Life Less Lived Ch. 09

"Delighted to meet you Tracey, I'll have you know that I'm completely mad about your Aunt too, and," he lowered his voice next her ear after kissing her cheeks, "she has told me so much about you."

"Just so much or ... everything?" she whispered back.

"No secrets between loving couples, Tracey." He kissed her briefly on the lips.

"Oh."

Then she had to give way to her mother Alex, who had finished greeting her sister and now did the same kissing ritual with Daniel.

"So, Daniel, have you known my sister for long?" she intoned brusquely, holding onto her brother-in-law-to-be firmly by the shoulders.

Marina, touched her sister Alex on her shoulder, getting her attention, moving close so she was only inches from her sister. She whispered to her firmly.

"Sandie, this Daniel is not who you think he is. I have found out things tonight that I would like to speak to you in private about, now, as it cannot wait. Can we go into your front room?"

"Yes, of course, Em." She turned to Daniel and smiled. "Welcome to our family, Daniel. You will make our Marina happy now, won't you?"

"I will do everything in my power to do so, Alex, my own happiness depends on it."

Alex nodded and kissed her sister's fiancé on the cheeks and lips a second time, this time with more feeling. "Welcome to our family, Daniel." Then, taking Marina in hand, lead her back out into the hallway.

Just then they could hear what sounded like a herd of stampeding rhinos come down the stairs.

"Hi, Andy, how are you sweetheart?" Marina asked her 16-year-old nephew as they embraced and kissed in the hallway.

"I'm alright, Aunt M, it's all the others, they treat me like I'm an idiot, an' you're the only person in this family that understands me proper-like. So, can I come and stay with you when Trace eventually drops out of college?"

"We will see, honey, but I might be moving away from Portsmouth soon."

"How come? You've lived there like, forever."

"She's getting married," his mum said.

"Way to go, Aunt M! Who's the lucky guy?"

"He's in the bear pit, sorry I mean the sitting room."

"You were right first time, Aunt M," he grinned.

"Well, I'm off to have a chat with your Mum, so be gentle with him, won't you?"

"Yeah, course I will."

Andy joined the rest of the family and high-fived Daniel before he hugged and kissed the guest on both cheeks in the accepted custom of the household. Then he moved over to the armchair that Tracey had vacated and threw himself into it, a perfect ringside seat to watch the action. This, he thought, was gonna be better'n what he'd already forgotten he'd been watching on the telly upstairs in his room.

"Come and sit down, Daniel, tell us all about you and our Aunt M," Tracey grinned, pulling him to sit in the middle of the settee while she dropped down where her mother had sat. Dave brought over a seriously large whisky in a tumbler and winked as he handed it over.

"I'll take those off of you," Dave said, referring to the bags of presents by Daniel's legs.

He moved Daniel's bags, and the third bag that Marina had left by the hall door, over to just in front of the French doors, beyond the open curtains of which was a conservatory with a huge Christmas tree, impressively festooned in flashing lights and baubles. Without a further word, Dave popped into the kitchen and brought back a bottle of light lager with the top off and handed it to Andy, who silently nodded his thanks. This amounted to a treat on a special occasion that even his mother would be unlikely to censor. Then Dave sat back down in his own chair and raised his glass of beer in silent cheers to his new guest.

Daniel raised his glass in salute and swallowed a mouthful of the burning liquid. Then he turned to the blonde next to him, with a smile.

"All right, Tracey, what do you want to know?"

"When did you both meet originally and did you fall in love back then or just in the last week?"

"Both, I think. When I first met Marina, you have to bear in mind that she was only 16 and age 16 then was probably the equivalent of about 12 nowadays."

"I'm 12," chirped up Jenny, her interest in the proceedings concerning her favourite aunt already as high as could be.

"I'm not interested in you, Jen," Tracey remarked dismissively to her sister, "I want to know about Aunt M and Daniel."

"So do I!" Jenny protested.

"Go on, Daniel, please," implored Tracey.

He then proceeded to tell his new family how he met Marina all those years ago and how they parted, unable to admit to the other that they were both in love; on his part because he hadn't been sure and was concerned about how young she was while he was five years older. He related how he couldn't find her a few months later, after another term of university, and they lost contact. He explained how later he married and described his children and the relatively recent tragedy of losing the girls' mother. He had to stop at that point and show his mobile phone pictures of his two daughters, to the accompaniment of the girls' oohs and aahs, and Andy's comment about how 'fit' they both were. This got him a slap on the arm from Jenny and earned a slow resigned shake of the head from his father. Daniel simply smiled and agreed they were both beautiful girls and he couldn't be more proud of them and how they had coped with tragedy. He also remarked that both girls seemed to have accepted Marina as their new "Mum", especially Sophie who had known her a few days longer.

Partway through Daniel's tale, Dave stood up and topped up Daniel's whisky tumbler, while telling Andy, to his disgust, that just one beer was enough for him, Christmas or no Christmas, his Aunt's engagement notwithstanding.

Meanwhile, Marina and Alex were deep in conversation in the front room, where the dining table was already laid out with cutlery and decorations ready for their Christmas feast tomorrow. Marina had broken the news of Tracey's pregnancy, to get it out of the way first.

"What do you mean, this lad is completely uninvolved? He can't just get her pregnant and get off scot-free! I'll have his bleeding guts for apron strings. Who is he?"

"His name is Darren, and to be bluntly frank he's pretty gormless. I don't know what Tracey saw in him in the first place and I don't think she does now either. He is likely to drop out of college into some low-paid job and the chances of him contributing to the baby is hardly worth considering, at least in the short term. Are you going to be all right with Tracey having the baby here?"

"Yes... yes of course we will, but not until I have had a right go at her! I'm entitled to do that. I thought she had a lot more sense."

"These things ... happen, Alex."

Alex smiled, Marina smiled too.

"This is so much like ... what happened to you, Em. Dad never told me the full story, of course, only that you were pregnant. He said he never knew the why or the who with, and you have always been particularly tight-lipped about it. So, tell me, why did you call the baby 'Daniel' if your fiancé Daniel was not the father?"

"I was drugged and date-raped, Sandie -"

"No!"

"Yes, and I was completely unconscious when it happened, so I had no idea who actually did the deed. The only person I could think of was the boy I had a crush on and who was the last person I saw before I crashed out ... because of the drug I had been given. But Daniel was walking away from me and out of the door. I had forgotten that until recent events have brought it all back."

"So, all these years you had thought it was him, but it wasn't?"

"Well, for me it certainly looked that way. He handed me a drink that someone had intended for me, we kissed our last goodbye and he left. I can see him now in my memories, looking back one last time, smiling that lovely smile goodbye and disappearing out the door. And I never saw him again until Tracey and I saw him on the telly less than a week ago. When I woke up I was in one of the empty hotel rooms. Virtually all the rooms were empty in the hotel as it was past the end of the holiday season and it was the seasonal staff's farewell."

"So how do you know that was when you fell pregnant? I mean a condom could have failed at some other time."

"There was no other time, Alex. I never had any other boyfriends, I was a virgin, Sandie."

"Oh shit!" Alex exclaimed. "So that means you didn't sleep with him all those years ago. So, now you are engaged, when in the last few days did you get the chance to sleep with him?"

"I haven't slept with him yet, Sandie. I've not slept with anyone, except baby Daniel's father and then I really was sleeping. I was completely unconscious."

"So Daniel has asked you to marry him and you have agreed to marry him, even though you've never actually slept together yet?"

"I know it probably sounds extremely naïve, Sand, but I love him, I always have loved him, and he loves me. The rest of what happens in a marriage will hopefully follow in due course."

"So happy for you, Em, he looks lovely and if you love each other, than that's great."

Alex pulled her sister to her and gave her a long fully braced hug.

"So, do you know who the actual father of Daniel was?"

"I spoke to a retired police officer, only half an hour ago, who told me it was one of the waiters at the hotel, a convicted serial rapist, who had admitted to over a hundred rapes at the time he was convicted, all taking place over an eight-year period."

"Oh my god, what an animal! He's still locked up somewhere is he?"

"No, he's out, and been released for about six months, I think. That's what Kath, the police detective said. Daniel used to serve on a prison parole board with her and they were able to keep him safely locked up. But with Daniel taking time out from political commitments for the past two years or so, he was let out on parole."

"Where has Daniel been then, all this time, since you parted as kids?"

"Well, Daniel came back to the hotel the following Christmas, just after I left. I didn't leave them any forwarding address, in fact, if you remember, we had a number of different addresses for a few months until we got the council house in Cromwell Road. And we only got that because there were so many of us and the housing people felt sorry for us. So Daniel couldn't find us, he couldn't find me."

"So he was hoping to carry on where he left off?"

"He told me this evening, when he proposed -"

"Where did he propose?"

"Oh, at that rather dingy café by your nearest Tube Station."

"Really?"

"It was actually quite romantic, he got down on one knee."

"So he should!" Alex laughed.

"Anyway, he told me that, after being apart for those couple of months all those years ago, he realised that he was in love with me all along."

"And you were in Portsmouth, twenty miles away and pregnant with another man's baby. That is so sad, Em."

"Life goes on, though, doesn't it? We both got on with our separate lives in the meantime. Daniel married a doctor, a couple of years after we parted, and he now has two wonderful daughters. I've been staying with Sophie, who is home for the holidays from University, and Daniel and I are going back to Ginny's flat tonight. She's a doctor like her mother."

"So where's Daniel's wife? Did they divorce?"

"No. She died two years ago." Marina said, "That's why Daniel put a hold on his career. He's a politician, at the time he was a Member of the European Parliament, now he is a county councillor. He has a farm business, too, living in a beautiful listed farmhouse in the Sussex Downs."

"Wow! Looks like you've landed on your feet, Sis!"

"It's not like that, Sand, there are problems, the house is in a bit of a state and in need of renovation and I'm not sure if the farm is commercially viable at the moment, with EU farm subsidies probably coming to an end. And the kids have been knocked sideways by the sudden loss of their mother. The youngest daughter, is a year younger than Tracey and is an emotional mess. Please don't say anything, please Sandie, because Daniel can never find out about it, not yet anyway. But Sophie was drugged at a party just like I was, only she was gang-raped by up to a dozen men. She also fell pregnant and just lost the baby a couple of weeks ago. So she's all over the place emotionally, very fragile."

Alex was open-mouthed and speechless throughout, until she finished.

"Oh, Em, the poor lamb. I suppose it puts Tracey's little problem into a bit more perspective, doesn't it?"

"Yes, it does. Tracey has a settled home and some sort of relationship with a boyfriend, if she wants it. It's her choice. Sophie has lost her mother two years ago, her father was depressed for a long time and her sister is away working and training to be a doctor up here in London. And she now has to go through the trauma of a court case against up to twelve rapists. I assume a lot of them are young lads from good families, who can afford to send them to Cambridge and can brief better QCs than the Crown can manage to put up against them. I've been spending a lot of time with her the last four days, helping her through it."

"We'll stand by Tracey, Em, of course we will. She's a good girl basically. It's a shame she'll have to leave college, though."

"I've got an idea about that, there's my flat, that she could stay in. I could chip in financially for the next two years and help with day care for the baby. I'll be moving in with Daniel eventually, maybe even immediately."

"We'll see what she wants to do."

"There's one other thing I need to know, Alex. Can you tell me where my baby is buried?"

"Oh sweetheart!" Alex pulled her sister to her again and hugged her, "I have the burial certificate upstairs. You were so out of it and Dad was, well Dad, so I kept it, but there was never the right time to bring it up and give it to you."

"I need to know," Marina couldn't help herself and started sobbing, "for the police investigation."

"You mean? -"

"Yes, Sand, they need the forensic evidence, DNA to positively identify the father. That and they need to find Mum's earring that I lost at the time, hopefully among the trophies he kept. They are still on file in the evidence warehouse somewhere."

They were both crying now and holding only each other.

"It's with all the other family certificates, I'll bring it down before you go."

"Thanks, Sand, I appreciate you holding onto it for me. I think I would have lost it if you'd given it to me before I asked."

"You made the decision to keep the baby, when you were only 16, didn't you? And even though you misunderstood the exact circumstances of the conception, you were still prepared to name the baby after who you thought was the father ..."

Marina nodded.

"... and you were never going to tell Daniel about the baby, even during your recent reacquaintance, were you, honey?"

"No, I only raised it as an objection when he proposed, less than an hour ago now. I was really upset and angry."

"You were going to turn him down?"

"I couldn't marry a man who I thought had raped me ... and others like me, could I? So yes, I did turn him down."

"No, of course you couldn't marry a rapist. But you are properly engaged now?"

"Yes, once I explained what happened to me, he immediately suspected exactly what really happened and called the police detective, so they are looking into it. In the meantime, yes, I am properly engaged."

Marina held up her left hand, Alex took it and whistled as she looked at the magnificent ring.

"Beautiful ring, Em, and, I must say, your Daniel is rather beautiful, too. He hasn't got a brother at home that I could do a trade-in for, has he?"

"No!" Marina replied sharply, "besides, you know that your Dave is one in a million."

"Yeah," Alex admitted, "I just wish I could get him to lose a bit of weight, though."

"Wrong time of the year for that, Sand, with Christmas immediately ahead of us."

"I suppose so. Well, let's go meet your man. Let me get to know him a little bit better, before you vanish off into the night, no doubt to have your wicked way with him. After you've gone I'll have a quiet word with Tracey, probably follow her up when she goes up to bed, and see how we can put on a united front when we break the news to her father. That's a Christmas present he didn't put in his letter to Santa."

"That sounds like a cue for us to make a move before then."

"Yeah, let's get the presents sorted out so you can get back, and I'll ring you with how it all went in the morning."

***

Sir Philip and Lady Barbara had a quiet evening in as Natalie decided to go out with some of her old friends that she hadn't seen for months. They had a light evening meal together and decorated the tree that Barbara had organised to be delivered that afternoon before they retired early.

"It's been brilliant having you home for Christmas, Babs, is there any chance of this becoming permanent?"

"Every chance, Phil, I think we've punished ourselves enough."

"What about all your stuff down at Underhill?"

"There's not much there, really, mostly jumpers, coats and a few pairs of shoes."

"Shall we nip down in a couple of days and pick it up?"

"We could do, but I heard you tell James when he dropped us home that you'd see him in January. How would we get down there?"

"Ahh," Sir Philip chuckled, "That's where I've got a surprise for you! A surprise I never thought I'd ever have a chance to pull off!"

***

Sophie and Ginny were in the flat alone, while Giles was working his twelve-hour shift at the hospital and their father and Marina were out visiting her sister's family. Sophie took this opportunity to explain what had happened to her and how much of a comfort Marina had been over the days since coming home from Cambridge. Ginny agreed with the sound advice that Marina had given, that the little their father knew of it the better, until the trial was over and the men convicted. The sisters embraced and cried together.

"We're so lucky that Marina was around for you these last few days. She sounds like she's been a godsend. It's a pity you can't persuade her to move in permanently, Daddy looks so much better than I've seen him in the last couple of years. Any chance we could push them closer together over the next couple of days and see what happens?"

Sophie started laughing.

"Why are you laughing?"

"Because, my dear sister, with any luck, Marina will be a permanent part of our lives, as we will have another Mummy by tonight. Daddy is going to propose to Marina on the way to her sister's."

"No!" Ginny was astounded, "but they have only seen each other for the last couple of days and they've hardly ever been alone together."

"Well, you better believe it, he's bought the ring and everything. I'd sneakily sized up her mother's engagement ring which she wears on her right hand ring finger. It is quite thin and fragile now, so she takes it off when she washes up or takes a bath."

"Have you seen the new engagement ring?"

"No, Daddy's keeping it close to his chest, he wants it to be a surprise for us when we see it. He wouldn't even hint to me what it looks like, though I quizzed him about it after he picked it up."

Just then the call from their father came through giving the information that Marina was now his fiancée and she was coming back to stay with them tonight, after seeing her sister, and would be with them for Christmas Day lunch.

The girls were so thrilled and couldn't wait until they could welcome the betrothed couple back to the flat.

The sleeping arrangements were changed, to be for sisters Sophie and Ginny to sleep together, with Marina in the guest room and Daniel sleeping on the sofa, but when Marina got back, she insisted on sleeping on the sofa, as she was the smaller and lighter of the new couple.