It's Now or Never (34 page)

She had returned to England sooner than she had reckoned on. The filming had gone smoothly until just a few days ago, but then she had caught her heel in the cobbles during the scenes in Rome and fallen, breaking her arm. There had been some swift rewrites of her part but at least they'd had a wrap and even the film crew were now back in Britain.

They and the other actors needed for the scenes in Scotland had caught the overnight train from London to Edinburgh and taken most of her luggage with them, but she had asked for time out to visit Liverpool. She had tried to get in touch with Sam but the phone in the Walker household had been engaged every time and she did not like phoning him at work. Still, she was hoping to surprise him before catching the train to Scotland and persuade him to take a couple of days off and travel north with her.

As she passed the Adelphi Hotel and walked up Mount Pleasant with her overnight bag, she considered paying a quick visit to Lynne Donegan, as well as Sam. Stuart Anderson, whom she had seen only a few days ago, had spoken to Betty on the telephone and mentioned that Sam was giving Lynne dancing lessons. The news had stunned Dorothy because despite having given Sam leave to see Lynne in a casual way, she had not meant it. She did not trust the other woman, having noticed the way she looked at Sam, and would not put it past her to tell him the truth about where they had met during the war. She felt certain Lynne would play the sympathy card, having lost the father of her child in battle. Well, Dorothy planned to play on his sympathy, too, with all her might.

Sam decided to call it a day. He placed the cap on his fountain pen, threw it down on the desk and yawned and stretched before reaching for the telephone. He had phoned earlier but it had just rung and rung and he had decided that perhaps Lynne was upstairs taking Aunt Ethel to the bathroom and had not heard the telephone ringing.

He had been disappointed because he liked to hear Lynne's voice. She talked about the little everyday things in a way that he found soothing and she also listened to what he had to say without jumping in too quickly with something she wanted to say. She always sounded amused by his jokes even if they weren't that funny. He dialled and felt himself tense as he got the engaged signal. He put the phone down and, removing his jacket from the back of his chair, he shrugged it on.

‘You off then, sir?' asked the WPC as he headed out of the door.

‘Yes, goodnight!'

As he made his way to where his car was parked, Sam found himself mulling over the trip to Whalley. Lynne had impressed him with her forthrightness in telling him that she was an unmarried mother. What a tough life she'd had, being rejected by her mother, losing the man she loved but having his baby and keeping it. He admired her for bringing up her daughter with just her grandmother for help, knowing that few would have attempted it.

Since their return from the outing to Whalley, he had enjoyed teaching her how to dance and their conversations afterwards. It was so much easier to be with her than Dorothy and they seemed to have more in common in terms of family values. None of the bickering, which was so often a feature of his dates with Dorothy, who was always so determined to live life her way. Of course, she had every right to do that when she only had herself to think about. But she didn't! Her suggestion that he go to Italy for a week's holiday had somehow stuck in his gullet. It was as if he was a pet dog and she was tossing him a bone. What had also annoyed him most was those words she had used the last time he had seen her.
If you loved me, you would do anything to please me.
No, he had to add the proviso: ‘within reason'. Did that mean he didn't love Dorothy or he didn't love her enough to move heaven and earth to spend a few hours with her? As he opened his car, he realized that was the sticking point in their relationship.

After greeting Kathy at the hotel and having her bag carried up to her room, Dorothy managed with difficulty to have a quick wash down and change her blouse, as well as renew her make-up. Thank God, it was her left arm she had broken and not her right and it was a simple break. She tried phoning the Walker household again but the telephone was still engaged. Was it possible it was off the hook? She left the hotel and hailed a taxi.

It seemed no time at all before she was knocking on the door of the Walkers' house, hoping to catch Sam. If he was not at home, then she would go to Lynne's house, warn her off, and then take a taxi to police headquarters. If she telephoned and he was busy then she feared that he might just tell whoever was manning the phones that he was not in the office unless it was urgent.

The last thing she was expecting was that the Walkers' front door should be opened by Lynne. For several moments both women could only stare at each other. Then Lynne said, ‘What have you done to yourself, Dorothy? You'd best come in.'

‘Got your foot in the door good and proper, have you?' said Dorothy, who was feeling not only hot and sticky again but thoroughly fed up and, she had to admit, as scared as when she'd had the accident.

‘I suppose you would think that,' said Lynne, letting out a sigh. ‘Sam's not here if you were expecting to see him.'

‘Then why are you here? Getting ready for your dancing lesson?'

Lynne smiled. ‘I am enjoying them. He's a good teacher is Sam, and a gentleman. I suppose you're not going to come in if Sam's not here? Although I can make you a cup of tea. This heat's getting to everyone and Ethel and I were just going to have a cuppa.'

Dorothy frowned and stepped over the threshold. ‘You and Ethel?'

Lynne nodded, leading the way up the lobby. ‘Shut the door behind you. She needs someone to keep an eye on her; she really can't be left alone for too long now.'

‘I did phone several times. Is the phone off the hook?'

‘I'll check. Sometimes Ethel lifts the receiver, listens and then drops it.' Lynne found the receiver off the hook and replaced it. ‘No wonder I haven't heard from Sam. He generally rings to ask after the old lady and tell me he's on his way.'

Dorothy frowned and followed her into the kitchen, glancing at Ethel who was snoring noisily in her favourite armchair. ‘Good God, she's aged!'

‘That's what Hester said when last she visited. Do make yourself at home,' said Lynne, remaining standing with her back against the table. ‘How did you break your arm?'

‘A stupid accident! I caught my heel in the cobbles.'

‘Tough luck,' said Lynne sympathetically. ‘So what's happened about the filming?'

‘Fortunately we were well on with it and they rewrote my accident into the script. I've more location work to do up in Scotland and then we're at the film studies down south.' Dorothy sat down and opened her handbag and took out a silver cigarette case and lighter. ‘I can't remember if you smoke or not.'

‘No, my grandmother had a bad chest and cigarette smoke would have only made it worse. She died not so long ago.'

‘You must miss her.'

‘Yes, I do,' said Lynne, watching Dorothy take out a cigarette. ‘Can I help you with that?'

‘It's OK. I've got the hang of managing now.' Dorothy lit up and dropped lighter and cigarette case in her handbag.

Lynne opened the window wider. ‘I'll go and make a cup of tea.'

She went out into the back kitchen and put on the kettle. Dorothy followed her. ‘What's your game, Lynne?'

Lynne glanced over her shoulder. ‘I won't pretend I don't know what you mean but I'd rather not discuss Sam as if he was a bone for us to bicker over. We were talking about my grandmother. She was really sorry when you didn't come the day you left for London. Sam said you were in a hurry but Betty told me that you dropped in at the coffee bar and spoke to Lenny.'

Dorothy raised her eyebrows. ‘What of it? Sam and I disagreed about something and Lenny's an old friend. I'm sorry I disappointed your grandmother. Betty told me that she was quite a character.'

Lynne spooned tea leaves into the pot. ‘I'll never forget her.'

‘Because she turned up trumps when you were desperate to keep your baby?'

Lynne looked surprised. ‘I didn't think you'd want to talk about those days.'

‘Well, I do.' She smiled faintly. ‘I thought I'd tell Sam all about it. How the baby's father died at Dunkirk.'

‘That would be daft! Dunkirk was in 1940.'

Dorothy gave a twisted smile. ‘I was never any good at dates.'

‘Sam's the father of your son, isn't he?'

Dorothy stiffened. ‘How can you possibly know that? I didn't tell you anything about the father.'

‘Because …' Lynne folded her arms across her chest and stared at her.
Should I or shouldn't I tell her?

‘What were you going to say?' asked Dorothy.

‘If Sam isn't the father, then why bother telling him anything about that period in your life?'

‘Because I don't trust you to keep quiet about it,' said Dorothy abruptly.

‘It's only my word against yours. Don't you think he'll believe you if it came to choosing one of us to believe?'

Dorothy drew on her cigarette and blew out a perfect smoke ring. Lynne continued to stare at her in a way that made Dorothy feel furious at her.

‘I've told Sam that I gave birth to Roberta in a home for unmarried mothers and that her father was killed before we could marry,' Lynne burst out.

The half-smoked cigarette dropped from Dorothy's lips. ‘Bloody hell, why?'

Lynne bent and picked up the cigarette and threw it in the sink. ‘I could say because I didn't trust you not to tell him when you discovered he was teaching me to dance but, to be honest, I didn't think you'd raise the subject with him. I didn't regard myself as a threat to your relationship because you're so beautiful. But you obviously do. Perhaps you have far more to lose than I at first realized. The scandal of being an unmarried mother wouldn't do much for your career I imagine.'

Dorothy's face hardened. ‘Are you threatening me?'

‘No. I'm just telling it as it is.' Lynne hesitated. ‘Thinking about what you said about Sam not being the father of your son. We both know that you knew each other years ago. I also know that he was in love with a girl called Carol and she died in the Blitz, so I know she couldn't be the mother of his son.'

Dorothy stilled. ‘He … he told you about Carol?'

‘Yes, I think it was after I told him about Robert.'

‘You have been having a heart to heart, the pair of you!'

Lynne shrugged. ‘I find him easy to talk to and my daughter likes him, too. She calls him Sergeant Sam but that's going to have to change. He's just been made an inspector.'

‘Has he by God! So he's achieved his dream.' Dorothy closed her eyes and then opened them wide. ‘Tell me, how did Sam react to you being honest with him?'

‘He understood why I pretended I was a widow, though I could see it came as a shock at first. In return he told me about Carol.'

Dorothy frowned. ‘I suppose you're in love with Sam?'

‘Yes, I love him. Do you?' asked Lynne, gazing at her squarely.

A slight smile lifted the corners of Dorothy's mouth. ‘You're wishing I'd stayed away. I bet you're worried that I only have to snap my fingers for Sam to come running.'

‘You're not right for him, you know you're not! Why don't you just go away and play at being someone else and leave us in peace!' snapped Lynne. ‘You'll mess him all up again if you stay. Even if you did make a baby together, it doesn't make you the perfect couple!'

Lynne's words struck Dorothy like a blow and she was gripped by the same fear she had felt when she'd had her accident and when she had been unable to persuade Sam to come to Italy or to get in touch with him earlier. ‘And what if I don't go away? You'll tell him I had his son adopted? Well, it won't work because he won't want to believe it. He loves me and would prefer to believe what I tell him!'

Lynne thought of Sam and his desire for a family. She thought of Nick and his finding his adoptive father murdered and how he must have worried about what his horrible uncle might do to him. What a relief it must have been when Sam sorted matters out for him! Had Sam finally recognized Nick as another lad like himself? Had he been hurt?

Anger surged through her like a tidal wave. ‘You'd do anything to get what you want, wouldn't you? I want Sam to be happy and I believe we can be happy together with you out of the way.'

‘You're deluding yourself!'

‘Is she?' Sam's voice caused the two women to whirl round and stare at him standing in the doorway. For several tense moments none of them spoke.

Then Dorothy said, ‘Sam darling, I broke my arm!' She held it up.

‘So I see.' His brown eyes were unfathomable. ‘It's not the only thing you've done, is it?'

She hesitated. ‘How much did you hear, Sam?'

‘More than you'd like. I don't think I need to ask why you never told me you were pregnant.'

She took a deep breath. ‘I suppose not. But I wasn't only thinking of myself but you, too.'

‘I'd like to believe that but I'm not sure I do.' His expression was grim. ‘Not that it matters now. It's all over between us.'

A muscle in Dorothy's throat twitched. For a moment she could not speak and then she managed to say, ‘I thought this would happen as soon as I saw Lynne with you at the hotel.'

‘Did you? Yet you never said a word to her, whereas you could have befriended her. I can assure you that she never said a word against you behind your back.'

‘I was tempted,' Lynne put in.

He flashed her a smile. ‘I wouldn't want you perfect.'

‘No, perfection would be difficult to live with,' she said wryly.

‘Oh, stop it!' cried Dorothy. ‘Don't you two realize that I could lose everything? Not just you, Sam, but my career! I have to do well with this film and breaking my arm meant rewrites. It wasn't the first thing that went wrong and they might decide I'm a jinx. They could change their minds about featuring me in their next film.'