Nell stepped from the cold of the pavement into the warm entrance of the garden centre. It was Sunday afternoon and she’d received a garbled message from Bea asking her to meet her there at two o’clock sharp. She glanced at her watch before noticing Bea’s car pulling into the car park. Nathan was driving and Bea was sitting in the passenger seat. She saw Jacob’s face pressed up against the window. His face beamed when he spotted Nell and he waved madly. Then Nell noticed a figure sitting next to him, she squinted and realisation struck home.
‘Fern,’ she said, under her breath, ‘Surely not.’ Bea jumped out of the car and Nathan beeped as he pulled off.
‘Close your mouth or you’ll swallow flies.’ Bea’s lips twisted in lopsided smile.
‘I thought I was seeing things for a moment. I could have sworn that was Fern in the back of the car.’
Bea slipped her arm through Nell’s, and they headed towards the café in search of a coffee and a bite to eat.
‘It was, what a morning.’
Nell scrutinised her face, ‘Have you been crying?’
‘A little, let’s grab a drink and I’ll tell you all about it.’
A couple of minutes later, they were huddled in the corner of the café, hugging a mug of coffee.
‘It’s awful,’ said Bea tearfully, swallowing down a lump in her throat. She paused and brushed a strand of hair from her face.
Nell reached across the table and squeezed her friend’s hand, ‘Whatever’s happened?’ Nell studied her eyes and knew that whatever Bea was about to tell her must have been major for her to even contemplating speaking to Fern again.
Bea took a deep breath, her lips quivered. ‘We were woken up this morning by hammering on the front door and when we opened it, we were faced with a very angry Fern clutching a letter. Cutting a long story short, my mum has left all her money and house, in fact everything, to Jacob, in a trust fund …’
‘And Fern wasn’t happy?’ interrupted Nell.
‘Yes, but not for the reasons we may have thought.’ Bea took a sip of her coffee. ‘She was banking on the money being left to her, she needed it.’
‘What for?’
‘To escape.’
‘Escape?’ asked Nell perplexed.
‘You remember Pete?’
Nell rolled her eyes, ‘Do I ever? There was something about him. I never felt comfortable in his company. Shifty eyes in my opinion.’
‘Well, you’re a good judge of character.’
‘What do you mean?’
Bea lowered her voice and leaned over the table, ‘He’s not only been mentally abusing her for years, but physically too.’ Bea’s face crumpled as the words tumbled from her mouth.
Nell could see the hurt visible on Bea’s face, ‘Oh, Bea, I don’t know what to say.’
‘He’s basically isolated her, stripped her of her self-confidence, self-worth and made her reliant on him for money and food.’
‘I thought she’d a job?’ Nell lowered her mug and placed it on the table.
Bea shook her head, ‘From what I can gather he made life so difficult for her she went off with depression and never went back. When Mum became ill it gave her some relief from the situation.’
‘This is terrible.’
‘And now she’s died, she’s back to being with him twenty-four seven.’ Bea squeezed her eyes shut, blinking away the tears. ‘She needed Mum’s money to leave without a trace in the middle of the night. She didn’t have Mum to look after any more and I’d cut her out of our family.’ Bea rummaged in her bag – grabbing a tissue, she dabbed her eyes.
‘What sort of sister have I been? I’ve completely let her down.’ Bea looked up briefly, before staring down into her mug.
‘Now, you listen to me,’ said Nell in a kind voice, tapping her hand, ‘You haven’t, you can only react to the circumstances you know about.’
Bea looked up through her fringe.
‘As far as you were concerned, she stood by Pete when he called Jacob a bastard and they left him to cry in his cot when they were babysitting him that night.’
‘She had no choice,’ said Bea, taking a deep breath. Her shoulders were shaking and she squeezed her eyes shut. ‘Fern was protecting Jacob. Yes, he was crying, but in the past every time Fern stood up to Pete, or even looked at him the wrong way, he would make her pay. I’ve seen the bruises,’ Bea flinched just thinking about it. ‘He told her she couldn’t go to Jacob, and she knew if she went to his cot it would trigger his temper even more. She was afraid he would hurt Jacob too – she was actually guarding him from Pete’s erratic behaviour.’
Nell slumped back in her chair, ‘Did she ever tell your mum?’
Bea shook her head, ‘I think she’s been too scared. The only way out that she could see was the money from the will, and as soon as she found out it was left to Jacob, she thought her life was over.’
Nell felt a pang of sadness, ‘I don’t know what to say. Nobody has any idea what is really going on in someone else’s life, do they?’
They sat in silence for a moment, lost in their own thoughts, before Nell spoke. ‘What happens now?’
‘I know I’ve not always seen eye to eye with Fern in the past but I can’t stand by and let her suffer any more. She’s moving in with us until the twins are born.’
Nell sat up in her chair, ‘Okay, I can really understand where you are coming from but what if, and I’m only throwing this out there because I’m worried about you, but what if Pete doesn’t like that? What if he comes after you?’
‘He won’t think she’s with us and if he does come anywhere near, the first people I will be phoning is the police.’
Nell nodded and heaved a sigh of relief, ‘And when the twins are born?’
‘I’ve no idea, but we’ve got a few months to come up with a plan.’
Bea’s phone beeped and she swiped the message, ‘That’s Nathan now. He’s dropped Fern at home and Jacob off at a party. He’s got a couple of errands to run and then he’ll pick her up. I can’t leave her there any longer. She’s going to throw some essentials into a suitcase and move in today.’
Nell took the last swig of her coffee, ‘Come on, it’s walking distance to Fern’s house from here, let’s walk over and help her pack.’
Bea nodded, ‘How would you feel if I offered her a job at the deli?’
‘I think that is just what is needed, it’ll give Fern something positive to focus on and build her confidence too. Ask her. See how she feels about it.’ Nell also felt relieved, not only would this be the perfect solution for Bea and Fern, it meant it would free Nell up to work on the Old Picture House knowing Bea was in safe hands.
They grabbed their coats and bags and began to amble towards Fern’s house.
‘I was meaning to ask,’ Bea turned towards Nell, ‘What’s been going on with you this week? Don’t think I haven’t noticed you are very quiet. Is it Guy leaving?’
‘That and my mother.’
‘What’s Gilly been up to now?’
Nell looked at Bea, ‘I’m not entirely sure, but something is niggling away at me.’
Bea raised her eyebrows.
Nell linked arms with Bea, ‘Let’s walk and talk and I’ll tell you all about the secrets of the shoebox.’
‘The secrets of the shoebox, this sounds ominous.’
‘It does, indeed. It also involves a film actor and a secret stash of letters.’
‘Any film actor in particular?’
‘Lloyd Keaton,’ answered Nell.
‘Get talking, Andrews.’