Free Miriam's Talisman by Elenor Gill

can hardly be a surprise, can it? You always were her favourite. Her Little Wren. And she certainly wouldn’t have left anything to me, would she? But you might spare a thought for Hannah.’
    â€˜Yes, of course I’m thinking of Hannah. I can understand how disappointed she must feel. Apparently there’s a lot of money involved.’
    â€˜No, I don’t think you understand at all.’ His voice became louder, his brow buckled by a deep frown. ‘The money’s got nothing to do with it. Can’t you see how hurt she is? I never expected anything from our grandmother—after all she hardly knew I existed. But for Hannah this is the ultimate rejection, isn’t it? The final twist of the knife.’
    â€˜Oh, now, that’s not fair. Surely it was the other way around? It was Hannah who refused to see her mother. She seemed to loathe everything about Miriam, everything she did, everything she stood for. She was always criticising her work, ridiculing her beliefs, her way oflife, everything. It was Hannah who kept us apart for all those years. Sometimes she behaved as if she thought we’d be contaminated by her.’
    â€˜Yes, that’s exactly what she thought. Hannah was afraid, can’t you see that?’
    â€˜Afraid? Of what, for heaven’s sake?’
    â€˜Afraid for you. Afraid of losing you. And now it seems you’ve been playing one off against the other for some time, so don’t pretend you don’t understand how things were.’
    â€˜What do you mean?’
    David didn’t answer. He shook his head and turned away from me.
    â€˜Please, David. I really don’t understand any of this. What’s Hannah been telling you?’
    He breathed deeply and bit his lip before he spoke. ‘OK. Hannah was convinced that Miriam was trying to take you away from her. It’s something she’s believed for a long time. I always thought she was being paranoid, but from what’s been happening here—you being all chummy with Miriam behind Hannah’s back, all the secrecy, and now the legacy—it seems she was right.’
    Was I really hearing this? I turned around in the seat to face him, clutching the dashboard.
    â€˜Hannah didn’t think any such thing, David! That’s complete rubbish!’
    â€˜Is it? Isn’t that exactly what’s happened? Why were you at the hospital with Miriam? How long have you been seeing her? Just what’s been going on between you two? Why would she leave the instructions for her funeral for you? And why all the secrecy?’
    The world tilted, the kaleidoscope turned and all thelittle pieces of coloured glass slid sideways. I hadn’t seen this pattern before. All the secret visits. All the lies and excuses. All the magical stories. The fairy-tale gifts. I owed everything to Miriam. She had taken me, claimed me as her own. That’s not how I meant it to be, but it was exactly what had happened.
    I needed to tell David, and it spilled out in a rush and a tumble of broken words. All of it. He listened in silence. And then I told him about how I had found her ill and called the doctor. He reached out and touched my hand.
    â€˜Oh God, David, what have I done?’
    â€˜I suppose it wasn’t entirely your fault, was it? You said you were only fifteen when it started. Miriam was the adult. She should have known better. Besides, you always were more her child than Hannah’s, weren’t you?’
    â€˜What’s that supposed to mean?’
    â€˜What I say. It was always the two of you.’
    â€˜No it wasn’t. We were her family. She used to visit all of us.’
    â€˜Like hell she did.’
    â€˜No, look, you’ve got it all wrong.’
    â€˜I know I was only small at the time, but I’m sure I don’t remember seeing much of her until you arrived. She was just this woman who appeared occasionally at the house. She barely spoke to me. And