‘I had no one to cook for,’ Jane snapped back. ‘You were too busy upstairs to come down and eat.’
‘Let’s not argue!’ Liza interposed herself between them. ‘Why don’t we just have a nice quiet meal?’ She glanced at Jane, aware that she was listening suddenly, her head cocked sideways as though she could hear something upstairs. Clutching her glass a little more tightly Liza smiled determinedly at Adam. ‘Come on, let’s go into the kitchen. The stew must be cooked by now.’
‘I’ll go upstairs and wash.’ Adam put his glass down.
‘No!’ Jane’s voice rose into a cry of anguish. ‘Don’t go upstairs.’ She looked from him to Liza and back. ‘The meal will spoil,’ she finished lamely, ‘and that would be such a shame,’ she added.
There was a moment’s electric silence, then Adam shrugged. ‘All right. Let’s eat straightaway.’ He stalked ahead of them out of the room and across the hall without so much as glancing at the staircase. Jane looked up as she followed him and so did Liza. Was there a flicker of movement up there? She didn’t know, but she felt an unpleasant shiver play across her shoulders as she glanced up towards the darkened landing.
They sat down and Jane lifted the lid from the casserole, releasing a waft of spicy steam. ‘That smells wonderful.’ She smiled at Liza gratefully. ‘Doesn’t it, Adam?’
Adam nodded. He rested his elbows on the table and propped his head in his hands. His exhaustion was unmistakable.
Jane ladled a helping of meat and carrots and mushrooms in rich gravy and a dollop of mashed potatoes onto a plate and pushed it in front of him. ‘That should make you feel better,’ she said quietly. ‘It will make a new man of you.’
‘Something you no doubt profoundly wish would happen.’ Adam leaned back in his chair.
‘That is not what she meant and you know it!’ Liza put in firmly. ‘Just eat, you two. Don’t waste all my efforts at cooking you a nice meal.’ She took a mouthful of stew herself and sat solemnly chewing, her eyes on her plate. For a moment she thought Adam was going to stand up and go without even sampling the food, but at last he picked up his fork. He toyed with the potato and beef for a few minutes and at last lifted a forkful to his mouth. Liza sighed with relief. He seemed to enjoy it, and began to chew on a second.
The crash from upstairs had them all staring at the ceiling.
‘Don’t go!’ Jane’s fork clattered to her plate. ‘Please, Adam, don’t go up.’
He frowned, staring at the ceiling. ‘Something must have fallen over …’
‘It doesn’t matter, Adam. Go on eating.’ Liza smiled at him as persuasively as she knew how. She hoped neither of them could see how her skin was crawling with fear. Somehow she forced herself to take another mouthful. ‘One always gets strange noises in old houses, what with beams expanding and contracting.’
‘This isn’t an old house.’ Jane’s voice was strangely dull again. She had put down her knife and fork. Liza could see her hands were shaking.
A-dam!
The distant cry was audible to all three of them. Jane put her hands to her ears. ‘Don’t go. Please, don’t go.’ Her plea came out as a sob, but Adam was already pushing back his chair.
‘Adam!’ Liza stood up and bent over him. ‘Don’t even think about going up there! If you do, you’re a fool!’
‘Get out of the way, Liza.’ He pushed her aside and stood up.
‘Adam, think what you’re doing!’ She caught his arm. ‘Protect yourself, fight it, remember what she is!’
‘And what is she?’ He rounded on her abruptly and she took a step back, astonished at his sudden viciousness. ‘I’ll tell you what she is. A beautiful, warm, loving person, who cares about me deeply, who sympathises because I’ve lost my only son, who understands what I’ve been through when other people only think about themselves! That’s what she is!’
‘Adam, that’s not fair!’ Jane cried. ‘You know it’s not.’
‘And what is more it isn’t true,’ Liza put in. ‘She isn’t even real, Adam!’
‘No?’ He gave a strange half-smile. ‘She feels real, believe me; she acts real, she sounds real.’
‘So, if she’s real, why doesn’t she come downstairs and join us for supper in a civilised fashion?’ Liza tried to steady her voice. She stepped away from Adam. ‘Go on, call her. Tell her to come and eat with us.’
‘Don’t be stupid.’
‘Why is it stupid? I can’t see any reason why she can’t do it.’ She was standing between him and the door. ‘Go on, give her a shout.’ She raised her chin defiantly. ‘After all, we all know her, don’t we?’
He stepped away from the table. ‘Please move out of my way, Liza.’
‘Adam!’ Jane ran to him and caught his arm.
He shook her off. ‘Believe me, you don’t want her to come down here.’
‘But we do, Adam.’ Liza moved in front of him again. ‘We want to see her. We want to speak to her. We want to ask her what it is she’s doing here, breaking up a family home! We want to ask her,’ she narrowed her eyes, ‘what she was doing in the middle of the road in the rain in front of the car containing my daughter and your son!’
‘No!’ Adam screamed at her. ‘No, that’s not true. You stupid, stupid, ignorant woman! That was not Brid!’
‘No?’ She stood her ground. ‘Then ask her!’
‘I don’t have to ask her. She would never do anything to hurt me. She is good and beautiful and kind.’
‘Rubbish! She’s a harpy. No, Adam, stay here!’ She caught at him again as he started to move. ‘Think! For God’s sake, wake up!’
He pushed her out of his way. ‘Go home, Liza. You are not welcome here!’ Striding towards the door he pulled it open. ‘You are interfering in things you don’t understand.’ Stepping into the hall he slammed the door behind him and they heard his footsteps running up the stairs.
Jane threw herself back into her chair and burst into tears. ‘You see! What am I to do? She’s bewitched him.’
‘I’m going after him.’
‘No!’ Jane’s voice rose to a shriek. ‘You can’t do that! She’s dangerous, Liza. She’s killed people.’
‘She won’t kill me!’ Liza’s temper was rapidly reaching boiling point. ‘You stay here!’
Dragging open the door without giving herself time to think she raced up the stairs after Adam and along the landing to the spare room. She expected him to have locked himself in, but as she threw herself at the handle the door flew open easily. Adam was standing by the bed, his shirt already half off, with Brid, completely unclothed, clinging round his neck. They both looked round as Liza stopped in the doorway. Brid smiled. She made no effort to cover herself, nor did she move away from Adam.
‘Out!’ Adam put his hands on Brid’s buttocks and pulled her against him. He turned away from Liza. ‘Go on, out, or have you become a voyeur in your old age?’ His words were deliberately cruel. He nuzzled against Brid’s hair, holding her closer.
‘You stupid idiot!’ Liza couldn’t believe her eyes. ‘Have you no shame? No sense?’
‘None.’ He was smiling down into Brid’s eyes, and Liza could swear she heard her purring like a satisfied cat.
‘Poor Jane.’ The disgust in Liza’s voice was undiluted.
‘Yes, poor Jane. Leave her alone, Liza.’ He wasn’t even looking at her, his face still buried in the lustrous long hair.
Suddenly Liza couldn’t bear it any more. She turned and ran out of the room, slamming the door as hard as she could behind her. Hurling herself across the landing she ran into the bathroom. She had barely reached it before she was violently sick.
Running the cold tap she splashed water over her face and hands. She was shaking like a leaf. ‘Liza?’ She could hear Jane’s voice, timidly calling from the bottom of the stairs. ‘Liza, are you all right?’
‘I’m all right.’ Somehow she forced herself to answer. ‘I’m coming.’ Blowing her nose on a piece of lavatory paper she took a deep breath and opened t
he door. There was silence from the spare room. Running down the stairs she passed Jane in the hall and went back into the kitchen. ‘Please, can you make me some coffee?’ She flung herself down on a chair.
‘What happened?’ Jane’s face was white but her hands were steady as she reached for the kettle and filled it under the tap.
‘She’s in there with him.’
‘We knew that.’ Jane’s voice was completely flat.
‘But with him. Really with him.’ Liza looked up and pushed her hair back from her forehead. ‘I’m sorry, Jane. I didn’t realise. I thought … ‘She broke off and shook her head. ‘I don’t know what I thought.’
‘They’re having sex,’ Jane said unemotionally. ‘I hear them every night. Why do you think I need sleeping pills? He can’t keep his hands off her. He is completely obsessed. He doesn’t eat. He doesn’t sleep much, I shouldn’t think.’ She gave a bitter laugh. ‘He just comes in and goes upstairs and screws. And Robert Harding asks me what is wrong. With me.’
‘Let’s go. Now. Come back to Pen-y-Ffordd. You can’t stay here.’
‘I have to stay here. This is my home. There’s nowhere else. Since Mummy moved into the sheltered housing, I can’t go to her.’
‘And you wouldn’t want to anyway! But this isn’t a home, Jane. It is a prison. And you know you will always have a home with us. Always. Leave him. For goodness’ sake, how can you let him humiliate you like this?’ She stood up. ‘Go on, get some things. We’ll leave now. I’ll go up and get my bag.’
Jane shook her head. ‘I haven’t enough energy to fight it any more, Liza.’
‘No, but I have. I’m not leaving without you.’ She could feel her rage and indignation and her own humiliation bubbling up inside her. Turning she ran back into the hall and took the stairs two at a time.
Jane had put her in Calum’s old bedroom as the spare room was occupied and she threw open the door, feeling the same pang of terrible sorrow and regret she had felt the first time she went in there. His things were still so very much a part of him. Jane had moved nothing. Her case was lying on the bed. She had not unpacked. Scooping up her coat she turned to the door. Adam was standing there, wearing a dressing gown. His hair was ruffled on end and his face was a picture of fury.
‘What exactly are you doing in here?’
‘Collecting my things. I’m leaving.’
‘You had no business in this room.’
‘Well, as you can see, I’m not staying.’
‘You killed my son.’
‘Crap! If anyone killed him, it was Brid! Ask her. Go on, ask her what she did.’
‘Don’t say such a thing!’ His face was contorted with rage. ‘Get out of my house, Liza, and don’t ever come back here. Don’t dare to set foot in my son’s room again. You and your daughter, you murdered him. Without you, he would still be alive!’
‘You know that’s not true, Adam,’ she shouted. ‘Calum loved Julie. I lost her too, you know. Beth lost her parents! Can’t you understand what happened? It was no one’s fault except the woman who stepped out in front of them on that wet road. It was Brid’s doing, and yet you go on allowing her to come here to seduce you! Get rid of her, Adam. Send her away. She’s evil. She’s a monster.’
A shadow moved behind Adam on the landing. Liza stepped back. ‘Don’t let her come near me, Adam. I won’t be responsible for what I might do.’ She had already noticed the kukri on Calum’s bedroom wall, a much-loved trophy from a school adventure trip to India. In two steps she was beside it and had the handle in her hand. She turned, brandishing the razor-sharp blade in front of her. ‘Get her out of here, Adam.’
The animal snarl from the shadows was vicious. Adam smiled. ‘Don’t be a fool, Liza. You can’t kill her. Jane tried it and it didn’t work.’
‘It’ll work for me.’ She waved the knife menacingly in front of her. ‘Order her off.’
She couldn’t see her, but she could smell the animal fear and lust in the air, and suddenly she could hear it again, a low growl from the doorway behind Adam.
‘You go, Liza.’ Adam did not seem to be reacting naturally. She wondered for a moment if he were sleep-walking – or in some sort of hypnotic trance. ‘We don’t want you here.’
‘Adam!’ Her voice was harsh. ‘It’s me you’re talking to. Liza!’
‘I know who I’m talking to.’ Again he gave a strange smile. ‘An intruder. We don’t want you here. Can’t you see?’ He beckoned behind him and Brid stepped forward into the circle of his arm, tall, slim, beautiful, her dark hair over her shoulders, her body wrapped in a pale sheet.
Her steady grey eyes met Liza’s defiantly. ‘Why do you want to take A-dam away from me?’ Her voice was low and musical. ‘You have another man now.’ She rested her head for a moment against Adam’s shoulder. ‘I am the one he has always loved.’
‘No, Brid.’ Liza steadied her voice with difficulty. ‘You are not the one he loves. He loves his wife. He loved his son. What did you do to his son, Brid?’
‘Liza!’ Adam’s furious voice cut her short.
‘No, let her answer, Adam. What did you do to his son?’
‘A-dam has no son. He does not love anyone but me.’
‘He did have, though. Don’t you remember? A son, and a daughter-in-law and a little baby granddaughter, in a car – ’
‘I do not remember. It is not important.’ Brid had begun to move her lips gently, pressing against him seductively. She reached up and touched his face. ‘Make her go away, A-dam.’
‘Please, Liza.’ Adam’s voice was very quiet.
‘If you don’t go away and leave us, I will take away your man.’ Brid’s eyes narrowed, cat-like, as she looked at Liza from the security of Adam’s arms. She had sensed the rowan cross as soon as Jane put it on. It circled the woman with fire and kept her safe, and this woman too had the strength of the light wrapped around her. But she was vulnerable in other ways. ‘You try and take Adam away from me and I take your Phil away from you.’
Liza went cold. The circle of her protection wavered. ‘Don’t you threaten me.’ She paused. ‘How do you know my husband’s name?’
‘I know everything.’ She was holding Liza’s gaze relentlessly, never blinking. ‘Go.’
‘I’m not going without Adam. I want him to come with me.’
‘You are a fool, then.’ Brid looked her up and down disdainfully. ‘And I will curse you. I will make you suffer. I will not let you take my A-dam.’
‘Liza, I warned you!’ Adam tightened his arms round Brid’s shoulders. ‘Don’t antagonise her any more!’
‘Then for God’s sake, come to your senses!’
Brid shook her head. ‘She will not listen to you, my A-dam.’ She raised her hand and pointed at Liza. ‘I curse you, A-dam’s woman. I curse you to lose the man you love as you would curse me to lose mine.’
Liza shrank back. She could feel cold, poisonous air suddenly round her, swirling outside her imagined shield. ‘All right. I’ll go. But I’m not coming out of here until you move.’ To her horror she found she was shaking like a leaf. She glared at Adam, who was still standing in the doorway. ‘Go on, take her back into your room and I’ll go.’ Desperately she tried to straighten her shoulders. Don’t let her see the fear. Don’t let her realise how badly she had been frightened.
Brid was smiling, a long, slow, supercilious smile. Without seeming to move she left Adam’s arms and crossed the hallway. ‘Come, A-dam.’
Adam followed Brid to the door of the spare room. There he turned. ‘Don’t ever come back.’
‘I won’t. So she can take away her curse!’ Liza’s mouth had gone dry.
Brid smiled over her shoulder. ‘It is too late. The curse will stay.’
‘Adam …’ But Liza’s call fell on deaf ears. Adam had gone.
She stood for a moment after he had closed the door, unable to move. She was literally frozen to the spot. ‘May God protect you, Adam,’ she whispered. ‘God protect us all.’
‘Something awful will happen if you stay.’ Liza already had her bag over her shoulder. ‘I’ll wait for you in the car.’ She walked to the door. ‘I mean it, Jane. I’m not staying in this house a moment longer. I’ll give you ten minutes.’
Outside it was already dark. She walked down the short drive, past Adam’s car and out of the gate. There, in the quiet street, she unlocked the old Triumph and, throwing her bag onto the back seat, she climbed in. She was still shaking. Glancing at her wrist watch she noted the time.
The curtains in the upstairs window were not quite drawn and she could see the light shining out through the narrow crack in the pale-blue chintz. There was no sign of movement. She glanced at her watch again. Only two minutes had passed. She wanted to go. She wanted to be at home with Phil and Beth, far away from this horrible house with its evil occupant. One minute more. Oh God, keep them safe. Don’t let anything happen to Phil or Beth.
Come on, Jane. Come on.
She closed her eyes and began to count softly under her breath. After twenty-five she stopped and opened her eyes again. She glanced up at the window with the blue curtains. It had gone dark.
Jane. Where are you?
She was biting her lip. Should she get out and have one more go at persuading her? But she had tried. Surely she had tried.
Another five minutes had passed. Only two to go. She put her hand on the ignition key, her eyes on her watch seeing each second tick by on the luminous dial.
The front door remained firmly closed. She wasn’t coming. With a sigh Liza started the engine.
Two stops for black coffee at lorry drivers’ cafés and she managed to do the drive in under four hours. Turning up the long narrow lane off the Talgarth road she slowed the car, engaged first gear and put it at the pitch which led up to the farm. To her surprise the lights were all on. With an uncomfortable feeling of foreboding she pulled into the yard, switched off the engine and sat still for a minute, listening to it ticking in the cold air; then, stiff and exhausted, she got out and made her way to the house.
On the Edge of Darkness Page 39