A Place of Hope (25 page)

‘Emily might offer him a bedroom here at The Drover’s Hope. There are several rooms not being used. He seems to feel at home here, often called in to see Penelope. And Emily says she’ll need help too, a general handyman and cleaner sort of job.’

There was a silence then Kevin said, ‘I gather Ms Mattison has her own problems. And it’s not certain she’s . . . well, fully recovered from the coma, mentally that is.’

‘How do you know so much about Emily? She’d never been to Littleborough until I brought her here and she’s certainly not a client of the local social services system.’

‘A friend of her nephew spoke to Mrs Corrish and she passed on the information to me, for Toby’s sake.’

Oliver couldn’t control a snort of annoyance. ‘Oh, yes? Purely altruistic to pass on hearsay evidence.’

‘It was what she said that made me go to The Drover’s Hope
.
It seems the nephew’s really worried about your client. He sounds to be a very caring person.’

‘I don’t think so.’ Oliver bit off further angry words, forcing himself to speak calmly. ‘Look, Emily doesn’t get on with the nephew, and he’s trying to interfere in her life and finances without justification. I already told you, she’d visited a geriatric specialist recently to have a check-up and got the all clear.’

‘Does her nephew know that?’

‘No. George hasn’t seen her since she left hospital. And we’ve applied for an injunction to stop him approaching her, because he makes her nervous. She just wants to live here in peace.’

‘But her nephew says she was all set to sell it and move nearer to her sister. He says she signed the papers.’

‘As her lawyer, I can guarantee she has no such plans and never did have. She’s signed nothing.’

‘That’s all very strange. But if you say so.’

‘Yes, I do. And you know I’d not lie to you. I’d appreciate it if you’d not discuss Ms Mattison with anyone else until we get this matter straightened out. Now, back to Toby, who is your business. I’ll be in touch if I can find him.’

‘Yes. Thank you, Mr Tapton. You’ve – um, given me a lot to think about.’

Oliver ended the call and turned to the others.

‘You seem to trust Kevin,’ Emily said.

‘I’ve known him since he was a child. His parents are close friends of mine. Kevin’s a good guy, caught in an imperfect system, which is nonetheless doing its best for people like Toby.’

‘I’ve been caught in an imperfect system, too. It can be terrifying when things go wrong.’

‘You were at the mercy of someone who could possibly have been committing crimes, which is a bit different. That unit must be investigated and the abuse stopped before anyone else is hurt. They’re not all like that. Now, I really must nip across and check on my house. I’ll only be an hour or so.’

Soon after Oliver had left, the phone rang. Rachel was close to it, so looked questioningly at Emily.

‘Go ahead. But I don’t want to speak to anyone.’

‘Hello. Drover’s Hope. Ah. Isn’t it rather late for a business call?’

Someone went on talking at the other end.

‘Well, I’ll just see if she’s free.’ Rachel covered the phone with one hand. ‘It’s that guy from Barton and Halling, Gressam.’

‘Oh, no! Don’t I get a minute’s respite?’

Rachel handed her the phone.

‘Hello?’ Emily listened intently, then said, ‘I didn’t sign anything, and I’m not discussing it with you now. This sort of thing is for my lawyer to deal with, as you’ve been informed.’ She ended the call abruptly, looking at the phone and letting out an angry huff of air.

‘What is it?’ Chad asked. ‘Anything I can help with?’

‘The contract arrived by courier this afternoon. It has my signature on it. And it’s just like the other signature. Gressam said I must have forgotten I’d already signed it.’

She looked at her friends in dismay. ‘This is like a nightmare. I know perfectly well I didn’t sign anything at all.’

‘Oliver will sort it out.’

‘Gressam seemed pretty certain the sale is in the bag. Told me we have to be out of here within the month. Demolition starts the day after we leave.’

‘He’s that sure the sale will go through?’ Chad frowned. ‘They’re certainly pushing hard, and treating you as if you don’t count.’

‘I’d like to strangle my nephew!’

Chad smiled. ‘I’ll help you.’

Rachel looked from one to the other, hid a smile and stood up. ‘I’m going to find another book. I’ve finished this one.’

Emily nodded, but she wasn’t really paying attention and her frown didn’t diminish. After a few seconds she looked at Chad. ‘What if they manage to persuade the authorities that I did sign the contract?’

He held out his arms and she walked into them. ‘Then at the very worst, you’ll have the money.’

‘I don’t want the money. I want to live here and make the old place come to life again. I’d thoroughly enjoy doing that. Leon said I was too young to retire and he was right.’ She looked up at Chad. ‘I’ve been hoping you might find that sort of project interesting, too.’

‘I would. Especially working with you.’ He bent his head to kiss her.

When they drew apart, they went to sit on the sofa, his arm round her.

‘Something else is upsetting you,’ he said quietly. ‘Want to share it?’

‘It’s George, of course. It’d do him no good for me to get the money for this place. And he’s no altruist, believe me.’ Another pause, then, ‘So what else is he planning?’

‘I don’t know.’

The front door opened just then and Oliver called out a greeting.

‘Let’s discuss it with Oliver.’

When Liz recovered consciousness, she found herself lying on the sofa with Marcia kneeling beside her and George standing staring at her from near the window. He was silhouetted against the light, so she couldn’t see the expression on his face very clearly, didn’t want to.

‘Do you often faint?’ Marcia asked gently.

Liz was thankful being unconscious had masked her distress about her son’s behaviour. ‘Not often, no.’

‘How often?’ George demanded.

‘Oh, just once or twice.’

‘Then you shouldn’t be living on your own.’

He gave a slow smile and as his face was mostly in shadow, his teeth showed most clearly and gave him a sinister look.

‘I think you and Emily should find a house to share, Mother,’ he went on. ‘It’s what sisters do, isn’t it? Live together in their old age, look after one another.’

She gathered her courage together. ‘Emily has a new house and a life of her own. I wouldn’t dream of imposing on her. And . . . and we don’t like the same things.’

‘Oh, she’s going to sell the new house soon. It’s almost derelict.’

‘How do you know that?’

‘I have friends in the industry. She’s already signed the contract. She’s getting very forgetful, so I’m still keeping an eye on her. She
is
my aunt, after all. Family need to stick together.’

‘Yes, they should. And she’s a close relative. You should remember that and treat her fairly.’ Liz closed her eyes, afraid she’d said too much. ‘I think I’ll go to bed early, if you don’t mind. I feel exhausted.’

‘Shall I come up and help you?’ Marcia offered.

‘No, thank you. I’m quite capable of managing on my own.’

‘What did she mean by that remark?’ Marcia worried when Liz had gone upstairs.

‘What remark?’

‘She said “You should remember that and treat her fairly” when she was talking about your aunt.’

‘Why should she mean anything special? She’s not a devious woman. In fact, she’s rather simple-minded.’

‘Shh! Keep your voice down. This is a small house.’

He shrugged but lowered his voice. ‘It’s a good idea, isn’t it? Keeping them both together?’

‘Not if they don’t want it.’

‘If
I
want it, that’s what they’ll do.’

Marcia didn’t say anything else, just rubbed her shoulder, which still hurt.

Upstairs, Liz buried her face in her pillow to hide her sob. Simple-minded, was she? No, she hadn’t been mistaken in her son. He was ruthless, cared nothing for people . . . not even her. The sobs nearly overflowed but she held them back, somehow.

But what was she going to do about it? How could she go against him? How could she regain control of her money and life?

Was it even worth the hassle?

Oliver entered the old inn, whistling happily, a big bunch of flowers in his hand. He stopped in the doorway of the flat to extend the flowers to his hostess. ‘These looked so beautiful, I picked enough for a couple of vases.’

Then Emily’s miserable expression sank in. ‘What’s wrong?’

She shook her head in a helpless gesture. ‘Gressam rang again. B&H have received a copy of a contract they say I signed. I
knew
George wouldn’t let it go. They say the signatures match and we have to be out within the month.’

Oliver stood perfectly still, as if all his energy was focused on processing the information. ‘I’ll ring them.’ He had the number on speed dial, put his phone on speaker and they all stood listening to it ring . . . and ring.

In the end, it rang out. He didn’t try to redial. ‘We can’t do anything tonight. They must have closed immediately after they phoned you. Deliberately leaving you in suspense, I should think.’

‘Yes, that’s what I thought. They left it till the very last minute to call me. They’re in league with George, they must be. Breaking the law.’

‘Not necessarily. They’re just looking out for their own interests. I’ll ring them first thing in the morning.’ He went across to give Emily a hug. ‘We’ll find a way through this, I promise you.’

Chad was frowning. ‘We’re both wondering how this is going to benefit her nephew.’

‘George won’t let me get the money,’ she said. ‘I know he’ll have something else planned.’

‘He may get a few surprises,’ Oliver said grimly. ‘I haven’t quite lost my touch.’

Emily went to bed early, exhausted beyond reason. The others moved into the bar.

Later, when everyone separated to go to bed, Chad brought his mattress in, intending to sleep on the floor of her living room.

She listened to him moving around, trying to be quiet, then went to the door of her bedroom and stood there. Did she dare take the initiative?

As soon as he noticed her, he stopped his preparations and waited.

‘It’s a double bed,’ she said quietly. ‘I don’t want to be on my own tonight.’

‘Are you sure?’

‘Oh, yes. Very sure.’

‘You still know very little about me.’

‘I know enough to love you, Chad.’

‘I love you too.’

Then his arms were round her and she was pulling him towards the bed. Who knew where comfort ended and loving began? Who cared about anything but being together?

It felt so right. And he was as gentle and caring in bed as he was in everything he did.

In the morning she woke before he did and lay looking at him, memorizing each line of his face, wanting to touch him. A lean, intelligent face, silver hair, pale blue eyes. Not good looking exactly, but a very attractive man, nonetheless.

Did he find her attractive? She’d never been good looking, never thought looks the most important thing, but she wished now that she was prettier for him.

Chad opened his eyes, coming fully awake instantly. He smiled at her and ran one fingertip down her cheek. ‘I love you, Emily. That won’t change, I promise.’

Whatever happened today, or in the future, she would cling to that thought, remember the look in his eyes as he said the magic words. He had definitely meant it.

As she did when she replied, ‘I love you too, Chad.’

Oh, the joy of being with him, of love igniting passion, of being as close as is possible for two people.

Breakfast was a quiet time, with very little conversation. Most of the group were lost in thought.

Emily still felt anxious about what was going to happen, and not at all sure that she would escape George’s machinations.

She’d made one decision, though. ‘I’m going to give all of you the emergency number for Leon, just in case anything happens to me. You need to memorize it, and promise never, under any circumstances, to write it down.’ She repeated the number and saw them moving their lips as they muttered it or did whatever was necessary to commit it to memory.

To her amusement, she saw Toby mouthing the number as well. She doubted he’d remember it, but if he wanted to try, there was no harm done. ‘Don’t tell anyone else the number,’ she repeated, looking particularly at him.

He nodded several times. ‘Won’t tell anyone. I know how to use a phone.’

She turned back to the others and explained how the automatic system would note their number and ring them back. ‘They only speak on very secure lines. I don’t understand the technology but they seem pretty certain the line they call you back on is safe.’

With a sigh, she pushed her plate away. ‘I’m not very hungry this morning.’

‘You need to keep up your strength,’ Rachel said automatically.

‘Something bad is going to happen,’ Toby said suddenly. ‘Very bad. I can tell.’

‘That’s guaranteed to cheer everyone up,’ Rachel muttered.

He ignored her and finished his meal, eating more slowly than usual and frowning. For the first time, he didn’t ask for seconds.

The table was cleared by Toby, who seemed to have taken that task upon himself, doing it in the same patterned way every time and getting upset if anyone tried to change his methods. After he’d finished, Oliver explained to him that his social worker wanted to talk to him. ‘We can go to my house and talk to Kevin there.’

‘I’m not going back!’ Toby said at once. ‘Not going back!’

‘No. But if Kevin finds somewhere else for you to live, you won’t need to go back to her. And there’s another thing: I need help in my garden and I thought of you. I’d pay you for doing it.’

‘A job?’

‘A small job, just one day a week.’

‘I wanted a job. Mrs Corrish said I couldn’t. She said no one would give me a job.’

‘She was wrong.’ Oliver looked at the others. ‘I can’t leave the Toby situation as it is, so I’ll arrange for a meeting as soon as Kevin can come to my house.’ He went out into the bar and they could hear him speaking into his phone in a low voice.