Hannah was desperate for him to wake up before the visiting hour was over. In between calling to him she kissed his hand and stroked his forehead, still bearing bumps and bruises from the beating. She could see stitches peeping out from under his many dressings and she followed the line of the various tubes. The nurse told her they were keeping his lung drained and monitoring his breathing which was sometimes ragged and noisy. Hannah could see for herself it would be some weeks before he’d be well enough to come home. She longed to hold him but knew it would only add to his horrific injuries. She wanted to cry and never stop but she had to be brave.
‘Matt, it’s Hannah, darling. Can you hear me?’
She kept looking at his eyelids, hoping they would lift and respond to her. She kissed the back of his hand once more and felt him trying to squeeze her fingers. Checking a rush of emotion, raising herself up from the chair, she gazed down on him. ‘Matt. It’s Hannah. Wake up for me, darling.’
Mrs Penney became alert and the nurse moved closer.
The slight pressure on Hannah’s hand increased and Matt’s eyelids flickered then opened. His dark eyes, mere slits under the puffy flesh, searched, blinked, found Hannah and remained still. They seemed to glaze over and she feared he would slip away again. ‘Matt!’ she cried desperately.
‘Careful now,’ the muse warned.
His swollen lips quivered for long, agonizing moments. ‘Hannah?’
‘Yes, darling,’ she smiled down on him, her eyes misty. ‘Do you want anything?’
His tongue, white and furred, awkwardly wetted his lower lip. The nurse asked Mrs Penney to move so she could administer a few drops of water to him. ‘Han-nah…’
‘I’m here, Matt,’ she said, unable to keep a tremor out of her voice. She glanced hopefully at Mrs Penney.
‘S-sorry, Hannah.’
‘Don’t be silly, Matt.’ Tenderly she stroked his brow. ‘You’ve got nothing to be sorry for. All you need now is plenty of rest and you’ll soon be home.’
‘They hit me.’ His voice was a hoarse whisper and raw with emotional hurt ‘Cut me… went for walk… yesterday.’
Yesterday – Hannah was glad he had no conception of time. He didn’t realise she had been ill and had not come straight to him.
‘You’re going to be all right, Matt. Nathan’s being well cared for and I’m not going to leave your side.’
Tears slid from the corners of Matt’s eyes and Hannah gently wiped them away. Under her breath, she murmured, ‘Somehow I’ll make him pay.’ When she left here she would ask Greg to drive her to the police station.
Chapter 16
As she beat a Viota cake mix Grace glanced at the drawing Melanie was making at the other end of the kitchen table. Grace’s fair eyebrows were rising steadily. A detailed picture of the beach, slipway and quay, not at all in the expected wobbly manner of a child, was appearing under the girl’s swiftly moving hand, her small, strong features hardly creased in concentration. Grace was delighted at finding her stepdaughter had a natural talent.
‘That’s a lovely picture, darling,’ she said, careful not to gush with enthusiasm; Melanie shied away from anything emotional. ‘Shall we show it to Daddy when he comes home?’
Melanie nodded. A couple of days ago she had started to respond to Grace with nods and shakes of her head rather than her usual wide-eyed stares. Grace knew she was beginning to trust her and to like her. Occasionally she sought and gave affection by tentatively leaning against her or winding her arms round her neck for a moment. Grace had yet to see her smile.
‘We could put it in a frame and ask Daddy to hang it on your bedroom wall,’ Grace said. ‘He’s coming home later today.’ She referred to Daniel as Daddy several times each day to get Melanie used to the idea and so she wouldn’t forget him during his absence. Daniel had not been home for three weeks but had telephoned last night to say he was bringing the boat home now that the pilchard season was over. Grace wasn’t looking forward to seeing him quite as much as usual.
She was growing fonder of Melanie every day. She played so quietly one could forget she was in the house and when Grace wanted time to herself, she stayed happily with Nan Trebilcock. There were still one or two social and behavioural problems to sort out. If someone knocked on the door, Melanie would run away and hide and invariably wet herself. Grace thought she was afraid her mother had come for her. If Grace didn’t check her she ate hot or sticky food with her hands and she always had to be reminded to wash her hands before meals or after using the toilet. Food went missing from the larder and other oddments from the house and Grace or Nan would find them hidden in Melanie’s room or comfort blanket.
A spark of interest showed in the deep blue eyes Melanie had inherited from Daniel. She turned the page of her small sketching pad over and started on another picture. Grace finished the cake and was washing the few dishes when Melanie shyly tapped on her waist. Grace smiled down on her.
‘See?’ Melanie displayed her new drawing.
At first Grace thought she was making one of her little piping sounds, then, with a lump in her throat, she realised Melanie had spoken. ‘Yes, darling, I do see,’ she answered calmly although her heart was thumping excitedly. ‘It’s a picture of Daddy’s boat, isn’t it?’
Melanie nodded.
Grace was overwhelmed. The picture of the Sunrise, coloured in blue and white, appeared to be perfect in every detail. Melanie had a rare talent that could set her up well in later life. Hoping to prompt another word out of her, Grace asked, ‘Who’s this picture for? Me?’
‘D… daddy.’
Grace nearly burst into tears and she hugged Melanie’s small body to her. ‘I’m sure Daddy will love it, darling.’
An hour later Daniel came home and put the little dog in his arms down on the sitting room floor. ‘You can’t bring that dirty little creature in here!’ Grace exclaimed indignantly.
‘I’ll bring what or who I like into my own house,’ he replied, the smile on his face vanishing in displeasure. Grace hadn’t rushed to embrace him as she’d always done before; there was an aloofness about her. He shrugged. ‘I brought him home for Melanie. He’s called Dumpy. I rescued him from a tinker who was kicking hell out of him.’
‘Please, Daniel, I wish you wouldn’t use language like that in front of Melanie.’ She looked down at Melanie where she had been making a simple wooden jigsaw puzzle on a tray on the carpet but the little girl had moved. She was on her knees in front of the fireplace, cradling Dumpy against her white linen dress which the dog’s paws were dirtying.
‘She likes him,’ Daniel said triumphantly. ‘Be better for her than those stupid cats of yours,’ he added sarcastically. He went closer to his daughter. ‘Melanie, Melanie.’
It was some moments before she looked up apprehensively at him, moments in which Grace’s stomach churned in worry that he’d get angry or offended if he was ignored.
‘He’s yours, Melanie. Would you like to go for a walk with me and Grace and Dumpy this afternoon?’
Melanie nodded shyly and quickly averted her eyes.
‘We’ll take a picnic to Hidden Beach,’ he told Grace. ‘I’ve treated Dumpy for fleas and worms and had him checked over by a vet. He’s quite healthy. I’ve got a bed for him on the boat. He’s a born sailor. I think I’ll take him with me sometimes when I’m working.’
Grace looked at the ugly mongrel, mainly of terrier breed, she guessed, pleased to hear he was at least free of worms and fleas. ‘Now, Melanie, you’ve got something for Daddy, haven’t you?’
Carrying Dumpy clumsily so his gangly legs hung down and quivered, Melanie fetched the picture of the Sunrise lying on the side table and nervously proffered it to Daniel.
Daniel eyed her, puzzled.
‘It’s her present to you, Daniel. Take it,’ Grace said proudly. ‘She drew it herself.’
Making a wry face, he took the picture from Melanie and immediately jeered, ‘She didn’t do this.’
Not liking his
tone, Melanie edged away to stand close to Grace.
‘Oh yes she did.’ Grace stood up and whispered darkly into his face, ‘She’s got a rare talent. I watched her draw it. You’ve upset her now. Say sorry to her and thank her.’
Daniel studied the drawing again. ‘Did she really do this?’
‘I swear to you, Daniel, it’s the truth,’ Grace said fiercely.
He whistled through his teeth. ‘Bloody hell, but then I suppose I would produce clever kids.’
He went to Melanie and lowering his great height down to her level, he stroked Dumpy who was wriggling and yapping excitedly in her childish grasp. ‘Thanks for the picture of my boat, Melanie,’ he said a little awkwardly.
‘Now you must say thank you to Daddy for the dog, Melanie,’ Grace said, standing over them, hoping Melanie would speak.
‘Thank… you,’ Melanie squeaked, not looking at her father.
Daniel’s head swung round to Grace. ‘She’s beginning to talk?’
‘As from today.’ Grace smiled down at Melanie. ‘I think we’ll go forward in leaps and bounds with her now. Daniel, could I pin you down to a Sunday when you’ll be home for certain?’
‘Why?’ He straightened up and glared at her.
‘I want to arrange to have Melanie christened. Uncle David said he’ll do it in a small private ceremony.’
‘I’m Church of England,’ he said.
‘Are you? I didn’t think you had any beliefs but I assumed you were christened in the chapel.’
‘Well, I wasn’t. Old Rufus took me along to get dipped in the church at Gorran Haven after my mother abandoned me. By the way, she weren’t married. I’m a bastard.’
Grace sighed. Yes, in more ways than one, she thought despondently. ‘Well, as I believe in God and you don’t is there any reason why she shouldn’t be christened in the chapel and by a man who’s agreed to be her uncle?’
‘You mean Skewes thinks of her as family?’ he inquired tartly, keeping up his aggressive tone because he was annoyed and disappointed by Grace’s coolness towards him. ‘He never comes here to see her or invites her up to the Manse.’
‘Uncle David and Aunt Adela have called here to see Melanie and we’ve dined at the Manse occasionally,’ Grace admitted, somewhat embarrassed under his penetrating glower; the Skewes wouldn’t set foot inside Chynoweth while Daniel was here and he had never been invited to socialize with them.
‘So why wasn’t I told?’
‘I didn’t think you’d be interested. Usually when I’ve spoken to you about Melanie you don’t seem to be listening.’
Daniel shook his head sourly. He’d given the girl the dog, thanked her for the picture and said they’d all go on a family picnic, but still his wife had to pick on him. With a grunt he went upstairs to bath and change his clothes.
Grace followed him, telling Melanie to stay with her new playmate.
Ignoring Grace and her frown, Daniel threw his soiled clothes on the bedroom floor and pulled clean ones out of the drawers and wardrobe. Then he smiled lecherously. ‘Can’t wait till I’m clean and smelling nice, eh?’
With an effort, Grace suppressed her natural desire for him. She didn’t want his gorgeous body, his hungry expression to distract her now. She had something deadly serious on her mind. ‘Did you have anything to do with it, Daniel?’ she asked sternly.
‘Do with what?’ So there was a reason for her frigidity, but he knew how to make her yield, what turned her from a worthy lady into a sensuous siren. He moved to her and stroked her face.
Grace backed away from him. ‘The attack on Matt Penney.’
‘Oh that.’ He smiled as if she had brought up a pleasant subject. ‘Yes. I ordered the men to do it. They made a very good job of it too. You won’t see him taking out a fishing boat again.’
Grace was deeply shocked, not just by his forthright admission but by the fact that he almost seemed to be boasting about it. ‘How could you want to hurt another human like that? I knew you were a hard man but I didn’t realise you could be so cruel.’
‘Yes, you did,’ he reminded her, pushing her towards the bed. ‘I told you all about me right from the beginning. What I did was kill two birds with one stone. I wanted rid of that rabble so I informed the police of the attack while it was happening. The police keep questioning me, but Brinley and his mates know better than to snitch on me, and they can’t prove a thing because some people I do business with will swear I was with them.’ It seemed Matt had not told the police he was involved; had his beating wiped out that part of his memory? ‘I’ve got a new crew. I’ve brought a nice respectable family back from Newlyn with me for the dogging season, a fisherman and his three sons. They’re moving into the old man’s cottage now. You can go down to ’em later and introduce yourself to Mrs Penrose. And in case you’re wondering, I told Fred Jose to get out of the village. There’s nothing mysterious about his disappearance as other folk believe.’
Her horror growing, Grace tried to pull away from him but he eased her down on the bed, lay over her and pulled up her skirt. Sickened, she turned her face away from him. ‘Not now, Daniel. Melanie might come up.’
‘She’s happy with Dumpy.’ He tugged on her blouse, making the top pearl button pop off. ‘Now you make me happy. Did you go to the doctor and have that thing taken out?’
‘Yes,’ Grace said, regretting it now. She wasn’t sure if Daniel was fit to be a father to Melanie with her humble background, let alone a child from her own body. She pushed on his broad shoulders, ‘Please, Daniel.’
‘There’s no need to say please, Grace,’ he mocked her. ‘You can have me any time.’ His hands had pushed her skirt up to her waist and were on her hips, his thumbs hooked into her silk underwear.
‘Did you know the shock of what you did to Matt made Hannah lose her baby?’ Grace said savagely.
He hesitated, his expression closed for a moment. He wasn’t a bit sorry at the loss of the Penneys’ baby. ‘Yes, and that’s all the more reason for us to bring new life into the village.’
‘I don’t want children, Daniel,’ she pleaded, tears pricking her eyes.
He looked so angry she feared him for the first time. ‘Then why do you want to play nursemaid with that brat downstairs? Are you too proud to bear my children?’
‘No, it isn’t that.’
She started to cry silently and Daniel lost his desire. He rolled off her and sat on the edge of the bed. ‘What is it then?’
‘I love you, Daniel.’ She wiped her eyes with the heels of her hands and levered herself to sit close to him. ‘God knows I’m a foolish woman but I love you with all my heart, no matter what you do. I just don’t think it’s right to bring children into the world until they can be guaranteed a stable home life. I’m not a maternal woman, and, well, a man who can arrange for someone to be beaten as Matt Penney was shouldn’t—’
‘I owed Penney that beating,’ he muttered sulkily.
‘Nothing can justify what you did, Daniel. He’s lost his livelihood, his child and half his face.’
‘He’s not as bad as that!’ he snapped. ‘The bastards are exaggerating. I went to the hospital and took a peep at him myself.’
Grace felt ill as she visualised him gloating over Matt but she sensed a defensiveness in him and it made her bold. ‘What about his child?’
‘What about it? That had nothing to do with me. Hannah could have miscarried it anyway. I’ll knock on her flaming door and offer my condolences,’ he said coldly. ‘Anyway, you’re getting off the point. If you don’t want children, why are you bothering with Melanie?’
‘She’s already in the world, nothing can change that You’re her father and I’m your wife. It makes us both responsible for her. I didn’t want her at first but I’m growing to love her. We could do a lot for her, Daniel.’ She put a beguiling tone in her voice. ‘If we settled down like a normal family then we could think about having a baby of our own.’
He snorted and tossed his head. ‘Are yo
u suggesting I become a respectable citizen?’
‘It’s not that hard, Daniel.’ She moved behind him and put her arms round his neck. ‘You’ve made a start. You’ve got yourself a new crew. Good people, you said. I don’t know what went on in the past but surely you’ve got the revenge you wanted on the Penneys. Leave them alone to get on with their own lives while we get on with ours.’ She bent her head to kiss the side of his face. ‘Please, darling.’
With a force that hurt her chest and cut off her breath, he pushed her away from him. ‘Go to hell, you conniving bitch!’ Standing and pointing at her, he shouted, ‘You said you’d take what was on offer and I said if you nag me or try to change me I’d make you suffer. Go on like this and I’ll keep my word. I’ll make you wish you’d never been born. If you don’t want my body there’s plenty of women who do. And what I do to Hannah Penney is my business, not yours. Keep out of it.’
Leaving Grace in a frightened huddle on the bed, he snatched up his clean clothes and stormed off to the bathroom.
Downstairs, Melanie curled up in a corner of the living room and wet herself. When Daniel thumped down the stairs and out of the house, Dumpy deserted her for him and she slipped back into her shell.
Chapter 17
Miss Benson knocked and entered Mrs Opie’s suite. ‘Mr Spargo is here to see Mrs Greg, madam. I’ve told him she has gone to St Austell for a doctor’s appointment and he’s requested to see you.’
‘Oh, what a nuisance,’ Feena sighed. She had only just got back from Penzance and was painting a still life to unwind, the bronze figure of a ballet dancer, and although the light wasn’t good on this early November day, she was enjoying her activity. But she was curious to learn what Jeff wanted. She put her palette down. ‘Help me out of my smock please, Miss Benson, then you had better show him up.’
After the plain-faced housekeeper had left, Feena wheeled herself quickly to her bedroom and retouched her make-up. She flicked at her closely waved grey hair and smoothed at her slightly sagging jowls, wishing she had a way of holding them up permanently. Then she went back to the sitting room and transferred herself to a chair well away from the light of the windows. She called Pogo to her, patting her lap for him to jump up, then she awaited her old lover with an imposing expression.
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