Contents
Chapter 1: Another Woman's Shoes, November 1953
Chapter 2: Back from the Dead, February 1965
Chapter 3: A Veil Descends, April 1965
Chapter 4: Pride Before a Fall, May 1965
Chapter 5: A Meeting with 'SOD', May 1965
Chapter 6: Finding a Voice, July 1965
Chapter 7: Taking control, July 1965
Chapter 8: An Experiment with Democracy, July 1965
Chapter 9: Words in the Right Place, July 1965
Chapter 10: Passions Inflamed, August 1965
Chapter 11: A Rite of Passage, August 1965
Chapter 12: Mob Rule, September 1965
Chapter 13: Rebellion and Remorse, September 1965
Chapter 14: Self-Inflicted Wounds, September 1965
Chapter 15: A Moral Choice, October 1965
Chapter 16: People in High Places, October 1965
Chapter 17: Ecstasy and Complexity, October 1965
Chapter 18: Bloody Confrontation, November 1965
Chapter 19: The Darkest Hours, November 1965
Chapter 20: Lured into a Trap, November 1965
Chapter 21: Taking Back Control, November 1965
Chapter 22: Retribution, November 1965
Chapter 23: One Door Closes and Another Door Opens, November 1965
Chapter 24: June 1971 (Epilogue)
Chapter 1: Another Woman's Shoes, November 1953
The old liner pitched and rolled in the heavy ocean swell. Emma stood alone on the deck, her hands gripping the rail as the floor beneath her rose and fell. Above, she caught fleeting glimpses of stars as clouds laden with rain laboured across the night sky. Shafts of moonlight broke through and lit the deck as if it was a stage and she was the audience. Then, as the mist cleared from the front of the ship, she saw Evie, her long auburn hair gusting about her head in the wind. She was looking towards Emma – searching but not seeing.
Rain began to beat down and wind howled around the rigging. Emma called out.
"Tell me this is right, Evie. It's what you wanted isn't it?"
But Evie continued to stare into the distance, unaware of Emma. The swell in front of the ship rose high above its bows, arching and screaming in fury. Emma shouted again, her voice rising above the anger of the storm.
"Tell me it's alright, Evie. Tell me it's alright."
The crest of the wave broke and came crashing down over the bow, drenching Emma and washing Evie from sight. The liner plunged into the cauldron of water and the lights went out.
February 1965
Emma awoke to the first rays of morning light edging their way into the bedroom. It was the same nightmare she often had – a distorted memory of her voyage back from America.
A movement in the bed caused her to look down at Peter. He was asleep – mercifully peaceful. So often his nights were filled with terror as memories of his wartime incarceration returned to haunt him with images that caused him to wake up screaming.
YOU ARE READING
Devious Affairs
General FictionWhen Former GI Bride, Emma Fulton, is forced to flee penniless From the United States in 1954, she seeks out the husband and child of her recently deceased friend and half-sister. Seamlessly she is absorbed into their lives as both wife and mother...
