A Twist in the Tale by Jeffrey Archer Page B

everything I wanted – except a decent fur coat, the only
thing my mother had left me. In truth, I have no right to be catty about
Madeleine, as her past couldn’t have been more murky than mine.
    All that had
taken place well over a year ago and, to prove my total devotion to Roger, I
have never entered the Cat and Whistle since. He seemed to have forgotten
Madeleine because he never once spoke of her in front of me. An unusual man, he
didn’t question me about any of my past relationships either.
    Perhaps he
should have. I would have liked him to know the truth about my life before we’d
met, though it all seems irrelevant now.
    You see, I had
been the youngest in a family of four so I always came last in line. I had
never known my father, and I arrived home one night to discover that my mother
had run off with another man. Tracy, one of my sisters, warned me not to expect
her back.
    She turned out
to be right, for I have never seen my mother since that day. It’s awful to have
to admit, if only to oneself, that one’s mother is a tramp.
    Now an orphan,
I began to drift, often trying to stay one step ahead of the law – not so easy
when you haven’t always got somewhere to put your head down. I can’t even
recall how I ended up with Derek – if that was his real name. Derek, whose dark
sensual looks would have attracted any susceptible female, told me that he had
been on a merchant steamer for the past three years. When he made love to me I
was ready to believe anything. I explained to him that all I wanted was a warm
home, regular food and perhaps in time a family of my own. He ensured that one
of my wishes was fulfilled, because a few weeks after he left me I ended up
with twins, two girls. Derek never set eyes on them: he had returned to sea
even before I could tell him I was pregnant. He hadn’t needed to promise me the
earth; he was so good-looking he must have known I would have been his just for
a night on the tiles.
    I tried to
bring up the girls decently, but the authorities caught up with me this time
and I lost them both. I wonder where they are now? God
knows. I only hope they’ve ended up in a good home. At least they inherited
Derek’s irresistible looks, which can only help them through life. It’s just
one more thing Roger will never know about. His un-questioning trust only makes
me feel more guilty , and now I never seem able to find
a way of letting him know the truth.
    After Derek had
gone back to sea I was on my own for almost a year before getting part-time
work at the Cat and Whistle. The publican was so mean that he wouldn’t have
even provided food and drink for me, if I hadn’t kept to my part of the
bargain.
    Roger used to
come in about once, perhaps twice a week before he met the blonde with the
shabby fur coat. After that it was every night until she upped and left him.
    I knew he was
perfect for me the first time I heard him order a pint of mild. A pint of mild
– I can’t think of a better description of Roger. In those early days the
barmaids used to flirt openly with him, but he didn’t show any interest. Until
Madeleine latched on to him I wasn’t even sure that it was women he preferred.
Perhaps in the end it was my an- drogynous looks that
appealed to him.
    I think I must
have been the only one in that pub who was looking for something more
permanent.
    And so Roger
allowed me to spend the night with him. I remember that he slipped into the
bathroom to undress while I rested on what I assumed would be my side of the
bed.
    Since that
night he has never once asked me to leave, let alone tried to kick me out. It’s
an easy-going relationship. I’ve never known him raise his voice or scold me
unfairly. Forgive the cliché, but for once I have fallen on my feet.
    Brr . Brr . Brr . That damned
alarm. I wished I could have buried it. The noise would go on and on until at
last Roger decided to stir himself . I once tried to
stretch across him and put a stop to its infernal