Jenny looked up at Grace as though she had only just realised that someone was there. She frowned. ‘He married you.’
‘Yes.’ Grace’s voice shook. She had a flash of Adam’s joyous face on their wedding day, and felt a tear slide down her cheek. ‘And then he vanished, Jenny. I lost him too – so did Millie. I understand exactly how you feel. And now I need your help. We have to get Millie out of the snow.’
Grace moved within range of them and held her arms out. Give her to me, she implored silently.
Millie suddenly seemed to realise that her mother was there. She screamed and pushed away from Jenny violently, trying to get to Grace. For a moment Jenny lost her hold on the child, caught unawares by Millie’s unexpected movement, and Grace’s terrified heart passed over a beat as she saw Millie rock backwards. She lunged forward to grab her daughter, feeling herself lose her own balance as she did so. She plucked Millie from Jenny’s hands and willed herself upright, but it was too late, her momentum was forwards, they were going together. To right herself she needed to let go of Millie, so there was no hope, and they were tipping towards the edge. While panic ripped through her body, her mind began to accept the inevitable. This is it, then.
Strong hands grabbed her and pulled. She staggered backwards, regaining her balance. She looked to see that Ben was behind her, his face deathly white. ‘Thank you,’ she said, but he was staring beyond her.
Jenny had twisted to watch them, her expression unfathomable, but then she turned away and peered over the edge, as though thinking. Ben rushed across and gripped her under the arms, dragging her away from the drop. ‘Don’t you dare,’ he shouted.
Silence enveloped them. Then Jenny began to cry.
Grace stroked Millie’s face, and found it was icy. Millie’s wails were weakening now, to intermittent exhausted sobs. Something screeched overhead, but Grace didn’t care what ghouls might emerge from the shadows tonight to chase her. Nothing was more frightening than how close she had come to losing Millie.
‘Grace,’ Jenny gasped, ‘I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. I only wanted to hold her for a little while…’
There was an ominous edge to Grace’s next words. ‘What happened to Adam last year?’
Jenny froze, as though she’d been struck. ‘I have no idea – I didn’t even realise he’d been living here until after he’d disappeared. Why would you ask me that?’
‘Because someone in your family knows the truth.’
Now Jenny’s expression was one of utter confusion.
‘Why do you say that, Grace?’ Ben cut in.
Grace had a very brief moment of hesitation. But the more she thought about it, the more she was convinced she was right. To hell with secrets and silence, she decided.
‘Because I think Adam was your half-brother.’
40
Ben and Jenny stared at Grace.
‘What the hell are you talking about?’ Ben said eventually.
Grace felt with her free hand and pulled the newspaper article out of her pocket, brandishing it at them. ‘I was looking at this in the car while I was waiting for you, and I said to myself that Adam doesn’t resemble this man at all – he looks more like your dad. It was only a casual thought, but something made me re-examine it. And the more I considered it, the more I felt it had the potential to explain a lot of things…’
Jenny was watching Grace intently, her eyes wide and wary, as though Grace were insane.
Ben got up, and held his hand out to his sister. ‘Look, let’s go back to the house, get warm, then we can talk.’
They stumbled along in silence, Ben supporting Jenny and using his free hand to shine the torch ahead. Grace followed, hugging Millie close as she concentrated on the path. Millie was quiet now, her face nestled into her mother’s neck.
Finally, they saw the lights in the distance. As they got closer to the schoolhouse, Claire was waiting on the doorstep. She ran a hand over her face in relief as soon as she spotted them.
Grace didn’t want to go inside. Instead, she headed towards Ben’s car. Her fingers were closing on the handle when a voice hissed from the darkness behind her, ‘Why couldn’t you just leave?’
The distant light from the schoolhouse cast a low glow on Meredith’s face, and her eyes were furious, the hollows beneath them sunken furrows.
Grace was too livid to know where to start. ‘How dare you,’ she replied, as Millie began snuffling against her shoulder.
Jenny caught up and grasped her mother’s arm, spinning her around, flinging words in her face. ‘Is it true? Was Adam our brother?’
When Meredith didn’t say anything, Jenny began to shake her. Ben pulled her away.
‘You made me think he didn’t care rather than tell me the truth,’ Jenny shouted, tears streaming down her face. ‘How could you?’
‘Jenny, you were a young girl, we didn’t think -’
‘I LOVED him, Mum,’ Jenny cut in. ‘It’s been fourteen years, and nobody has ever made me feel like that since. And now I’m barren as well as alone…’
Grace flinched.
‘Jenny, this was your father’s doing, not mine!’ Meredith’s voice turned pleading.
‘Don’t you dare, Mum – you… you…’
‘Everybody, stop,’ Claire demanded, her face distressed. ‘Come inside, Jenny.’
Jenny let Claire lead her away. When they had gone, Meredith threw her icy stare upon Grace again. ‘I have held this family together for longer than you’ve been alive… and you have just blown it apart. Are you satisfied now?’
Grace stood defiant before those glacial eyes. ‘I’m calling the police,’ she said stonily. ‘And you can tell them exactly where my husband is… because I would bet both my life and Millie’s that you know what happened.’
They glared at one another.
Ben came and pressed a hand against Grace’s back. ‘Grace, let’s go.’
She let him guide her to the car. He helped her in with Millie, then closed their door and walked around to the driver’s side, saying, ‘Come on, Bess,’ and letting the dog jump through into the back.
‘I’ll go really slowly,’ he said as he got in. ‘Just hold her tight in case we skid.’
They exchanged a tense look before he began to reverse. As the headlights swept around, Grace saw Meredith one last time, standing on her driveway, her posture as rigid as always, watching them leave.
They made their way in silence. The snow had lightened but continued to float down; the village was hushed and still. When Ben pulled up at the cottage, Grace tried to persuade her legs to move, but she kept on sitting there.
‘Grace…?’ Ben said gently. ‘Would you like to stay with me tonight?’
‘Yes please.’ Relief flooded through her. ‘Thank you. I just need to get some things from inside for Millie. Can you come with us?’
‘Of course.’ Ben switched off the car engine and came around to open the door for her. Millie’s eyes were glazed and sleepy now, and Grace passed her to Ben while she climbed out, then he handed her straight back. ‘Stay, Bess,’ he said, as the dog tried to jump out.
Inside the cottage, Grace snapped the light on as Ben asked, ‘What do you need?’
‘Can you get her pyjamas from the top drawer upstairs, and some nappies? I’ll go and get her some food for morning.’
In the living room, she glanced at the packed cases and boxes. Only one more night, she told herself. She took some jars of food from the top of a box, using one hand to push them into a small bag while she held on to Millie. As she stood up, she thought she saw a flash of light in the darkness outside. She went over to the window and heard Bess’s distant bark.