Page 33 of A Winter Wish

Relief flits across Irene’s face. I can see she’s thinking that maybe it will be okay, after all.

Lois sneers at her. ‘I do hate you.’

She turns and walks out.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

It’s been three days since Irene’s shocking revelation and I still don’t have answers to my questions.

Immediately after poor Lois overheard Irene’s terrible admission about her birth, she fled to her room and Irene went after her. But Lois refused point blank to listen. Sitting in the kitchen, my aching head in my hands, I could hear her yelling at her mum to get out, saying she didn’t want to listen to her excuses.

Ten minutes later, Lois came downstairs in her coat, carrying an overnight bag. ‘I’m going to Rory’s.’

I rose from the table but she’d already gone, slamming the front door behind her. And a minute later, Rory’s car drew up and he collected her– looking grim-faced and awkward– and I haven’t seen her since. I’ve had a text telling me she’s staying at Rory’s for now. But I’ve no idea when or if she intends coming back.

After that one brief message, she’s been refusing to answer my calls and texts, so I’m comforting myself with the fact that at least she’s in the right company. If anyone can make Lois feel better, it’s Rory. He’s so great to talk to and he never shies away from emotional issues. I know he’ll be trying to persuade Lois to talk to her mum about things, so they can find a way to move forward.

I’m desperate to find out the identity of Irene’s blackmailer.

Did they threaten to tell Lois the truth– that Irene had lied to her all her life about the identity of her father? Was that the hold they had over Irene? Is that why Irene took desperate measures, pawning their precious jewellery so she could pay off them off?

But I can’t get any sense out of Irene. With Lois gone, she’s been hitting the bottle harder than ever, and every time I try to talk to her, she says she can’t tell me any more until she’s seen Lois and told her the whole truth, face to face.

‘I owe her that,’ she said wearily, when I tried to speak to her this morning. ‘Although I wouldn’t blame her if she never wants to see me ever again. And then there’s her rings. I need to get them back for her, Clara. But how? I’m completely cleaned out.’

‘You don’t need to worry about that,’ I told her. ‘I phoned the pawnbroker to find out how it works and apparently, for the first six months, they have to contact you if they get an interested buyer and give you the option of buying your goods back.’ I shrug. ‘So there’s no immediate worry that you’ll lose your jewellery.’

She sighed. ‘Well, that’s something. But how can I get Lois to talk to me?’

‘I don’t know. Just keep trying?’

She stared at me, looking utterly defeated. ‘But she won’t even... oh, just leave me alone, Clara. Please.’ She ushered me out of her room and closed the door.

I’ve been sleeping badly, worrying about both of them, but mainly I’m anxious for Bertie. He’s been a bit clingy with me lately, choosing my company over Luke’s, which is just not like him. I worry that he’s picking up on the toxic atmosphere in his home and is feeling insecure. He asked where Lois was and I told him she’s having a little holiday at Rory’s. He seemed satisfied with that explanation. But how long can I keep up the pretence before he realises something’s not right? It must seem to Bertie as if his family is falling apart, with both Irene and Lois unreachable these days, and I guess he might be scared he’ll lose me, too.

I haven’t mentioned any of it to Gran, even though the temptation to confide in her has been huge. With her operation on the horizon, I can’t afford to offload my worries onto her. I need Gran to be calm and untroubled as the big day approaches.

*****

Out shopping in the village this afternoon, before picking Bertie up from school, I spot a familiar face.

Rory.

He spots me at the exact same time, as he’s emerging from the newsagent’s, and I can tell from the smile that spreads over his face, which matches mine, that he’s relieved to see me, too. He was about to turn left along the high street, but he changes his mind, signals and heads towards me, and I hurry to meet him halfway.

As I dodge passers-by and dogs on leads, all the horrible tension of the past few days is melting away and I can’t seem to stop smiling...

‘Hey, Clara Bear, how are you coping?’ Rory asks, using his old nickname for me, as we stand by the bus stop after a slightly awkward embrace.

‘I’m fine.’ I shrug. ‘Just wanting peace to break out between them.’

He nods, running a hand through his hair. ‘I know what you mean. Lois has obviously had a tremendous shock but she’s adamant that she’s fine and doesn’t want to talk about it.’

I groan. ‘That’s Lois. Pretending she’s coping when she must be really hurting underneath.’

‘And we know who she learnedthatfrom.’ He shakes his head. ‘It blows my mind thinking about Irene keeping the secret of Lois’s birth to herself all these years.’

‘I know. She’s suffering for it now, though. She’s desperate to explain everything to Lois, but she knows it’ll take nothing short of a miracle for Lois to actually sit down and listen.’

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