The Soft Whisper of Dreams

by Christina Courtenay

  ‘I knew those kick-boxing lessons would come in useful one day,’ she muttered and tried another kick. This time he was ready for her, however, and he simply grabbed her leg and twisted so that she fell down. ‘Ouch!’

  Maddie was by no means beaten though, and quickly bounced to her feet, the way she’d been taught. She aimed a punch at his face, missed, and hit his arm instead. It was enough to stop him from retrieving the shotgun, but the clout she received in return made her ears ring. She shook her head, but kicked out gamely, a double-kick. The first one missed, but she feinted slightly and the second one connected with Blake-Jones’s crotch. He doubled up in pain and let out a keening wail. Alex took this opportunity to run over and snatch up the weapon, before aiming an almighty punch at the man’s jaw. Blake-Jones reeled back, then launched himself at Alex with a roar of pain and fury. Alex threw the gun to Maddie, who caught it deftly. She watched with bated breath as the two men fought.

  Her father had by this time managed to stand up, and limped over to Maddie. ‘Dad, are you alright?’

  ‘I think so. Just a flesh wound, but it hurts like hell. Give me the shotgun, please.’

  Maddie handed it to him gladly. She didn’t like guns of any kind, not even on television. She moved towards the fight between Alex and Blake-Jones to try and help, but Alex called out, ‘Stay away, I can handle this.’

  Maddie nodded. She trusted him and he seemed to know what he was doing. Without thinking she began to gnaw at her already abused nails.

  It should have been an uneven match, with Alex half the older man’s age and considerably fitter, but Blake-Jones fought like a man possessed. Alex appeared to be equally furious, however, and eventually gained the upper hand, sending the older man sprawling. When Blake-Jones stayed on the ground, Alex stopped and caught his breath.

  Maddie’s father limped towards the prone man and pointed the weapon at him. ‘Stand up,’ he snarled. ‘This time you’re not getting away with your evil schemes.’ He turned slightly to order Alex to call for the police and in that split second Blake-Jones managed to stagger to his feet. When Brian turned back to his prisoner, it was to find him charging towards him with hatred shining out of his eyes. Reacting purely on instinct, Brian pulled the trigger.

  The expression on Blake-Jones’s face would have been ludicrous had it not also been terrifyingly macabre. He looked stunned, as if he’d never imagined that he could possibly be mortal himself, before directing his gaze downwards to where a large stain was rapidly spreading across his middle. His hands came up to clutch at the wound, then his legs buckled and he fell face first onto the grass. A strange gurgling sound came from his throat and after that all was quiet.

  The three remaining occupants of the garden stood in stunned silence until Brian too began to fall. Alex rushed forward to catch him and Maddie was galvanised into action as well.

  ‘Dad! Oh, no, don’t you dare die on me too.’

  ‘He’s ... not ... going to ... die.’ Alex panted under the weight of the big man and struggled to pull him towards the bench. ‘He’s probably fainted from loss of blood. Run inside and call the ambulance and police will you, please?’ Maddie didn’t need to be asked twice.

  ‘I’m getting a bit tired of seeing you, young lady,’ the doctor at the hospital joked when he found her in the corridor waiting for news of her father. ‘Is there anyone amongst your acquaintances who isn’t going to visit this hospital in the near future?’

  Maddie managed a ghost of a smile. ‘No offence, doctor, but I really hope this is the last time I’ll see you too, at least for now.’

  ‘Yes, well, I won’t take that as gospel. Now, are you waiting to hear about Mr Ruthven?’

  ‘Yes, please. Is he all right?’

  ‘Absolutely. The flesh wound in his thigh was deep, but we have cauterised it and given him some fresh blood to make up for what he lost. A few days’ rest and he should be fighting fit.’

  ‘Thank God for that. He had me really worried there for a while.’

  ‘You seem to have had an exciting time of it recently. Are you okay yourself or would you like me to prescribe something to help you sleep?’

  ‘Oh, no thanks. I’m going to sleep like a log now that I know Mr Blake-Jones can’t hurt me any longer. He was the only reason I kept having nightmares.’

  ‘That’s understandable. I’m glad it’s over. Try to rest for a few weeks if you can. There may be some delayed reaction to all these shocks, although you strike me as fairly resilient.’

  ‘I’m tough as old boots.’ Maddie smiled. ‘Can I go and see Dad now or is he asleep?’

  ‘No, I think he’s awake. You go ahead.’

  ‘Thank you for all your help.’

  ‘Not at all.’

  Brian’s large frame filled the hospital bed almost to overflowing and he looked oddly out of place. His skin tone closely matched the sheets, however, and Maddie knew he must be feeling quite rough, although he smiled at her when she tiptoed into the room.

  ‘Dad. How are you?’

  ‘Much better for seeing you.’ She perched on the edge of the bed and he took her hand. ‘I’m sorry we’ll have to postpone our painting session now, but I’ll try to heal quickly. Can you stay in Devon for a while or do you have somewhere else you have to go?’

  ‘Normally I live in London, but I’m staying with my friend Kayla at the moment. She’s married to Alex’s brother Wes. They have said I can visit them for as long as I like and the doctor just told me to rest for a few weeks, so I guess I’ll be here for a while.’

  ‘Good. We have a lot of catching up to do.’ He looked her in the eyes. ‘That is, if you want to? I realise I have no claim on you any more, not really. You are Maddie now, not my Sorcha, and I shall have to get used to calling you that. No doubt you have your own life to lead and I’m nothing but a stranger.’

  ‘Don’t say that, please. During all that time you were with me in my dreams, so you’ll never be a stranger to me. We’ll start over and this time we won’t let anyone ruin things.’ She gave him a hug and stood up to leave. ‘I’d better let you have some rest now, but I’ll be back tomorrow. Sleep well, Dad.’

  ‘I will now, Sorcha-Maddie.’

  Maddie was too weary to speak a single word on the journey back to Marcombe, and Alex seemed to understand. Once there they were fussed over by Kayla.

  ‘Go straight to bed, you two, and I’ll bring you dinner on a tray. You must be absolutely exhausted. I still can’t take it all in. It’s like some horrible dream.’

  Without protest, they did as they were told and Maddie’s boast to the doctor proved to be correct. She had the best night’s sleep for ages.

  ‘Oh, Maddie, you must be absolutely over the moon.’ Kayla was curled up at one end of a huge settee the following evening and Maddie at the other. Both women were sipping glasses of champagne, which Kayla had insisted on providing in order to celebrate Maddie’s good fortune. ‘To think that you not only found your mother and a sister, but your father as well! Not to mention two half-brothers you didn’t know about. And they’re such nice people. I just can’t believe it.’

  ‘Yes, I’m very happy, Kayla,’ Maddie agreed. And she was. Ecstatic, in fact. At least about that part. Everything had ended in the best possible way for everyone concerned. Maddie sighed inwardly. Then why did she still have this hollow feeling inside her? As if there was something vital missing. She bit her lip. She knew what it was. Or rather, who it was.

  ‘What’s the matter? I must say, you don’t look as thrilled as I’d have expected.’

  Maddie made an effort to broaden her smile. After all, it wasn’t Kayla’s fault that Maddie had fallen in love with her friend’s brother-in-law. No, she had managed that entirely on her own. Idiot! She tried to pull herself together. It was time to look to the future now and start a new phase of her life. Without Alex.

  ‘Oh, it’s nothing. I’m just a bit apprehensive about going back to London. I think this whole business has shaken me
up. At least now I don’t have to worry about Blake-Jones any longer. Can you believe he was hiding out in a cave down the coast all this time? And his slimy side-kick was doing his spying for him, so he never had to come out except to attack me.’

  ‘Yes, well, it’s over so try not to think about him. You’ve been through a lot, but things will get back to normal now and you’ll soon settle into a new routine. Have you called your agency yet to tell them you’re coming back?’

  ‘Yes, I rang them this morning and asked them to find me a job starting in two weeks’ time. My father has to remain in the hospital for a few more days. After that I want to stay with him for a week or so before I go back.’

  ‘Good idea. Then I can still see you a bit more before you leave.’

  ‘Of course.’ Maddie sighed out loud this time. ‘I’ll miss you and this place.’ She looked around the cosy room. If it wasn’t for Alex, she would have tried to find a job in Devon, but as things stood at the moment she thought it would be better if she was as far away from him as possible. Since they’d got back from London, he’d teased her a lot and been friendly and supportive, but he hadn’t tried to get her alone and he definitely hadn’t said anything about wanting her to stay.

  ‘We’ll miss you too, but you must come back soon for another visit. And bring your new family.’

  ‘I’d like that. Thanks for everything, Kayla.’

  In no time at all Maddie found herself back in London and it was as if the whole summer had been another strange dream. If it hadn’t been for Jane’s presence, Maddie might have been tempted to believe she had imagined it all.

  To everyone’s relief, the police investigation into Saul Blake-Jones’s death had been quick and the case closed without any charges.

  ‘We have your sworn statement and that of Mr Marcombe,’ the senior officer told Maddie. ‘And as you had already reported Mr Blake-Jones as the man who’d attempted to murder you, we know we were dealing with someone who was mentally unhinged. And Mr Morris, the man who was helping him stay hidden, has confirmed that although he was the one following you around, all the attacks on you were made by Blake-Jones. Morris, of course, denies being an accomplice, but I think we can make quite a good case against him and get him convicted. Anyway, Mr Ruthven was clearly acting in self-defence. Please, you must try to put it all behind you now.’

  Maddie did her best.

  It felt weird at first to return to work in an office after so many weeks of freedom, but as Kayla had predicted, Maddie soon adapted to the routine. She performed her tasks with her customary efficiency, even though her mind was often elsewhere. Having worked as a temp for so many years she could almost do the work in her sleep. She helped Jane to enroll on a part-time secretarial course so her sister could eventually find a good job, and together they went out to socialise with some of Maddie’s friends.

  Jane had taken the news of her father’s death very well and even made the arrangements for his funeral in their old parish.

  ‘I think the kind of jealousy he suffered from was an illness, really,’ she said to Maddie. ‘I shall try to remember the good times we had rather than the bad.’ The two sisters travelled down to Dartmouth just for the day to attend the funeral and both breathed a sigh of relief when it was over.

  Ruth wasn’t yet well enough to travel. ‘Which is a blessing in disguise,’ was Jane’s comment. Maddie couldn’t agree more.

  The change in Ruth as a consequence of her husband’s death, however, was very marked. She was a completely different woman – happy, chatty and smiling – and looked as if she’d suddenly been freed from a life prison sentence. She made plans with Jane to sell their house in Dartmouth and buy a smaller one down the coast.

  ‘For, although I like London very much, I really don’t think I could live here for any length of time,’ she told Maddie. ‘I hope you won’t be offended, dear?’

  ‘Of course not, Mother. Since I’ve spent all summer in Devon I know exactly what you mean. And I promise to visit you often.’ She hesitated before adding, ‘Will you go and see my father at all?’

  Ruth’s smile faded. ‘Oh, I doubt he’ll want to see me. I was nothing but trouble for him, poor man. And he deserved so much better.’

  ‘He asked about you,’ Maddie told her and watched with interest as Ruth’s cheeks became suffused with colour.

  ‘He’s a nice man, a very nice man. If you speak to him, send my regards.’

  ‘Of course.’ Maddie secretly resolved to do more than that. If there was even the slightest chance her parents could have another stab at happiness, then she was all for it. There was no harm in trying.

  Which, naturally, brought her thoughts back to her own wayward heart which refused to let her forget Alex. She thought of him almost daily and called Kayla often in the hope of hearing some snippet of news about him and what he had been up to. More often than not, however, she was disappointed. Kayla hardly mentioned her brother-in-law at all and spoke mostly of the children. He hadn’t sought her out before she left for London and they hadn’t had a chance to be alone. Although she told herself she should be pleased about it, deep down she had to acknowledge that she wasn’t.

  Maddie supposed her feelings would lessen with time, but she wished with all her heart that it would happen sooner rather than later. Her present state was agony.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  ‘Hi, Maddie, it’s Kayla. How are you?’

  As usual, Maddie’s heart did an expectant little flip when she heard Kayla’s voice on the phone. Perhaps today there would be some news of Alex. ‘Hi there. I’m fine. How are things in Devon?’ She had just come in and attempted to disentangle herself from her coat while holding the receiver against her ear with one shoulder.

  ‘Great. I’ve got the most exciting news. There’s going to be a wedding.’

  Maddie froze and the coat slithered to the floor unnoticed. ‘W-wedding?’ she stuttered. She wanted nothing so much as to throw the phone down and not listen to another word. If Alex was marrying someone else she didn’t want to know. I couldn’t bear to know. She bit her lip to stop from crying out loud.

  ‘Yes. Foster’s getting married. You remember, Alex’s friend? He’s found some local girl he wants to marry, Sally, and she seems to feel the same. I reckon that’s precisely what he needs. I don’t think anyone’s ever loved him before in his life, poor thing.’

  Maddie opened her mouth to reply, but no sound emerged. Her throat was paralysed and she was gulping for air like a stranded fish.

  ‘Maddie? Are you there?’

  Maddie finally managed to draw in a deep breath and regained the use of her limbs and voice. ‘Yes. Yes, I’m here. Um, that’s great, Kayla. I hope he’ll be very happy.’

  ‘Yes, me too. He deserves it, he’s a nice guy.’

  ‘Does her family know about his past, er, career?’ Foster himself had informed Maddie of his former activities, swearing he had done with all that now.

  ‘Yes, he told them straight away. Said he didn’t want any misunderstandings. Luckily, they don’t mind and have accepted him into their fold, so to speak. He seems to really like her parents.’

  ‘Good for him. I’m glad.’

  ‘But listen, that wasn’t the only reason I called.’

  Maddie’s throat constricted once more and she closed her eyes. She steeled herself in case Kayla was about to tell her of a double wedding. Please, no! ‘Oh?’ she managed to squeak.

  ‘I was wondering if you could come down for a couple of days the week after next to help me out. Wes and Alex are both going away and would you believe it, that’s the week Annie’s going to visit her sister. I know it’s silly, but I really don’t like being alone here with the children. You know, in case something happened.’

  ‘Of course.’ A part of Maddie was immensely disappointed she wouldn’t be seeing Alex, but she told herself firmly that she should be relieved. It would make things much easier. ‘I think that should be fine. As far as I know I’m not b
ooked for that week yet and my current assignment ends next Friday.’

  ‘Wonderful, thank you so much. If you want to bring the others, please do. There’s plenty of space here.’

  ‘I’ll ask them. Bye for now.’

  Maddie leaned against the wall and slid down into a sitting position on the floor. She put her head on her knees and gritted her teeth. How long would it take before she stopped feeling like this?

  To Maddie’s great surprise Jessie, Jane and Ruth all decided to come with her. Ruth had been improving in leaps and bounds and the doctor had no hesitation in discharging her a few days before the proposed journey.

  ‘Just don’t overdo things now, Ms Kettering,’ he cautioned with a smile and she promised to behave. She’d reverted to her maiden name, which Jane had adopted as well, and Maddie was glad as it seemed to help them all forget the past.

  ‘We’ll keep an eye on her, don’t worry,’ Jane assured him.

  It felt very strange to return to Marcombe Hall with so many people in tow, but Maddie hardly had time to reflect on anything since she was kept busy with the children, cooking and outings, as well as visits to her father who was delighted to see her again.

  She persuaded Ruth to accompany her one afternoon and was pleased when, after the initial awkwardness of the reunion, her birth parents soon found a lot to talk about. The visit was kept short because of Ruth’s health, but Maddie judged it to have been a success.

  On the Saturday afternoon, Maddie was surprised to be left in sole charge of the children and dispatched to the cove.

  ‘I have so much to do, I just don’t have time to take them today. Please can you be an angel, Maddie?’ Kayla pleaded. Everyone else had disappeared on one pretext or another and Maddie trudged down to the beach, where she sat scowling on the sand.

  ‘Why are you looking so cross, Auntie Maddie?’ Nell came to squat next to her with her head to one side.