Faith - Lesley Pearse [243]
Getting up from her knees, she picked up the bag of geranium plants and toyed with the idea of giving him a piece of her mind. But as she walked away from the grave he came towards her.
‘Excuse me, but you’re Laura, aren’t you?’ he asked.
His deep, almost growling voice struck a chord with Laura. All at once she didn’t mind that he’d been watching her.
‘Yes, I am. And you must be Ted?’
He nodded and looked a little bashful, but held out his hand to her. ‘Yes, I’m Ted. And it is so good to meet you at last, Laura. I hope I didn’t disturb you, but I was so pleased to see you there at Barney’s grave I couldn’t walk away.’
‘Is it you that’s been looking after it?’ she asked.
‘Yes.’ He dropped his eyes from hers. ‘You don’t mind, do you? I met Barney many times when he was staying with Jackie and liked him a great deal. After he died Jackie came here most days, I often joined her and we’d sit on the bench and she’d pour out all her memories of him. So when you were arrested I felt I must continue to look after his grave, for both of you.’
Laura was deeply touched and her eyes prickled with tears. ‘I think that is one of the kindest things anyone has ever done for me,’ she said, her voice cracking with emotion. ‘Especially as you must have believed I killed her.’
‘I was never entirely convinced of that,’ he said. ‘Jackie spoke of you so often I felt I knew you. I found it comforting to have this to do, it feels like part of her is always here.’
‘She should have been buried here too,’ Laura said sadly. ‘I don’t know why she wasn’t.’
‘Belle’s doing,’ he said dourly. ‘Because of the circumstances I couldn’t intervene. But let’s not talk about that, it’s too upsetting to dwell on what she did. I was so glad to see on the television that you were exonerated. You’ve had a terrible time!’
‘It’s all over now.’ Laura smiled at him. ‘And I’m really glad to meet you at last. You were one secret Jackie kept from me. But let’s go and sit down and have a chat.’
They sat on a bench in the sunshine and as they chatted about Stuart investigating on her behalf, Laura felt a real bond with this gentle, thoughtful man. She’d always had a problem with Roger, who’d been against her right from the start because of what she did to Steven, his old flatmate, and over the years jealousy and resentment had been added. There had been many occasions when she’d tried hard to put things right, for Jackie’s benefit, but Roger wasn’t the kind to forgive; he was a bombastic, stubborn man with a big ego.
Ted was so different – sensitive, unassuming – and he wanted to get to know her because they had both loved Jackie. Initially Laura couldn’t see why her friend had fallen for him, for he was an almost complete opposite to her. He wasn’t charismatic, sophisticated, outgoing or even sexy. Apart from his lovely duck-egg-blue eyes and his very masculine voice, he was ordinary, the kind of man you wouldn’t even notice, let alone look at twice.
Yet as he told her about his shock at hearing Belle and Charles had been arrested, how he’d gone to see Stuart in hospital and how anxious he’d been for her, Laura saw exactly why Jackie had loved him. He was one of those rare people who cared more about others than he did about himself.
‘Tell me how things are with you and your wife now. Did you tell her about Jackie?’ Laura asked him after a little while.
‘Yes, I did, I went home straight after seeing Stuart and told her the whole story.’ He winced as if that been one of the worst moments of his life. ‘Predictably Peggie was absolutely furious. She said some dreadful things and told me to get out. I couldn’t of course, not when she had no one else to take care of her. It was hell for some time; the news of Belle and Charles’s arrest wound her up still more. So I made plans to leave. I got a nurse lined up to come in daily.
‘But when I began packing, she did a U-turn. She said she wanted me to stay.’
‘Oh Ted, don’t say you agreed?’ Laura groaned.
Ted chuckled softly. ‘I know! It makes