see that he wasn’t.

  ‘We’ll have to swim, Maddie. Put on a life vest, and let’s go. If we wait much longer, we’ll be too far out to make it to shore.�
� He rummaged in a cupboard and swore again. ‘I don’t believe it – no life vests. Shit, I should have checked, but I never thought …’ He clenched his fists. ‘Someone’s going to pay for this.’

  ‘If we make it that is.’ Maddie regarded him anxiously. She was a strong swimmer, but she didn’t much fancy trying to reach the shore from here. It looked very far away and the water was freezing cold.

  ‘Do you want to stay here and I’ll raise the alarm as soon as I get to dry land?’ Alex put a hand on her arm comfortingly. Maddie shook her head. Somehow the thought of floating around all alone on the ocean didn’t appeal to her in the slightest. She would rather take her chances in the sea with him.

  ‘No, I’m coming with you. Something else might go wrong with the boat and I’d still have to swim for it. What if there’s a hole in the hull as well?’

  ‘Okay, if you’re sure. Let’s tie a rope around our waists so that we don’t become separated at least. That is, if the bastard who did this has left us any rope,’ he muttered.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Fortunately, there was some rope and Alex secured one end around Maddie’s waist, winding the other round his own. They dived into the water wearing nothing but their swimsuits and set off towards land. Alex had brought a small compass, which he put inside his swimming trunks, just to make sure they didn’t swim in the wrong direction if they lost sight of the shore.

  ‘If you get tired, tell me, and we’ll just float for a while,’ he said to Maddie, and she nodded and concentrated on swimming. The water was icy and she knew the best thing was to keep moving. She was absolutely terrified, but tried her best not to think of the fathoms of sea underneath her. That way lay insanity, she was sure.

  For two hours they struggled along against the current and the waves, resting now and then, and eventually Maddie felt her strength fading fast. Every time she was ready to give up, however, Alex swam up to her and held her close for a while, treading water, giving her as much encouragement as he could.