Page 50 of Promise Me Love
The thought made her giggle, the giggle rising to hysteria within the space of seconds. Matthew caught her by the shoulders and pulled her upright to shake her hard. ‘Stop it, Beth. Get a grip on yourself. David will be back soon, then we can get this sorted out once and for all.’
‘Will we?’ Her eyes were huge, her face ashen. ‘I don’t know if that’s what I want any longer. I don’t know how I feel apart from the fact that it hurts, Matthew. It hurts!’ Her head dropped forwards on to his shoulder as a weary tiredness enveloped her all at once. If only David would come then maybe it would be all right, maybe they would be able to sort everything out. David had a way of making sense out of chaos. It seemed like an answer to a prayer when she suddenly realised that he was standing in the doorway. She jumped to her feet, wanting to run to him, but he wasn’t even looking at her. His eyes were locked on his brother and, even through her pain, Beth felt fear run through her when she saw the hatred in their silvery depths.
‘I wondered why you agreed to this weekend, Matthew, wondered why you should want us here, and now I know. Was this all planned? Were you just waiting for the right moment to seek your revenge?’ David laughed, a harsh, ugly sound that made Beth wince. ‘I have to hand it to you. Even knowing you as well as I do, I never expected this particular coup de grâce. You’re the expert, Brother, so how do you categorise this: divine law, retribution? I seduced your wife, so you planned on seducing mine to get even?’
‘No!’ Beth’s voice was no more than a whisper when she wanted to scream the word aloud. She pressed her hands over her ears, wanting to blot out the ugly sound of David’s voice saying those dreadful words, but it was impossible. They echoed inside her head, swelling to such a pitch that they seemed to fill every part of her mind so that she could think of nothing else. ‘I seduced your wife.’ Was it any wonder that these two men hated one another?
She backed away from them, her whole body shaking as her world fell into ruins, shattered by that one starkly cruel statement. But neither seemed to notice as they stood locked in their own private hell.
‘How far were you planning on going, Matthew? Surely you didn’t intend to talk Beth into bed with you, here in your own home?’ He smiled, his lips drawing back into a snarl. ‘Or did you? Could it be that your desire for revenge wasn’t solely focused on me, but on Maggie as well? You must have lived with the thought of this for all these years, like a festering sore that needs lancing to heal, and what better way than to have her come into this room and find you here just as you came that time and found Maggie in my bed?’
David’s voice was painting pictures in her head, pictures she didn’t want to see, and Beth moaned in distress. David and Maggie lovers? She couldn’t bear it, couldn’t bear to face up to how far he’d tricked her.
She turned and ran from the room, pushing past a couple who were coming up the stairs, her one thought to get away from this nightmare. Wrenching the front door open, she raced down the drive then stood panting at the bottom with tears rolling down her face as she tried to decide where to go next.
‘Beth!’ His voice was harsh, cutting into the wildness of her distress, making her panic to get away. With a sharp little cry, Beth turned and ran along the road, stumbling in her high heels.
‘For God’s sake, stop! Stop, I say!’ He caught her roughly around the waist and swung her bodily off the ground, holding her tightly as she fought wildly to get free.
‘Put me down, do you hear me, David…put me down!’ She twisted and turned in his grasp, but he was far too strong for her to break away. With a sobbing moan she went limp in his arms, her whole body shaking with emotion.
‘If I put you down will you promise not to run off again?’ He shook her slightly, staring down into her face. ‘Beth…can you hear what I’m saying to you?’
She nodded, her face paper-white in the glare from a nearby streetlight. ‘I can hear you, David. I’ve heard everything you’ve said since you got back. Every single word!’
His face went rigid, his eyes like pewter. ‘We need to discuss what you heard, or rather, what you thought you heard, but not here. Come along.’ He caught her arm to lead her back to the house, but Beth pulled back.