he’d told Fliss, and the experience wouldn’t be wasted. At least there would be fewer missiles for the rebels to use.
So he’d gone, and look what had happened. Despite all his promises, he’d disappeared and they’d been told he was dead. And now be was back—well, almost—and she was supposed to welcome him with open arms. Where had he been? What had he been doing? Why hadn’t he let them know he was still alive?
But thoughts like these were far too upsetting, and she had to maintain an optimistic front for the Rikers’ sake. Besides, she was glad he was alive; she was just confused, that was all, she told herself. It was bound to take some time to sink in.
‘Oh, Fliss!’
As expected, Celia burst into tears as soon as her daughter-in-law opened the door. Fliss barely had time to invite them in before Morgan’s mother had gathered her into her arms, and she found her own face was wet when she let her go.
‘I’ll put the kettle on,’ she said, glad to escape her father-in-law’s searching gaze. Last night she’d found it hard to offer anything positive, and it was obvious that Morgan’s parents expected her to share their joy.
Celia followed her into the kitchen, and stood pressing her hands down onto the cool surface of the counter. A small woman, with greying blonde hair and blue eyes, she was obviously in a state of barely suppressed agitation, and Fliss hoped she wasn’t going to let them down.
‘It’s such wonderful news!’ Celia exclaimed, not for the first time, and Fliss managed a matching smile. ‘To think, just a couple of days ago James and I were discussing the fact that it was almost four years since—since Morgan disappeared.’ She caught her breath. ‘Oh, Felicity, I can’t believe he’s coming home!’
‘When—when is he coming home?’
Fliss knew her words lacked the same enthusiasm, but Morgan’s mother didn’t seem to notice. ‘Welt—according to the letter—you did read the letter, didn’t you? You said last night you’d found it among your other mail.’ Fliss nodded, and she continued, ‘They say he’s suffering from some kind of stomach infection. Is that a polite way of saying he’s had dysentery, do you think?’
‘I—I don’t know—’
Fliss hadn’t thought of that, and she was grateful when Morgan’s father intervened. ‘It could be something minor,’ he said, ‘or it could be some tropical infection. Let’s not go jumping to conclusions before. we know.’
‘Anyway,’ went on Celia, ‘James spoke to the Foreign Office again this morning. He wanted to find out if we could fly out to Nyanda ourselves.’ She grimaced. ‘But with all the inoculations we’d need, and the fact that there are still patches of resistance in the country, we’ve been advised to wait until he can come home.’
Until he came home...
Fliss’s hand shook as she made the tea, but no one seemed to think there was anything unusual in that. They’d all had a shock. Dear God, that hardly covered the way she felt. She was shaking in her shoes at what it meant.
‘Thank goodness that dreadful General Ungave has been overthrown,’ Morgan’s mother remarked now, and Fliss had to bite her tongue at the memory of her in-laws practically rebuking her for not wanting Morgan to go. Morgan’s father had been in the military too, before he’d retired to Sussex, and it was because of him that Morgan had joined the army himself. ‘I believe the new president, General Mdola, went to school in England. He’s quite an educated man, I believe.’
Fliss nodded, concentrating on pouring milk into the jug to add to the tray, and Morgan’s father took up the strain. ‘I wonder if the fact that we’re just a few months from the millennium is significant?’ he said. ‘I know they’re calling it the Millennium Coup, but the rebels had been fighting for quite a long time.’
Fliss looked up. ‘What do you mean?’
‘Well...’ James Riker looked thoughtful. ‘It’s possible they’ve had some help from the West. The oil reserves in Nyanda are quite considerable, you know. And Ungave was beginning to get a little greedy, I think.’
Fliss stared at him. ‘You mean—this could have happened sooner? The West could have helped the rebels all along?’
‘Well, perhaps.’ He looked a little uncomfortable now. ‘But so long as Ungave didn’t—didn‘t—’
‘Make any waves!’ Fliss caught her breath disbelievingly. ‘The Millennium Coup! What a joke!’
‘Felicity—’
‘Oh, it doesn’t matter.’ Fliss picked up the tray now, and carried it into the other room. She schooled her features. ‘Come and have some tea. I believe I’ve got some biscuits in the cupboard.’
‘Felicity.’ Obviously Morgan’s father wasn’t happy with her reaction, and she stood silently while he commanded his thoughts. ‘No one knew that Morgan was alive, or—or of course the government would have made representations to get him out. We must view what has happened as—as a bonus. Now, sit down, my dear. You still look very shaken to me.’
‘We all are,’ said his wife, using a tissue to blow her nose, and then, sitting down on the sofa, she patted the seat beside her. ‘Come and sit down, Felicity. We’ve got wonderful plans to make. You must both have a proper holiday when Morgan gets back.’
A holiday!
Fliss hung back, hoping Morgan’s father would take the seat beside his wife, but he didn’t and she was obliged to do so. The trouble was, she didn’t seem able to share their excitement, and she thought what a selfish cow she was. It should have been the happiest day of her life, but it had been too long in coming.
‘Anyway, thank goodness we were able to reach Reverend Bland last evening,’ said James into the vacuum, seating himself in the armchair opposite. He smiled at Fliss. ‘I remembered you’d mentioned his name, saying what a good friend he was. I felt sure he was the ideal person to help you. With your aunt being away I assumed you wouldn’t mind.’
‘Oh—no.’
Fliss swallowed, realising there was no way she could reveal how close a friend Graham had become. She glanced down at her hands, wondering if they had noticed she wasn’t wearing her wedding ring on the right finger. Would she ever wear Graham’s engagement ring again?
Thankfully, the Rikers kept the conversation going while they drank the tea and ate several of the chocolate biscuits Fliss had found. Celia confessed she’d not been able to eat any breakfast, though she wouldn’t let Fliss make her anything else, and they chattered on about what they were going to do when their son came home.
It was so easy for them, thought Fliss half enviously. But did they really expect her and Morgan to take up where they’d left off almost four years ago? If she’d known he was alive, she could have looked forward to this day. As it was, she felt as if Morgan was part of her past.
‘So—’ Celia patted Fliss’s hand. ‘What was it you were going to ring us about? With all the excitement, it went completely out of my head.’
Fliss blanked. ‘I beg your—?’
‘Last night,’ her mother-in-law prompted. ‘When you first answered the phone,
