The Keeper of Secrets Read Online Free PDF Page A

trinkets including a faded red ribbon which she presumed had once bound the letters addressed to her dad. Imagining the outpourings of love they might contain, she sneaked the letters into her coat pocket before closing the box and leaving the remaining treasure trove for Charlie to discover in the morning.
    Sleep brought with it dreams of her parents and the love letters they hadn’t wanted to share with the world but had been unable to destroy. White pages fluttered across Elle’s mind like the wings of a dove but the dream darkened as she tried to run away. Flapping wings chased after her but she wouldn’t turn around. She was too frightened to look. She didn’t want to see the intimate detail of a marriage she could never measure up to.

4
    It was Rick who woke them up, grumbling about a banging headache and begging her to find him some painkillers. As she struggled into wakefulness, Charlie stirred too. He immediately grabbed hold of the metal box as Elle got up from the sofa and disappeared into the kitchen. She rooted out the pills and took a couple herself, sharing the glass of water she had poured for Rick.
    â€˜You shouldn’t have stayed down here with Charlie. It won’t make it any easier getting him back into a routine. And look at the state of you. What have you been doing?’ Rick asked, grabbing hold of her hand to inspect her fingernails which were blackened with dried earth. He shook his head and to Elle’s relief didn’t wait for an answer. ‘I can’t leave you alone for five minutes. You really do look awful, darling. Are you sure you’re not taking on too much?’ Through bleary eyes he gave her a look of concern and pulled a tangle of curls away from her face.
    His hand was cold and soothing on her forehead. She closed her eyes. ‘It was a long day yesterday,’ she conceded. Elle could feel the bundle of letters weighing down her coat pocket. She tried to recall that first flush of love when she had been the one collecting love tokens of their relationship.
    Rick had been visiting a young niece in hospital when they first met. She was newly qualified and had been flattered and then overwhelmed by Rick’s attention. It had certainly won her parents over. Elle had thought it sweet of him to drive miles out of his way to pick her up from work even though the hospital was within easy walking distance from home, or to phone her dozens of times each day when she was out of his sight. It was only after they were married that she began to feel the bite of his possessiveness. He rarely accused her directly of encouraging attention from other men but found more subtle ways to question or challenge her motives for even the most innocent encounter. Very early on in their marriage he made it known that he was unhappy for her to continue with her career, but for a few years she had stood her ground. It was only when she became pregnant that she had given in and become a full-time housewife. Now, she had accepted her role in life and there was no doubt in her mind that becoming a mother had brought her a new sense of purpose and immense reward.
    On the face of it, life was perfect but, inside, the love she felt for her husband was like a flickering fluorescent light. She still wanted to love him – in some ways felt obliged to respond to his devotion – and more than anything she wanted to emulate the example set by her parents, but the light flickered more off than on until eventually she had become used to the lightless, loveless marriage in which she existed. She willed the light to reappear as she stood in front of Rick and let him kiss her headache better but the tension in her jaw made her head ache all the more.
    â€˜Dad, have we got any dynamite?’ Charlie piped up.
    Rick checked his pockets before he answered. ‘Sorry, Charlie, I must have used my last stick last night.’
    Charlie muttered and was about to leave but his dad