A.N./ Sorry about the long wait! I just started a new job, which had me move to France! So I've been pretty busy! I'm still not entirely settled in, so updates will continue to be really sporadic! Sorry about that!
Chapter 8:
Ellie came back to the police station, a bag in hand. It took her a bit of imagination but she was certain she'd managed to find a way to make Lisette look less like herself without giving an appearance to the others in town that she was trying to look different. She had considered hair dye but decided they didn't have the time for it. At least, not this time.
But she did have makeup. Lisette had yet to wear makeup since Ellie had met her, and she had the impression that she didn't really ever wear makeup. If they put the right amount of makeup on her, she would be almost unrecognizable.
Which was exactly what they were going for.
When she got back to the station, Lisette was sitting up on the couch, rubbing her eyes.
"Your brother brought you some clothes for church," Alec was telling her.
"And I have makeup for you. So we can better disguise you," Ellie said cheerfully.
"Makeup?" Lisette asked dubiously.
"That's' what I thought," Ellie said with a grin, "If you've never wore makeup before, it'll make it easier to disguise you using it!"
Lisette didn't look too excited but didn't protested too much to Ellie pulling her away to change and get makeup put on.
When they arrived back in the room, Alec was blown away. He barely even recognized her.
The children barely did, either, if the way they shrank from her was any sign.
"What about the children?" Ellie asked, frowning.
"What about them?" Alec asked.
"How can we disguise them?" she asked.
"Don't worry about them," Lisette waved it off.
"Why not?"
"We had this thing. I hate long hair. I always have. The children had short hair always, as did I. I was about to get mine cut when I had to run away, so pair that with me not cutting it in about a month and a half and my hair's almost longer than it's ever been. Daddy'll never think I'd accept long hair on me or my children," she said with confidence.
Before yawning once more.
"Are you sure you're awake enough to go?" Alec questioned her.
"I'm fine," she reassured him before looking around the room.
"Where's the stroller?" she asked.
"Paul couldn't figure out how to fold it down, so he left it at the house," Alec explained. Lisette nodded, but frowned as she did.
"You can carry one child, just not with your injured arm," Alec reminded her, "And I can carry the other."
"But that'll really make everyone think we're married," Lisette said, worrying her lip.
"That's the safest option for you," Alec reminded her.
"But I'm so much younger than you. Surely you don't want to have people think you're married to someone like me," Lisette said fearfully.
"I think they'd be jealous of him," Ellie told her with a wink.
Lisette just looked lost at her words.
"Why?" she asked.
"Because you're an attractive girl," Ellie tried, but Lisette just shrugged her off, as if she didn't believe her.
"Come on. We're heading to church," Alec told her. Lisette and Ellie each took a child and changed their clothes. Lisette went to check their diapers and was puzzled to find them both clean. Her eyes sought Alec's.
"I do know how to change a diaper. I had a daughter," Alec said, slightly indignantly.
"You have a daughter?" Ellie asked in disbelief.
"Daisy. She's fifteen," Alec said.
"Reporters will have a field day with you then. New wife barely older than your daughter," Ellie said with a snort.
"Hopefully the reporters will have better things to report on," Alec said drily.
"I wouldn't count on that," Ellie warned him.
"Let's go. We're going to be late," Lisette said, her voice quiet and slightly shaky. Alec and Ellie exchanged a look before Ellie headed out, leaving Alec and Lisette to carry the twins and their diaper bag.
The ride to the church wasn't too long from the police station, and they arrived just as everyone else was arriving.
Which meant there were a multitude of reporters out snapping pictures of the Latimers.
Ellie was a ways ahead of them with her children, following closely behind the Latimers. She proceeded to threaten them all, earning a smile from Lisette.
Until the reporters turned on them.
"Keep your face down and stay close to me," Alec told her, wrapping his free arm around Lisette and he lead her up the steps to the church. A few reporters snapped pictures quickly, while the others stared at the two, trying to decide why it was such a big deal to take photos of them.
Lisette dutifully followed Alec to the back of the church as he watched each and every person who entered, giving them suspicious looks.
When her brother entered, he looked relieved to see Lisette there.
The service was lovely, Lisette had decided.
Her brother was happy to have so many people there, something Lisette expressed to Alec. Her words only made his expression grow more stony.
"He is benefiting from this, isn't he?" Alec asked.
"No. He's just grateful people can find him for guidance in such a time," Lisette tried further explaining, a pit forming in her stomach at his words.
In his defense, Alec didn't argue with her. He didn't say anything else on the subject, but Lisette had a feeling he was seriously considering her brother as a suspect.
And she didn't like that.
"Lisette!" Beth called. Lisette, leaving Jasper with Alec, walked over to her friend – at least, she'd like to call Beth her friend.
"What are you doing for lunch?" she asked, her husband Mark standing over her shoulder.
"Er, nothing I know of?" Lisette said.
"Would you and the kids like to come over to the house for lunch? Ellie's family's coming, as well as Nige – I don't think you've got to meet him yet," Beth said, a weak smile lighting up her face. As if she were trying to make things happy, despite everything.
"If it isn't intruding, I'd love to," Lisette said.
"It'd be nice. I haven't been able to see you in awhile," Beth said. Lisette made herself smile as well and nod.
"Sure. I'll come. When?" she asked.
"You can come straight over. We're heading back to the house now," Beth explained. Lisette nodded.
"I need to speak with my brother first. I haven't seen him since last night," Lisette explained, tucking a strand behind her ear.
"Why not?" Mark asked, perking up at her words.
"I went to see Alec and he fell. I was with him in the hospital last night," Lisette explained.
"Is he alright?" Beth asked, but she was more suspicious than anything else.
"Just a concussion," Lisette said, echoing his previous excuse he'd given people, despite the unease it gave her to lie.
"Okay. See you soon?" Beth asked.
"Sure," Lisette said, giving her one last smile.
She moved back over to Alec to explain where she was going as well as take Jasper from him. She sat the two down on the ground, just as Paul made her way over to them.
"I brought the stroller along with me. It's in the backroom," he told her.
"I'm going over to the Latimers for lunch," Lisette said, watching her brother's face closely.
Much to her surprise, his face lit up.
"Really? Enjoy yourself!" he said happily.
She hadn't been expecting that reaction. If anything, she was expecting him to be upset that she wasn't spending any time with him.
"I'll go get the stroller while you talk to people?" Lisette offered. Paul gave her a smile and a nod.
Lisette hurried to his office and came back with the stroller before Alec had to stand long with the children.
"Good news?" he asked.
"I'm going to the Latimers for lunch," Lisette said.
"Be careful," Alec said. Lisette gave him a smile and nodded.
"I will. You be careful too," Lisette told him, looking a bit more worried at the thought of leaving him alone.
"I'll be fine. Don't worry so bloody much," Alec complained.
"What if I hadn't come by last night though? You could have died," Lisette whispered.
"I'd've been fine," Alec waved her off.
"I don't think you would have."
Alec stared at her for a moment in silence. As if he were contemplating something.
"Would you like to meet my daughter?" he finally asked.
Lisette's eyes went wide.
"What?" she asked.
"My daughter. Sometime soon I'm going to head back to where I used to live, to tell my daughter about us. So she doesn't just think her father went and got married without telling her anything," Alec tried explaining.
"I…If you want me to, I'd love to," Lisette said quickly. Alec nodded, then sniffed before turning his head the other way.
"I'll let you know, once I figure out when I've got the free time to go," Alec told her. Lisette nodded and gave him a smile.
Lisette walked to the Latimers. It wasn't too far of a walk from the church – no more than a thirty minute walk, and she was in the mood for a walk. It was a nice day out, and with the stroller it was no difficulties at all to push the children through the town.
By the time she got to their house, she hesitated to knock. She could hear laughter inside, and for a moment she considered not going. They were enjoying themselves without her – what if they didn't have as much fun when she was there as well?
Her decision was made for her when the door was jerked open. Tom was standing there, giving her a look.
"I saw your shadow through the door," he explained.
"Oh. Sorry," Lisette said.
"Come in," Tom said, pushing the door farther open. Lisette carefully pushed the stroller in, it barely fitting through the hall.
"I'm going to get them out of the stroller here," Lisette told Tom. Tom nodded and instead of walking off, helped Lisette pull the twins out before folding the stroller down.
"Fred's stroller is just like it," Tom said with a shrug when Lisette thanked him. The two children grasped her hands as Tom led them into the dining room.
"Lisette's here," Tom called as he entered the room.
"There you are!" Beth called, sweeping Lisette into a hug.
"What took so long?" Ellie asked her.
"I walked down here," Lisette explained, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
"We could have given you a ride," Beth said with a frown.
"It's okay. I wanted a walk," she said quickly.
"Lisette, this is Nige," Beth said, gesturing towards a bald man helping Chloe in the kitchen. Nige wiped his hands on a towel and hurried in.
"Nice to meet ya," Nige said with a smile.
"You too," Lisette responded, "These are my children, Emmaline and Jasper."
"Nige wanted to cook for us, like he used to," Beth explained.
"That's really nice," Lisette said, flashing him a smile.
"Yeah, well, it's been a rough time," Nige said, a brief frown marring his face before he tried to hide it with a smile.
"Lisette completely understands," Beth said.
Which earned a frown from Mark. Mark and Joe, who exchanged looks.
"What does that mean?" Mark asked.
Ellie looked uneasy.
"My husband and brother were murdered before I came here. Right after I miscarried. It was a tragic few months," Lisette said, trying to keep what happened as brief as possible.
"Christ. Who murdered them?" Mark asked, eyes sliding between her and Ellie, who obviously knew more than they did.
"The man who'd kidnapped me when I was a child. That's why I'm here. I ran away and escaped him," she explained.
"Wait – so you're in hiding?" Nige asked in disbelief.
"Yeah. It's a secret. Everyone seems to think I'm married to Alec, and that that's why I'm here," Lisette said.
Ellie looked like she wanted Lisette to shut up.
"I heard someone talking about that," Beth noted.
"We decided it'd be easiest if people think that," Lisette said.
"I wouldn't know why you'd want to be married to him," Mark said derisively.
"He's not that bad. Alec's really kind to me," Lisette defended him.
"You must be the only one," Mark muttered. Beth glared at him.
"Just…don't tell anyone?" Lisette begged.
"Consider it our secret," Nige said with a grin.
With that, Nige went back to the kitchen to continue cooking. Chloe made her way back into the dining room, immediately sweeping Jasper and Emmaline away. Lisette started to follow, only for Beth to stop her.
"Chloe loves playing with children. They'll be fine," Beth reassured her. Lisette felt a lump forming in her throat but she nodded nonetheless.
"Wanna help me set the table?" Ellie asked her. Lisette nodded quickly, following Ellie into the kitchen where Nige and Mark were working on the food. Well, Nige was working on the food while Mark laughed at him.
"You don't look too good," Ellie told her.
"I'm fine," Lisette told her quickly. Ellie stared at her, then turned to pull plates and cups down from the cabinet.
"You never told me what you were doing in DI Hardy's hotel room last night," Ellie told her.
This got both Mark and Nige to stop what they were doing and give her a look.
"I stopped by because I got scared," Lisette tried defending herself.
"The day after he gives you his room number?" Ellie asked her skeptically.
"I didn't know it would happen," Lisette said.
"I didn't say you did. I'm just saying it looks quite suspicious. It's no wonder everyone in town thinks you're his secret wife," Ellie told her.
Another woman wandered in the room, looking surprised to see Lisette.
"Elizabeth, this is Lisette Coates, the reverend's sister. Lisette, this is Elizabeth, Beth's mom," Ellie introduced them quickly.
"Hello," Lisette said.
"It's nice to meet you," Elizabeth said. Lisette nodded as well.
"You're the one married to DI Hardy," Elizabeth said carefully.
"That's what everyone thinks," Lisette agreed, but she didn't offer a word to contradict it.
"She isn't, Mum. She's hiding from her kidnapper and DI Hardy's protecting her," Beth interjected as she wandered into the room.
"But that's a secret. We're allowing people to believe she's married to him, for protection," Ellie corrected quickly.
Lisette quickly grabbed the plates and hurried into the dining room, allowing Ellie to explain everything.
She shouldn't have brought it up. She shouldn't have. Now everyone would know. And Alec would be furious with her that the plan they had just came up with had fallen through.
What if she had to run?
"Are you okay?"
Joe Miller was watching her. Lisette shook her head, giving herself a minute.
"Yeah. I'm fine. Just...overwhelmed," she tried explaining. Joe gave her a reassuring smile and nodded.
Lisette hurried back in the kitchen for the glasses. But she was aware that Joe's eyes followed her the entire time. As if he knew she was lying.
Before she could even finish setting the table, Nige had finished cooking. While Lisette finished up, Ellie and Mark helped him bring the food out, covering the table in savory smelling food. Chloe dragged the children, as well as Fred, Ellie's son, into the room.
"We don't have any high chairs, but I can hold one of them and feed them," Beth volunteered. Lisette nodded and Beth took Jasper from Chloe as she sat down, placing the squirming two-year-old on her lap. Lisette tentatively sank into the chair next to Beth.
It was an enjoyable meal. Everyone was laughing and joking with one another, even going as far as to try including Lisette in their jokes. Lisette felt her discomfort shrink with each passing minute until she was laughing alongside everyone else. It felt almost normal.
Which was something she hadn't felt in a long time.
"How long are you planning on staying here?" Mark finally asked Lisette as desert was being brought out.
"I don't know. Awhile," Lisette said.
"Still living with your brother?" Beth asked her. Lisette nodded.
"If you and DI Hardy are trying to make your cover look believable, maybe the two of you should buy a house together," Mark said with a snicker. Nige joined him with the laughing.
"I just want the children and myself to be safe," Lisette said, her voice small once more.
"I'm sure Hardy can't be an easy man to live with," Joe commented.
"He's a bloody nightmare to work with, that's for sure," Ellie snorted.
"He's been kind to me," Lisette interjected.
"Of course he has. You're a pretty young girl," Joe pointed out.
"What does that make me?" Ellie protested, giving her husband a faux-angry look.
"My wife," Joe said with a straight face.
"But seriously. If he ever tries to make you do anything that makes you feel uncomfortable, let someone know," Mark told Lisette. Lisette felt her face heat up at his words.
"He hasn't tried anything like that," Lisette protested.
"Not yet he hasn't. But he might. Don't let him make you think he's the only protection you have here. We protect our own here," Mark told her.
"But I'm not a part of the community," Lisette protested.
"Not yet. But you will be. You're starting to be," Beth informed her.
The front door rang, interrupting their conversation. A few seconds later, Tom walked into the room, Jack following him.
"I found this, in Danny's bag. It was beeping – he must've left it in there when he did his paper route the day before," Jack said, holding out a mobile. Mark stood abruptly, taking the phone from Jack.
"Why did you have this, Jack?" he asked, his voice deadly serious. Lisette stood up, settling Emmaline on Chloe's lap.
"I found it. I told you. I…they're going to be saying things about me," Jack warned them.
"What kind of things?" Mark asked. His voice was still even, still dangerously low.
"There's going to be saying I did things to the boys, but it's not true. They're going to say I killed him, but I'm looking you in the eye and telling you, I didn't kill your boy," Jack told them.
He'd barely got the words out before a flash came from the window, then another set of flashes. Lisette resisted the urge to turn around, instead continuing to face Jack. She didn't need her picture all over the news.
Mark, Joe, and Nige all ran out of the house, chasing the reporters off. It was only after she could hear the men laughing that she turned back around.
"Were Jasper or Emmaline facing the window?" Lisette asked Beth anxiously.
"No. They were staring at you," Beth reassured her, making Lisette's shoulders drop in relief.
"Isn't it dangerous, you being in a place where there are reporters all around?" Elizabeth asked her. Lisette nodded.
"I try to stay out of their way. And I'm sure they'll try to say I'm Alec's secret wife. That's a better thing for them to speculate about," Lisette explained.
"I hope you're right," Beth murmured, her eyes still glued to the window where the reporters had stood.
"Lisette," Ellie called to her as she headed for the bathroom. Lisette turned around, to see Ellie holding the mobile in a napkin and watching her with an unreadable expression.
"Who is running Danny's paper rounds?" she asked.
"I don't know. Maybe Jack? He has me minding the store most days alone now," Lisette explained.
"Alone?" Ellie asked sharply.
"He wanted me to be a full time employee," Lisette tried explaining.
"I thought you couldn't be on records," Ellie protested.
"He doesn't do anything electronic. That's how I can do it," Lisette said. Ellie nodded, but didn't look too pleased at what she said. Lisette grabbed both children and dragged them up the stairs to the bathroom to change their diapers.
It wasn't much longer before everyone dispersed. Ellie and Joe dropped Lisette and the children off at Paul's house before they headed for the press release. Paul had decided to go, but Lisette didn't want to. So she enjoyed an evening in with the children, one of her few evenings alone since arriving in Broadchurch.