Three hours later I’m sitting by Ted’s hospital bed, gripping Peg’s hand tightly as the doctor breaks the news.
‘Indigestion?’ Peg gasps. ‘Are you sure?’
‘Yes,’ the doctor confirms. ‘We’ve run all the tests. Your husband wasn’t having a heart-attack. He ate something that disagreed with him – it’s not uncommon. You can go.’
‘Oh, thank God, thank God,’ Peg cries. She throws her arms around me and hugs me tightly, then flings herself at Ted, who has closed his eyes with relief.
‘And what about his cholesterol, Doctor?’ she asks, through her tears.
‘Well, that is far too high. He needs to drastically overhaul his diet.’ He passes a healthy-eating diet sheet to Peg, who grabs it with both hands, like it’s the last lifejacket on a sinking ship.
‘I told you, Ted!’ she admonishes. ‘No more chocolate!’
‘Chocolate?’ The doctor is clearly appalled.
‘I have an addiction.’ Ted hangs his head in shame.
‘You’ll have to get over that pretty quickly.’ The doctor is unsympathetic.
‘He’s been told to cut down,’ Peg says. ‘He never pays any attention.’
‘Well, if he doesn’t start paying attention soon, he’ll definitely be on medication for the rest of his life.’ The doctor’s eyes are steely.
‘I will?’ Ted pales.
‘Yes, you will. Think of this little warning as your last chance to change your ways.’ He strides away, a nurse at his heels. There’s no time for any more idle conversation, not when he has patients who really are at death’s door to deal with.
‘It looks like you had a lucky escape.’ I smile at Ted as Peg sits stroking his hand.
‘Aye, it does that.’ Ted nods. ‘I thought I was a goner then, I really did.’
‘What could you have eaten that disagreed with you so much?’ Peg asks him, puzzled.
‘I had a few Mars Bars?’ he offers half-heartedly.
‘Yes, but you have half a dozen Mars Bars every day. Why would they suddenly cause this? What else did you eat today? Was there anything different? Anything at all?’ Peg can’t work it out.
‘I can’t remember.’ Ted seems anxious not to delve into it too much. ‘Now, let’s get out of here, Peg. The doctor said I could go.’
‘The nurse has to come back with the discharge papers yet,’ Peg says. ‘We’ve plenty of time to try to figure this out. You heard the doctor – this could be a warning. We have to take it seriously.’
‘Maybe I should go,’ I suggest. There’s something about Ted’s guilty expression that I don’t like – I don’t want to be here when he confesses to Peg what led to his ‘heart-attack’.
‘No, Maggie, stay.’ Peg has a death grip on my arm. ‘Let’s think. This is important. I thought you were dying, Ted. We can’t let this happen again.’
‘OK.’ Ted looks extremely guilty now.
‘So. You had scrambled eggs for breakfast, like always.’
‘That’s right,’ he agrees. ‘Then I had two Mars Bars at eleven.’
‘You had soup for lunch.’
‘Lentil. That’s right. And then a Mars Bar for dessert.’
‘You had chicken pasta for tea.’
‘And two Mars Bars after.’
‘So, just like every other day. Was there nothing else? Think, Ted, think!’
‘Peg, there was something else …’
‘There was?’ Peg is all ears. ‘You didn’t have a Moro Bar, did you? You know I can’t abide those Moros.’
‘No, I didn’t have a Moro.’ Ted’s nose wrinkles in distaste. ‘I wouldn’t touch one of those – nasty things they are.’
‘So, what was it then? A Lion Bar? A Toffee Crisp?’
‘No. It was …’ Ted gulps. ‘It was a sausage roll.’
There’s silence in the room as we all absorb this information.
‘A what?’ Peg’s voice is barely audible.
‘A sausage roll.’
‘Where did you get a sausage roll?’ Peg asks, her voice icy.
I want to be anywhere but here because I know exactly what’s coming next.
‘I’m sorry, Peg, I’m so sorry.’ Ted breaks down. ‘I forgot to bring my emergency Mars Bar to the meeting and then Betty passed by with her basket and I just couldn’t resist …’ He looks at me imploringly, as if he wants me to intervene on his behalf. I look at the floor. He would have been better having a fatal heart-attack and be done with it.
‘You – you ate one of Betty’s sausage rolls?’ Peg’s face is disbelieving.
‘Yes,’ Ted admits, his handlebar moustache quivering with remorse.
‘You – you traitor!’ Peg hisses, her face a fury. ‘How could you?’
‘I’m weak, Peg,’ Ted moans. ‘A weak man. Forgive me, you have to forgive me.’ He looks properly ill now. Worse than he did in the hall.
I shrink back against the wall, hoping Peg will forget I’m here. What if she asks me if I ever tasted one? I won’t be able to lie. I’ll have to tell her. What will she do to me?
‘I’ll never forgive you for this, Ted. Never!’ Peg cries, dabbing at her eyes. ‘There’s nothing worse you could do to me, you know that! That Betty will be laughing up her sleeve now, all right. My own husband – betraying me. I just can’t believe it!’
‘I didn’t mean to do it!’ Ted pleads.
‘What? Are you trying to tell me you didn’t enjoy it, Ted, is that it?’ Peg’s face is red with rage.
‘It meant nothing to me – nothing!’
‘I find that hard to believe,’ she spits. ‘You’ve probably been lusting after those sausage rolls all along, haven’t you?’
‘No, I haven’t, I swear!’
‘Were you thinking about them when you were eating my egg sandwiches, Ted – were you?’
‘Never!’ Ted is aghast. ‘I swear it!’
‘Then why don’t I believe you? I’m going.’ Peg quickly gathers up her things.
‘Please don’t,’ Ted begs.
‘Find your own way home,’ she calls over her shoulder, as she sweeps from the room. ‘Better still, knock on that hussy’s door – she might take you in. I hope you both choke on your sausage rolls.’
‘Ah, Ted,’ I say, when she’s gone. ‘What possessed you?’
‘I was starving, Maggie,’ he says, his eyes full of tears. ‘That Betty’s been trying to tempt me for years, waving her sausage rolls under my nose, and I just cracked. I don’t know what came over me. Will you go after her? Talk to her for me? Please?’
‘Why don’t we give her an hour or two, and then I’ll try, eh?’ I know Peg will need time to calm down. There’ll be no point in trying to talk to her now.
‘You’re probably right.’ He sighs. ‘Hopefully she’ll come round. What a mess.’
If he only knew the half of it. Mess doesn’t come close to describing my life. There’s a long silence as we contemplate our fates.
‘I can’t believe I went for Laurence like that,’ Ted says eventually. ‘I just saw red when he insulted Peg.’
‘You were pretty nimble on your feet, all right.’ I giggle, somehow seeing the funny side.
‘Did you see him hide behind his henchmen?’ Ted smirks. ‘What a coward.’
‘If you hadn’t had a heart-attack you could have floored him for sure.’
‘Wasn’t Odette terrible for springing him on us like that, though? Him and his fancy architect.’
‘Yes.’ I stop laughing. It doesn’t seem funny any more.
‘What is it, Maggie?’ Ted asks. ‘Did I say something wrong?’
Suddenly I know I have to tell him the truth. He’ll find out soon enough – it’s only fair that he hears it from me first. He and Peg have been so good to me and he deserves to know.
‘Ted, I have something to tell you,’ I start. ‘I’m not who you think I am. I’m not an artist.’
‘You’re not?’
‘No.’
‘You’re not from the Inland Revenue, are you?’ he whispers fearfully. ‘I was going to sort all that out – I swear.’
‘No. I’m not a tax inspector. I’m an estate agent.’
‘An estate agent?’
‘Yes. I don’t know why I lied about it. I told one fib and then it all seemed to snowball.’
‘Yes,’ he says sadly. ‘That’s what can happen. One lie leads to another.’
‘So, now you know.’ I wait for Ted to say he never wants to see or talk to me again. An image of Edward flashes into my mind. What must he think of me now?
‘Well, everyone has their secrets, Maggie,’ he says. ‘I won’t judge you, that’s for sure. Peg won’t either, I know that.’
‘You think?’
‘No, of course not. Not now you’ve come clean. Everyone deserves a second chance. I just hope she gives me one too. Besides, you’re a good friend – look how you helped us tonight. Peg really wanted you in her hour of need – and so did I.’
‘Thanks, Ted.’ I lean in to hug him tight. As I do, there’s the beep of a text in my pocket.
Flipping open my phone, I see it’s from Edward and my heart soars. Maybe he wants to meet me – maybe all isn’t lost. I click and read it eagerly, my heart pounding. But it’s not the message I hope for.
It’s Drya. The wild horse is missing. And so is Matilda.