Chapter 69
SIXTY-NINE
Back at Trade Cottage, Kate made them both a celebratory pot of tea.
‘Oh, that’s better,’ Rosemary said, drinking deeply. ‘Do you know, I don’t even like champagne. But it was so much a part of Paul’s thing. He did so want everything to be fun.’
She gave Kate a sideways glance. ‘I suppose you think now we had an awful marriage. But actually, most of it was good. There was just this small part that was . . . Well, one had to turn a blind eye sometimes.’
Kate said nothing. She wasn’t about to voice a judgement about Rosemary’s marriage – what would be the point, now Paul was dead? But she couldn’t imagine how betrayed she would feel if Matt slept with someone else, let alone fathered a child with them.
Just for a moment, she wondered if she’d feel so betrayed she’d want to kill that other woman. But, no – surely her anger would be directed more at her husband. And in any case, Rosemary appeared to be saying she’d been able to overlook Paul’s infidelities.
‘And you mustn’t think . . .’ Rosemary added. ‘I mean, I’m sure Paul didn’t kill her.’
‘I agree,’ Kate said, nodding. ‘That is, I think he knew she was dead, or at least suspected it. But I don’t think he knew exactly where her body had been hidden.
It was the building work, after all, that prompted him to kill himself when he did – that, and the diggers in the garden.
So I think he imagined that whoever did it had buried her, and that, once the contractors arrived, it was only a matter of time before she was found.
’ She paused. ‘He might even have been protecting that person – hoping all the blame would rebound on him, instead.’
Rosemary shot her a hurt look. ‘You’re not still trying to say it was Jamie!’
Privately, Kate did think that was the most likely scenario, but again, it seemed unlikely she’d gain anything by saying so. Instead, she said, ‘Anyway, I think we should tell people. About Paul being the father of Martina’s child, I mean. And about your diagnosis being wrong.’
When Rosemary started to protest, she added, ‘It’s the only way Jamie’s ever going to back off. Once it’s out there, he’s hardly likely to want Trade Cottage anymore. Most likely, he’ll decide to start again somewhere new, where nobody knows the family history.’
Rosemary was silent for a moment. ‘You’re talking about trashing our reputation.’
‘I’m talking about telling people the truth,’ Kate said gently. ‘It won’t be hard to get the word out. If you tell Liv and Sally, for example, it’ll be all round the village by nightfall.’
‘Easy for you to say,’ Rosemary said angrily. ‘I’ve known my neighbours most of my life.’
‘Then you know they’ll rally round and support you,’ Kate said. ‘The decent ones, anyway. And I really do think it’s the only way.’
After a moment, Rosemary sighed. ‘All right. I’ll call Sally this evening.’