Kevin was still unconscious when Betty left the hospital two hours later. She'd managed to convince the doctors that their patient was indeed her son, and gave plausible reasons for the way he'd been dressed. She took away the borrowed clothes, promising to return in the morning with something more suitable for an eleven-year-old boy. She wanted to spend the night at Kevin's bedside, but she had other urgent tasks to perform, errands which were to keep her mind fully occupied.
Her first duty was to give the hapless Isobel James all the support she needed. Betty felt profoundly guilty about her friend's involvement. It was she who'd coaxed Isobel into driving again after her first ordeal, and now she'd effectively doubled the woman's fears. She knew as she stood on the James's doorstep that she mightn't be at all popular with the family inside.
It was the husband, Tom, who came to the door, and he smiled a warm greeting.
"Mrs. Marsh, you poor dear, I've just been hearing all about it. Come on in. How's Kevin?"
Betty answered with a shake of her head, her lips tightening.
"You've come to see my wife, I'm sure. Poor Issie, talk about being thrown back in at the deep end! But she's okay, now she's had a chance to relax."
Isobel staggered wearily into the hall. She smiled sadly at Betty and threw comforting arms around her.
"Cup of tea!" she announced as if already knowing the answer.
It was Tom who made the tea while the women sat facing each other over the kitchen table. For a while no words passed between them. Isobel placed a comforting hand on Betty's and gently caressed it with her thumb, each woman dismissing the usual platitudes as being pointless and inappropriate. Their silence was broken only when Tom brought the tea to the table.
"I expect you'll have lots more to talk about once I'm out of the way," he said, turning to go. "There's just thing I'd like you to know, Betty. We're both of us very grateful to you. Very grateful indeed."
"Grateful?" she queried as he left the room. "I thought you'd be furious."
"I was," Isobel replied, meeting her anxious gaze with a smile. "Six months of pent-up fury suddenly erupted to the surface, but it did me a world of good! I hadn't realised it before, Betty, but following that accident in January I'd never allowed myself the chance to scream. My anger lay deep inside me all that time, festering. But this evening, after the initial shock of finding myself in the same predicament all over again, with your other child too - the dam finally burst. After yelling my head off, my anger soon subsided into sadness, not for myself but for you. I pray to God this time the lad will be okay. I've been phoning the hospital ever since I got in, and they sounded very encouraging. There's no physical damage, just concussion."
"Oh, dear God, I hope so! Any news on what happened to the minister?"
"He seemed okay, I thought. I saw him walking over to someone else's car and being driven away, chatting quite merrily."
Betty didn't know whether to risk upsetting Isobel with what she knew, or to wait until Dan's condition had been diagnosed more thoroughly. There was also another call she'd have to make as soon as Mrs. Wright came home. She too might need a friend at this time.
"The Rev. Wright's been having trouble with his eyesight," Betty revealed simply. "He shouldn't have driven over this evening, but he felt it his duty. Why? I don't know - we've only been to his church once! I must phone his wife later and find out what she wants done about the car. Oh dear, it's all my fault he got involved."
"Don't blame yourself when friends come to help," said Isobel. "I would have been most hurt if you hadn't sent for me. And despite everything that happened, Betty, it's done me no harm. Poor little Kevin, though. I knew Karen well, of course, but I'd never really met her brother, apart from seeing him at that awful place in January."
"You met him a week ago," Betty reminded her.
But Isobel chose to disagree. "That's the strangest thing of all. I thought about this a great deal after you left on Saturday, and even now I still can't convince myself that the child who came here wasn't Karen. It looked like Karen, it sounded like Karen - same mannerisms too. I know it doesn't make sense - obviously it had to be her brother, but I'm sorry - to me, she was Karen. I just can't accept it any other way."
"And neither could I," said Betty. "But now - I don't know - it's all got so horribly crazy, I almost regret it ever happened. It was only my selfish grief that allowed it to go on as long as it did. And if Kevin doesn't pull through, that horrid evil element of Karen will have gone too, though in some ways ..." She faltered as the tears which hadn't been far below the surface welled up to consume her.
"Oh, Betty, my poor love, he'll be okay. It's no good upsetting yourself over what might happen tomorrow. Up till ten minutes ago, your Kevin was doing fine. They say he spoke to you in the ambulance."
"A voice certainly spoke to me, but it was Karen - the good one. She said something about me having to go back to Dan's church on Sunday. She said it was most important to be there - though I can't imagine Dan Wright being fit enough to take the service."
"You do whatever Karen says, you hear? And don't let the minister's troubles prey on your mind. He was my passenger, and today's accident certainly wasn't your fault. Wait and see what Sunday brings - would you like me to come with you?"
Betty shook her head. "I can't make any plans till I know Scruff's okay. Sorry," she grinned through her tears, "that's just my silly name for Kevin."
"Betty, my love, I'm quite certain Scruff's in no danger. God's on your side, you'll see! And your tea's getting cold!"
After taking her leave of Isobel, Betty's next duty was to visit the fearsome Mrs. Tyler, but the nearer she got to the house, the more she dreaded the confrontation. If only Dan Wright were there with his confident way of smoothing ruffled feathers. But he wasn't. It was all up to Betty. Her only hope was that the news of Kevin's plight might have reached Mrs. Tyler's ears, and softened her heart a little.
She decided to leave the bundle of clothes in the car till she knew what kind of reception awaited her. Still trembling from the effects of shock and trepidation, she mounted the elegantly lit front steps and rang the bell.
Mrs. Tyler came to the door, and for a moment the two women just stared at one another, each trying to assess the other's mood. The ordeal proved too much for Betty.
"I'm sorry," she wept, unable to fight her tears, "so sorry ..."
"Betty, you poor dear, whatever's wrong?"
"It's Kevin. You know about the accident, I suppose?"
"You mean the one outside today? A neighbour told me, but I didn't realise you were involved. Whatever happened? They said some young girl was knocked down. No-one seemed to know who she was, but she was taken away in an ambulance."
"It wasn't a girl," Betty sighed deeply, shaking her head in despair. "Mrs. Tyler, that was my Kevin. He's apparently been stealing clothes again, I suspect from this house."
"Oh, Betty! Dear me, you are having problems! Come and sit down. Would a glass of sherry help?"
She led Betty into the long immaculate lounge, and motioned her to sit on a luxuriously curved settee.
"It's a long, crazy story," Betty began as Mrs. Tyler handed her an elegant glass. "And it takes an awful lot of believing. Again, I can only apologise for my son's behaviour."
Mrs. Tyler shifted uncomfortably. "No, Betty, I should be apologising for mine. I was abominably rude to you the other day, and I don't know how to ask your forgiveness. You see - this is very awkward - we try so hard, don't we, to keep up appearances, for the sake of our pride and position in the community. Why we can't all be honest and open with each other, I really don't know. It's the way we're brought up, I suppose; the way our parents push us out into the world. The Queen uses toilet paper too, you know!"
Betty raised her eyebrows in surprise, and Mrs. Tyler smiled.
"Sorry - it's a disgusting expression of my grandmother's, though I guess she was referring to Victoria! By pretending we're above such earthly practices we delude only ourselves, never other people. We in this household have our personal problems too, a few private skeletons which we try our best to contain within these walls! I'm trying, Betty, in my clumsy way, to pave the way for an explanation, embarrassing though it is. I certainly had no right to speak the way I did about your son. You see, I know now it wasn't his fault."
Mrs. Tyler turned to stare away at the neat back lawn, as if seeking further guidance before continuing.
"I'm not sure whether I should be telling you this, Betty, but we both seem to be caught in a similar net. Please keep what I'm about to say strictly to yourself, but ... well, our young Jim has an unusual problem. When no-one's around, he likes to visit Alison's room, and dress himself in her clothes! And from what you're telling me, I gather your Kevin enjoys doing the same?"
"He never used to," Betty hotly defended him, "at least, not until I stupidly pushed him into it." She found herself yet again unfolding the story of Karen's reincarnation.
"As to the clothes Kevin had on when we found him," she concluded, "they're at present in my car. They'll need to be cleaned, of course, but I don't think anything's actually been damaged, apart from some stockings."
Betty went outside and gathered up the bundle, still wrapped in its bag from the hospital. But when she presented the contents to Mrs. Tyler, she had another surprise. The woman was shaking her head.
"No, Betty, I don't recognise any of this! They're certainly not Alison's nor mine, and no-one in this house has need of a wig!"
It crossed Betty's mind that the well-groomed Jimmy might well have nurtured such a need - but she made no comment. Jimmy's conduct was their concern, not hers. Since Mrs. Tyler remained adamant that none of the items belonged to them, Betty took everything away again. If the wig did belong to young Jimmy Tyler, then its retrieval was up to him.
It wasn't until the following evening that Betty was able to contact Moira Wright, and immediately she began to wish she hadn't. She'd never known a clergyman's wife to sound so uncharitable.
"Dan's no business driving off like that, no business at all!" the woman barked. "And he damned well knows it! Of course I know about his rotten eyesight, everyone's known for months, with those feeble jokes he makes all the time! I keep telling him he should retire and do something more useful with his life - I mean, it's years since I heard him preach a decent sermon - he never comes up anything remotely inspiring - never an original thought - just the same old guff droned out every Sunday - well, I have to tell you - I've stopped going to his services - I've heard it all before. And then to take my car and drive twenty-odd miles on a wild-goose chase? I've never heard such nonsense. He wants his head examining, that man, not his eyes! And what about me? Did he stop to think about that, I wonder? How am I supposed to manage without a car, I'd like to know? If it's not a total wreck, do you mind telling me where is it?"
"It's outside my house, perfectly intact, ready to be collected ..."
"And I suppose you expect me to come over and do that?"
Betty's blood boiled, but she maintained a calm voice.
"Mrs. Wright, in return for all that your fine husband has done for us, I'd willingly push your car all the way to your front door and crawl twenty miles home again on my hands and knees! Dan drove here yesterday in an act of selfless Christian charity, because my boy was in trouble and needed help. We didn't ask him to come - he came because he's a good and caring man. I'm sure if he could, he'd have asked someone else to drive - maybe even you! But he didn't - there wasn't time. He felt our need was too urgent. That good husband of yours is now sightless as a result of what happened, and yet I heard not one word of reproach or complaint from his lips. Mrs. Wright, he must love you very much!"
"Why do you say that?"
Betty left her reply unsaid and simply asked about Dan's whereabouts.
"They've taken him over to Ashfield Eye Hospital. Of course, there's no way I can visit him, not without a car. And it's no good you driving over to pick me up, because it's too late. So what was so urgent that Dan felt he had to disregard doctor's orders? What did you want him for?"
"Somehow, Mrs. Wright, I doubt if you'd understand. At this moment, my own son is lying unconscious in Allentown Hospital, but I intend visiting Dan tomorrow. I'll drive over in my car, so as not to risk damaging yours. If you wish, I'll call and take you with me. Then I can bring you back here afterwards so you can collect your own car."
The woman clicked her tongue. "Such a nuisance - I have other activities planned for tomorrow."
Betty couldn't prevent a note of irony creeping into the conversation.
"Maybe Dan had plans too, but events have rather overshadowed them. Shall I ask my friend Isobel to drive your car back? She's the one who was driving when the accident occurred, and she's still a bit shaky, but she might manage it if she avoids main roads!"
"You pick me up tomorrow morning at nine o'clock sharp," Mrs. Wright decided. "Then take me to where my car is. But please, I must be back here before ten."
"I look forward to meeting you," Betty concluded sweetly, and managed to avoid slamming down the phone. How could a warm-hearted, charismatic man like Dan Wright have ended up marrying such a harridan? Betty cast her eyes upwards, hoping that some ethereal entity would one day recommend the man for sainthood!
She didn't get to Mrs. Wright's house until ten minutes past nine, and found the woman pacing up and down outside her front gate - a tall, dominant figure, with a finely chiselled face, and an air of impatience which implied that everyone else was likely to fall short of a pass-mark.
"Mrs. Wright?" Betty checked as she wound down her window. "Sorry, I got held up in the traffic. Do you want to pick up your car first or shall we go and see your husband?"
"I'm going to need my car by ten," she said. "I've a hair appointment at ten-thirty. I can see Dan later in the day once I have my car, whereas if I cancel the hairdressers I shan't have another chance for a week."
"So you'd like me to turn around and drive you all the way back to Allentown?"
"I really think that's best, don't you?"
Betty didn't, but she smiled and turned the car around.
"Let's look at it this way, Mrs. Wright. If your husband was good enough to put himself out for me, I'll gladly do my penance this morning! It's a small price to pay. How long have you been married?"
"Twenty-six years. Why do you ask?"
"Just making conversation. We were married only eight years before my husband died. It seems so short a time now, even though we weren't particularly happy."
"You have to work to make a marriage, you know. Happiness doesn't come on its own."
"You have a remarkable husband, Mrs. Wright."
"You think so? He has his faults, like all of us. We're a team, he and I, each filling in for the other's weaknesses. Dan's deplorably untidy and terribly absent-minded. I'm a disciplinarian - well, I have to be in my job as headmistress. Some say I'm bossy, though I try not to be. I'm simply a born organiser, that's all. What Dan would do without me when it comes to church fêtes and coffee mornings, I cannot imagine. I've spent since eight o'clock last night trying to arrange a lay preacher to take the service tomorrow morning. Can't let the good folk of Rushbury down, can we? So I may not have time to get over to Ashfield today, but give Dan my love when you see him. How's your son, by the way?"
"He's regained consciousness, thank goodness, and if there are no complications I hope to have him home by Monday."
"That's good news, I'm glad. I've always hated hospitals myself. I'm always afraid some spotty trainee surgeon's going to mistake me for another patient and perform some ghastly operation I don't need. I hope Dan's going to be all right. You know what he'll miss most if his sight fails completely? His railways. Steam trains are long gone, but Dan still has his books and his videos. Can you imagine how he'll feel if he can't enjoy those pleasures any more? One can buy audio tapes and read books to him, but how do you convey the sight of a moving steam engine to a blind man?"
"You care a lot about Dan, don't you?"
"Of course. He's my husband! What an odd thing to say!"
Betty laughed. "I'm sorry - you seemed to be blaming him on the phone last night, yet here you are showing compassion for a man you really care about. I'm glad. Good men like Dan deserve to be happy."
"I must have sounded frightfully brusque yesterday! Put that down to being head of a large school that's forced to amalgamate next term with the boys' grammar! Those Whitehall hot-heads, I could kill them with my bare hands. We've got a fine school in Rushbury, and I'd lay down my life for my girls. But this nonsense? God, I sometimes think this country is run by an institute for the insane, instead of faceless bureaucrats."
"My Kevin's due to start his secondary education in September. It'll be a big step for him - particular if he goes to an all-boys' school. Perhaps he'd be better off in a co-educational environment - but you sound as if you're against it."
"It's not that I'm against it - but I've had no experience of boys. Worse, it's against the will of the majority of my parents - that's what really gets up my nose. I just don't know, to be honest. Is it better for the sexes to be segregated, kept apart like dogs on heat, trained to the old-fashioned rules where males are taught to be men, and females turned into proper young ladies? Or should they face the realities of life right from the cradle? I have both a son and a daughter, you see!"
"So did I, until my Karen was killed eight months ago."
"There are many schools of thought, but the modern trend is towards the comprehensive co-educational environment. Unless you have the money these days, there's little choice for most parents - schools are allocated like raffle prizes. We can only pray the long-term effects won't be too detrimental!"
Betty felt quite relieved to reach her house and watch Mrs. Wright drive safely away in the minister's car. Indoors she made another call to the hospital, and spoke to a ward sister who seemed already to know a great deal about Kevin.
"Yes," she said. "A sparky little lad! Cheeky for his age, too, asking me all kinds of personal questions about my uniform and what I wear off-duty. You'd better watch out when he gets older!"
Relieved that Kevin was on the road to physical recovery, Betty left a message promising she'd be in to see him later in the day. Then she drove off again, this time to the Ashfield Eye Hospital where she was directed to the minister's bedside.
"Mrs. Marsh to see you," bellowed a nurse as if her patient were deaf.
"Can't say I'm pleased to see anyone," said a cheery voice from beneath a turban of bandages that cocooned most of Dan Wright's head. "They haven't installed a light-switch in here yet! But you sound bright enough. Good morning, Betty. How's the youngster?"
"Apparently unharmed, thank God, and far too full of beans. You can always tell when a child's feeling fit - he starts acting up! I haven't had time to visit him yet this morning - I met your wife instead and took her over to collect your car."
"Oh, bless you!" he smiled. "Thanks, I've been worrying about that ever since I got here. Tell me about your other friend and her car?"
"Both in good shape, Dan. The car's undamaged and Isobel's spirits seem to have blossomed - claims she's finally broken free of a nightmare that's haunted her since January. I hadn't realised it before, Dan, but there are times, I guess for all of us, when we need to scream. Apparently it does us a world of good."
Dan grinned amiably. "Yes, Moira should try that. Poor soul, she's going through a tough summer, trying to cope with the tidal wave of two schools amalgamating against her better judgement. Did she tell you?"
"Yes! She was quite vociferous this morning! Oh, and she sends you her love and says she'll be over to see you later, when she's free."
"Ah!" Dan let out a deep sigh. "I don't know if I'm quite ready for that yet. The truth is, Betty, I'm feeling a lot more vulnerable than I'm trying to appear. I'm not sure I can handle too many visitors, especially Moira."
"But Dan! She's your wife. Remember what Karen said on Thursday - your best friend?"
"I remember every word that wonderful child said. What wisdom, Betty! What insight! And I remember particularly - because it's been running around inside my brain ever since - she said I'd be taken care of. Did she mean a staff of nurses, feeding and bathing me for the rest of my life? I don't think I can cope with that. I'm well taken care of here, I don't deny it, but I've had enough. I need my independence, Betty. I don't relish the thought of being taken care of, not in that sense. Do you reckon that's what Karen meant?"
"You really believe in Karen?"
"Don't you? Find me another child of her age who can talk knowledgeably about worldly matters and the hereafter? We were listening to a voice from beyond our mortal understanding, Betty, make no mistake - a most uplifting revelation. Didn't you feel that?"
"Yes, but I'm getting used to it now. Dan, she also told me many times that spirits can't predict the future. They know what's going on now, but not what'll take place in five years' time. In other words, we still have some control over what happens to us. You won't lose your independence, I'm sure."
"Wiser men than I, Betty, have said that God moves in mysterious ways. Was yesterday's accident part of some divine plan for all of us? There's one good thing came out of it though - it's at last forced the medical profession to admit there's something wrong with my sight. But is it all an orchestrated plot by the Almighty? Ha! Here am I, asking you, and I'm the guy who's supposed to come up with all the answers for you lot! But I tell you, Betty, there are times when I'm as foxed as the next man! How's that for a confession? What's being done about the service tomorrow - did my wife arrange for someone to stand in?"
Before Betty could reply, Dan raised his palm and chuckled knowingly. "Don't tell me - of course she did. Why would I even ask? She's infallible, that woman! I bet I was in her bad books though, when she found out I'd pinched her car?"
Betty couldn't resist a smile. "I did get the impression you weren't supposed to have done that. All the same, Dan, I do appreciate your help and support. Thanks for believing in Karen."
"That's why the family firm exists, Betty. And I thank you for your support too, but you shouldn't be wasting your time sitting on my bed, you should be over in Allentown with your young Kevin - or have they blundered and booked him in as Karen?"
"Doctors generally know the difference, Dan. He's Kevin all right, and they're finding him quite a handful, so I'm told."
Dan reached out in the direction of her voice and grabbed Betty's arm, pressing it firmly with his thumb.
"Don't forget, Betty, if he's still in any trouble, you let me know. There's not a lot I can do, stuck in here, but I want to be kept informed. I have some useful contacts - names I can recommend - so keep me posted."
"I will. Oh, there's one other thing. Karen spoke again as they were taking Kevin away in the ambulance. She insisted it was important I should come to your church tomorrow. Why would she say that?"
"A wise girl! Why not? Sound advice, Betty, and from a reliable source too. If that's what she recommends - you be there!"
They were familiar words.
"I will - but - any particular reason?"
"Head Office again, moving in its mysterious way? I hope Moira's found someone who'll keep them wide awake!" He gave an endearing chuckle. "Can't have my flock dozing off and starting to count sheep, eh?"
"Bless you, Dan. You've got a lovely sense of humour. That's an excellent tonic."
"So they tell me, Betty, so they keep telling me. Perhaps next time we can all have a good laugh about what the future holds for me." The grip tightened on her arm. "Because frankly, between ourselves, this old man's a wee bit scared."
Betty took his other hand and held it firmly, wishing she could have made eye contact. Her heart warmed to him, and she was about to bend over and kiss his cheek when she noticed a group of elderly ladies advancing excitedly towards his bed.
"Looks like you've got another bevy of visitors, Dan. It never rains but it pours, eh? Silly expression, if you ask me. Anyway, try to keep your chin up. Your congregation evidently needs you as much as you need them!"
As Betty made her way out of the ward, she passed the staff nurse and casually remarked: "What a lovely man! You're doing all you can for him, I hope?"
The nurse laughed warmly. "Mr. Wright? He couldn't be in safer hands. Talk about luck? Quite by chance he's under one of the finest consultants in the country. Evidently the good Lord sees to His own! He'll be well taken care of, don't you worry!"
Karen's words again! Betty longed to turn and give Dan Wright a final reassuring wave, and felt saddened that such a simple gesture would have been pointless.
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