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‘I’ll still be in Peckham, hopefully sharing a house with my mother and Pete.’

  Jenny pursed her lips. ‘Sharing? Are you sure that’s a good idea?’

  ‘I’ll have a separate flat, and to be honest, Jenny, it’ll be a godsend. I need an extra bedroom and this is the only way I’ll be able to afford it,’ Mavis told her.

  ‘It’d be nice if you had someone to look after you. A good man—a decent man.’

  Mavis wasn’t daft. She knew who Jenny was alluding to, and if she ever did want a man in her life again it would be someone like Tommy. He’d asked her out several times and sometimes she’d been tempted, but the thought of being under a man’s dominance and control again always made her shy away. Not only that, she had the children to think about, and though so young they had seen too much. She would never put them at risk again, but maybe one day she’d find the courage to put a toe in the water. She doubted Tommy would wait that long. He was so good looking and, as Jenny said, a decent bloke. He’d be snapped up soon, and Mavis was just surprised that he hadn’t been already.

  ‘I don’t need looking after, Jenny. I like being on my own and I’m fine,’ Mavis now said, and as she and Jenny continued to chat, Mavis was unaware of the plans someone just a few doors away was making.

  CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

  Rhona had been keeping her eye out and had seen Mavis’s friend arrive, but it wasn’t her she was interested in. It was the bloke with her—the one who Mavis had said was her friend’s cousin. Gawd, he was gorgeous, a bit older than the blokes she usually went for, but she was sick of going out with fellers of her own age. They were useless, leaving her unsatisfied, and she was desperate for a man of experience. Rhona knew that her cravings were unnatural, but she couldn’t hold them in check. Anyway, why should she? With the birth control pill she didn’t have to worry, and as this bloke wasn’t local there wouldn’t be any danger of more gossip.

  With a sly smile, Rhona patted her hair into place and then left the house to knock on Mavis’s door. ‘Oh, sorry,’ she said, walking straight in when Mavis opened it. ‘I didn’t know you had company.’

  ‘Er…hello, Rhona. This is my friend Jenny and that’s Tommy.’

  Rhona nodded briefly at Jenny before her eyes fixed on Tommy. He was even better looking close up, and with what she hoped was a sexy voice she drawled, ‘Well, hello. It’s nice to meet you.’

  ‘You too,’ he said, an amused smile on his face.

  Without invitation, Rhona sat next to him on the sofa, and crossing her legs she made sure her skirt rode up over her knees. ‘My, you smell nice. What is it, Brut?’

  ‘No, love, it’s Old Spice.’

  ‘Spice, spicy, yes, I like that.’

  ‘Rhona,’ Mavis said. ‘I’m sorry, but would you mind coming back later?’

  ‘Oh, do I have to? I was just starting to enjoy myself.’ And then imitating a Brigitte Bardot pout she said to Tommy, ‘You don’t want me to go, do you?’

  ‘Well, love, nice as it is to have your company, I’m afraid that Jenny and I have things we need to discuss with Mavis. In private.’

  As Tommy said this, Rhona didn’t miss the grateful smile on Mavis’s face. In fact, when looking at him, Mavis looked doe-eyed. Right, so much for her not being interested in men. Oh, well, if she wanted this one, good luck to her—after all, there were plenty more fish in the sea.

  Rhona stood up, saying, ‘Fair enough. See you,’ and with a brief wave she walked out.

  ‘Honestly, that girl,’ Mavis said as the door closed behind Rhona. ‘Talk about making herself obvious.’

  ‘Well, Tommy, she certainly made it clear that she liked you,’ Jenny said with a wide smile on her face.

  ‘She’s a bit young for me.’

  ‘Tommy, thanks for your quick thinking,’ Mavis said, smiling warmly.

  ‘That’s all right,’ he said, pleased that there might be a glimmer of hope. He may have been mistaken, but he was sure that Mavis hadn’t looked pleased to see Rhona flirting with him. As Jenny had suggested, for over two months he had stood back, just being friendly, but now he wanted to ask Mavis out again and maybe this was a good sign.

  ‘Can I get you both another drink?’ she asked.

  ‘Yes, please,’ Jenny said. ‘What about you, Tommy?’

  ‘Thanks,’ he said, unable to miss the way Mavis’s dress clung to her body as she walked from the room, but unaware that though she seemed composed, Mavis’s thoughts were raging.

  Mavis poured the drinks, her emotions all over the place. Jealous! She’d been jealous when Rhona had flirted with Tommy. What was the matter with her? She didn’t want Tommy Wilson, and if he asked her out again, she’d still say no. She was content on her own, but her earlier thoughts returned. Maybe she would find the courage to go out with a man again, but if she did it would have to be with one who wouldn’t control her life, a gentle sort of chap, perhaps someone like Pete. He didn’t try to rule her mother, the marriage more like a partnership, and it was wonderful to see how happy they were. Would she ever find such happiness? Mavis doubted it.

  ‘Tommy, did you see Mavis’s face?’ Jenny said. ‘I don’t think she liked it when that girl was all over you.’

  ‘Yes, I know,’ he said hurriedly. ‘If you get the chance, can you leave me alone with Mavis?’

  ‘Good luck, Tommy—let’s hope she says yes this time.’

  ‘If she doesn’t, I can’t go on like this, Jenny, waiting, hoping. Yes, I’ll ask her out again, but it’ll be for the last time. If Mavis says no, then that’s it and I’ll know it’s time for me to move on.’

  ‘Fingers crossed then,’ she said, ‘but I don’t think you’ll need it. As I said, she looked jealous.’

  ‘That’s what I thought.’

  Tommy sat back, hoping that Jenny would be able to give him the opportunity he needed. Mavis had everything. She had looks to die for, a soft, kind personality and, to top it all, an incredible talent for art. Mavis should be using oils again, extending her talent, but she was too busy making a living from her sketches. One day Tommy wanted to change all that. He wanted to cherish Mavis and her children, to take her away from the life of hardship she now had.

  ‘What do you think about Mavis sharing a house with her mother?’

  Just then, Mavis came back into the room leaving Tommy no chance to answer. Sharing with her mother was hardly ideal, he thought, and little better than living in this poky house. He had a better idea. The business was going great and he could even afford to take out a mortgage on another house. He’d take the financial burden away from Mavis—make sure that she and the children wanted for nothing, leaving her to concentrate on art, without having to worry about selling it. She could use oils again, and, who knows, one day she might even have an exhibition. Surely that was what Mavis wanted? Surely that was better than wasting her talent on sketches?

  He heard what sounded like Greg yelling in the garden and quickly looked at Jenny.

  ‘It’s all right, Mavis. You’ve got your hands full. I’ll go,’ she said, giving him a swift wink before she went outside.

  Mavis placed the tray of drinks on the table, about to go outside too, but Tommy quickly said, ‘Mavis, wait. Don’t go. I need to talk to you.’

  ‘You do? What about?’

  ‘Sit down…please,’ Tommy urged. This was it, he thought. It was now or never, and as she sat down he leaned forward, saying urgently, ‘Mavis, I’d like to help you.’

  ‘Help me. What do you mean?’

  ‘I’m not hard up and…and I’d like to look after you. Is there a chance for me? Is there a chance that we could have a future together?’

  Mavis looked stunned. Her mouth opened, but no words came out.

  ‘All right,’ he said, ‘don’t look at me like that. I know I’m jumping the gun, but at least for a start, let me take you out. If it works out between us, it’d be great, and I know it’s a bit previous, but I’ve already been planning your future. With your painting for instan
ce, I’ll tell you what you can do…’

  ‘You…you’ve been planning my future?’ Mavis interrupted, indignation colouring her cheeks. ‘How dare you? And how dare you think you can tell me what to do?’

  ‘No, no, you’ve got it wrong,’ Tommy protested. ‘I’m not trying to tell you what to do.’

  ‘It sounds like you are to me,’ Mavis shouted as she jumped to her feet. ‘My God, I’ve spent my life being told what to do and the last thing I want is to go through that again.’

  ‘Mavis, what’s going on?’ Jenny asked as she marched back into the room. ‘I could hear you shouting from the garden.’

  ‘Ask him. He’s the one who wants to run my life.’

  ‘Tommy, what on earth did you say to her?’

  ‘I asked her out, that’s all, and all right, I might have been a bit previous talking about our future.’

  ‘Our future! We have no future,’ Mavis snapped.

  ‘Please, Mavis, calm down,’ Jenny urged, and obviously trying to defuse the situation further she feigned exasperation. ‘Honestly, Tommy, you haven’t got a clue. I don’t know what you said to Mavis, but you’ve certainly upset her and I think she needs a bit of time on her own to cool down. Come on, we’ll go into the garden.’

  Mavis still looked stiff with indignation, and shaking his head Tommy rose to his feet. ‘Fine,’ he said, following Jenny outside.

  The children were engrossed, hardly sparing them a glance as they continued to make some sort of den. ‘Well, Tommy, that obviously didn’t go down well,’ Jenny said wryly.

  ‘That’s it, I’m finished. I’m never going to ask her out again.’

  ‘Don’t say that. You two are made for each other, I know you are.’

  ‘No, Jenny, we aren’t. I’ve got to accept that now and you have, too.’

  ‘Can’t you at least apologise to Mavis for upsetting her?’

  ‘Why should I apologise? Bloody hell, Jenny, all I said to Mavis was that I wanted to look after her. What’s wrong with that?’

  ‘I don’t know, I wish I did, but at least if you say you’re sorry, you can remain friends.’

  ‘Yes, that would suit you, wouldn’t it? It would mean you’d still get a lift over here every fortnight. But have you given a thought to how I’m feeling?’

  Jenny had the grace to look ashamed. ‘Tommy, I’m sorry, really I am. I wasn’t even thinking about a lift, honestly I wasn’t. It’s just that if you two can remain friends, who knows, one day it might develop into more.’

  ‘No, I told you, I’m finished,’ he said, yet even as he said these words again, Tommy knew it wasn’t the truth. The last few months had made him realise that Mavis was the only girl for him, and even if he met someone else she would only be second best, just as his ex-wife had been. ‘All right, Jenny, if it makes you happy, I’ll apologise. Come on, let’s go back inside and hopefully Mavis will have calmed down by now.’

  ‘You go ahead. I’ll check on the kids first.’

  He took a deep breath, saying as soon as he stepped into the room, ‘Mavis, I’m sorry, and please, don’t look so nervous. I promise, I won’t ask you out again.’

  ‘Tommy, I’m sorry too. I know I overreacted, but…but it’s just that I don’t want to go out with you, or anyone. Alec was violent and I lived in fear that he would turn on the children. He ruled me, ruled them, and I can’t face that again.’

  ‘I’m not Alec, and I hope one day you’ll realise that. I would never lay a hand on you or your children.’

  ‘No, I don’t think you would,’ Mavis said, and for a moment Tommy dared to hope, but then she shook her head. ‘I’m sorry, Tommy, really I am, but I’m just not ready to go out with anyone.’

  ‘All right, Mavis, but can we at least stay friends?’

  ‘Yes, of course we can. You were so kind to me when you let me have your flat, and I’ll always be grateful to you for that.’

  ‘There’s no need. I’d have done the same for anyone or are you forgetting that, at the time, I didn’t know the flat was for you?’

  ‘No, I hadn’t forgotten and you should have seen your face the first time you came to collect your things.’

  ‘Talking about faces,’ Tommy said, pleased that the atmosphere had relaxed between them, ‘that Rhona can certainly pull a few, especially that Bardot pout. Still, she isn’t a bad-looking bird and young for me or not, I might just ask her out.’

  ‘Rhona’s man mad,’ Mavis said brusquely. ‘She’ll eat you alive.’

  Tommy hid a smile. He wasn’t really interested in Rhona, but had wanted to gauge Mavis’s reaction. He hoped he hadn’t got it wrong again, but for a moment he thought he’d seen another spark of jealousy in her eyes. All right, for now she was only willing to offer friendship, but as Jenny said, one day it might develop into more.

  Only time would tell, and yet no matter how long it took, Tommy knew he would never give up. Mavis was the girl for him and somehow he felt that they were meant to be together. He just had to convince Mavis of that.

  Mavis waved as Jenny and Tommy drove off, but seconds later Rhona appeared, tripping towards her on stiletto heels.

  ‘Sorry, Mavis,’ she chirped. ‘I didn’t realise I was treading on your toes.’

  ‘What on earth are you talking about?’

  ‘Come on, don’t give me that. You said you’re not interested in blokes, but I saw the way you reacted when I tried to give that Tommy the eye.’

  ‘I don’t know what you mean. I just felt he was too old for you, that’s all.’

  ‘If you say so, but if you ask me you’re nuts. He’s a bit of all right and I reckon he’s got his eye on you.’

  Mavis sighed. ‘All right, I’ll admit he’s asked me out a few times, but I’m not interested.’

  Rhona’s eyebrows rose. ‘Are you sure about that?’

  ‘Yes, I’m sure.’

  ‘In that case I might just give him another try.’

  ‘That’s up to you, but are you coming in?’

  ‘Yeah, why not? I ain’t got anything else planned.’

  Mavis hid her feelings as Rhona flopped onto a chair. Why did the thought of Tommy and Rhona going out together make her feel sick? Why was she feeling like this? Mavis knew the answer but did her best to deny it. She liked Tommy, perhaps more than liked him.

  ‘Blimey, you should see your face,’ Rhona said, ‘but don’t worry, I’m only kidding. I could see that Tommy wasn’t interested in me. I reckon he only flirted a bit to make you jealous.’

  Without thinking, Mavis blurted out, ‘Well, he succeeded.’

  ‘See, I was right, you do fancy him.’

  Mavis walked to the back door and seeing that the children were playing happily, she returned to sit opposite Rhona. ‘All right, I’ll admit it. I do like Tommy, but I don’t want to go out with him.’

  ‘Why not?’

  ‘I don’t ever want a man, or anyone, to control my life again.’

  ‘You daft mare. A bloke can only control you if you let him, and, anyway, he’s only asked you out on a date.’

  ‘Tommy wants more than that, Rhona. He talked about his plans for our future.’

  ‘Surely that shows that he just wants to look after you?’

  ‘I can look after myself,’ Mavis said, her voice clipped.

  ‘Yes, and you’ve proved that now. Look how far you’ve come. You’re stronger, self-reliant, but surely you don’t want to live like a bleedin’ nun for the rest of your life?’

  ‘Rhona, I’m scared,’ Mavis admitted at last. ‘I’m a useless judge of character. I thought a woman called Edith Pugh was a wonderful woman and ran to her with my problems. She was the first person who treated me as if I had any intelligence, but all the time she was manipulating me into marrying her son.’

  ‘We all make mistakes about people and she was probably good at hiding her true colours, that’s all.’

  ‘Yes, but I thought her son was nice too, and though I didn’t love him, I tried to be
a good wife. He turned out to be even worse, dominant, and then violent.’

  ‘Maybe he was just a product of his mother.’

  ‘Perhaps, but I misjudged Pete too. I was awful to him, blamed him for my father’s disappearance, yet I was so wrong. He’s a wonderful man who has taken us all under his wing.’

  ‘Yes, and Tommy is probably a smashing bloke too, but you won’t even give him a chance. Why not risk it, Mavis? A date doesn’t commit you to anything. If it doesn’t work out you can tell him to bugger off.’

  Rhona’s words sunk in and at last Mavis smiled. There hadn’t been any dates with Alec, hardly any chance to get to know him before they married. If she went out with Tommy it would have to be different. She would want them to take things slowly, to get to know each other first, and then maybe, just maybe…

  ‘So, what are you going to do?’ Rhona asked.

  Mavis had come to a decision and felt a surge of excitement. Yes, she’d do it, but it would be on her terms.

  ‘I’m going to ring Tommy, and he’s going to get the shock of his life. This time it’s going to be me asking him out.’

  Acknowledgements

  My thanks go to a very special man, Steve Armitage of TheWebShop, who came to my rescue when I had a huge problem with my computer. Without thought of reward he kindly gave hours of his time to find my lost data and without him this book would never have been finished by the deadline.

  Thanks, Steve, and may your web design business here in Spain go from strength to strength.

  About the Author

  Kitty Neale was raised in South London and this working class area became the inspiration for her novels. In the 1980s she moved to Surrey with her husband and two children, but in 1998 there was a catalyst in her life when her son died, aged just 27. After joining other bereaved parents in a support group, Kitty was inspired to take up writing and her books have been Sunday Times bestsellers

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