A Family Secret: No. 1 Bestseller of family drama. Josephine Cox

former friends was permanent. But even if she never did see Eileen and Tony again, there was another, more important person in Marie’s life who must one day be told the whole truth. Would she ever forgive her?

      Time alone would tell.

       CHAPTER FIVE

      ‘AFTER ALL THESE years, who would have thought it, some coincidence eh?’ Folding his arms John gave a warm chuckle.

      ‘It is, yes.’ Being a romantic at heart, Danny agreed. ‘a really wonderful thing to see her again. And looking as good as the day we last saw her. A smile to knock your socks off when she finally gave me one.’

      ‘I wish I’d been able to see Marie again,’ he gave a cheeky wink, ‘think I might have chatted her up!’

      He now pointed a finger at his friend. ‘Hey, are you blushing, Danny Boy! You are, aren’t you? Well. That says it all, you fancy her.’

      ‘Maybe … Maybe not.’ Danny was giving nothing away, focused on rubbing some spots of rust off the corners of the Blue Bench, whistling merrily away.

      ‘See you later, Danny Boy!’ John chuckled to himself as he made his way down the Promenade, pushing along the heavy barrow full of tools.

      ‘Not if I see you first.’

      Softly now, Danny whispered the name of his old friend to himself, ‘Marie,’ and couldn’t help but smile. The name suited her still, warm and homely and pretty, just like her.

      Marie woke with a start. ‘Oh! Dearie me … I must have dozed off!’ She had changed trains at Manchester and was now bone weary. Catching the attention of the roving ticket inspector, she asked worriedly, ‘Excuse me, but which station are we now approaching?’ Heavy with sleep, she sat up straight and peered out of the window, but all she could see were train lines and cows in the neighbouring field.

      At first sight she could not recognise any landmarks. ‘Oh dear, I do hope I haven’t missed my station. I can’t seem to recognise where we are.’ She started to panic. ‘And I’ve got family waiting for me at the station – they’re bound to be worried.’

      The inspector looked at her proffered ticket. ‘Trust me! You have definitely not missed your stop.’ He was a big, lolloping man, with a ruddy face and light brown wispy hair that hung over his forehead like a fluttering veil. Smiling reassuringly, he promised her, ‘You’ve no need to worry, my dear.’

      ‘That’s the trouble, I do worry,’ Marie said. ‘It’s no fun waiting on a cold and draughty platform, especially if the loved one you’re waiting for doesn’t even get off the train.’

      The inspector was anxious that she was getting herself into a right old state. ‘We’re arriving at your station now, so you’d best shake a leg.’

      His hearty chuckle was as merry as his twinkling brown eyes. ‘Come on, then!’ Helping her to organise her handbag and small suitcase, he led her away to the door, chatting as he went.

      She felt hugely relieved to be nearing home. ‘I hope my daughter and granddaughter will be outside waiting for me. I feel safer with them than with the taxi drivers, who always seem to be tearing about for the next fare.’

      ‘You’re right there, m’dear. The trouble is, we all need to do what we must in order to pay the bills. It gets harder and harder as you get older, but we all of us still have to make a living one way or another.’

      Shuffling ahead of her, he continued to chat and smile, and when they got to the door, he barred her way with his big frame, until the train stopped, and he helped her off, and lifted out her case.

      ‘Thank you so much.’ Marie held out a friendly hand, which he grabbed and shook too long and too hard for her comfort.

      ‘Happen I’ll see you again, m’dear.’ He had a definite twinkle in his eye, and clearly thought her a good-looking woman.

      His eager face smiled down on her. ‘I must say, you don’t look half as tired as you did when you came on board. Been burning the candle at both ends, have you? Some wild party or other was it? Am I right?’

      Marie recalled the sadness and anger that had tainted her reunion with Tony and Eileen. ‘No, you are not right! Sadly, you could not be more wrong if you tried!’

      The flirtatious inspector looked taken aback. ‘Well … I’m sorry … I didn’t mean to upset you. It’s just me being stupid, as ever! But you did look just a little worn out, like you might have been dancing all night. You’ve been in the Land of Nod ever since you got on the train.’ He gave a cheeky wink. ‘I kept an eye on you though … ’ He was disappointed when she moved away from him. ‘Hang on … please don’t go just yet.’ Now, at the corner of his eye, he saw approaching up the platform a wobbly old gentleman who appeared to be in some distress. Apologising to Marie, he approached the old man. ‘I’ll be back in a minute, dear,’ he called to her over his shoulder, ‘Don’t be in such a hurry to get away from me, will you?’ The minute he had the inspector in his sight, the old man launched into a most vociferous complaint regarding the sorry state of the toilets on board the train. Marie smiled to herself as she walked away to find Anne and Cathy. Let the over-friendly man give his attention to someone who needed it, she was back with her family now.

      But as the train pulled away, she thought what a waste of time her trip to Blackpool had been. It had solved nothing. Instead, she had lost any chance she might have had to make up to Eileen for what she had done. Nothing had changed, nothing was mended, and her friendship with Eileen was still damaged beyond repair. Alone on the chilly platform, Marie could hear the drone of the engine some way along the track behind her. She gave a quiet smile. If I had a choice, I would get on that train and go wherever it takes me. Just go, and never come back, she thought.

      Shaking her head in anger, she reminded herself that she had family at home: Cathy, a beautiful and loving girl, and Cathy’s loving parents, Anne and Dave – all of them good and decent people, and every one much loved by Marie.

      Anne and Dave had been the saving of her, when she was struggling to find an answer, and she would be grateful to them for the rest of her life.

      In this dark and telling moment, however, Marie could only decide two things with some measure of accuracy.

      There was no way on earth she could ever change the past.

      And there was no way of knowing what the future might hold.

      ‘I am truly thankful to have such a loving family,’ she thought. That much at least she could rely on.

      The thought of seeing her loved ones brought a smile to her face. ‘If I didn’t have them … I don’t even know how I might have coped,’ she murmured.

      She would never forget how they had helped her at the lowest, most worrying time in her entire life.

      She still felt guilty, and so very undeserving of their love.

      In her own home, all those years ago, she had been so lost and lonely following Derek’s demise. But the family rescued her. They gave her a home with them. They afforded her a purpose, and not once did they ever question her failings. Instead, they took her as she was. And they gave her a second chance, to be herself and to live in the arms of their love.

      For all her life, she would never be able to thank them enough for the support they had given her when she needed them most.

      But where were they now? Growing frantic, Marie looked up and down the platform, hoping to see familiar faces. She needed her family around her. She had to put the bad things behind her, although she knew, in reality, that she never could.

      Even in that warm and welcoming place she called home, the burden of guilt never left her. Instead, it weighed heavily on her mind.