The Cold Light of Mourning - By Elizabeth J. Duncan Page 0,32

difficult for him. Gone home, then, has he?”

“No, Mrs. Lloyd,” Bronwyn replied stiffly. “He’s gone up to the Hall to see if he can be of any comfort to Rhys. This is going to be difficult for him.”

Sensitivity not being her strong suit, Mrs. Lloyd pressed on.

“Yes, I see that it is. It really is too bad. What on earth could have happened, do you suppose?”

Bronwyn looked levelly at her and drawing herself up, prepared to deliver, what was for her, a blistering riposte.

“Really, Mrs. Lloyd, I have no idea. I know as much or as little as you do. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must just pass these sandwiches around.”

As she watched the rector’s wife move gracefully from one person to another, offering a sandwich here and a reassuring smile there, Mrs. Lloyd reached her decision. There didn’t seem to be much more to be learned here, so she would just finish up her sandwiches, perhaps take one or two for later, and make her way home to telephone Morwyn.

As Saturday evening drew on, the village braced itself for a Llanelen Saturday night. The Leek and Lily was unusually crowded and everyone had an opinion on what had happened.

At the Hall, Anne, Jennifer, David, and Emyr were discussing how to answer questions about Meg Wynne’s disappearance. Reporters were bound to hear about it and then ring up asking invasive, insensitive questions. Although he always had business to attend to in London, David had agreed to stay until mid-week to act as the family’s spokesman and to provide support for Emyr. As a group, with Anne taking the lead, they drafted a statement that David would read to the media when they began clamouring for information or comments.

Rhys had taken the news of Meg Wynne’s disappearance very badly, and he seemed to have gone downhill over the course of the evening.

“The pain waits for me,” he had told Emyr. “When it has stopped, even for a little while, I know it is still there, watching and waiting.”

In the peace of his bedroom, Rhys lay back on his pillows. His once robust body was now wasted and frail, his skin sallow and pale.

“I am so very sorry, Emyr,” he said. “About Meg Wynne.”

“I know you are, Dad,” Emyr said. “Now get some rest. I’ll see you later.”

“Be sure to come and tell me if there’s news,” replied his father, as Louise, his nurse, arrived with fresh bedding and Rhys’s prescribed medication.

Emyr made his way downstairs just as the telephone began ringing.

Oh God, he thought. It’s starting.

It was. The first reporter to call was Morwyn Lloyd and as agreed, David Williams took the call.

“Yes, I can confirm that Meg Wynne Thompson did not arrive for her wedding as planned, and that the police are treating this as a missing persons case,” he said, reading from the statement Jennifer and Anne had prepared for him.

“Both families are distraught and praying for her safe return.”

When Morwyn pressed him for more details, he told her that as far as he knew Meg Wynne had kept an appointment in the morning, and no one seemed to know what had happened to her after that. If anyone had seen her, or could provide any information on her whereabouts, it was hoped they would come forward and contact the North Wales police who were looking into her disappearance.

“And one more thing, Mr. Williams. Do you have a recent photograph of Ms. Thompson I could have? I would be happy to come up to the Hall and get it within the hour.”

Arrangements were made for Morwyn to collect a copy of Meg Wynne’s engagement photograph, and then the little group decided they should get something to eat. They opted to stay in, and settled for a simple meal of Gwennie’s lentil soup from the freezer followed by a cheese omelette that the girls whipped up and fresh, crusty bread, all accompanied by a crisp white wine. But nobody was very hungry and most of it went uneaten.

Gathered around the kitchen table, they tried to reassure one another between the long silences broken only by the occasional snuffling and whining from Trixxi who went from one to the other, touching her nose on their knees to offer comfort but always returning to Emyr’s side.

Finally, emotionally shattered from the long day, they decided to call it a night. Under the last rays of the setting sun, Jennifer and Anne drove slowly back to the hotel, leaving the Hall to settle