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  “Thomas’s friend couldn’t make it at the last minute – a family emergency – and, as Thomas said, at least Brian knew Anne and he was available.”

  Isobel sipped her tea and said nothing.

  “After they got married Thomas bought that lovely big house in Wimbledon. Oh, in the early days we were up a few times, but she was always so busy decorating and cooking and cleaning. Then she got pregnant and we saw even less of her. We went up once and she had a black eye.”

  “Did you ask Anne about it?”

  “Of course. She said she’d walked into a door and that, with the baby, she was bruising easily and tender all over. Of course, Thomas says now that she could have been drinking even then. He used to find bruises too and that’s what she used to tell him, that she had banged into a cupboard or something. Thomas was great, so protective of her, so attentive. A few weeks later she rang and rowed with me for even asking her about the bruise. She said I was against Thomas and she didn’t want to see me again. I rang a few times. I apologised. I spoke to Thomas and he was fine with me but she just took against me then. Thomas eventually rang a few months later and said that he’d been trying to get her to forgive me and move on but that she wouldn’t listen. He said he would keep trying. I think now that it must have been the drink affecting her.”

  “No doubt.” Isobel nodded.

  “After that he would ring every three months or so and let me know that Tommy was OK, but Anne, well, she just wouldn’t relent. Thomas said that she’d changed. He worried that it might be post-natal depression but she wouldn’t go to the doctor and wouldn’t go for therapy. He tried everything. Every now and again he arranged to meet me so that I could see Tommy. In the end he had to tell Anne he was doing that because, as Tommy got older, he didn’t want him to have to lie. But in all that time she never forgave me. I went to London, to the house, a few times but she refused to see me. Thomas called a few months ago and said that he was more worried than usual. He said that she was more erratic and wondered if she had been in touch with me. Of course she hadn’t. I offered to go up but he said that would only make things worse. He said he’d discovered that Anne was drinking secretly and had been for some time. He was distraught on the phone. That time when she had the black eye – Thomas thought it went back to before then, that the black eye was from a drunken fall. He was so upset that he’d missed all the signs. He cried on the phone, saying that since there were no alcoholics in his family he just didn’t know what to look for. He was trying to persuade her to go to rehab. He rang again a while later to say that he’d talked her into going to rehab for a month.”

  “Did you go up to the rehab for any of the family days?”

  “Well, of course I asked but he said no, not at the moment, but that he would let me know when I could. Anne probably didn’t want to deal with all that. I really hoped that the rehab would sort everything out. Unfortunately, when Anne came out of rehab she wanted to stay on her own and focus on being sober. Thomas was upset. A month later he rang to say that they were getting a divorce. He was sad but understood what Anne was saying, that this would be the best for Tommy, for now. She still doesn’t want to see me, and I have to respect that as she’s going through such a hard time. I’m just so glad that Thomas keeps in touch. At the moment Tommy has a lot to deal with but Thomas says hopefully when things settle down I will get to see him.”

  For a little while neither of them spoke.

  Then Isobel said, “Have you ever seen Anne drunk? I’m a bit like Thomas – I didn’t notice so I’m really upset by the whole thing.”

  “Well, she drank a bit when she reached eighteen but no worse than her friends. Then when she moved to London I just wouldn’t know. Thomas said that in the rehab centre he learned all about how deceptive someone drinking can be.”

  “By any chance did Anne’s dad drink?”

  “Certainly not!”

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you.”

  “Her father was a handful, all right, but drink wasn’t his problem.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. Were things difficult for you?”

  Donna inhaled sharply and a myriad of emotions played across her face. Then she burst into tears.

  For a moment Isobel just sat there, then she reached across the table and touched Donna’s arm gently. The crying showed no signs of abating so she murmured softly, “I know, I know.”

  Gradually the sobbing tapered off and Isobel handed Donna a tissue. Nodding her thanks, she mopped up her tears.

  Isobel got up and put the kettle on again. She made a fresh pot of tea and settled back at the table.

  Donna said, “Anne’s problems have just made me think of the hard times I had myself.”

  “Of course, of course . . . how were things difficult for you?”

  “Well, I was very young when I fell in love with Anne’s dad, Harry. He was a real charmer, very attractive. We married quickly and I was pregnant within a few months – and then it started. I had a lot of morning sickness so I wasn’t waiting on him hand and foot …” Donna’s eyes filled again with tears, “and he hit me.” She covered her face with her hands. “I was three months pregnant and he hit me. Oh, of course he apologised. He told me it was stress from trying to provide financially because we were having a baby. He promised it would never happen again and I believed him. I forgave him, we made up. But by the time I was going to deliver Anne I was used to getting a punch. At the start it was a black eye but he soon got clever and started only leaving marks where no one else would see them.” She shook her head, her eyes on the tabletop. “No one knew. On the outside he was Mister Charm, everyone loved him and thought I was lucky. After Anne was born things were a bit easier for a while. Then I got pregnant again with Claire, Anne’s sister, and it was worse than the first time. He beat me up at eight months pregnant and I went into an early labour. Thankfully, Claire was OK.” Donna looked into Isobel’s eyes. “I didn’t know what to do. I had two young children, no job and nowhere to go. He never touched the children but it became a more and more regular thing with me. I was depressed and then one day, unexpectedly, he was killed in a car crash coming home from work. A lorry skidded in the rain and hit his car. A random act of God and I was free. Anne was eight when that happened and Claire six. I raised them myself and we managed well. The three of us were close, we got on and we talked.” Donna hesitated. “But never about how their father behaved with me. Anne never asked so I hoped she’d forgotten and I prayed that Claire was too young to understand. I decided that I wasn’t bringing another man into their world. I believed that we could be happy, the three of us, and we were until …” Donna paused. “That’s why, when I saw Anne’s black eye, I jumped to the wrong conclusion. Thankfully Thomas understood why I made that mistake and forgave me. Anne never did. I think now that maybe she pushed me away as part of her drinking.”

  “So you think Anne’s drinking has been the problem? You don’t think that Thomas could be hitting Anne or bullying her?”

  “No, not at all. I had my concerns but they were unfounded. That was just me being paranoid. Thomas is great. It’s Anne’s drinking that has ruined things for them.”

  “Donna, thank you for talking to me. I want things to work out for Anne and Tommy – for her to be happy –”

  “And Thomas,” Donna cut in.

  Isobel started a little. “Yes, of course – but I suppose Anne seems to be losing everything and I’m just concerned about her. She hasn’t seen Tommy for a while and I’m sure that’s hard for both of them.”

  Donna’s eyes welled up. “How is he? Have you seen him?”

  “No, I’m sorry. I haven’t seen him.”

  “Thomas is doing his best to protect him but …”

  “Anne has been so busy with her recovery thatI haven’t had a chance to see her and Tommy. Apart from meeting her just briefly the other day.” Isobel got to her feet. “Well, Donna, I’d better be off. Thank you so much for seeing me. I was hoping
to catch up with Claire as well. In the past Anne talked about the three of you so much that I thought I would say hello. Where did Claire move to?”

  “Claire has a restaurant, called ‘Roasted’, here in town,” Donna said. “It’s very good and very popular. Anne isn’t speaking to Claire either. They fell out over Thomas. Claire took a real dislike to him. Despite Anne denying it, Claire believed that Thomas was hitting Anne and nothing would persuade her otherwise. I think she sees trouble everywhere, that girl.”

  At the front door, Isobel turned and said, “Thank you so much for the tea and the chat, Donna. Please don’t mention to Anne or Thomas that I’ve called. I don’t want them to think … well, they might think I was talking about them behind their backs … I mean, they both must feel vulnerable at the moment … I’m sure you understand …”

  “Of course I do. I wouldn’t want them to think that either.” Donna smiled. “Gosh, I did go on so. I haven’t talked about any of that in years and once I started I couldn’t stop.”

  Isobel smiled. “I learned a lot from you.”

  She wondered at the nature of relationships and allegiances.

  Chapter 9

  Isobel drove into Petersfield and parked in the car park at Waitrose. She used Google Maps and waited for directions. The restaurant was a five-minute walk away. Isobel glanced at her watch – it was three thirty. Hopefully, Claire would be at work and not too busy. Roasted was a glass-windowed delicatessen, with a restaurant behind. There were people sitting at tables, chatting happily.

  Isobel found a table in a quieter area and ordered a scone and coffee from the waitress.

  “Is Claire Graham, the owner, here today?” Isobel enquired.

  “Yes. Is there a problem with anything?”

  Isobel smiled. “No, no, not at all. It’s a personal matter. I wonder would you see if she could talk to me?”

  Within minutes a tall, blonde, beautifully dressed woman was walking towards her. Isobel didn’t need to be an expert in genetics know that this was Claire.

  “Were you asking for me?” Claire seemed polite but distant, reserved.

  “Yes. I know Anne and since I was in the area I thought I would just pop into your restaurant and say hello.”

  Claire raised an eyebrow. The silence stretched. “Do you know Thomas as well?”

  Isobel hesitated. “I’ve met him briefly once but I can’t say that I know him.”

  More silence.

  Then Isobel said, “I know things aren’t great for Anne at the moment –”

  “Well, at least she’s away from that man, but unfortunately Tommy isn’t.”

  Ah, thought Isobel, it’s safe to be more direct with this woman.

  “My main concern is ensuring the best outcome for Anne and Tommy,” she said. “I’m trying to find out more about what is going on with a view to helping and I would really appreciate it if you would be honest with me.”

  Claire just looked at her.

  Isobel continued, “Please trust me and tell me as much as you can. I promise I will do everything possible to help.”

  Claire’s eyes filled with tears and she nodded. “Come with me.” She led Isobel through a door marked staff only into an office. She sat down behind the desk and Isobel took the chair opposite her.

  “Tell me about Anne and Thomas,” Isobel said.

  Claire wiped her eyes with her fingers. “She should never have married him.” She put her hand over her eyes and took a deep breath before looking at Isobel again. “I never liked Thomas Banks. When Anne was at school, at about seventeen she started dating Brian Poole. He was her first boyfriend. They were a couple for about eight months. Brian was mad about her. I think he saw them married and living here in Petersfield. Anne finished her A levels and went on holiday to the Isle of Man with some of her friends and when she came back she decided to head off to London with one of the girls. She finished with Brian and moved to London. She said she was too young and didn’t want to be tied down. I think she and Brian kept in touch a bit and they used to have coffee sometimes when she was home.” She sighed. “When Anne was about twenty-five she came home for the weekend, saying that she had met this amazing guy, Thomas. He had swept her off her feet, meals out, flowers, presents. She was head over heels. She seemed happy so I was glad for her. Within six months she was telling me that they wanted to get married. It sounded a bit quick and I was a disturbed by that. I pressed her to let me meet him and we arranged for them to come down to Petersfield for the day. From the moment I met him I had concerns. Oh, he did his best to charm me, but I guess what upset me was how Anne changed when she was with him.”

  Isobel raised an eyebrow in question.

  “Anne was always full of fun but with him she seemed uptight, quiet, restrained, not herself. She was trying to be too perfect.” Claire looked pensive. “And, the day they were down something happened when we were having lunch that really cemented it for me. The waitress splashed some gravy on the table as she set down the plate and Thomas lost it. He called her a ‘stupid bitch’.” She shivered. “Anne covered it over quickly, jumped up, wiped up the spillage with her napkin and said it was fine and didn’t matter. I saw his face though. He was raging. As Anne fussed he seemed to steady himself and realise where he was. Then he turned on the charm and had the waitress eating out of his hand in a minute. I could see Anne just sighing in relief. For the rest of the afternoon she draped herself around him like an adoring partner but I thought it was also to keep him in check.”

  “I see.” That pattern of behaviour was all too familiar to Isobel.

  “I was so upset about how he spoke to the waitress. When he called her that name it was in a murderous tone. I was sitting opposite him and for a second I saw what he was really like. He saw me staring and the look he gave me was so cold. Of course, I spoke to Anne about what happened. It was on the phone because he made sure that I never got a chance for the rest of that day – in fact, they left early because of an ‘emergency at his work’.” She made air quotes. “By the time I got to speak to her it was the next day and he had done a number on her. She said that Thomas was afraid that I didn’t like him. I mentioned what had happened with the waitress and she said that Thomas was extremely stressed that day because he was meeting me and Mum and had overreacted because of that. She said I didn’t know him, that he was a gentle, caring man and that I had misinterpreted things. It was one event, my sister was happy and I told myself I was overreacting.” She paused.

  “And then?”

  “Within a month they were engaged. Thomas wanted to get married in London but Anne held out for a small wedding at home. He was as good as gold. The next time I met him he talked about what had happened with the waitress and explained his nerves and did everything he could to smooth it over. I suppose I gave him the benefit of the doubt. The wedding was three months later. Anne was so busy with work and organising everything that we saw her only briefly. There was never much of a chance to talk. She was thrilled to be getting married. Thomas bought that beautiful house in Wimbledon. They were moving in shortly after the wedding and she was thinking about paint and furniture.”

  “How did Brian, Anne’s ex-boyfriend, end up as the best man? Did he know Thomas?”

  “No. That was a bit strange. One of the times they were down about the wedding they bumped into Brian. I imagine the only thing the men had in common was that they both wanted to marry Anne. Thomas’s parents are dead and he has no siblings. One of his friends was going to be best man but at the last minute there was some family emergency and he couldn’t come and none of his other friends were available. He told Anne that he wanted a best man that at least one of them knew, so he asked Brian.”

  “Why did Brian do it?”

  “Oh, I’m sure he didn’t want to, but Anne asked him. She probably begged him because Thomas wanted him, and Brian couldn’t refuse Anne. Brian told me later that day that after the ceremony Thomas went up to him and told him that Anne was now his. Brian
said he gloated and made it clear that Brian was to stay out of their lives.”

  “Where’s Brian now?”

  “He still lives here in the village. I don’t see much of him. He’s a bit intense. I think he still carries a torch for Anne.” Claire took a deep breath, “Then, when Anne became pregnant she gave up work to prepare for motherhood. We were excited too. I wanted to help and support Anne but we saw less and less of her. She was busy with her new life or out with Thomas. Obviously we saw Tommy when he was born. Anne was tired then and a bit overwhelmed and she kept putting us off when we wanted to visit, saying she just wanted to get used to her new role as a mother. We did go to London for the christening. When we visited Anne had a bruise.”

  “Did you talk to her about it?”

  “Yes, I asked her about it, but she denied that Thomas had hit her. Well, that just confirmed for me my earlier doubts. In my heart I felt that Thomas was hitting her, controlling her and that she was afraid of him. Basically my sister, like my mother, had married an abuser.” Claire looked into Isobel’s eyes. “I got caught too, but younger, and I didn’t marry the man. I was dating him and he beat me up. I went for help then. I had counselling. I talked about my childhood. Of course, Mum wants to pretend that I was too young to know what was happening but I did. Through all the help I learned the signs to look for: the push for early involvement, the control, the isolation, the hypersensitivity, making others responsible for feelings, rigid gender-role behaviour, verbal abuse, mood swings, battering.”

  “And you saw all of these present with Anne and Thomas?”

  “Yes. I was really worried about Anne, worried that she was making the same mistake that I had. I decided to go up and see her and talk to her about our dad and about my experiences. I didn’t tell her I was coming because she would have made some excuse and put me off. I just arrived. She was terrified. I suggested going to a little café, out of the house, as she seemed frightened that Thomas would find out. We spent a couple of hours chatting. I told her about Dad, my ex-boyfriend and how I saw Thomas behaving. She cried.”