Broken by Ilsa Evans Page A

chair out for herself. ‘Milk? Sugar?’
    â€˜No, thank you.’ Hilda bent down slightly to read the sayings on the fridge. She read them silently and then sat down opposite Mattie, wrapping her hands around her mug as she continued her visual inspection. ‘Only just starting out, are you?’
    â€˜Something like that.’
    Hilda brought her curious gaze back. ‘Mattie. What sort of name is Mattie?’
    â€˜It’s short for Matilda.’
    â€˜Ah. Mine is short for Hildegarde. What a mouthful, hey? My sister was Gertrude. And my brother is called Wolfgang.’
    â€˜Are they German names?’ asked Mattie.
    â€˜
Gott
, no!’ Hilda looked shocked. ‘Austrian! Viennese, to be exact.’
    â€˜Oh, I see. Um, sorry’ Mattie added the apology as Hilda was still looking at her askance. She realised that she probably should have guessed Hilda wasn’t German; her accent didn’t have that guttural depth unique to the Germans. Instead it had a melodious quality that reminded Mattie of
The Sound of Music
, with the last words of each sentence rising in an upwards inflection.
    â€˜Emigrated fifty years ago,’ continued Hilda proudly. ‘After the war.’
    â€˜Did you come out by yourself?’
    â€˜No. With my husband and our three children. They were only tiny then, of course.’
    â€˜How long have you been here? In the unit?’
    â€˜Let me see.’ Hilda took a sip of coffee and thought about the question. ‘Just after my Ernest retired. We sold the house to our eldest son and his wife, and bought the unit. Must be about twelve years now.’
    â€˜That’s nice,’ said Mattie, relieved that Hilda was part of a large family ‘I mean, selling your house to your son, so that it didn’t pass out of the family.’
    â€˜Yes, he is a sentimental one, that boy.’ Hilda smiled affectionately. ‘Me, I do not much care. As long as I have somewhere to put my knick-knacks and the rain stays out, that is good enough for me.’
    â€˜Is everyone here nice?’ asked Mattie curiously. ‘Like, there’s nobody who has noisy parties every weekend, is there?’
    â€˜No, nothing like that,’ Hilda laughed. ‘In fact, the only problems we have ever had was with this unit. Yours. Because it is the only rental. Before you, we had a pair of young fellows – nice to talk to but
Gott!
Did they have their music loud? Thump, thump, thump. All the time.’
    â€˜How annoying.’
    â€˜Well, there is worse,’ said Hilda philosophically, taking another sip and regarding Mattie pensively over the rim of her mug. ‘What about you then? Is there a husband?’
    â€˜A husband?’ repeated Mattie, a bit stunned by the directness of the question.
    â€˜You think I am being nosy,’ stated Hilda with a rueful nod. Then she smiled across at Mattie, her black-button eyes all but disappearing between the creases of her face. ‘My husband is always saying I am. And he is right. So just tell me to keep my nose out if you like. I do not offend easily.’
    â€˜That’s okay’ Mattie smiled back. ‘And, yes, there’s a husband, but we’re having a bit of a break at the moment. Sorting out some stuff.’
    â€˜Ah.’ Hilda put her head to one side and pursed her lips. ‘Not good?’
    Mattie was saved from answering by the phone ringing. It was Jake, it had to be. Her eyes widened slightly with this realisation and shewished fervently that she hadn’t been so impulsive as to invite Hilda inside. But that wish paled against the relief that washed through her – relief that he wasn’t holding a grudge, that things were back to normal and she could rid herself of the unease that framed each day whenever they weren’t speaking. All this took only a second to flash through her mind and then Mattie smiled apologetically at Hilda as she stood and