The Theotokis Inheritance (8 page)

Steadying her hand as she finished making the coffee, Helena said calmly, ‘Well, where would you like me to begin, Oscar?’

‘At the beginning—naturally,’ he said dryly.

There was silence for a few moments, then, pouring the coffee into two mugs, she brought the tray over to the table and sat down.

‘That night, something made me wake up. I can’t remember the time, but it was very late—or very early—and I knew I had to go down and find out what it was.’
She looked across at him defiantly. ‘I wasn’t frightened. I was—well—curious, that’s all.’

Oscar’s eyes were locked on to hers, but he said nothing as she continued.

‘When I peeped out of the kitchen window I saw two… two men, I thought… and they were trying to fit a key into the door lock. They were whispering, and one of them was coughing and gasping for breath—and that’s what had woken me up. It was a horrible sound,’ she added, and as Oscar was about to speak she went on quickly. ‘I had to do something so I opened the door, because I suddenly realized that these were not men at all, they were
kids
… a couple of kids… and when they came inside I could see that one of them was in a seriously bad way.’

Oscar’s eyebrows shot up. ‘You actually…
invited
… them
in
? he asked incredulously.

‘Of course I did—’ Helena began, and he interrupted.

‘Ya to onoma tou Theiou!’
he exclaimed, lapsing into a spontaneous and very rare expletive. ‘You should have called the police straight away!’

‘What a waste of public money
that
would have turned out to be!’ Helena retorted. ‘Anyway, I might have done if I’d seen a couple of gangsters wielding baseball bats but they weren’t even trying to break down the door, or cause any damage… They just had a random handful of keys, hoping one of them would fit. And such was their “street wisdom” it didn’t seem to occur to them that there might be bolts on the inside,’ she added, smiling faintly.

‘I don’t know what you find so amusing,’ Oscar said
bluntly. ‘They might have been kids, as you say, but they were tall enough for you not to realize that at first and there were two of them and one of you. They could have overpowered you and vandalised the place.’ He shook his head as if he could not believe what Helena was telling him. Wasn’t part of her reason for staying here to look after Mulberry Court? Surely that didn’t include welcoming in random burglars!

‘Why on earth didn’t you think to ring Benjamin?’ he demanded. ‘He would have come straight up, whatever time it was.’

‘Because,’ Helena said, ‘Benjamin was away visiting his children.’

At this piece of news, Oscar glowered visibly. So, Helena had been here, totally alone, with no one near enough to be of assistance. His mouth set in a determined line. He’d make sure that she was never in that position again, he told himself.

‘Anyway—’ Helena took another sip of her coffee ‘—I made them tell me what they thought they were doing. Apparently, they’d told their mother they were having a sleepover at a friend’s house, but what they’d really wanted was to sleep out rough to see what it was like, I suppose—it’s “cool”. But when it began to get cold, Harry, the younger one—he’s only twelve—succumbed to one of his rare asthma attacks and they both got frightened.’

‘Why didn’t they just go home?’ Oscar demanded.

‘They couldn’t do that! They said their mother would kill them when she found out what they’d been up to!’

‘But what made them come
here
? I suppose it couldn’t have had anything to do with the fact that
they knew the place was empty—or they thought it was,’ Oscar suggested scornfully. ‘Where they could break in uninterrupted.’

‘It was not like that at all,’ Helena said, knowing that her colour was rising with every word Oscar was saying. ‘Mulberry Court is well-known to the boys,’ she went on. ‘They’d been here carol singing and trick-or-treating… and apparently Isobel would invite them in every time—and their friends as well.’ Helena paused, adding quietly, ‘They said they knew Mrs Theotokis had died but that she would have let them in if she’d been here.’

There was silence for a few moments, then Helena said, ‘Isobel always took people on trust. That’s why everyone loved her.’

Taking people on trust is all very well—up to a point, Oscar thought tightly. But he decided to let that pass.

‘So, after you’d made your… assessment… of the situation,’ Oscar said, his mouth still set in an obstinate line, ‘what happened after that?’

‘I made them cosy for the rest of the night, and…’

‘You did
what
? You mean—they
slept
here?’ Oscar demanded.

‘Yes—eventually—after I’d calmed Harry down and made sure his breathing had improved,’ she said. ‘Then I made them some hot chocolate.’ Helena paused. ‘They were nice lads,’ she added thoughtfully.

‘So, where did they actually sleep?’ Oscar asked, realizing that this was a battle he was never going to win.

‘Don’t worry—not in your bed, or mine,’ Helena
said. ‘I brought down a couple of duvets and made Harry comfy on the sofa over there, and then I put cushions from the conservatory on the floor next to him for Caleb.’ She met Oscar’s gaze levelly. ‘They were asleep in less than five minutes, and I had to wake them up in the morning,’ she added.

‘But how can you be sure they didn’t steal something?’ Oscar demanded, still not willing to admit defeat.

Helena sighed with exasperation. ‘Oscar, when they were awake I was with them all the time—apart from the few moments while I went to fetch the duvets.’ She looked at him quickly. That was what had worried Oscar, she thought. That some of their valuable belongings might have disappeared. ‘I promise you,’ she said tightly, ‘not a single teaspoon is missing.’

For a few moments they looked at each other in silent combat.

‘And at what time did they vacate the premises?’ Oscar asked.

‘I had to wake them at eight o’clock, and after I’d sent them along to the wet room for a wash, I made them tea and toast.’ Helena shrugged. ‘I did give them a gentle lecture before sending them on their way.’ She smiled, remembering something. ‘And as they left, they both looked at me seriously and said, “Thank you for having us.” Wasn’t that sweet?’ Helena said.

Oscar gazed at her, his thoughts in turmoil. Of course Helena was right—as it happened, she had not been in any danger, this time. But it would have been so different if the intruders had been different people…
He didn’t want to think of what could have happened to her…

‘And what about you… Did you get any sleep at all during that night?’ he said at last.

Helena shook her head briefly. ‘No, I was wide awake—and, anyway, I thought it best not to go to sleep, so I made myself comfortable in the sitting room. I had the TV on very quietly,’ she added.

‘Better not to disturb the guests,’ Oscar said, trying not to sound too cynical.

‘Quite. It’s what Isobel would have expected,’ Helena said neatly.

Suddenly, Oscar leaned forward and filled both their glasses with wine. ‘I don’t know how long you expect to stay here for your short… sabbatical… Helena, but I’ve actually made arrangements to stay longer myself this time.’ When Helena went to say something, he went on quickly, ‘The fact that Louise is not going to be around for some while does change things.’

‘I’ll be perfectly OK here without Louise to hold my hand, Oscar!’ Helena exclaimed. ‘And Benjamin’s always—well, usually—around. Surely you haven’t the time to waste on me!’

She looked at him defiantly… before the more obvious point struck her. He wasn’t thinking of
her
welfare—he was thinking about Mulberry Court. And he was clearly of the opinion that she couldn’t be trusted to take care of it without him there.

‘I won’t be wasting any time,’ Oscar said calmly. ‘I shall be working each day in the study.’

As well as making a rather more personal plan, he thought, which was to get Helena away from here. Just
for a few days. Away from Mulberry Court, where there were too many memories, too much emotional baggage. Too much ‘stuff’ getting in his way.

He knew there was a lot of ground to be made up, and he knew how he was going to do that best. And soon.

By making love to Helena under the seductive influence of an azure Mediterranean sky.

M
UCH
later that night as he was preparing for bed, Oscar kept going over and over everything Helena had told him. He still found it hard to believe that she would have opened the door to those men—boys—it didn’t matter which. She would have been no match for them. And it had had to take place on the very rare occasion when no one had been at the cottages. When there would have been absolutely no one to come to her aid. He didn’t want to go on thinking of the possibilities. Of what might have been.

He stood thoughtfully under the shower for a few minutes, then, with a white towel slung around his tanned shoulders, he padded naked and barefoot over to the bed, rubbing briskly at his wet hair with the corner of the huge towel. He was going to have to convince Helena that a few days away in hot sunshine might compare favourably with the rather damp conditions which Dorset was having at the moment. He’d pick his moment to suggest it. But it would happen. He’d make sure it would happen.

He was about to flop down on the bed when a sound outside made him stop and turn to listen. Someone was talking—well, whispering—someone was out there…

Grabbing the towel and tying it around his waist, Oscar reached his door in a few strides and opened it to see Helena, wearing a short, flimsy nightdress, her hair in total disarray, move slowly past. Her eyes were shut tightly, her lips forming inaudible words. Treading as if her feet were hardly touching the ground, she reached the top of the staircase. Realizing at once what was happening, Oscar went over to her silently, automatically slipping his arm around her protectively.

Unaware that anyone was beside her, Helena took each step down, one at a time, like a child learning to walk, and now, with his head close to hers, Oscar could make out what she was whispering.

‘My figurines… I want to see if they’ve taken my figurines…’ Her voice was breathy, fragile as, with her hand on the banister, she continued her dream-state walk. ‘Isobel said they were mine, that’s all I wanted… I never wanted anything else at all. And now the boys might have taken them… they might have taken them away… I must go and see… I must try to find them, to get them back.’

Desperately trying not to frighten her into wakefulness, Oscar said very gently, ‘It’s all right… the figurines are still in the library, Helena, where they’ve always been… no one has taken them, I promise you.’

They reached the bottom of the stairs and, still with her eyes closed, Helena said, her voice quivering, ‘Are you sure they’re safe? The boys didn’t steal them, did they…?’

‘No, they didn’t. They’re quite safe, Helena.’

Helena smiled a sweet, childlike smile. ‘Of course… I knew Isobel would look after them for me.’

She turned around slowly. ‘I’m glad the boys didn’t take them,’ she said, her head lolling down on her chest.

Quietly, carefully, with Oscar half-carrying her, the two made the return journey up the stairs and into Helena’s bedroom. Oscar helped her get into bed and covered her up, waiting for her to stir or say something else. But by now she was in a deep sleep, her breathing easy, her expression one of pure contentment as she lay there, and to Oscar she looked like a pale goddess in the half-light.

Feeling as if he, himself, had been in some kind of dream, he stood watching her for several minutes, loving the enchanting sight of her, not wanting to leave her. Then, bending, he kissed her forehead lightly and left the room.

Next morning, it was gone nine o’clock before Helena awoke and she sat up, her shoulders drooping. She was feeling as tired as if she hadn’t slept a wink, she thought dismally, her head feeling distinctly woolly, giving her a sense of being detached from her brain. She knew that she’d been dreaming all night—and it was all to do with that telephone call from ‘Callidora’, that message about the lost baby.

She climbed out of bed and went into the bathroom, and the mirror told its own story as she stared at her reflection. Her eyes looked huge in a pale face which showed evidence of silent tears being shed as she’d been sleeping…

Shaking herself properly awake, Helena switched the shower on to hot, then, as she let the water stream over her hair and body, she couldn’t resist trying to catch
some of the fast disappearing moments of her night’s restless sleep. It was like trying to pick up quicksilver in her fingers, she thought, as she struggled to reclaim the mental picture that was uppermost, the dream she was desperate not to lose. And then, quite clearly, it came back to her. The moment that she’d watched herself walking up the aisle on her father’s arm.

Oscar had been standing at the altar. He’d turned to greet her as she’d approached, and her heart had almost burst with love as their eyes had met. Her dainty straight white cotton dress was trimmed with a delicate lace edging, her hair piled on top and held in place by a single white rose, matching the small spray she was carrying and which she’d picked from the garden that morning.

But then, with a horrible sickening twist, a woman appeared from nowhere. And she was carrying a baby—a baby which Oscar took and held close to him…

Annoyed with herself for feeling so upset by recalling the dream—the stupid, pointless dream—Helena got out of the shower and dried herself, doubly certain, now, of something she’d always known. Her lifelong love for Oscar had no future. And Mulberry Court didn’t belong to her, despite the terms of the will. From the very beginning, her world and Oscar’s had been so far apart they might just as well have been born on different planets. And so much time had passed since they’d been so close—so much time he would obviously have spent in the company of many, many women.

She finished getting dressed and reached for her hairbrush. She could hardly bear to wait for the sale
of the house now, she thought, dragging her hair back and pushing it haphazardly into some sort of order. Her connection with Mulberry Court would eventually reach a conclusion, and when it did she would rethink her career and start all over again.

And as for the money she’d receive from Isobel’s estate, which had always felt wrong and undeserved, well, she’d put that safely away with what her father had left her, she decided.

She hadn’t heard a sound from Oscar that morning, and when she went down into the kitchen there was a note on the table.
Gone to Dorchester. Back later. O
.

Helena shrugged, and put the kettle on to make herself some tea. And as soon as she’d had breakfast, she thought, she’d find Benjamin and perhaps they could go for a walk with the dog.

Helena was just about to leave the house when the doorbell rang, and she raised her eyes. That couldn’t be Benjamin because he always tapped on the back door, and Oscar had his own key…

She went quickly along the hall and opened the door. A young, very pretty dark-haired woman stood there, two small boys at her side.

‘Mrs Theotokis?’ she asked uncertainly, and before Helena could reply, she said, ‘I’m sorry to bother you… but is he… is Mr Theotokis at home?’ The accent was foreign, cultured.

Helena stood back, feeling awkward for a second. ‘Um, no… I’m afraid he’s not,’ she said. ‘But can I help?’

The woman shook her head briefly. ‘No, I don’t think so, thank you.’ She paused. ‘I want to speak to Mr Theotokis myself… face to face… so I’d be grateful
if you could let me know if and when he might be available.’ And, seeing the confused expression on Helena’s face, she added, ‘It won’t take long, but the children would like to see him. And it’s… it’s very important that they do.’

Helena’s gaze rested on the boys for a moment. They were such beautiful children, clear-eyed, dark-skinned and with lustrous black hair. Who was this woman, and who were these children? she asked herself. She found her voice at last.

‘I’m not sure when… when Mr Theotokis will be back, but can I give him a message?’ she asked.

The woman thought for a moment, then, ‘No, this is something far too personal, I’m afraid,’ she said. ‘And not something that can be said by proxy. But don’t worry, I’ll make sure that I catch up with him at some point.’ She reached into her handbag and took out a large envelope. ‘In the meantime, would you be kind enough to give him this?’ She hesitated. ‘We’ve been here on an extended holiday, but we’re flying back home this afternoon so time is short, I’m afraid.’ She held out her hand to shake Helena’s. ‘Well, goodbye—and I’m sorry to have bothered you.’

And with that she turned to go. With her frown deepening, Helena watched them walk away towards a waiting taxi at the end of the drive, the children casting backward glances at her as they went.

Later, in the library, Helena opened the windows wide, letting the spring air bring in a delicate scent of new growth to tease her nostrils, and she took a deep breath. Then a sudden shaft of sunlight picked out the alcove
where her shepherd and shepherdess stood, where they had been standing for as long as Helena could remember. She went over to look down at them again.

The creator of those exquisite porcelain figures had breathed life, real life, into them, she thought, had given them feelings which could be interpreted by anyone taking the time to just stand and stare for a few moments. The caring, manly stance of the shepherd, and the gentle tilt of his head, indicated the purest form of true love for the lady he was gazing down at so adoringly—and the expression on the dainty features of his shepherdess was so touching it made a lump form in Helena’s throat. She swallowed. Why hadn’t she noticed all that before? she asked herself. Had it been there all this time, or was she just feeling extra-sensitive today?

Drawing her attention away from the love scene she had unwittingly stumbled upon, Helena looked up to see Isobel’s eyes searching for hers and she went across to stand beneath the portrait for a moment. Apart from her figurines, she thought, she would ask Oscar if she could have the portrait too, so that wherever Helena’s next home turned out to be, Isobel would have pride of place there.

Much later, Oscar returned. Helena was in the conservatory reading her book. He glanced down at her. She was wearing a simple cream cotton dress and strappy sandals, her shoulder-skimming hair tied loosely. He cleared his throat.

‘I happened to meet John Mayhew in town this morning,’ he said.

Helena didn’t look up. ‘Oh?’

‘He told me he’s been approached about the sale of Mulberry Court. Apparently Amethyst Trust Hotels want to buy it, so that they can convert it. They want to build a spa, treatment rooms, a conference centre and swimming pool.’ Oscar went across to the window, looking out. He paused before going on. ‘They feel it would be a perfect site for such a development, with the unusually extensive grounds and garden, all of which would be completely swallowed up, of course. In fact, if they have their way, Mulberry Court as it is now would be wiped off the map for ever,’ he added, keeping his voice deliberately cool.

Now Helena did look up, a frown pleating her forehead. ‘Well, I hope John Mayhew told them that the house is not up for sale… not yet, anyway,’ she said.

‘Oh, they know that,’ Oscar said. ‘But these people are all about forward planning. They wouldn’t care how long it took, just so long as they got it in the end. Apparently, the local Planning Department have already been informally approached and have given Amethyst sufficient optimism to think that such a project could go through. Assuming, of course, the all-important matter of first acquiring the land,’ he added.

Helena snapped her book shut and stood up. ‘Well,
assuming
that I… we… have the sole responsibility of selling Mulberry Court to the
right
owner,’ she said, ‘you can tell John Mayhew that Amethyst whoever-they-are can get lost. I would never, never agree to sell to such people!’

Oscar couldn’t help smiling at Helena’s obvious aggravation at what he’d just told her. And he’d known what her reaction would be. He put out his hand to halt
her progress as she went to go past him. ‘We don’t need to worry about any of that yet,’ he said soothingly, ‘but John was quite right to keep us informed.’

‘I suppose so,’ Helena said reluctantly. Then, ‘Oh…’ She began, sneezing into her hand, and Oscar immediately reached into his pocket and passed her a handkerchief. Helena took it from him. ‘Oh, dear, that’s the third time I’ve done that… I think I’m getting a cold,’ she sniffed, dabbing furiously. ‘My throat felt suspiciously sore when I woke up this morning.’

‘Hardly a surprise,’ Oscar said mildly, ‘considering the wet weather you’ve been experiencing here lately…’ He stood up. ‘And that’s why there’s something else I need to tell you. I’m making arrangements for us to have a short holiday,’ he said. ‘You need a dose of real sunshine, Helena.’

Helena looked up at him. ‘What do you mean… What sort of holiday?’ she mumbled through the large handkerchief, which was almost covering her face.

‘To Greece… or to my island getaway, I should say,’ Oscar said.

‘But… what about leaving Mulberry Court empty? Aren’t you worried about someone gaining entry?’ Helena asked.

‘Oh, the house will look after itself for the few days I have in mind,’ Oscar said evenly. ‘And this time we’ll make sure that Benjamin’s around, in any case.’

Helena stared at him, biting her lip. Although she’d always longed to visit Oscar’s homeland—and he’d always promised her that one day she would—now she wasn’t sure she wanted to, at least not with him. Wouldn’t it be helping to prolong something which
could only end in more heartache? Relaxing in the sun, bathing in a warm sea… having nothing to think about except enjoying long, lazy moments—a heady, dangerous cocktail. ‘I’ll have to think about it,’ she said. ‘I have things to do here, and I’m not really sure whether… whether I want to go.’

Oscar went before her towards the door, then looked back, his dark eyebrows slightly raised. ‘Oh, I’m sure it’s the right thing to do.’ He smiled. ‘I’ll book the flight for the day after tomorrow—that’ll give you time to get ready,’ he said smoothly.

Helena looked up at him steadily. Why was he so certain she’d agree? She sniffed again. ‘I’ll make us some supper in a minute,’ she said. She paused before turning to go upstairs. ‘Oh, by the way, someone called earlier and left something for you,’ she said.