For Better For Worse (44 page)

William glanced at his mother with a worried look on his face.

‘That’s not all you’ve done, is it William?’ Everybody’s attention went back to the Headmistress as she laid a Stanley knife on her desk.

‘Good God! That’s your granddad’s knife,’ cried Mrs Steel. ‘He’s been looking everywhere for that. Did you take it out of his shed?’

‘I caught William carving his initials on his desk,’ said the Head sternly.

‘And Jenny’s initials,’ William protested. ‘I never meant no harm. I like her.’

‘Jenny told me you’ve been horrid to her,’ said Sarah. ‘You’ve called her names.’

‘Not now,’ said William. ‘I like her now.’

‘School equipment is very expensive,’ said the Head sternly. ‘You do not carve initials onto any of it.’

‘No, miss,’ said William, hanging his head again.

‘How long have you had Granddad’s knife?’ said Mrs Steel.

William looked at Sarah sheepishly. ‘And I’m sorry for cutting the washing,’ he said.

‘It was you?’ cried Sarah.

‘Washing? What washing?’ his mother demanded.

‘Someone shredded an apron I hung on the line,’ said Sarah, never taking her eyes from William.

With a face like thunder, Mrs Steel rose to her feet and thumped her son on the arm. ‘You little tyke! You wait until your father hears about this.’

‘Please Mum, please don’t tell him,’ said William, bursting into tears. ‘I didn’t mean to. It was an accident.’

‘An accident?’ his mother shrieked. ‘How can cutting something with a Stanley knife be an accident?

‘I think we’d better all calm down,’ said the Headmistress. ‘William you realise that you’ve been a very naughty boy, don’t you?

Dutifully, William hung his head again. ‘Yes Miss.’

‘Was it you who cut Jenny’s plait?’ Sarah said quietly.

‘It was an accident,’ he cried. ‘The bus jerked and it just came off in my hand.’ William’s head shot up. ‘I never meant to do it and I gave it back,’ he added defensively. ‘I took it to her house, didn’t I? I pushed it through her letter box.’

*

When Malcolm got the telephone call at his home to say Bear was on his way with the baby, he became very emotional. There was no doubt that Edward had stolen his heart too.

‘It should take us about an hour to get back,’ Bear explained. ‘If you come straight to Worthing Hospital, you can see Edward as soon as the docs have finished with him.’

‘You’re taking him to hospital?’ said Malcolm anxiously.

‘Nothing to worry about,’ said Bear, shouting over the sound of Edward’s lusty yell. ‘We just want him to be checked over, that’s all. If I thought there was anything really wrong with him, we would have taken him to the hospital in Chichester, but I know his mother is anxious to be reunited with him as soon as she can.’

‘Where did you find him?’ Malcolm asked.

‘I’ll tell you all about it when we get back,’ said Bear.

Malcolm cleared his throat noisily. ‘We appreciate your care and concern,’ he said. ‘Thank you.’ He hung up and blew his nose, then turned to the two women in his life. ‘They’ve got him.’ Seconds later they were crying in each other’s arms. ‘Before we go to the hospital,’ he said huskily, ‘I think we need to talk.’

* * *

It was a house full of laughter when Annie brought Edward back through the door of Copper Beeches later that day. Everyone crowded around, touching Edward’s head or holding his hand while they smiled and cooed and made baby noises. Sarah put her arm around Annie’s shoulders and hugged her gently. ‘It’s so good to see both of you.’

Annie smiled and leaned into her. ‘Thank you, it’s good to have him back.’ Edward gazed at her with a puzzled expression. They sat in the kitchen while Lottie made tea and then they tucked into some of her home-made cake.

When he turned up about twenty minutes later, Bear related the whole story of what had happened, going over the fine detail again and again while everyone listened with rapt attention. He had twisted his ankle as he half fell, half threw himself down the embankment, hitting his face on the handle as the pram tipped up, with the front wheels in the water. The local ducks were startled and made a tremendous din, but fortunately the hood was up, so Edward, although he had been shaken about a bit, and was very cross, hadn’t actually landed in the pond. ‘You needn’t worry about the little fellow,’ Bear assured them. ‘The doc says he was well looked after. She had kept him clean and well fed.’

‘I hope you’re not wanting us to feel sorry for her,’ said Malcolm stiffly.

‘Absolutely not,’ said Bear. ‘I just didn’t want you to be concerned that the baby suffered in any way.’

Annie kissed her son’s cheek and then wiped her own eyes.

‘Why is everybody crying?’ Jenny wanted to know.

‘Because we’re all so happy,’ smiled her mother. She hugged her daughter, but it was obvious from Jenny’s expression that she was still puzzled.

Edward began to wriggle, so Annie excused herself to go and feed him and, at her invitation, the children went with her.

As they left the room, Sarah asked the question uppermost in everybody’s mind. ‘Why did she do it?’

Bear pulled the corners of his mouth down. ‘Because Henry asked her to?’ he shrugged.

‘But you don’t go kidnapping a child just because your lover tells you to,’ Malcolm boomed angrily.

‘I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you, sir,’ said Bear, ‘that Henry Royale is a cunning and manipulative man who usually gets what he wants. From what I can gather, he spun her a yarn that your daughter wasn’t capable of looking after his son and that he needed to rescue the boy. Because of that, Ada Browning had convinced herself that she was doing the right thing.’

‘Beggars belief,’ snorted Malcolm.

‘But surely, once she’d taken the baby,’ said Judith, ‘Mrs Browning must have realised that what she’d done was wrong.’

‘No doubt she did,’ said Bear, ‘but by then she was in so deep she didn’t know what to do.’

‘Never should have done it in the first place,’ growled Malcolm.

‘What will happen to her now?’ said Sarah.

‘At the moment she’s at the police station and my colleague is interviewing her,’ said Bear. ‘She’ll go to prison, of course, but I have no doubt she will get medical care once she’s been sentenced. She’s not the first to fall for Henry’s charms. She may have used up a sizeable chunk of her fortune, but unlike another one of Henry’s victims, she hasn’t jumped off the end of the pier. No, she’s not a bad woman, just a very foolish, deluded one.’

Sarah felt strangely sympathetic towards Ada. She couldn’t excuse what she’d done, but she knew only too well that Henry had an ability to make black seem white.

‘And what about Henry?’ asked Judith. ‘Have you caught him yet?’

‘Not yet,’ said Bear, standing to his feet, ‘but we will.’

‘Thank you for bringing Edward back to us,’ said Judith as they all stood in the hallway to see him off. ‘How did you know where to start?’

Annie and the children were coming down the stairs.

‘It always bugged me that Henry dressed so well and looked after his wives while he was with them, despite only ever having a very small wage,’ said Bear. ‘Once we found that piece of paper with instructions for selling a property in Littlehampton, we thought we would check up on the owners. Both the Horsham property and the Littlehampton property belong to Henry, so I began to wonder where he had lived with Kaye.’

Annie blinked in surprise. ‘You mean my house wasn’t rented?’

‘That’s right,’ said Bear. ‘Henry owned that house.’

‘But we paid rent,’ cried Annie. ‘I remember Henry taking the rent book with him when he went to work every Friday.’

‘And that landlord was Henry himself,’ said Bear. ‘It seems Henry was in the process of evicting the existing tenants so that he can sell it.’

Annie’s mouth dropped open. ‘So putting the rent up so high was simply a way to get rid of us,’ said Annie.

Bear looked sympathetic. ‘I’m afraid so.’

‘The blaggard!’ cried Malcolm. ‘When I get my hands on him …’

‘Do you have any real idea where Henry is?’ Judith interrupted.

‘No,’ said Bear.

‘What about Mrs Browning?’

‘Apparently she doesn’t know either.’

‘Or she isn’t telling,’ said Malcolm.

‘Actually, sir,’ said Bear, ‘I genuinely think she hasn’t a clue.’

He bade them good day and turned towards the door. Sarah followed him over the threshold. They strolled together arm in arm to the gate. ‘Now that this is all over, I shall speak to my superior again.’ He touched her cheek affectionately and their eyes met.

‘Why do they call you that? Bear?’

He smiled. ‘My first name is Max,’ he said, ‘and someone said I reminded them of Max Baer, you know the boxer.’

‘Heavyweight champion of the world,’ said Sarah. ‘The tender-hearted tiger.’

Bear grinned. ‘You know your boxers.’

‘My father used to follow all his fights,’ she said. ‘He admired the man for his generosity and kindness to others.’

She smiled, and for a split second, he leaned towards her. Sarah looked at his mouth and responded by closing her eyes, but when she opened them again, he was gone.

Sarah stepped from the black car, straightened her black dress and joined Lottie outside the chapel. She had never seen so many people. She had always known that Kaye was popular, but until this moment, she’d never realised just how much she was loved. The people who lined the short path leading to the chapel in Durrington cemetery had come from all walks of life. Apart from the curious onlookers, she recognised various shopkeepers from Ham Road, the gardener and his wife from the house, and a troupe of Boy Scouts from East Worthing who stood to attention by the flint-covered arch. Kaye had been their patron and benefactor, and without her help, they would still be without a decent scout hut.

Even Vera was there. She was wearing a black hat with a small net over her face. As Sarah drew closer, she saw Vera dab her nose with the largest white handkerchief Sarah had ever seen. They hugged each other and as she stepped back, Sarah saw Bear in the crowd watching her. Managing a brave smile, Sarah turned back, keeping her eyes on the coffin in front of them.

There was also a bewildering array of other people who had known and loved Kaye inside the chapel. Some were from the BBC, high-flying men and women who worked mainly behind the scenes. Then there were the rich and famous. Francis Durbridge, the playwright, Megs Jenkins, the actress from the film
Millions Like Us,
and even Arthur English, the comedian from
Variety Bandbox
. If it hadn’t been such a sad occasion, she might have expected him to begin one of the shaggy dog stories for which he was so famous. As she looked around the crowded chapel, Sarah couldn’t believe how many lives Kaye had touched. She had always thought of her as a bit of a recluse, bashing away on her typewriter, her only pleasure the cigarette which dangled permanently from her lips, but so many people had a story to tell of her kindness and generosity.

Lottie seemed bewildered and very upset. It was as if she had reverted back to her old unsure and frightened self. She leaned heavily on Sarah’s arm on one side and Bear’s on the other and wept the whole way through the service. They sang
Abide with Me
and
In Heavenly Love Abiding
. Sarah tried to join in, but her throat was too tight and her heart too heavy. In his address, the vicar talked about true values and friendships that last, which seemed totally appropriate when it came to talking about Kaye, and as Sarah glanced around, people were nodding their approval.

The mourners walked up the hill to the graveside and Annie, red-eyed from crying, fell into step with them. ‘I can’t believe she’s gone,’ she said brokenly. ‘I never really told her how much I appreciated what she did for me.’

‘I think we all feel the same,’ said Sarah, slipping her arm through Annie’s. ‘And look at all these people.’

Kaye was to be laid in a shady corner, close to an arbutus tree. Sarah was pleased about that because the garden of Copper Beeches had quite a few of them. Kaye loved the red flaking bark and the strawberry-like berries. They stood by the graveside while the final committal was read.
‘Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust; in sure and certain hope of the Resurrection into eternal life …’
And it was over. Kaye Hambledon, also known as Kaye Royale, was gone.

As they walked back to the cars and people began to disperse, Sarah caught up with Annie. ‘Have you heard from Henry yet?’

Annie shook her head. ‘You were right all along,’ she said bitterly. ‘He never intended to come back for me. He just wanted Edward.’

‘It’s odd that he’s never turned up,’ said Lottie.

‘He must know the police want to speak to him,’ said Sarah. She glanced at Lottie’s anxious face. ‘You’re not afraid of him are you Lottie?’

‘Not for my sake,’ said Lottie, ‘but for yours.’

Sarah gave her arm a little squeeze. ‘We’ll be fine.’

‘What will you do now?’ Annie asked.

‘I suppose the girls and I have to look for somewhere to live,’ said Sarah.

‘Have you really got to move?’ said Annie, suddenly sympathetic.

‘Well, Kaye and Henry never divorced,’ said Sarah, ‘so I guess he inherits everything lock, stock and barrel.’

‘That’s not fair,’ said Annie.

Sarah raised an eyebrow. ‘Who said life was fair?’ she mused philosophically.

The three women parted with hugs and Annie promising to come around the following week.

They held the wake back at the house, and thankfully Kaye’s solicitor had insisted on using professional caterers. The food laid on was adequate but nowhere near as substantial as Lottie would have provided had they done the cooking, but neither woman resented the fact. They were both too exhausted by recent events to even think about catering for so many people. Bear had to go back to the station to catch up with police business, but Copper Beeches was soon packed with people; everyone, it seemed, with a story to tell.

‘Sarah, dear,’ said Vera coming up to Sarah and giving her a hug. Sarah stiffened. She couldn’t help herself. She had just overheard Vera telling someone how much she had done in the house when Kaye died. It was clear that the woman Vera was talking to was full of admiration.