Classic Bestsellers from Josephine Cox: Bumper Collection. Josephine Cox

the fire, and his heart leapt.

      Quickly now, he made his way past the harbour and across the road, the sweet, salty tang of sea air filling his nostrils. Oh, but it was good, he thought.

      At long last, he was home – and soon, thank God, he and Kathy could begin to make plans.

      Inside the house, Kathy was alone; just as Tom had pictured her, she was lying across the rug in front of the fire, fascinated by the bright, leaping flames as they danced and wove themselves into a frenzy.

      Tom was never far from her thoughts and now, as she wondered about him, she made a decision. ‘I’ll call him in the morning,’ she murmured softly. ‘I miss him so much. I need to hear his voice. I need to tell him how much I love him. I won’t tell him about Samantha, not yet. I’ll just ask him to come home as soon as he can. I need him here, with me.’

      Coming up the path, Tom saw that the curtains were open. Stepping onto the lawn, he peeped through the window. There she was, arms folded beneath her head and her face turned towards the fire. He smiled. ‘As I thought,’ he whispered, ‘just the same.’ There was something very comforting in that.

      He knocked on the front door.

      It was a moment before she answered.

      The door opened and there she was, silhouetted in the soft light coming from the hallway; a small, familiar figure, sending a rush of contentment through his senses. In the background he could hear a song from the film, Singin’ in the Rain, playing on the wireless.

      ‘Hello, darling.’ His voice was soft, his eyes adoring. ‘You look wonderful!’ In the pale blue dress with white collar and fitted waist, she seemed so young, he thought, so vulnerable.

      For a brief second she stared through the semi-darkness, her eyes taking in his face, a momentary look of confusion in her gaze. ‘TOM!’ Suddenly she was in his arms, and he was swinging her round. ‘Oh, Tom, thank God you’re back!’

      Laughing and crying, she held him by the hand and led him inside. It had been the worst time of her entire life, but now that Tom was here everything would be all right.

      Standing there, the room wrapping its warmth about them, tight in each other’s arms, they held each other close. For a time they were silent, just content being together. The light was dimmed, the fire crackled, and they were so much in love. There was no need for words.

      In that precious moment, it was as though they had been through the darkness of a long frightening adventure, and now they were through it together, still safe, more in love than ever.

      There was a need in them, a deep, trembling need that would not be held back any longer. Momentarily releasing her, he crossed the room and quietly closed the curtains, shutting out the night and its prying eyes.

      She waited, her heart fast with anticipation, her eyes following his every move, until he was back with her, kissing her on the forehead, on the mouth, down the curve of her neck. And she, with uplifted face, offered herself to him.

      Reaching down, his dark eyes enveloping her, he slid her dress away, then her undergarments, gasping with amazement as he unfolded her nakedness. ‘You’re so beautiful!’

      Discarding his own garments, he drew her down to the rug, the heat from the fire playing on the skin of his back as he leaned over her. ‘I love you,’ he murmured, his face so close to hers she could imagine herself melting into those dark eyes and being lost for ever.

      Now, as he entered her, she clung to him, afraid he might be disappointed in her, afraid he might not find her to be the woman he believed she was. But she need not have worried, for she was everything his heart desired.

      The lovemaking was not a frantic thing, nor was it soon over. This was another adventure, a most beautiful, wonderful experience: discovering each other’s bodies, touching, exploring; the exquisite binding of two lonely, desperate souls.

      It was the long-awaited realisation of a love that had grown from the heart and was now blossoming to fulfilment.

      When it was over, they lay there, content in each other’s arms, eyes closed, faces uplifted, their glistening bodies gently washed over by the heat from the fire.

      They lay there for a while, side by side, with Kathy rolled against him, her arm over the expanse of his chest. Drawing her close, Tom stroked her arm, his senses lulled by the smooth softness of her skin, and the gentle rhythmic warmth of her breath against his neck.

      Some time later, when they were dressed, he brought her a drink and they sat together, talking of their love, making plans. As yet, neither of them was ready to break the moment by revealing the darker things on their minds, of jealousy and murder, and all those things that have no place in a quiet heart.

      Yet, at some time, they had to be said.

      After a while, he held her at arm’s length. ‘I telephoned you a few times,’ he revealed. ‘I left messages, but you never rang back.’

      Dropping her gaze, she answered, ‘There is something I have to tell you. You know my sister, Samantha, came to see me.’

      Tom nodded. ‘Of course, she was here when I left for London.’

      ‘She wanted to take this house from me. She said Father should have left it to her, because she was the eldest.’

      Tom knew now why she hadn’t called him. He had sensed the tension between the two women, and now he knew the cause of it. ‘And you didn’t call me because you knew I’d be straight back on the next train, is that it?’

      Kathy nodded, taking a moment to break the awful news to him, her voice trembling. ‘Something happened,’ she whispered. ‘Something terrible!’

      ‘What do you mean?’

      The horror of it all was overwhelming. Kathy shook her head, unable for a moment to go on. Even now she had not come to terms with the sudden, terrible way in which Samantha had died.

      Taking her gently by the shoulders, Tom softly urged her, ‘Go on, darling. What happened? Tell me.’

      And so she told him about how Samantha had refused to leave until Kathy had signed papers that would give her half the value of the house, that she and Samantha had fallen out over the whole issue, and that she had asked Samantha to leave that day he had left for London, but she wouldn’t. ‘It was just after you’d gone, dark, pouring with rain,’ she explained. ‘Samantha had started out to the pub. She just grabbed my coat and went.’ She paused, swallowing hard, her hand shaking as she wiped the sweat from her forehead. ‘She never got there. They came to tell me.’ Her voice broke. ‘She … oh, Tom!’

      ‘Easy now. Take it slowly.’

      With Tom’s kind urging, she continued, telling him how Samantha’s body had been discovered in the water. ‘She was wearing high heels – she always loved the latest fashions. She must have slipped on the wet stones and fallen into the harbour. They think she knocked herself out somehow – on the wall or a boat – and she … oh, Tom.’ Kathy could not go on any further.

      Tom took her gently in his arms, his mind in turmoil as she wept softly. How could it be? Dear God! What a terrible thing to have happened.

      While he was going over what Kathy had said, a frightening thought came to him.

      Kathy had just described how Samantha had ‘grabbed my coat’ and gone out into the night … it was pouring with rain. My God!

      Could someone have mistaken Samantha for Kathy?

      He recalled what Dougie had said in those last few minutes. ‘I killed them … all.’ That’s what he’d said … ‘You had everything. I killed them … all.’

      No, it was an accident. Tragic, but an accident.

      ‘Tom?’

      He was startled from his thoughts. ‘What, darling?’

      ‘Are