Restless Echoes
During the following two years, Rowena had tried
to visit Brian where he lodged but, at his insistence, they
always met halfway – for weekends in London or
Brussels. Even contacting him was difficult, as he
switched his mobile phone off after six in the evening,
every night and when at work used only the office
phone.
It eventually became obvious why he had never
supplied her, or anyone else in his family, with his real
address or a landline telephone number – his ‘landlady’
was his mistress who lived only a few miles from their
own property, which he kept tenanted and therefore
unavailable for Rowena to visit, even to decide which of
their possessions was to be shipped to France and which
could be sold.
Rowena, now, could hardly credit the extent of his
deceit and would never contemplate having him back.
She pointed out that his grandfather was likely to have
been much more concerned about Brian’s happiness
than hers and, in her words, he should butt-out!
“Actually,” Rowena added, “I feel quite sorry for the
woman Brian’s with. He lied to her too, whenever we
were together; claiming he was with his son. If she ever
finds out how many long weekends we enjoyed, she’ll
ditch him. He won’t be happy for long!”
“You’re obviously not at all bitter then,” Clarrie had
commented, with a wry smile. It was clear that having
survived the initial betrayal, she was looking forward to
being free and in full control of her life.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the shrill ring of
the telephone and, as often happened when she started
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