Silent Voices

almost triumphant smile, as if she’d been hoping for the invitation all along. ‘Shall we say about four? I’ll see you then.’ She took the cheque from Connie’s hand and set down her pen.
    Connie walked back to the cottage, wondering what had brought about this recent change in Veronica. Really, what was this all about? What could Veronica Eliot possibly want from her?
    While Alice was at playgroup, Connie tidied the house. As she polished and vacuumed, she saw it through the older woman’s eyes, imagined the disdainful glances at the tatty furniture, the cobwebs and the grime. But when Veronica arrived a little earlier than expected, surprising Connie by turning up at the kitchen door and carrying a bunch of flowers cut from her garden, she was gracious: ‘Goodness, what a difference you’ve made to the cottage! I came for dinner one night when the owners were here and it wasn’t nearly so cosy then.’
    In the end, though, they sat outside, which despite the breeze was more pleasant than the damp house. Alice was wearing her wellingtons and paddling around in the mud and sand that formed a little beach between the burn and the river. Connie poured tea from a china pot she’d found at the back of the larder and cleaned for the occasion. She was reminded again of the young man who’d turned up on the afternoon of Jenny’s murder. She’d had tea outside that day too.
    Veronica was talking about her son.
    ‘He says they still intend to marry in a year’s time. He’d offered to take Hannah away, somewhere abroad, and do it immediately, though I can’t imagine how he thinks that would compensate for her mother’s death! Jenny was no happier about the marriage than I was. Imagine, some sordid ceremony on a beach, surrounded by package tourists. I’m pleased Hannah had the sense not to go along with that plan. She says she owes it to her mother to keep her word and wait until Simon’s got his MA. At least that buys him some time. Who knows how either of them will feel in twelve months?’
    ‘I suppose he’s due back at the university in a couple of weeks for the start of the new term.’ Connie wasn’t much interested in Simon Eliot’s plans, but she knew the rules of the game. Each woman should allow the other to speak of subjects close to her heart. Soon Veronica would allow Connie to talk of Alice, of how bright she was and how well she’d settled into the area. The primary school in the next village was well considered and over-subscribed. Veronica was a governor and might have influence if there was competition for places. Veronica might have her own agenda for this meeting, but Connie had one too.
    ‘I’ve told Simon he has to go back to college.’ Veronica was firm. ‘Of course he wants to be around for Hannah, but he has his own life to live. She has a father, for God’s sake. I know they’ve never particularly got on, but I think he should take some responsibility.’ A pause. ‘Don’t you?’ The question was fierce and a little unexpected.
    ‘I suppose she wants to stay in Barnard Bridge until she’s finished her A levels.’ Connie didn’t want to alienate Veronica now that this new accord had been struck, but she thought Simon should be admired for his loyalty. If anything should happen to her , she wasn’t certain she’d entrust Alice to her ex-husband. How could she possibly fit into his new family?
    ‘Apparently so. And then, if you please, she’s going to move in with Simon in Durham. We bought him a little flat, which was a bargain the way the housing market is, and an investment. Durham’s such a popular city. But we wouldn’t have done that if we’d realized the consequences.’
    Alice had waded further into the burn. The water was still shallow there, despite the swollen river beyond, and it hardly covered the feet of her boots, but Connie called after her, glad of an excuse not to answer Veronica. ‘Take care! We don’t want you slipping and getting wet.’
    Veronica looked up then, distracted from her own preoccupations, it seemed. ‘Oh yes, dear, do come back and play here. That seems rather dangerous. You’d be much better on dry land.’
    ‘She’s fine,’ Connie said brusquely. She thought Veronica had probably over-protected her child. Besides, what right did the woman have now to interfere?
    Alice had found a stick on the bank and was poking at the vegetation on the opposite side of the burn. There were huge heads of cow parsley that were