Classic Bestsellers from Josephine Cox: Bumper Collection

‘Do you think I don’t know that?’ Luke went on to explain his thinking. ‘I’ve no intentions of sending you on your way. I want you here with me, where I can keep an eye on you.’ He took a deep breath. ‘Think about it, Jack. I’d be sending you straight to the competition, and that would be the act of a very naïve and stupid man … which I hope I’m not.’

Jack nodded. ‘I see what you’re getting at.’

‘Good man! But that’s not the only reason I want you here.’ He paused to formulate his words. ‘I’m sure you’ve already realised how fast we’re expanding. Work is taking off at such a rate; the orders are pouring in and it seems before too long, I’ll have need of another warehouse and a couple more wagons. That means I’ll have more management work than a man can handle on his own, and that’s where you come in.’

Jack was intrigued. ‘In what way?’

‘I have plans for you, Jack,’ Luke replied. ‘Plans that will give you a free hand, and put you in good stead for the day you captain your own company.’

Jack was secretly delighted. ‘You seem to have a lot of faith in me, if you don’t mind me saying.’

‘I have,’ Luke confirmed, ‘but only because you’ve earned it.’

With that he moved away. ‘Best start closing up.’ Glancing up at the clock he saw it was already ten minutes to six. ‘It’s been a long day. Happen tomorrow will be a bit easier.’

‘Good night, Mr Hammond.’

‘Good night, Jack.’

Having secured his own office, Luke made his way out to the car, leaving Jack to close up the factory.

‘I hope she’s in a better mood than when I left her this morning,’ Luke said aloud, speeding his way home.

Lately he’d got into the habit of talking to himself, which wasn’t surprising when he had no one else to confide in. Even Edna could never understand what was in his heart … all those futile hopes and dreams and broken ambitions, of raising a family and growing old with the woman he had loved and married.

Now they were all gone. And there were times when he felt like the loneliest man in the world. Having drawn up to the house, for a minute he was tempted to turn the car round, drive away and never come back. For too long now, his life had been a roller-coaster ride. There were times when he could hardly bear to leave Sylvia behind in the mornings. Other times he wished himself a million miles away. Or at least in the cabin in the woods – starting a new life, more peaceful and possibly less lonely …

Knowing he had no alternative but to face the certain chaos Sylvia’s mood this morning foretold, he nosed the car into the driveway and drew it to a halt. For a long, aching moment he folded his arms across the steering wheel and, resting his head on them, briefly closed his eyes. He was tired, drained, devoid of energy.

He consoled himself with the knowledge that tomorrow was Tuesday. Out there in the wilderness he could breathe, and smile, and feel the weight of his burden slip away.

He locked the car and went inside the house, his feet like lead, and his heart too.

He braced himself for what was coming. He had never shirked his responsibility, and he would not shirk it now.

‘I’m glad you’re home, sir.’ On her knees, beginning to clear away the crumbs of an apple pie, Edna looked frazzled. ‘She’s been unsettled all day.’

He glanced around the kitchen. There was no sign of Sylvia, but the oven door was wide open and there were pieces of broken earthenware scattered from one end of the room to the other. He was very familiar with the results of Sylvia’s rages.

‘What happened, Edna?’

‘It’s all right,’ she answered, ‘I’ve managed to persuade her upstairs. She took her medication and I watched her until it was all gone. She’s getting sly about it again – says it makes her too tired, and I suspect she’s been pouring it away although she swears not. I’ve tucked her in. I expect she’ll be sleeping like a babe when you go up.’

With an inward sigh of relief, he thanked her. ‘You look all in, Edna. Go home and put your feet up. I’ll take over now.’

Edna did not argue. It had been one of those days when she would be glad to get home.

‘Thank you, sir,’ she said. ‘If you need me, you know where I am.’ Sylvia was like a child to her and, weary or not, she would remain on call, any time, day or night. Then she was quickly gone, though not to ‘put her feet up’, as Luke had suggested. Instead she would cook the dinner and clear up behind her, before starting that enormous pile of ironing. By then her joints would be aching and her feet swollen like new-made bread.

Sylvia slept quietly throughout the night.

Occasionally checking that she was all right, Luke alternately paced the floor and slept fitfully.

On Tuesday morning, he couldn’t wait to get out of the house. No factory, no noise or people, no fretting over Sylvia, just peace and quiet in the heart of God’s creation, where he could think straight and not be disturbed.

That humble cabin in the heart of the woods was his only sanctuary. If he didn’t have that, he believed he might go out of his mind.

At seven thirty, washed, shaved and looking every bit the businessman, he went down the landing to check on Sylvia; she was still fast asleep, hair across the pillow and arms akimbo – like a child, he thought.

Half an hour later, just as he was clearing away his breakfast things, Georgina arrived, looking stunning in a dark green, tight-fitting two-piece and her hair superbly groomed and shining.

‘You should have waited,’ she chided. ‘I would have cooked your breakfast, you know that.’

‘I know.’ He poured her a cup of tea and placed it on the table. ‘I’ve been up and checked Sylvia and she’s still sleeping. Leave her be for now,’ he suggested. ‘She was unsettled yesterday and needs her rest.’

‘And what about you?’ Georgina had already observed the hollow eyes and listless mannerisms as he wiped the flat of his palms across his face. ‘You look shattered. Can’t your Tuesday meetings wait till tomorrow?’ She was angling for information again.

‘No.’ One word, but it was a firm, decisive word, and for a moment she was silenced.

The moment passed. ‘But you look exhausted.’ Coming closer, she gazed up into his dark eyes. ‘Kept you awake, did she?’

Reaching for his jacket from the back of the chair, he gave a wry little smile. ‘You could say that.’ He recounted the previous evening’s fiasco. ‘It seems Edna made her an apple pie, which, as you know, was always Sylvia’s favourite. Sylvia asked her to bake it for her, then insisted on helping and, of course, Edna agreed. But when it came to taking the pie out of the oven, she could see how worked up Sylvia had got so she refused to let her do it in case she burned herself.’

He put on his jacket and began to move away. ‘You can guess the rest,’ he remarked cynically. ‘Sylvia threw one of her best tantrums. When I got home the pie was all over the floor. Edna had managed to get her upstairs and give her the medication.’

He then confided how concerned he was about Sylvia, and Edna’s worries about her not taking her medicine. ‘She’s due to see the consultant in a fortnight,’ he reminded Georgina. ‘I’ve been wondering if I should bring the appointment forward.’

‘Why?’ Georgina was suddenly alert. ‘You’re not thinking of having her put away, are you?’

‘Good God no!’ Anger flooded Luke’s face. ‘What kind of man do you think I am?’

‘A tired man,’ she replied. ‘A man who could be at the end of his tether. A man whose wife has some kind of brain damage, and now she’s a burden to you … dangerous to herself and others.’ She cunningly tested him. ‘If you wanted her locked away, no one would blame you.’

Unable to suppress his anger, he took her by the shoulders. ‘I don’t want to hear you talking like that again.’ The hardness of his fingers pressed into her flesh. ‘Sylvia is my wife. I made my vows before God: “in sickness and in health”. So you see, it’s my duty to take care for her, and I will. As long as she needs me, I’ll be here.’

‘I believe you.’ Feeling his hands on her body, however innocent, was a wonderful thing.

But she had to know what was on his mind. ‘There must be times when you feel lonely.’ Reaching up, she laid her hands over his. ‘A man has a need,’ she whispered huskily. ‘I can fill that need … if only you’ll let me?’

He gazed down into those deep, inviting eyes set in that porcelain-smooth face. Her scent was heady and very feminine, like lilies, and for a moment his resolve began to slip. She was right. He was more lonely than anyone could ever imagine. It wouldn’t be so bad, would it, if he took her in his arms and satisfied that deep-down need that never seemed to go away?

He thought of Sylvia and of how it used to be: her soft nakedness merging with his flesh, the warmth of mingling bodies and that great exhausting passion that swept them along and took all their energy.

Sylvia was no longer part of him in that way. But here was Georgina, offering herself, so why shouldn’t he take her? After all, he was only a man, with all a man’s strengths and weaknesses.

Almost without him being conscious of it, he drew her to him, gently, tantalisingly, his mouth half open to hers, so close he could taste her sweet, warm breath, mingling with his.

Then suddenly he thrust her away. ‘I’ll check on Sylvia, then I’d best make tracks,’ he said abruptly.