The Darkest Hour by Barbara Erskine Read Free Book Online Page B

nightmare,’ she stammered. ‘I woke up suddenly and I thought I saw a man standing in my room. He disappeared and I thought he must have been a ghost.’ She buried her face in his shoulder for a moment. It was comforting to be near another human being; reassuring and for a moment she wanted to stay like that. It felt safe. She pulled herself together with an effort and stood back, aware that they were both staring at her.
    ‘Lol’s ghost?’ Robin whispered.
    She shook her head. She had confided in him once, on one of her bad days, how much she longed to see Larry again, how she was sure he would come back to her, how he would tell her what had happened and how much he still loved her. But he hadn’t.
    She saw Robin and Phil glance at each other.
    ‘I’m mad. I know I’m mad. It was a dream. It must have been. I didn’t realise what the time was. I shouldn’t have rung you, I’m sorry.’
    ‘I’m glad you did. What else are friends for?’ Robin said gently.
    ‘What did he look like, this figure?’ Phil pulled out a chair and sat down at the table near her. He leaned forward on his elbows studying her face. He was a broad-shouldered man, reassuringly well built with wavy golden hair. Sensible. Down to earth. ‘Can you remember?’ Neither he nor Robin was laughing at her.
    She explained again what had happened as Robin went over to the kettle. He switched it on and collected three mugs from the cupboard. Turning back towards them he glanced towards the studio. The door was shut.
    ‘OK,’ he said as he passed her a mug of tea. ‘Why don’t Phil and I go in and have a look, just to be sure everything is OK and put your mind at rest.’
    She gave a weak smile. ‘He was in my bedroom.’
    ‘Then we’ll look there first.’ Phil stood up.
    She had left the lights on upstairs. The room was empty, her bed in disarray but there was nothing there to frighten her. After looking round, searching the second bedroom and the bathroom they turned and trooped down to the first floor again. Then they went into the studio. In the beamed roof the areas of glass reflected back the spotlights against the black of the night outside, the painting a silent witness on its easel.
    ‘So, if he didn’t look like this chap or Lol, what did he look like?’ Robin glanced at her.
    ‘He was someone else. Not this man in Evie’s picture. Same uniform. Completely different face.’
    ‘Did he try and speak to you?’
    There was a moment’s silence.
    ‘You think he was a ghost?’ she whispered.
    Robin put his head on one side for a moment, considering. ‘I’m not sure what I think. Most likely you are right and he came from your dream, but dreams are supposed to carry messages sometimes, aren’t they?’
    She was feeling confused. ‘He didn’t say anything. I was in such a state of shock. I was sure he was my imagination. It was only when I came back in here and looked at the picture again that I realised that it was a different man and I started to panic.’
    ‘Intriguing.’ Phil took a slow thoughtful sip from his mug. ‘Is he somewhere else in the picture, do you think? Behind her other shoulder?’
    Robin frowned doubtfully. ‘There is no room. Look at the composition of the painting. This was how it was supposed to be when she painted it. Without him there she is standing too far to the left. There is a huge empty space behind her. I’ll bet that is what Lol noticed. It would have looked wrong to him. He had a fantastic eye. He would have seen that something was off balance. Perhaps that’s why he thought that it wasn’t a Lucas after all. She must have changed her mind after painting him there. Perhaps they had a row.’ He reached over and caught Lucy’s hand. ‘You know what this means, Luce, don’t you? You have to find out the whole story. Who were these men and what did they mean to Evie? Perhaps this guy wants you to write your book.’
    Glancing at her sideways, noting her white face, he gave her a