Unexpected: Day 22

Word Total: 145,064

Year to Date: 415,189

Summary of Events:

Because of the length of their flight — which took them to London — they arrived late and Hilton took Meinwen to his flat for the night, where he gave her the use of his bed while he slept on the couch. The following morning, Meinwen was able to make them pancakes for breakfast from the few ingredients Hilton had in his kitchen. After breakfast, they undertook the over three-hour drive to Cardiff to return Meinwen home, even though Hilton had to admit he felt a massive reluctance at parting from Meinwen after all they'd been through . . .

Excerpt of the Day:

Before he or Meinwen could speak to one another a delighted squeal split the air, prompting them both to turn and look toward the house, from which a young woman who physically resembled Meinwen came toward them.

“I knew it!” the young woman cried. “I knew it! I knew it! I knew it!”

She snatched Meinwen into a tight hug.

“All the time I knew it, I knew it, I knew it!” she said.

A sob burst from Meinwen, prompting the young woman Hilton presumed was her sister to startle and loosen her hold on Meinwen.

Meinwen, however, clung to her sister and sobbed, leaving her sister to look bemusedly at Hilton with eyes he noticed were a subtly more grey shade of blue than Meinwen’s.

“What did you know?” Hilton asked, feeling quite curious.

“Mr. Evans, her boss, came by asking what was going on with her, because she was saying an unexpected and inconvenient relative had come by, forcing her to miss work, but there was a sketch on television of someone wanted for threatening an American in Belfast that looked an awful lot like her,” she replied. “I’d seen the sketches, but Meinwen had also told me about the telephone box and everything, so I told Mr. Evans, who didn’t really want to believe me, so I told him that I’d bet him a hundred quid it would turn out she was innocent, and I’ve now won it.”
“Is that why her name was never publicised?” Hilton asked.

“Yes,” she replied. “We agreed as a family, as well as a good deal of her friends, that we wouldn’t tell the authorities her name because we didn’t believe her guilty, and we told anyone who expressed to us a desire to reveal her name that they didn’t have our consent to do so. Trahearn also went out of his way to tell people what sort of deleterious effects it could have on Meinwen’s life if her name was widely disseminated with a presumption of guilt, thus I would have every reason to believe that everyone, on second thought, decided not to tell.”

Hilton nodded. If only they had been able to get to Mum, Aunt Angie, and the rest to make them think twice about what could happen to him if his name had been publicised, but apparently they’d decided that muckrakers needed to make a living too.

“But why are you crying Meinwen?” her sister asked. “Aren’t you glad to be home?”
Meinwen nodded against her sister’s collarbone, but looked like she wouldn’t be able to summon the composure necessary to answer her sister’s first question.

Before Hilton could offer an answer for her, however, Meinwen lifted her head and looked straight at her sister, which showed Hilton that Meinwen was just the barest amount, maybe a centimetre, taller than her sister.

“I have seen enough cold-blooded killing, hate, and violence, to last a lifetime,” Meinwen replied, her voice trembling.

Her sister gasped, looking distraught. “What happened?”

“It’s a long story,” Hilton replied. “It might be easiest if we wait until everyone who wants to hear it is all in one place so we only have to tell it once.”

Next Post: 1 May