Bastion of Lies

A mother's love is the most powerful emotion but decisions taken in the name of that love can be cruel and damaging. Three women, Ted's mother, his paternal and maternal grandmothers used this love to protect their children or so they thought but instead it did irreparable harm. From an early age Ted knew that the women in his life were all liars and manipulators and he vowed that as a man he would reverse that role. When he decided that he needed a wife, he didn't look for love but for a girl who would learn to know her place and be totally subservient to him. He found such a girl in Maud. Ted was a naturally talented pianist and received all the joy and solace he required from his music. The Great War for many was a devastating time, millions died and hundreds of thousands were injured but for Ted it was a gateway to his dreams, to be a professional pianist. When the War was won, one officer remembered the Private that could make you forget the horrors, even if only for a moment. So Ted became Edward Edwards the pianist, who crossed the Atlantic and could sell out Carnegie Hall, New York. But to get there the road was scattered with women that he used and abused and men who he abandoned when they were no longer useful to him. Would he ever discover what true love was?