Coronation Wives by Lizzie Lane Read Free Book Online Page A

dreamed of having in a country barely touched by war never happened.
    As they drove along Billy prattled on about his latest scam for making money. It was something to do with gambling. Polly shut her ears. She had other plans. Was this the time to mention Australia? Perhaps not. Not just yet.
    She began to hum and look distractedly out of the window, her thoughts filled with the vision of a sun-filled home and a beach at the end of the garden.
    Billy misinterpreted her reason for appearing uninterested. ‘OK! I’ll shut up.’
    Polly hummed ‘One Day My Prince Will Come’, her daughter Carol’s favourite song from the film
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
    ‘What’s that tune yer singing?’
    ‘“Some Day My Prince Will Come”.’
    Keeping his eyes on the road he leaned closer andwhispered, ‘Yer prince is right ’ere, sweet’eart.’
    Polly eyed him disdainfully. ‘Where? All I can see is a bloody frog!’
    The light from the streetlamp next to the garden gate filtered through the curtains and hit Colin’s metal legs, which Edna had placed in the corner of the bedroom after helping him out of them.
    ‘They look like the bottom half of a medieval knight waiting for his top half to arrive before going into action.’
    Edna laughed. ‘Do they have to stand there in
that
particular corner every night?’
    ‘You’d give a pet dog its own special place. So why not my legs? Aren’t they worth more than a dog?’ Colin joked.
    Catching his mood she flippantly asked, ‘Should we get them their own bed?’
    Colin laughed. ‘Come here,’ he said and patted the space in the bed beside him. She got in and helped him turn towards her. There was no embarrassment between them about this. Most people, Edna realized, were uncomfortable with disability. Colin had no problem with the fact that his legs had been blasted out from under him and she’d got used to it. He was one of the lucky ones – he’d come home.
    ‘I love you, Edna.’ He stroked her hair. His breath was soft and warm. They kissed and embraced just like any other married couple, except perhaps that there was a little more sensitivity when it came to making love. Colin’s strong shoulders and overdeveloped biceps compensated for his lack of legs. Sometimes he forgot that his legs were truncated at the knees and that his body wasn’t quite so easily manoeuvred as it used to be. Sometimes there was just pain, his phantom legs kicking in the night, kidding his brain into thinking they were still there, strips of flesh clinging tenuously to shattered bones.
    They lay on their sides facing each other, his palm warm on her breast, his lips moist on her throat.
    She ran her hands over the firmness of his shoulders and chest. Colin made her feel secure, more safe and loved than she’d ever felt in her life. There was great pleasure in touching him, helping him move towards her, clasping his pelvis tightly against her own, until the moment they were ready to join together when Colin rolled onto his back and Edna moved on top of him.
    ‘I’m going to Charlotte’s tomorrow,’ Edna said after they’d made love and kissed affectionately in its warm aftermath.
    ‘On a Saturday?’
    ‘I thought I’d take the children to the zoo afterwards.’
    ‘Do you want me to come?’
    Edna sensed his disinclination. ‘Only if you really want to.’
    ‘Hmm. If it was just the zoo I would. Old Charlotte’s a good sort, but I know what it’ll be like once you and her get together – non-stop women’s talk.’
    ‘And you think she’s bossy,’ she said with a laugh and a tap on his chin.
    ‘Right, so I’ll give it a miss – if you don’t mind.’
    ‘I don’t mind.’
    It was exactly what she’d thought he’d say which is why she’d lied. She was going to see Janet, not Charlotte. The zoo was a busy place and the animals would keep the children occupied whilst she talked to Janet and found out exactly what had happened to her and how she could help. They