Echoes of Silence Page 25

  He had, for a time, entertained the notion that he might find a life to live here in Steynton, one of some meaning, only to discover that he had succeeded in exorcising his own personal ghosts, but not the memories. At first, it had been tempting to believe he could have re-made his world here. With a woman possessed of a wide, warm smile and a loving and impetuous nature. There had been a moment when the words which would have sealed their fates might have been said: but he had paused too long, she had read too much in his face, and the moment was lost, perhaps for ever. Chiefly, he thought, because he’d had no choice but to pursue the truth to its bitter end, and its consequences had left too much emotional baggage between them. Richmond, who had seen the disintegration of relationships for much less than this, knew that to be true. Some day, perhaps, he would find a sort of peace, but not here. He didn’t belong here, he never had.

  He turned abruptly away from the prospect of Steynton, the wind at his back, scattering a slither of small stones on the thin soil under his feet in his haste to reach the Volvo. He threw his jacket on to the back seat and slid into the car’s enveloping warmth.

  He sat for a moment, getting his breath back. Then he turned the key in the ignition and headed south.

  Also by Marjorie Eccles:

  Cast a Cold Eye

  Death of a Good Woman

  Requiem for a Dove

  More Deaths Than One

  Late of This Parish

  The Company She Kept

  An Accidental Shroud

  A Death of Distinction

  A Species of Revenge

  Killing me Softly

  The Superintendent’s Daughter

  A Sunset Touch

  ECHOES OF SILENCE. Copyright © 2000 by Marjorie Eccles. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.

  THOMAS DUNNE BOOKS.

  An imprint of St. Martin’s Press.

  www.minotaurbooks.com

  First published in Great Britain by Constable,

  An imprint of Constable & Robinson Ltd

  eISBN 9781466822702

  First eBook Edition : May 2012

  First U.S. Edition: September 2003