Mother’s Ruin Read Online Free PDF Page A

right?’
    ‘You should know, Sal. Haven’t you looked at my aura?’
    ‘Of course I have and it looks fine, but you still seem a bit down in the dumps.’
    ‘I’m fine, now just bugger off and leave me in peace for five minutes.’
    ‘All right, I’m going,’ Sally said. She hadn’t seen anything to worry about in her mother’s aura, but something was obviously wrong. Was it just that she was a bit fed up or was there more to it?
    *   *   *
    Alone again, Ruth stared disconsolately out of the window seeing a mean little terraced house identical to her own across the narrow, grey vista. Secretly she’d been pleased when Sally and Arthur had moved in. It was wonderful to have her granddaughter under the same roof, a joy, but there was no getting away from the fact that the house was bursting at the seams. Oddly, despite this, there were times, like now, when she felt lonely, yet memories of the past always held her back from seeking another relationship. Her marriage to Ken had been a disaster, and when she remembered the way he had treated Sally, Ruth was, as always, swamped with guilt.
    When Ken had been away during World War Two she’d had no news of him for a long, long time and had feared he’d been killed in action. In a moment of madness she’d walked into the arms of another man, and had an affair that left her pregnant.
    Shortly after Ken had come home and despite her affair he had begged her to stay with him. He’d suggested that they tell everyone that the baby was his, had promised to bring Sally up as his own and Ruth had agreed. She had sent a letter to Andrew at his unit, told him that her pregnancy was a false alarm, and that as her husband had returned she could never see him again.
    All Ken’s promises came to nothing when Sally was born. He had hated her on sight, obviously seeing her as a constant reminder of the affair. He had changed so much that fearing his violence she had kept Sally confined to her room when he was at home, her daughter a virtual prisoner and a sad, lonely child.
    Ruth closed her eyes as once again she was swamped with guilt. Instead of kowtowing to Ken, she should have put her daughter first. She’d been a selfish mother so was it any wonder that Sally clung to her grandmother?
    When Ken had gone off with another woman and Sally found out that he wasn’t her father the questions had begun. She had wanted to know who her real father was. All Ruth could tell her was that Andrew had been a soldier, married too, with a young son, and after ending the affair she had no idea what happened to him.
    Ruth slumped on the side of her mother’s bed. She didn’t even know if Andrew had survived the war. Stop it, she berated herself, stop thinking about him. It was all best left in the past, but why, oh why, did the memory of being in Andrew’s arms still haunt her?
    Angela had fallen asleep so Arthur carried her upstairs where he gently tucked her into bed.
    For a while he stood gazing down at his daughter’s innocent face and then his eyes flicked around the cramped bedroom. Angela shouldn’t be in here with them, she should be in her own room again.
    Arthur’s thoughts turned to Sally and he wondered what was happening to their marriage. When he’d agreed to return to Candle Lane it was only supposed to be for a short while and he’d soon found the perfect house for them in Richmond. It was a bit pricey, but the firm was doing well and he could afford the mortgage. Huh, so much for that plan. Sally stubbornly refused to leave. Her gran was too ill, she insisted, and might never fully recover. Why not look for a house close to Candle Lane, Sally had suggested, one that allowed her to stay with her gran during the day. Arthur wasn’t having that. He wanted them to live in or around Richmond where Angel could breathe clean fresh air instead of the muck that the factories churned out around here. As far as he could see, Sadie looked all right and, though testy at