Runaway Wife Read Online Free PDF

whatever has happened between Daddy and me, it’s not to do with you. It’s not because of you. Daddy loves you.”
    Maddie turned her face from Rose, her lips pressed together in a thin pale line. It was clear that she found it hard to reconcile what she’d witnessed, what had happened, with Rose’s version of events, and Rose had no idea how to fix that, only that she was certain she didn’t want Maddie to blame herself.
    “He didn’t act like it, did he, though?” Maddie said.“Before . . . when . . . and when we got in the car and came here. He was very, very angry.”
    “I know,” Rose said, stroking Maddie’s heavy fringe back from her face. “But that wasn’t because of you, it was me. It was because of something I had done.”
    “What did you do?” Maddie asked her.
    “It’s not important,” Rose said. “All that is important is that you remember that Daddy loves you .”
    “Do we . . . will we have to go back? If we don’t go back, Daddy will be cross again,” Maddie persisted.
    Rose considered another lie, but only for a moment. “I don’t want to see Daddy for a while.”
    “What shall we do instead?” Maddie asked, her voice ragged with anxiety. “I want to see him. This Saturday we are supposed to go swimming at two forty-five. And on Sunday we have lunch at one o’clock. Chicken and potatoes, and I always have the breast with no skin. The last time I saw Daddy, he was angry. What if he’s still angry?”
    “I know, darling, I know,” Rose said, watching Maddie’s taut expression. “Well, you and I can go swimming somewhere near here, I’m sure. And we’ll go to a pub for lunch. They are bound to have chicken. I’ll take the skin off for you.”
    “But that isn’t what we do!” Maddie protested anxiously. “We go swimming at home and you cook chicken. You know how I like it, without the gravy touching.”
    “Maddie, listen,” Rose said gently, crouching down next to her frightened daughter, keeping her hands carefully folded to her own body so as not to panic her further. “Just for now things will be a little bit different. But it will be OK, you’ll see. I’ll protect you. I know it’s hard, I know you don’t like things to be different. But trust me, I promise I won’t let anything bad happen to you.”
    “That’s what Daddy said,” Maddie muttered. “He lied.”
    “I’ve been thinking.” Jenny appeared at the door without any warning and beckoned to Maddie. Rose wondered irritatedly how long she had been standing outside. “You are right, madam, what is the point of a doll’s house that no one plays with? My great-grandfather made it, you know, in his spare time for his daughters. I used to play and play with it when I was a girl, but other than Haleigh my lot never showed any interest, so I had my Brian make me a display case for it so that I didn’t have to dust it every day. Would you like to play with it this morning, while Mummy is out and about? I can open it up just for you.”
    “Thank you but—” Rose was about to explain to Jenny that Maddie did not like to be left with strangers, but her daughter cut across her.
    “Yes, thank you, I would,” she said, the model of good manners.
    “Are you sure, sweetheart?” Rose asked her a little warily.
    “Yes,” Maddie said confidently. “I really like miniature things, don’t I, Mummy? And I would like to do something that isn’t thinking about home.”
    “Are you sure?” Rose asked Jenny. “I mean, babysitting’s outside your remit, isn’t it?”
    “Yes, it is,” Jenny said, making it clear how very kind she was being, before her expression softened a little. “But, well, I haven’t seen my grandsons for getting on for a year. Haleigh’s on the other side of the world and can’t even be bothered to email. And I don’t know what is going on with you two, but I don’t like to see a child look as lost as that one. It’ll be nice for me to spend a bit of time with a