Page 27 of The Stranger in Room Six

Now

‘So, what happened to the Colonel and your aunt?’ asks Belinda, topping up the old lady’s china tea cup – part of a set that Mabel keeps hidden away in her room.

‘That’s for next time!’ replies Mabel, pretending to sound cheerful. In truth, she is shaken by the memories, including the lacemaker’s advice. Has she said too much already?

‘It sounds as though you were scared of stepping out of line.’

‘Yes,’ says Mabel. ‘I was.’

‘I know how that feels.’

‘You do?’

Each woman finds herself reaching for the other’s hand.

‘Pour me a drop of whisky, would you?’ asks Mabel.

By now, both have stopped pretending it’s flavoured water.

‘And have a dram yourself while you’re at it.’

Belinda shakes her head. ‘No, thanks. I met so many women in prison who’d committed terrible crimes just because they were drunk or on drugs. I vowed never to drink again.’

Mabel raises her eyebrows, which she pencils in softly every day: a trick learned from her aunt years ago. ‘What an amazing life you’ve lived, my dear.’

‘You too,’ says Belinda. She looks pensive for a moment. ‘There are so many lessons to be learned, aren’t there? That’s why it’s important for stories like ours to be told.’

Mabel leans forwards so her face is just inches from Belinda’s. ‘It’s your turn again now. I want to know about that woman with green shoes. Was she causing mischief? Or did your husband really have a child with Karen?’