Mary stared ahead into the distance, evidently reliving the scene. ‘He turned up at our house. Led me out into the garden.’ Her voice wobbled. ‘I could see Mum and Dad watching at the window. Mum must have guessed what was coming from Ralph’s face when she let him in.’
Mary took a big ragged breath. ‘He didn’t beat about the bush. He came straight out and told me he had fallen in love with Veronica Leighton, that she was leaving Arthur and once her divorce came through he was going to marry her.’ Mary closed her eyes. ‘I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. It was so out of character for Ralph. He said he was sorry, that he didn’t want to hurt me, but his mind was made up.’
Mary thumped her fist down on the bench. ‘It was like a bad dream. I pleaded with him – at that point I thought we could find a way through the mess. I thought he’d eventually come to his senses. After all, Veronica was more than ten years older than him. I convinced myself it was just a flirtation that had gone too far. Until he told me that to all intents and purposes they were already man and wife, that they’d…’ She gave a little sob. ‘You see…he and I…we’d never… We’d decided to wait until we were married.’
Mary bit her lip. Evie put her arms around her.
Pulling away, Mary continued, staring ahead at of her and avoiding Evie’s eyes. ‘I was completely shattered. My whole world crashed in around me, my entire future destroyed. I couldn’t believe that this was the man I had loved more than anyone or anything, sitting there in my garden telling me these horrible things. It still hurts when I think about that day. All these years later.’
‘Oh, Mary. It must have been devastating.’
‘You can guess what happened next.’
‘She went back to Arthur?’
‘She never actually left Arthur. As soon as Ralph told her he’d broken off our engagement, she dropped him. All she’d wanted was to take him away from me. To prove that she could. To destroy what we had. That’s what she craves. Winning. Vanquishing anyone in her path.’
Mary leaned back against the tree, drawing her knees up close to her, continuing to keep her eyes fixed on the far horizon. ‘I’m sure having affairs with good looking men is part of it. But the real pleasure for Veronica Leighton is in wrecking other people’s relationships. She never goes near men who are unattached, no matter how good-looking. But, for some unfathomable reason, men never learn.’ She let out a long sigh. ‘They’re so vain. They all think it will be different in their case. Veronica’s very good at convincing them of that.’
‘Did Ralph try to win you back?’
‘He knew better than that. He knew I’d never trust him again.’ She wiped her eyes again. ‘I think he genuinely was in love with her. He must have been, because he gave it all up. A promising career. A good salary. A life he loved.’
‘Did he go back to England?’
‘No.’
‘So he’s still in Malaya?’
She took a gulp of air. ‘He killed himself.’
Evie gasped. ‘Oh my goodness. How terrible. Oh, Mary, that’s dreadful.’
‘He hanged himself.’ At last, she looked at Evie. ‘So now you know exactly why I loathe Veronica Leighton.’
‘How on earth did you go on? You must have been crushed.’ Evie shook her head, shocked to the core by her new friend’s story.
‘I thought of leaving Penang. But where would I go? I’ve never been to England. I suppose I could have gone somewhere else in the Straits Settlement but I’d hate to leave my parents – we’ve always been a close family and after what happened they were the only reason I kept going. They helped me through it all. No, I prefer to stay here – although there are some places that are too painful for me to go to anymore such as the Penang Swimming Club where Ralph and I spent so many happy times together.’
Mary stared into the middle distance, and Evie could see she was still on the verge of tears. ‘It’s inevitable that I come across Veronica Leighton sometimes, so when I do, I look straight at her, until she has to look away. It’s a battle of wills I will never lose – I fix my eyes on her to remind her of the evil she has done. One day she’ll burn in hell for that I hope.’
‘Maybe one day you’ll meet someone else. Someone worthy of you, Mary.’
‘That won’t happen. I’m fully reconciled to spinsterhood. I would never trust another man.’ She pulled her shoulders back. ‘It’s not so terrible. I love teaching. I love the kids. There are much worse lives than mine.’
8
Evie had no idea how long Douglas had been sitting on the side of her bed, watching her. As she became aware of his presence, her first emotion was relief. He’d come back. He hadn’t abandoned her. He was still her husband. These thoughts were rapidly followed by the realisation why he was there – that all he wanted of her was to give him a child. No doubt in a few minutes he would begin doing again the thing he’d done to her last time, causing her pain, while at the same time reinforcing her loneliness. There was no point getting upset – she’d signed up for this with her eyes open. Douglas hadn’t lied to her; he’d always made it clear exactly where the cards fell. She could have walked away. She’d chosen
