Family Drama 4 E-Book Bundle (110 page)

‘Hmm.' Ruby's murmur was noncommittal as she looked away from him and walked faster towards the open back door of the house. ‘You did tell Yardley I was just giving Aunt Leonora a lift, didn't you? I don't want him to know where I live or what I do.'

Babs looked puzzled. ‘We've never said anything. It's nothing to do with him, but it's been so long anyway, he'd never put two and two together now. No one would.'

Derek Yardley had been the Wheatons' driver for so many years they thought of him as part of the family. Ruby had no intention of saying anything against him, especially as she didn't live there any more and didn't have to have anything to do with him, but she disliked him intensely and was ever uncomfortable around him. But because George and Babs depended on him so much she kept quiet.

‘OK Maggie, let's go and look at your new doll's pram,' Ruby said. ‘And you've got more presents to open …'

Ruby watched Maggie and was fascinated at the self-assurance of the little girl. She was gorgeous and confident, and Ruby found herself thinking to the future, seeing her daughter growing up to go to university, qualifying as a doctor to take over from George and keep the family surgery going in the village. Because of circumstances and finances, Ruby's parents had never had any aspirations for her and it thrilled her that Maggie would have everything going for her. There would be no limits for Maggie Wheaton.

Everyone watched indulgently as Maggie opened her gift from Ruby and whooped with excitement at the beautifully dressed baby doll. She placed it straight into the pram and wheeled it around the room.

‘She loves it,' Babs smiled. ‘Look at her, such a wonderful choice.'

Then she opened her gift from Leonora, which was a compendium of games. Ruby had known what the birthday present was – she'd even bought it from the toyshop on Leonora's behalf – but with everything that was going on she hadn't given it too much thought.

‘Oh, look, Maggie, all those games,' Babs said. ‘It's got your favourite game in the box. Draughts …'

Draughts. The word hit Ruby like a bullet between the eyes. Nausea rose and she breathed deeply. In and out, in and out.

‘Who do you play draughts with?' Ruby asked Maggie, trying to keep her tone moderate.

‘I always play with Mummy and Daddy.'

‘Do you play with anyone apart from Mummy and Daddy?'

‘No, but I might play with my friends now I've got a big box. Look, Mummy, Snakes and Ladders. Will you teach me?'

As her face became hotter so Ruby could actually feel her heart palpitating erratically in her chest. Suddenly the old wound, which had seemed long since healed, was ripped open again.

‘What are you up to, young Ruby?' Derek Yardley asked the twelve-year-old, who was kicking a tennis ball at the edge of the path in boredom. Babs Wheaton was helping her husband in the surgery, Marian and Keith had gone home for their tea, and Ruby was on her own with nothing to do.

‘I'm waiting for Aunty Babs.'

‘I don't want that ball hitting the car I've just cleaned. Do you want to come up to my flat and wait for her? It's just about to rain. We could listen to the wireless or play a game of draughts.' He walked over to where she was playing and smiled as he patted her gently on her back.

‘I'm all right here. It's nearly teatime.'

‘I'll leave the windows open and then you'll hear Mrs Wheaton call you.'

‘OK,' Ruby said without any more hesitation. Yardley, as he was called by everyone, was almost family and she had known him as long as she'd known Aunty Babs and Uncle George.

Derek Yardley was a compact and wiry man in his early thirties, with a neat moustache and short hair. He was softly spoken to the point of mumbling, and he rarely made eye contact with anyone. Country born and bred, he had a very narrow outlook, was not very sociable and didn't stand out on any level. He'd not had to serve in the Forces because of health problems, and he had no family so he was the perfect live-in driver for George, with his own disability. He did everything for the doctor that he couldn't do himself: he helped him in and out of the car, lifted his wheelchair and helped him on his rounds. He looked after the car impeccably and did some odd jobs. He was indispensable to both George and Babs, and they acknowledged it by treating him well.

Ruby followed him up the outside stairs at the rear of the garage and in through the door at the top. It had previously been the hayloft, but the Wheatons had converted it into a compact flat that was just big enough for one person. A heavy curtain attached to the ceiling separated the living area from the bedroom. There was a washbasin in the corner and an outside toilet behind the garage, but no cooking facilities, so Yardley ate the same meals as the family although he never ate with them. He simply collected his plate and returned it after he'd eaten. If it was a day when the elderly housekeeper was there then he'd have a cup of tea and a slice of cake with her in the kitchen, but other than that he led a separate, isolated life.

‘Here, Ruby, you sit on the sofa and I'll get the draughts out.'

Ruby had never been in his flat before. She had automatically sat down at the drop-leaf table by the window, but she did as she was told and moved to the sofa, watching as Yardley set the game up on a rickety side table that he'd pulled forward. He then sat beside her on the small lumpy sofa, which was against the wall on the far side away from the window.

‘There you are. What do you want to be, black or white?' he asked.

‘I always choose white when I play with Aunty Babs.'

‘White it is for you, then. You go first.'

The man and the child had been playing the board game and laughing for a few minutes when Derek Yardley made his move. First he slid one hand along the back of the sofa and then moved it onto her shoulder. It was surreptitious and although Ruby sensed something not quite right it wasn't enough for her to say anything, but she was distracted enough to move her white draught without concentrating, leaving Derek Yardley to jump over two and take them.

‘I won!' he whooped. ‘Now you have to pay a forfeit. You have to give me a kiss.' He laughed before leaning forward and kissing her hard on the lips with his mouth open, forcing his tongue between her teeth. She tried to pull away and turn her head sideways, but he grabbed hold of her hair and forced his tongue right into her mouth; then in one quick movement his hand was up her skirt and touching her inside her knickers, his fingers probing around before frantically tugging at the elastic to force them down.

‘Don't,' she said nervously, unsure of what to do. ‘You're hurting me.'

‘It's OK, Ruby, just relax. It's what grown-ups do all the time.'

‘I'm not a grown-up,' she said fearfully. ‘I want to go now. My tea will be ready.'

‘But you look like a grown-up. I bet you've done this before – all the city kids do it all the time – I can tell you know what to do, Ruby. Come on, do it for me …'

He leaned right over, moving his arm from behind her and putting it across her neck. As his breathing quickened so his face flushed and he started wheezing so hard she could hear his lungs rattling. He pulled his hand away from her knickers, arched his back and grabbed inside the already undone fly buttons on his trousers.

But at that moment a voice echoed from below.

‘Ruby? Ruby, where are you? Tea's ready …'

Derek Yardley turned and hesitated just long enough for her to slip out of his grasp and reach the door, which she was horrified to find was locked, although the key was still there. As she fumbled to open it she looked back over her shoulder to see Derek lying back on the sofa with his upright penis poking out of his trousers and a strange look on his face. Ruby stared a split second in horror before throwing the door back.

‘One word, and I'll tell them you came up here, that you asked for it,' he spat as she stepped out onto the top of the outside staircase. ‘One word, you filthy little London brat, and I'll fucking kill you. One word …'

Ruby stifled a scream and ran down the steps and around to the front of the garage from where she could see Aunty Babs, who was still calling her.

Ruby took a deep breath. ‘I'm here.'

‘Thank heavens for that,' Babs laughed. ‘I thought for a minute we'd lost you. Have you been good?'

‘I was in the field out the back with Keith and Marian, they've just gone.'

‘Come on then. Teatime.'

As she went back to the house, Ruby looked up at Yardley's window, expecting to see him peering out, but there was no sign of him.

He didn't ever try to do anything again, and it was only as the years passed and she got older that she became aware of what had actually happened, but still she never said a word to anyone because she could see how lost the Wheatons would be without Yardley to do everything for them.

She was also worried that they might not believe her after so long.

It was easier to pretend it had never happened and just keep away from him as much as possible. Sometimes there was no way of avoiding him and it was then that she remembered, and was aware that actually his resentment was far stronger than hers. It was also as she grew older that she realised he actually hated her for knowing what she knew about him.

The rest of Maggie's birthday passed in a blur for Ruby. She enjoyed it on one level because the little girl had such a wonderful birthday and she could see how much Babs and George loved every moment of it, but on another level she was fighting the distractions in her mind caused by the resurfacing of her long-buried memories.

She made an effort and pasted on a smile, but all she could see was a beautiful, friendly little girl living in a house that was just a few steps away from the resentful Derek Yardley, who had tried to abuse her when she was a child. She just hoped he never discovered the secret about Maggie's parentage.

Despite everything going on around her she tried to trawl her memories of that time, to analyse what had happened. Was it only she who had attracted him? Had she done something to encourage him as he'd implied, or did he like children? Any children? Had he done it to anyone else? Just the thought of it made her feel sick.

‘Has Yardley ever had a girlfriend, do you know?' Ruby asked Babs as they stood side by side in the kitchen, cutting tiny crust-free jam sandwiches.

‘Not that I know of, but what an odd question. Any reason for it?'

‘No, just wondered. I suppose I'm surprised he's still here and living over the garage at his age. Wouldn't you think he'd have been married by now?'

‘Oh, I think he's too much of a loner for that. He has a bit of social life in the village. He goes to the working men's club and to church, and on his day off he does some gardening for the vicar. I don't know what else he does but he's been with us for so long now and he's helped George so much.'

‘Uncle George helped him: he gave him a job and somewhere to live.'

‘That's why it works. They're good for each other.' Babs smiled at her. ‘This is nice, just standing here talking. I really miss having you around to talk to. I know it's hard for you but I really wish you'd visit more often, maybe even stay for a few days?' She paused and when Ruby didn't answer she pretended not to notice. ‘Anyway, shall we take the sandwiches and lemonade out to the children in the garden?'

As Babs picked up one tray, so Ruby picked up the other. ‘Let's go.'

As they got ready to leave Ruby wanted to snatch Maggie up and take her away from the vicinity of Derek Yardley. She knew that the right thing to do would be to tell George and Babs, but it was so long ago and she still had her old childhood fear of not being believed, of being thought of as the outsider causing trouble. And Yardley had been part of the Wheatons' lives for far longer than she had, and George especially depended on him. She couldn't do it.

They all walked out together to the car, and as she opened the passenger door for Leonora to get in she caught sight of Yardley standing beside the Wheatons' gleaming black Vauxhall, pretending he was tending to it. But she knew he was watching her, the same way he had always watched her.

‘I'm just going to have a word with Yardley,' she said. ‘I won't be long.'

‘Can I come with you?' Maggie asked.

‘You stay and talk to Aunty Leonora. I'll be one minute.'

As she walked over to him she smiled as if she were going to greet a friend.

‘Once you warned me, now I'm warning you. If you lay one finger on Maggie then you'll live to regret it. I'll make your life a real misery.'

Yardley's smile was equally insincere as he faced her. ‘Now that's a bit uppity of you, isn't it? I mean, what's it to you? You're not part of that family,' he nodded his head in the direction of the Wheatons, who were all standing in the driveway, ‘not like I am, and what I do is none of your business, Miss Dirty Evacuee. None of your business.'

He rubbed his hands together as if he was rubbing dirt off but Ruby was determined not to be riled. She didn't want anyone to see the confrontation, so she shrugged. ‘But you made it my business when you did what you did. Remember my brother Ray who came to visit? Well, there are another two just like him at home. Three nasty violent thugs. So remember that if you ever touch Maggie like you touched me I'll know and I'll send them all down to deal with you.'

She turned and left him standing where he was, but she could feel his eyes boring into her back.