The Couple At No. 9 Quotes
"All of this – the move from the flat in Croydon to Beggars Nook, a quaint village in the Cotswolds, and the cottage with views of the woods – has been so unexpected. A surprise gift."
"The pregnancy hadn’t been planned. It was something Tom and I had spoken about, loosely, after perhaps a wedding, but we’d been busy starting up our respective career ladders and saving for a deposit to buy our own flat. Babies and weddings had been for when we were older. For when we became proper grown-ups."
"It didn’t take long for news to get around the village, and even though it’s been more than ten days since the excavation, people are still speculating about it."
"Despite all this Theo tries to cut his dad some slack. He understands that losing his wife – Theo’s mum – fourteen years ago was devastating."
"The cemetery is quiet but Theo still lowers his voice as he talks to his mum. ‘There is so much I wish I could ask you,’ he says. ‘And I promise, if I’m ever lucky enough to be a dad I won’t be emotionally cut off, like him.'"
"‘That tree …’ She shakes her head. The purple petals. She used to put them in her bucket and mash them with water. She remembers that. ‘I played in that garden,’ says Lorna. ‘It’s very familiar to me. I think … I think the tree might even have had a rope swing once. I used to pretend to make perfume with its flowers.’"
"‘It’s just his way, sweetheart. Your father is a brilliant man. He works so hard. He just gets a little stressed sometimes.’ But he never saw his dad raise a hand to her. If he had he would have thumped him."
"‘I’ve taken a week off. I think this would be classed as extenuating circumstances, don’t you?’"
"‘I know. But it will all be okay,’ he says, with a return to his former optimism. ‘We’ll be able to resume our building work soon and everything will be back to normal.’"
"‘She’d died while Theo was busy shagging his first girlfriend in his cramped room in a shared student house in York. That September he changed his course to catering and hospitality, much to the derision of his dad. But he knew his mum would have been happy for him, would have told him life’s too short.’"
"There are no curtains at the window and a shard of moonlight illuminates a patch of black varnish stuck like tar to one of the floorboards."
"She stands at the window that looks over the garden. The hole in the ground looks even more ominous in the dark."
"She forces her brain to remember more. What happened here? she whispers to her reflection."
"Her bed was in that corner, by the door, where the boxes are now. Yes, yes, she remembers."
"She wraps her kimono further around her body. She’s cold now and shivers slightly."
"Just as she’s about to turn and leave, something bright catches her eye. A flicker of light between the trees in the woods."
"She presses her nose to the glass and cups her hands around her face. Her heart picks up speed."
"The next morning, Lorna doesn’t mention it to her daughter. She knows she’ll only worry and that’s the last thing she wants."
"The sun is bright this morning although there is a chill in the air and dew on the grass as Lorna steps onto the lawn."
"The wallpaper is faded in parts, yellowing in others. The fireplace looks like it needs renovating."
"She hadn’t been imagining it last night. Someone had crept through the darkness and into the woods. Someone had been watching the house."
"The village never looked prettier than it did the evening I first met Daphne Hartall."
"Your huge brown eyes lit up when Melissa handed you the hot chocolate in a white polystyrene cup, whipped cream swirled on top."
"I pushed past people, calling your name. I could sense that Melissa was behind me, trying to calm me, but I couldn’t process what she was saying."
"She looked like a hunted animal. Was that how I’d looked when I came to the village three years ago, pregnant with you and desperate for a new start?"
"I rushed over to you, almost snatching you away from the tall, thin woman and bending down to your level, hugging you to me, breathing in your familiar sweet smell."
"She smiled and it lit up her whole face, making her seem less severe, less angular."
"Mum fidgets in her seat and adjusts her top. She’s wearing a tight, bodice-style denim blouse that strains across her chest slightly."
"The French windows are firmly closed and Gran is wearing a pink jumper. She must be boiling."
"‘Hi, Gran,’ I begin, shifting my weight towards her. I’m sitting closest to her."
"‘It’s me. Lorna. Your daughter.’ Mum’s voice wavers."
"My eyes fill with tears at Mum’s crushed expression and I blink rapidly to stop them spilling over."
"‘I think we should leave the questioning to the police, honey.’"
"‘She’s gone! Lolly’s gone!’ I cried. ‘I can’t see her. I can’t see her anywhere.’"
"I pushed through people, Melissa on my tail. I heard her asking them if they’d seen a little girl in a red duffel coat."
"Then there you were. I saw you through the crowds, holding the hand of the mysterious woman I would come to know as Daphne Hartall."
"I stood up, holding on to your hand. Never wanting to let go of it again."
"‘Thanks, Melissa. I’m sorry … for the overreaction.’"
"‘I’m Daphne.’ ‘Rose. And this is Lolly.’"
"‘It’s Lorna. But she finds it hard to say. She called herself Lolly and it’s stuck. Well, thank you again.’"
"This was serendipitous, I thought. We were supposed to meet."
"‘Mummy,’ you urged, tugging on my hand."
"‘Sorry, Lolly,’ I said, pulling my gaze away from the stranger and following you into the café."
"‘It’s not a Thursday. You usually come and see me on a Thursday.’"
"‘Just try to answer them as best you can. You … you spoke about a Sheila last time. And a Victor.’"
"‘Jean hit her. Jean hit her over the head and she fell to the ground.’"
"We can’t escape it, Rose. Don’t you see?"
"It’s a long, boring story. I’m the black sheep."
"I’m a grown man. I can look after myself."
"But love? He’s not sure. Maybe when he was a kid, when he was still full of hope that his dad might care about him, become the father he’d always wished for."
"He doubts his dad would give a shit if he never visited again."
"He remembers how he’d cowered as a kid when his dad was in one of his ranting moods."
"She’s exhausted after spending all night tossing and turning and worrying about Mum and that man who calls himself Glen Davies."
"I don’t want you to get into trouble on our account."
"I’ve had an idea. I think we should go to Spain."
"I’ve tried asking you before but you’re never straight with me."
"I just want to make sure he doesn’t come back."
"You’re making something out of nothing."
"This should be such a happy time, looking forward to the baby’s arrival, doing up the house."
"I can’t bear to admit to him that I’m feeling less and less at home here with each passing day."
"I’m tired of pretending, of lying to myself."
"But she’s right. What choice did I have?"
"I’m not calling anyone, Rose. We need to let Neil die."
"I need to protect her and the life the three of us had."
"If I’d seen it had said Jean I would have remembered Gran’s ramblings."
"She’s your mother. You don’t have to be sorry for anything."
"I thought I’d come here, be nice, try to explain."
"You won’t be able to see her ever again. You don’t want to go to prison, Rose."
"And I’ll owe you for that for the rest of our lives."
"Just because you regretted having me so young it doesn’t mean that I’m the same."
"I can’t believe Gran might be a killer."
"You promise. You promise me, Rose. You can’t leave me."
"I’m a murderer. I’ve crossed a line, taken a life. I’m never going to get over this."
"My name is Rose. My name is Rose. My name is Rose."
"It’s like … she, Daphne … has wiped my memories all clean."
"You must stop torturing yourself over Neil. Nobody will ever know."
"I can’t stop thinking of the mound of fresh earth near our patio slabs, the patch of brown in the grass that marked out his grave."
"I love you. I’ve never loved anyone like I’ve loved you. You have to believe me."
"You can’t stay up here feeling sorry for yourself, Rose. You’re a mother. That’s the greatest gift."
"My name is Rose. That’s how I think of myself but this damned illness makes me forget things, makes me confused, distorts things in my mind."
"I couldn’t say no. Maybe if I’d had my parents around or friends in the area... then I might have resisted. But I was grief-stricken and terrified and, oh, so naive and I looked up to Victor. Respected him."
"It went well at first. We rubbed along together. But then he became possessive."
"I’ll never forget how he looked at me. Smug, like he knew a secret that I didn’t."
"Why use an anonymous sperm donor when you could have me?"
"I screamed at him, told him he had violated me, lied to me."
I’m not letting you leave," he’d called through the door, his voice calm, sinister. "You’re carrying my child.
"She could rent a little place somewhere on the Bristol Channel so she’s not too far away from Saffy."
"I decided to hide the folder under the wonky mantelpiece in your bedroom."
"It was like my world was closing in so that I felt claustrophobic in the village."
"I turned my attention back to you, unease growing in my gut, like bacteria."
"There was a man on my lawn looking up at the house. It was Victor."
He killed my mother," says Theo. "I hope he rots in jail.
"I’m sorry. I can’t even imagine what it must be like."
"Despite everything I’ve just told her she doesn’t let go."
"She likes to feel she’s in the middle of things."
"You are not a product of me or Victor. You are your own person."