The Village Newcomers Read Online Free PDF Page B

Alex and Beth to come with him and then into Culworth proper for coffee and shopping if they wished.
     
    Beth in particular enjoyed the tip because she loved inspecting the goods laid out for re-sale at one edge of the site. As she always did after she’d been poking about at the tip, she insisted on giving her hands a good wash in the Abbey coffee shop toilets before she sat down at a table.
     
    She’d given her order to Peter before she disappeared, so when she returned her hot chocolate was waiting for her. ‘Dad, you’re not having that gut-rot stuff Alex drinks, are you?’
     
    ‘Thought I’d try it for a change, but I think maybe you’ve given it the right name.’
     
    Alex offered Peter the sugar. ‘Might help it down.’
     
    They sat companionably together, drinking and observing people. Lots of people saw Peter and raised a hand or spoke to him. Beth approved of her dad being well liked. He deserved it, she thought. ‘Good thing it’s Saturday, then the Bishop’s wife won’t be here.’
     
    Somewhat astounded by Beth’s statement, as he’d always found the Bishop’s wife very pleasant and helpful, Peter asked, ‘What’s wrong with her, Beth? She’s extremely kind.’
     
    ‘At the back of her mind there’s always the thought that we, Alex and I, need special attention because of our circumstances. She kind of glosses over it without actually mentioning it, but her concern is always there.’
     
    Peter, taken aback by her frankness, said, ‘I didn’t realise that. She means well.’
     
    ‘Exactly, Dad, but she needn’t because Alex and I are perfectly all right.’
     
    To Peter this appeared to be a heaven-sent opportunity to clear the air. ‘Those letters you got the other day, from Suzy Meadows. Are you perfectly all right about them ?’
     
    Now it was the twins’ turn to be surprised. Alex spoke first. ‘We didn’t know you knew.’
     
    ‘Mum told me. She didn’t know , just suspected. On the same day, you see, Jimbo had a letter from her . . . Suzy . . . telling him her husband had died.’
     
    ‘She did? Whatever for? Why Jimbo?’
     
    ‘Why Jimbo? Because he was very supportive of her when her first husband died.’
     
    ‘Killed himself, you mean.’ Beth came out with that remark very abruptly, and there was bitterness in her voice. ‘She must be a crazy, mixed-up person, in my opinion.’
     
    ‘Beth!’ Peter was at a loss for words.
     
    Alex said, ‘We didn’t say anything because we didn’t want mum to be hurt. We’ve not known what to do.’
     
    ‘Why has she written to you?’
     
    Beth unzipped her bag, glanced at Alex for his approval and gave Suzy’s letter to Peter to read.
     
    ‘Are you sure about this? Because I don’t know if I sh—’
     
    ‘Read it, Dad, and stop being tactful. All this tip-toeing about is getting me down.’ This from Beth, who’d reached the end of the road with all the secrecy.
     
    Peter unfolded the two-page letter and began to read.
     
    Dearest Beth,
     
    I know this is a surprise to you because I have never written to you before, but I know you know the circumstances of our relationship and felt you should be aware that my husband Michael died a month ago. It has nothing to do with you but is everything to me, and I thought you should know.
     
    The man I truly love is your father, and I have never stopped loving him since the day I first met him. But with three little girls to feed and clothe, and their father dead, I simply could not manage to work and support two new babies in addition to them, so the answer was to give you to your own father, knowing you were being given the best possible chance in life. As for me, I now have none of my girls at home and no husband, either, which is a desperate state to be in.
     
    Now you are sixteen - see, I know your exact age, I haven’t forgotten - and starting in the sixth form and having minds of your own, I’ve no doubt, I wondered if you might like to get to