The Chosen Path by Sue Douglas

7/29/2019 The Chosen Path by Sue Douglas

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The Chosen Path


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Sue Douglas is a full time author who lives on the west

coast of Scotland. She enjoys watching comedy shows

or listening to rock music when she is not writing.The Chosen Path is her fourth novel and she is

currently working on her eighth.


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Also by Sue Douglas:

One Kiss and I am Yours Once Again (2012)ISBN.978 184963084 9

Me Time (2012)ISBN.978 184963 125 9

Say You Will Wait For Me (2012)ISBN.978 1 84963 184 6


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Sue Douglas

The Chosen Path


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Copyright Sue Douglas

The right of Sue Douglas to be identified as author of

this work has been asserted by them in accordance with section 77

and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be

reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any

form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,

recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the

publishers.

Any person who commits any unauthorized act in relation to thispublication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims

for damages.

All characters in this publication are fictitious and any

resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the BritishLibrary.

ISBN 9781849632942

www.austinmacauley.com

First Published (2013)

Austin & Macauley Publishers Ltd.25 Canada Square

Canary Wharf

London

E14 5LB

Printed & Bound in Great Britain


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Dedicated to the memory of Michael, a special person


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Acknowledgements

Many thanks to all the exceptionally pleasant people at Austin &Macauley and my gratitude to friends who encourage me.Special thanks to the real life Jo who inspired my creation of thecatering genius Jo Webster.


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Slowly destroying himself with constant work, rock musicianJonty Church is unable to change his lifestyle, which deeply

concerns his wife Rhonda. Rhonda Church loves her husband

dearly but makes the heartbreaking decision to leave him in anattempt to save his life. Does a chance encounter with a local

fortune teller at the last moment give Rhonda and Jonty a

second chance of happiness, or does the fortune teller have anulterior motive for helping? Caught up in the many resultant

changes are the guitarist from Jontys band, Jontys brotherAdam and Rhondas friend Jo, all of whom are oblivious as to

how their lives have been dramatically altered.


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CHAPTER ONE

RHONDA

Watched over as usual by Lucas, her humourless personal

bodyguard, Rhonda carefully handed back the large andincredibly sharp ceremonial scissors she had just used to the

event organiser, whilst listening to the crowd cheer in approval

of the customary opening of their annual summer fte. NorthFarringham Village Fair had been held in the grounds of the

magnificent Priory Park House since 1898 and still attracted

hundreds of visitors from all over Norfolk and beyond. As thecurrent owner of Priory Park, it was the third time Rhonda had

cut the ribbon to declare the fte open, but the first occasionshe had done so alone. With the temperature in the eighties,

she was already having a miserable day thanks partly to notwearing stockings with her new shoes. As she made slowprogress around the assorted tables and attractions scattered

across her lawns, she forced a smile, but inside she feltwretched knowing she had a difficult decision ahead of her

concerning the man she loved. It was a decision she needed to

make quickly, but one she had never envisaged being requiredto make at all.

Most of the locals in the crowd remembered her asRhonda Thomas, of course, Marion Thomas daughter from

Flint Cottage, a property in the appropriately named adjacent

village of South Farringham. Her former home was a pleasant,secluded residence standing on an acre of land at the very edge

of the small village. It was not a cottage in the way most

people imagined a cottage to look as it was large enough to bea farmhouse, fairly modern yet accessible only by a narrow

gravelled track which ended abruptly at the propertysboundary. Beyond Flint Cottage the rough, pitted track became

a public bridleway which, according to the newly erected

signpost, continued on for two miles, passing briefly through


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the edge of a small wood and then skirting Priory Park Estatebefore eventually ending in the heart of North Farringham. Her

childhood home, though detached and fairly spacious, was afar cry from Priory Park House where she now lived as Mrs

Rhonda Church, wife of Jonty Church, the internationally

famous keyboard player of the rock band Syncline, yet she stillthought of Flint Cottage with great fondness.

Rhonda had left home while in her early twenties to work

in London for a client management and media publicity agencywhere she dealt mainly, though not exclusively, with authors

or politicians. It had been a thankless occupation which she

hated more with every week that passed. She hated beingforced to live in London, hated having to appear glamorous at

receptions or parties but, worst of all, hated being unable tokeep a dog. Before even twelve months passed, Rhonda had

hated most of her clients as well. She had not met a singlecelebrity who was really famous, but had encountered plenty

of unreasonably demanding people who believed they were.

As jobs went it was less than satisfying, but the salary and

expenses were generous so she earned enough to continuepaying instalments to a loan company who appeared to own

more of Flint Cottage than her mother had at the time shepassed away.

Unknown to Rhonda, Marion Thomas had borrowedmoney on the strength of owning the property to pay for a

luxury cruise. Rather than just paying for her own ticket,

however, she had also purchased one for a gentleman calledRon whom she had become friendly with at her pensioners

luncheon club. When by sheer chance he discovered what hismother had done, Rhondas spoilt younger brother Max had

demanded a new car in return for his silence, and had got one.

The cruise had lasted three weeks, as had the mans interest in

her mother. Marion Thomas never saw Ron again, even at the

luncheon club, and none of the volunteers or regulars there

even seemed to know who he was, where he had come from orwhere he lived. Her brother, speeding down a narrow country

lane after dark just two weeks later, lost control of the car on abend, left the road and rolled down a steep embankment into a


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field of cauliflowers. The accident had killed him and hisyoung female passenger instantly, but the loss of her favouritechild hastened Marions death.

What had angered Rhonda even more than being forced to

work in London to repay the loan was discovering that she

would have been left even less had her brother not died first.The cottage had been left to them equally, despite her mother

regularly assisting Max out of his many financial troubles over

the years and buying the expensive sports car he had wanted.Knowing her brother, he would have wanted to sell up

immediately and move to somewhere with night life, but while

Max had escaped from it at every opportunity, Rhonda hadloved the peace and solitude of Flint Cottage. The property

was far enough inland not to be at risk from coastal erosion butas it backed onto open countryside the term bracing east coast

wind was a euphemism for seemingly constant icy blasts

blowing in from Russia. Even so, Rhonda had always loved

the cosiness once inside and had no intention of selling up, as

she promised herself that one day she would live there

permanently instead of just visiting at odd weekends orholidays.

Five years had somehow passed since the fateful Fridaywhen she had been on the brink of one such long awaited

weekend retreat to the calm of her Norfolk home. She hadbeen organising a luxury suite for an American comedian she

had never heard of but who was booked to appear on several

popular television chat shows the following week. All day shehad been anticipating an early finish in order to spend the bank

holiday weekend at Flint Cottage, but first the guests personal

assistant had been late arriving for their scheduled 3.30

meeting then he became totally unreasonable concerning his

employers accommodation. The suite would have been

eagerly accepted by practically anyone else from any

background whatsoever, but her client had insisted on having

the penthouse suite he had admittedly but erroneously beenpromised. Subsequently, she had spent two frustrating hours

looking on whilst the apologetic hotel manager, who possessedmore patience than a saint in her opinion, repeatedly explained


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that the penthouse suite was already occupied and wouldremain so for the following three weeks. Likening herself to amagicians assistant as she stood ineffectually watching the

two men argue, she had constantly checked her watch,

mentally calculating the time she would arrive home.

Eventually her client reached a grudging compromise with thehotel manager and she, having realised it was far too late to

attempt the drive that evening, had angrily summoned the

notoriously slow and temperamental hotel lift to the fifth floor.Her display of exasperation as it finally arrived, though

uncharacteristic, turned out to be one which altered the course

of her life.By the time the lift doors had opened she was so

infuriated that she did not even notice the young man alreadyinside. She simply stormed in, hitting the ground floor button

ferociously and repeatedly. The doors had closed with anirritatingly slow and silent response, but descended only a few

feet before juddering to a grinding halt between floors. Loud

clanking sounds and a high pitched whine were quickly

replaced by an eerie silence, and then total darkness as thelifts electricity was cut. As far duller emergency lighting

flickered on, the last thing she had needed was a scruffy, longhaired young man behind her giggling and light-heartedly

accusing her of breaking the stupid contraption. Turning toargue with him, she saw with horror that her captive

companion was Jonty Church, the immensely attractive and

talented keyboard player from the rock band Syncline.Everything suddenly became clear concerning the penthouse

suite being taken for weeks and the hotel managers insistence

that he would not ask the guests in residence to move. Sheowned all of Synclines albums and DVDs, but silently

promised herself that she would not reveal that fact to JontyChurch however long they spent in the lift. As a huge fan of

the band, she had naturally known they were due in the

country that week but had long ceased to fantasise over howshe might meet any of them in the course of her job. In

consequence, she had mentally thanked the obnoxiouscomedian and his insufferable assistant for delaying her


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departure from the hotel. She could so easily have missed thechance in a lifetime of meeting her favourite musician under

such intimate circumstances. Irritatingly, the only fact shecould suddenly remember about Jonty Church was that he had

famously been urged by both his manager and the remainder of

the band to alter his first name to Johnny or to drop thesurname altogether. He had stubbornly refused to do either,

stating that his name did not affect his ability to play the piano.

For all his laid back, friendly nature there had apparentlyalways been a slightly rebellious streak in Jonty when people

tried to tell him what to do.

Apologising profusely for her bad humour, she had beenamazed when he simply waved away her apology and then

calmly called hotel security on the emergency telephone. Itwould have been just her luck to finally meet someone famous

and pleasant who she had admired for years, only for them tothink her a neurotic career woman, unable to cope under the

slightest pressure. Turning back to her he had smiled, claiming

he needed an hour or two away from his band, and being

trapped in a lift with a spirited young woman was always agreat alternative in addition to providing good publicity. She

had somehow managed to smile back knowing she lookedpassably presentable in her black suit and high heels, unlike on

the days she spent at home relaxing in a baggy tracksuit. Inaddition to her good fortune clothing wise, she had visited her

hair stylist only that morning and for once was actually

wearing make up so had at least been spared the horror offeeling self conscious as he continued to chat to her for what

she had originally expected to be a short time.The problem with the lift, however, turned out to be far

more serious than initially thought and after three quarters of

hour spent discussing why they were in the hotel, they wereinformed by the hotel maintenance that an engineer had been

sent for but he would be some time arriving. Rhonda had

expected the hotel to contact the fire brigade at that point butas they were in no danger and the lift was a highly technical

model, the manager had decided to wait until the companyengineer was on scene. Assuring the voice on the lifts


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telephone that they were unhurt and happy to wait, both hadtaken off their almost identical jackets, placed them on the

floor and settled for a long wait. After two hours of sittingpatiently, awaiting their release, they had discussed music,

films, ambitions, favourite foods, hobbies and anything else

they could think of to pass time. She had been thankful Jontywas such a relaxed person in irksome situations. In her

experience, young cosseted stars often became hysterical under

such conditions. His willingness to engage in amusingconversation with her prevented her bad mood escalating

further and within a short time she had practically forgotten the

annoyance she had felt over her plans for the weekend beingthwarted. Instead she thoroughly enjoyed the surreal

experience and could not wait to tell her friend Josephine theentire story, although knowing Jo as she did, every word

uttered would have to be related several times along with aminutely detailed description of Jonty.

After exhausting the obvious topics, they began to moan

about their respective careers. He surprisingly complained

about the excessive travelling, she about having to live in thecity. Jonty amazed her when he admitted that he preferred a

quiet, rural lifestyle and enjoyed taking his brothers dog for a

walk in the woods when he managed to spend any time at

home. Initially she had simply been thankful she was trappedwith such a likeable celebrity instead of one of her miserable

clients, or, worse still, a creepy homicidal stranger, but before

they were finally released from their metal box by theengineer, Jonty, having established she was single and fancy

free, asked what she had planned for the weekend if they everescaped. Ruefully she had explained how her Norfolk cottage

was in an area of the county notoriously impractical for

commuting to or from so having been delayed she wouldprobably now be forced to remain in London yet again, adding

apologetically that it had been the reason for her impatience

with the lift. Jonty had replied that her annoyance was quiteunderstandable and he would have felt exactly the same under

the circumstances but had an idea which could benefit themboth. Her weekend in London with Jonty had been the most


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enjoyable of her life and she did not think of Norfolk or FlintCottage once.

Incredibly it had not ended there. They had met as oftenas possible for four months afterwards, keeping an extremely

low profile due to the bands popularity and Jontys increasing

number of female fans. Rhonda had not even revealed who shewas dating to her friend and nearest neighbour Josephinein

fact she had not even mentioned meeting him at the hotel

which had proved an extremely difficult secret to keep. Jo asshe was known to everyone had been a fan of Syncline since

their debut single, and had been the person responsible for

introducing her to their music, but Rhonda felt the fewerpeople who knew of her relationship with Jonty the better. As

he preferred walks in the country or drives to remote places toparties, it had proved fairly simple to keep their secret from the

media and the remote Flint Cottage rapidly became theirretreat. If any of the villagers recognised the good looking

young man with almost waist length permed blond hair, they

had revealed nothing of their knowledge to outsiders and not a

single reporter or fan ever traced him. Of course, he had notwandered through the village dressed in the outrageously tight

leather trousers and Lycra vests he wore on stage the overtsexual image he portrayed while performing to huge crowds

was simply an act which belied his impeccable manners, gentlenature and natural reserve. Off stage, he was barely

recognisable in his favourite black polo-necked jumper, dark

suede boots and black jeans. He always tucked his long maneof hair into a baseball cap or left it to dry naturally, resulting in

a far flatter style which somehow altered his entire appearanceand provided him with a certain amount of disguise. Rhonda

maintained he had the appearance of a cat burglar and only

required a balaclava or swag bag to complete the look.Naturally the other members of Syncline knew of their

relationship but all appeared to approve of her. She especially

appreciated the advice and friendship of lead guitarist BryanBradley, an extremely intelligent man who had originally

studied physics in order to become an engineer. Jonty had beenclose to the highly superstitious, suggestible Bryan since their


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university days and they shared a well founded mistrust ofNathan Everett the bands front man who had been foisted

onto them by their management company for a reason knownonly to them. Admittedly Nathan was extremely attractive to

young girls and sang well, but was terribly insecure. More

worrying to the band was that the man could not play anyinstrument and was unable to write lyrics or music. From day

one Nathan had views of his own worth not shared by the

remaining members of Syncline, so it therefore quickly rankledwith the young singer that Jonty and Bryan were always higher

in magazine polls which listed the most attractive men in

music. In Jontys case it was perfectly true, but by no stretch ofanyones imagination could Bryan have ever been described as

attractive interesting maybe or unusual but even his motherhad admitted once in an interview that her son had been

probably been detained in a nearby guitar shop when goodlooks were handed out. Women still seemed fascinated by him

though, which was probably solely due to his wonderful sense

of humour and natural charm. Unsurprisingly, therefore, he

had never been without a girlfriend for longer than a couple ofdays. His phenomenal success with women had made a

complete nonsense of how men admired his skilful guitarplaying while remaining unthreatened by his appearance. Evenfemale fans boyfriends wrongly dismissed him as no great

threat in the romance stakes, often to their cost. Unlike Nathan

or Jonty, Bryan had suffered very little in the way of jealous

comments penned by male feature writers in magazine articles.Other than his background and ability to play any stringed

instrument, they found little to mention, yet there was anotherside to Bryan, an illogical side known only to his closest

friends. Despite his ability to speak knowledgeably about a

whole range of scientific subjects, he held some very irrationalbeliefs. It had always been a well guarded fact that Bryan was

superstitious; the media remained in ignorance of how he

would do nothing at all on any Friday the thirteenth, avoidedwalking under ladders, religiously read his horoscope in every

paper or magazine available before starting the day, insisted onwearing his lucky pink socks in the recording studio and


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attached silver charms to any instrument he picked up beforeplaying it. Jonty had frequently teased him about the charmsbut Rhonda was firmly on Bryans side and said as much.

Friendship and passion having deepened into a genuine

love for one another within a very short time, Jonty had

suggested she give up her appalling, unrewarding job and joinhim on the twelve month world tour Syncline were about to

embark on. To convince her of his seriousness he had

emotionally admitted to not wanting to be apart from her forthat length of time. She had never told him that in order to

accompany him she had turned down the long awaited

promotion to a position she had worked extremely hard to beoffered. Her new job was to have been as a campaign

supervisor based in an office just outside Norwich, rather thanbeing on the front line in London. Her decision to resign from

the company instead of accepting the new position astoundedher immediate boss, but once made it had meant renting out

Flint Cottage while she travelled with the band. Jonty had

shielded her from photographers and steadfastly refused to

answer any questions about his private life or the rumoursconcerning his engagement, which had begun barely days into

the tour thanks to an unguarded comment to a reporter byNathan. Despite the rumours continuing for some weeks, other

than members of the band and their immediate families, no onehad known of Jontys wedding two months later until ten days

after the event. All the members of Syncline, including

Nathan, were genuinely supportive and she had met their longstanding significant others, women who were just like her so

therefore not at all as she had imagined them to be. Thewomen had made her welcome from the outset, helped her to

adjust to the unusual life and, for more than ten months,

everything on the tour had remained relatively harmonious.Halfway through the August however, while they were

playing a series of concerts in Europe, long simmering

resentments between Nathan and the remainder of the bandfinally erupted. Unfortunately it was during a pre-press

conference meeting held with their management team veryearly in the morning after a long concert in stifling heat which


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had gone on until past midnight the evening before. After justfour hours of sleep, none of the members of Syncline were in

the best of humours and all arrived wearing dark glasses. Thedrummer, famed for not possessing anything approaching a

placid nature at the best of times, looked almost murderous at

being forced to attend the meeting at such a ridiculous hourand flopped heavily into his seat, cursing loudly. By contrast,

Jonty, who was always regarded as the calming influence and

mediator in any dispute, had taken a seat by the window inorder to shut his eyes throughout the entire discussion,

confident that no one would notice if he fell asleep. His

optimism had been short lived, however, and it wassurprisingly an angry Jonty who most of the building heard

shouting, first at Nathan, then at the bands manager. Bryanhad been made aware of Nathan Everett being credited with,

and thus having received extra payment for, composing theirlatest best-selling single Thats What It Is All About. The

facts of the matter were that the lyrics had been written by

Bryan to music composed by Jonty, and neither were therefore

happy with the managements instructions to accept thesituation for the good of the band. The argument had raged on,

the language becoming steadily worse, until Jonty and Bryangave an ultimatum that either blue eyed boy Nathan left the

band immediately or they would, disclosing the reason why toevery newspaper or television station that showed an interest.

The compromise reached after yet another hour of argument

was that Nathan would leave the band at the end of the tour tobe replaced by Alex Bradley, Bryans equally talented but far

more photogenic younger brother. To the bands relief, Jontytook over the management of Syncline once their short term

contract ended and they had not looked back since, but fame

had come at a huge personal price to them all. With theexception of Rhonda, all the original wives and girlfriends of

the band members had either left of their own accord or had

been supplanted by younger girls. There was no longer theone big happy family atmosphere there had once been, and

everyone seemed to have changed for the worse in some way.The band which had enjoyed playing their music to fans had


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become a business run along strict marketing rules havingfun was simply no longer possible. Repeatedly they wrote,

they recorded, they promoted, they then toured, leaving littletime for anything else.

Walking around the fte smiling at people who recognised

her, some clearly disappointed having expected Jonty to bepresent, Rhonda watched the young couples enjoying their day

out in the warm sunshine. She could not recall the last time she

had spent the day with her husband. Whenever he was notorganising tours, playing on stage or in meetings with record

company men, he could be found with Bryan writing more

material for their next album. Jonty had even set up a campbed for each of them in the basement recording studio. During

the bands tours, where at his request she still constantlyaccompanied him, her life became even duller. Unable to

venture out alone, she had become reduced to sitting in hotelrooms watching television or reading while he spent his free

time writing, catching up on sleep or calling people on the

telephone to book studio time and arrange future concert

venues. By the time he had finished his list of calls he wasalways shattered. On one occasion he had spent an entire

Channel ferry crossing on the telephone discussing cateringarrangements for a charity concert the band had agreed to

perform in Ireland. He had lost his sense of humour completelyand no longer seemed to have any fun or relaxation in his life.

He had not become a bad person, just focused and totally

absorbed. To her knowledge he had remained faithful to her,and she doubted he had the time or inclination to be anything

other, but having once thought of him as her soulmate she nowlooked at him and saw a stranger. He sighed, mumbled and

moaned through interviews, appeared haggard and drank far

more than was good for him. His once luxuriant hair wasrapidly thinning as a result of over-perming and constant blow

drying, while his poor diet alongside excessive alcohol were

taking their toll on his appearance. Only the previous month hehad spent two weeks in his studio without shaving and looked

like a tramp in designer sportswear when he finally emerged.Had the media seen him wandering around in such a state,


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despite the huge array of grooming products regularly sent tohim, they would have been justified in thinking he was taking

some sort of recreational drug. In reality, however, the onlystimulants Jonty ever seemed to require were coffee and tea;

she rarely saw him without a mug in his hand but was

becoming concerned at how little he ate. With his looksdeteriorating as fast as they were, it was a mystery to her how

he retained as many fans as he did and why each week he still

received sacks full of mail, usually from the most unattractivefemales in the country, enclosing explicit photographs of

themselves in what they imagined to be erotic poses.

Accompanying each pornographic or crude print was usually ascrawled note revealing the senders details and their fantasy

of what they would like to do with him. He had long sinceinstructed his office staff to destroy them on receipt, but some

still found their way to the house and while her husbandsimply shredded them, Rhonda wondered what sort of sad

lives the women led to imagine the world famous Jonty would

call them on the telephone or arrive at their presumably shabby

flat armed with the door key they often enclosed. Had he beenremotely interested in anything but his music, he would still be

able to seduce any of the lithe and beautiful young girls whofollowed the band from concert to concert. As it was, she could

barely remember the last time he had suggested they have anearly night or impromptu afternoon of passion, other than the

hurried occasion on her birthday which barely counted.

Admittedly the old Jonty would surface from time to time. Hewas still kind, generous and loving, but fame along with a huge

responsibility for others had turned him into a drivenworkaholic always trying to meet a deadline, frequently edging

towards the studio while discussing even serious matters with

her. There simply did not appear to be sufficient hours in theday now for Jonty to achieve all he wanted.

They had lived in Priory Park House ever since Jonty had

taken over the bands management and enjoyed a massivesuccess with the following album. The idea of installing a

recording studio in the basement of the house had seemed alogical step until he began to creep downstairs most nights to


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rework a track or try a different mix of what had already beenthought finished. There was no argument that the huge

Victorian country house in a vast area of parkland, protectedby high walls, security systems and electric gates was

impressive; the variety of lounges, spectacular bathrooms,

period conservatory and ornamental lake were all beautiful, butit felt like living in a luxurious prison to her. She knew she was

being selfish insofar as she had a variety of vehicles at her

disposal, staff to do everything necessary, a hairdresser whocalled twice a week, jewellery, clothes, shoes, state of the art

television and audio systems. In fact she could have anything

she asked for except Jontys company. In addition, she still feltit would be unfair on the animal to have a dog as they travelled

so regularly and the staff, while pleasant enough, were Jontysemployees, not her friends. She missed having friends to talk

things over with; she rarely even saw Jo any more, and eventhough they kept in touch by telephone it was not quite the

same as sitting down with a cup of tea for a long chat. Having

a huge unsmiling security man like Lucas constantly walking

behind her was a drawback to making even an acquaintance,but when it came to her safety Jonty took no chances and

employed the best. Lucas Blackshaw had come highlyrecommended as a bodyguard having previously protected

diplomats, businessmen and minor royalty, but his attention tothe job resulted in his having no conversation. Much as she

had hated her job in London, her freedom meant she now had

nothing to occupy her or stimulate her brain, and it feltsuffocating.

She herself had no family left alive and Jonty had losttouch with his parents, older brother and nephew when he

became famous. He had been relatively untroubled by his

parents attitude but had been saddened when he later lost

touch with his older brother Adam; they had always been more

like friends than siblings despite the age gap between them.

Adam had apparently been the primary focus of their parentsattention which had taken the pressure off Jonty to succeed

academically, so, instead of being coerced into a medicalcareer, he had finally been allowed to follow his dream of


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composing and playing music. People would think her mad ifshe were to leave Jonty; she could understand them doing so,

he had done nothing wrong, but then neither had she, and therehad to be more to life. Her lifestyle was no doubt envied or

seen as glamorous by many, so her ingratitude would be seen

by female fans of Syncline as selfish, but she simply feltimprisoned and alone so would have far preferred the company

of the man she loved to his wealth. Bryan spent more time with

Jonty than she did; he was another amusing, amiable man, yethad already been married and divorced three times, mainly due

to his perfectly reasonable ex-wives feeling just as she now

did. The agonising decision facing her was difficult. She didnot want to leave Jonty; she still loved him and felt wretched at

the idea of having to tell him how she felt, but saw no otheroption as she could not ask him to abandon the band he felt

such responsibility for. Knowing who he was and what he didwhen she married him made it entirely her fault, and she would

ask him for nothing when she left; she owed him that much for

all he had given her in addition to his love. Their life together

had been so good in the beginning that she had allowed herselfto believe they were two halves of the same person. Simply

thinking about a life without Jonty made her emotional, andthe prospect of reading he had found someone else to love one

day in the future hurt beyond anything she had ever known, yetshe knew she had to act decisively for both their sakes. It was

going to be heartbreaking to kiss him goodbye, but she could

not possibly endure more years of her current existence whilewatching him slowly destroy himself. There was always the

slim possibility that the shock of her leaving would cause himto reassess his own life, and ultimately that could prove be the

most altruistic thing she could ever do for him, but realistically

she did not believe he would ever abandon his commitments tothe band so the situation would simply go on unchecked until

he suffered a breakdown, or worse. Had Jonty not remained

the love of her life it would have been far easier to explain howshe felt and why she felt it necessary to leave, but her throat

immediately began to constrict and tears readily filled her eyeseach time she tried to rehearse in her mind how she was going


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to begin telling him of her decision. Even the thought of himasking if she had someone else felt like a knife plunging into

her chest. There could never be anyone except Jonty in her lifeand she wished she did not keep remembering the early days of

their life together when everything was so wonderful. She

wanted to take him back to Flint Cottage where they hadknown such perfect times and hug him until he was the man

she had married once more, but knew it was an impossible,

childish wish.With her thoughts still elsewhere and with Lucas

doggedly in tow, Rhonda walked around the trestle tables and

marquees chatting to stallholders she knew from her support ofvarious local charities. Having almost completed her circuit of

the field, she noticed Madam Peggys tent and turned to Lucasdetermined to escape, if only briefly, from his constant,

irritating presence.Lucas, Im just popping in here to see Jane for a moment,

catch up on her gossip, find out what the future holds in store

for me, and then I think we can head back to the house if you

have seen everything you want to.Lucas looked relieved to be returning to the house. He

openly told everyone that although Jonty was the bestemployer he had ever worked for and a generous, thoughtful

man, he was only too aware that if anything should happen toRhonda then his boss response would be one of such extreme

anger that he would fear for his own life. The security mans

belief that Jonty was capable of any form of violence was instark contrast, however, to how the remainder of the Priory

Park staff saw their boss. Without exception they described themusician as a placid, even-tempered and caring man. Members

of staff who had worked closely with Jonty since he bought the

estate sometimes added as an afterthought that their employerwas highly protective of his wife, so possibly anyone trying to

hurt her would see a different side to the man and in that

eventuality, they wouldnt want to be in that persons shoes.

Documents

The Chosen Path by Sue Douglas