Leonora’s mind was racing. She knew this information would be something of great value to herself in some way, and loved secrets. She also had a weakness for a good love story and could sense in this man that he was honest and dearly loved the woman he’d just described, being his long-term mistress. Oh, but what a juicy scandal.
“I’ll not tell, Sir. Mr Cook, do you want me to meet her with the children?”
“Well, yes, that is definitely going to be necessary, but we’ll also have to help the children keep this from their grandmother.” He finally smiled at the idea of such a conspiracy against his mother. Perhaps he was a little more like her than he’d ever have cared to admit in the past. But at least he was able to think clearly now about all that needed to happen over the coming months. Planning his future with his family properly intact was a dream he’d never expected to be able to realize, and he was finally feeling more upbeat about things than he had all year, perhaps in many years. “On Sunday, I’d like for us all to go out for the day - I realize you usually have Sunday’s off, I wonder if you would mind changing to Saturdays?”
“Well, um, Sir, I do like to attend Mass on Sunday morning. And then we have a family lunch. I don’t know…”
“Please? What if it was just for a few weeks?”
Leonora looked undecided.
“I’ll pay you extra, and what about if it was just from 2 pm. You could meet us, then come back with the children and me, and stay Sunday nights instead of Saturday nights. Just until I return from my next trip to New Zealand. So, this would be for say three weeks?”
“And I’d have all of Saturday off, with extra pay, for three weeks?”
“Yes, of course.”
Sensing his desperation for her to agree, she finally nodded and smiled. “Yes, I’m sure I can leave our family lunch early on Sundays, just for a few weeks.”
Leonora stood up to leave, brushing down her skirt to smooth it out, and looked at him. “Should we go and talk to the children together now, Sir? So that they will know they can talk with me about their mother if they need to.”
“Yes, that’s a fine idea.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Two days later, Leonora was able to meet with her Uncle Kaiden and tell him all about her conversation with her employer. Marija was also his niece and so the two women were cousins. During their combined family lunch the next day, both were able to concoct a plan to ensure information was shared easily and quickly if necessary outside the Cook household, using a combination of night time strolls in the garden and a ball throwing game outdoors. If anything needed to be shared, Leonora would take the children outside for a game of catch, ensuring an additional ball was always rolled outside the grounds through the bars of the fence - a note would be rolled up inside it, collected and the ball tossed back over the fence by morning. Either Leonora or Marija would draw the curtains enough to leave a visible gap at the top in one of the upstairs rooms for Kaiden or Alyssia to see it.
Gregory had returned the next night to further scope out Cookson’s warehouse, and to his delight discovered that upon entering it, at shortly after 3 am, there were barely any issues to bar entry for anyone holding the keys. Breaking in would have been challenging due to the bars on the windows and doors, and there was a night watchman apparently on sight until Midnight, but not through the wee hours. Apparently, the company felt it was secure enough, but failed to consider the idiocy of their staff. Walking through the warehouse, he noted that everything inside seemed to be in order, with efficient packaging dispatch orders, and filing of items that had arrived that day. He wandered through the offices looking for anything of interest, wrote down a few things, identified what might be the codes of specific types of products, and then headed out to the warehouse itself.
Neatly stacked large shelves were silent and waiting for the busy activities of the coming day. Boxes were labeled and easily accessible, and Gregory quickly found the ones he thought might yield the best rewards for his efforts. Opening one up, he pulled out the top layer and slid out the inner box. The bracelet gleamed up at him in the torchlight. Another box revealed a variation of the first style, as did another. Jewelry was an ideal product to take and on-sell and this range was not the highest priced style typical of what may be found in a dedicated jewelry store, so less likely to stand out and be identified as hot property.
He put the bracelets back in their box and replaced the carton on the shelf, ensuring it looked undisturbed. Then he went back to the office and checked the planned delivery notes. The jewelry was due for dispatch to the store at the end of that coming week, not much time - but perhaps enough.
He looked about and checked that there had been no evidence left of his visit and locked up as he departed quietly. An idea formed in his mind as he walked home and, distracted as he was, he failed once again to notice he was being observed from a distance.
By the time his head hit his pillow for a much needed few hours of sleep, the plan was solid in his mind. He smiled as he drifted off, eager to set things in motion on Tuesday night.
Thomas Morris found a sheltered corner near the docks, sat down and shrugged into his turned- up coat collar. A few hours’ sleep would be welcome, but it was hard to find it, as his mind continued to race. He was also hungry, and the ground was uncomfortable beneath him. The last few months had been hard. Arriving in Sydney, as a deck hand. on the same ship as Margaret, was a good way to leave New Zealand, and the weather was better here than the cold streets of Auckland would have been to wait out his next opportunity. Occasional work on the docks was easily found when he got hungry or wanted a decent bed for a while. Drifting about as a grafter made it easy to observe what Margaret was up to, and then he started to get interested in her new friends. The man, whose name he did not know, was clearly a well-practiced former soldier by his bearing, and obvious ability to move about as a nearly invisible person. He was also clearly casing the warehouse in Sloane Street with a view to something, he was however unsure quite what or how to find out. Watching him was also a bore - as he was clearly not someone who emerged from his premises often - but when he did, he was interesting.
Margaret on the other hand, was easy to work out. She wanted to see her kids, and probably had issues with the Cooks. His time with Anthea Cook last year proved that they were likely to be very difficult, and Thomas had no doubt at all that the grenade he tossed into the love nest in Auckland would have had many repercussions. He grinned when he thought of it. He was always happy when he thought about ways to fuck up his little sister’s life. With that, he too smiled as he finally drifted off to sleep.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Margaret swept up Maureen and Lewis in a big hug as they launched themselves towards her. She grabbed each of their hands and walked over towards where Nate was standing beside the swings. She had packed a hamper with cake, sandwiches and some fruit and they moved towards a bench table under the trees. Finishing off their light lunch with fresh oranges, Margaret observed with heart bursting as Maureen helped Lewis to peel and segment his orange, wiping his chin when the juice dribbled. “Dearest child, you are quite the young mama to your brother. I it’s wonderful to know you’re there to look after him while I’m away.”
“Mummy, I always look after him.” She smiled in pleasure at the compliment then paused, with a faraway look in her eye, before looking back at her mother. “When are we all going home?” She asked in such a firm, pointed way that Margaret was a little taken aback momentarily. She looked at Nate, and he shrugged a little.
“Well, we do need to talk with you, both of you, about what’s going to happen next.” Margaret cleared the last of the lunch away into the basket and folded her hands in front of her, while Nate made a point of clearing his throat a couple of times more than necessary. He continued on and all three of his audience members looked eagerly at him, hanging on his every word.
“Well, your mother and I, we want us all to go back to Auckland and live there again, but
it’s unfortunately going to take just a little bit of working things out with Grandma.” He paused, wincing a little on the title. “You see, she really does love you both very much, and we need to make sure she’s not super sad about us all leaving here.”
Maureen was pouting under a fierce scowl, and her back grew stiff, a sure indication that she might just be about to explode into one of her legendary tantrums. Nate did his best to ignore the slowly igniting firecracker. “But we don’t think it will take very long. The only problem you see, is that we need to keep a big secret from Grandma about what we want to do, and that Mummy has come here to rescue us all.”
“Well, not rescue us…” Margaret thought it best not to get too carried away with the fairy tale aspects of the situation but did admire his attempt at making the best of the story. “It’s just that if your Grandma knew that I was here, she might be very upset and make it harder for us all to leave when Daddy gets back from his next trip. So, here’s what we’re all going to do.”
Nate picked up the thread again. “I’m going to be back to New Zealand in a few days, and I’ll be away for about two weeks. When I come back, we’ll be able to see Mummy again of course, and while I’m gone, Nanny Leo is going to bring you both here to the park each Sunday afternoon for a picnic, like today.”
“Yes”, said Margaret. “So, we’ll be able to see each other and play like today, but the thing is, you must keep it a secret from everyone until Daddy gets back from New Zealand.”
“Oh, I like secrets.” Lewis’s eyes were round and his glee at the idea of a secret that he was part of and had to keep was clearly very exciting for him.
Maureen on the other hand, looked for all the world like she wanted to simply open her mouth and allow words to scream out at a deadly pace. She was fidgeting in her seat, arms crossed now and eyebrows nearly meeting in the middle. Finally, the damn broke and the words gushed out.
“No. You’re wrong, she doesn’t love us. Not even a little bit. She’s mean and she hates us, especially me. She wants to send me away to another home, and just keep Lewis.” She stood up then to give more power to the energy surging through her small but passionate frame. “Daddy, you can’t go away again. It’s awful when you’re not there. Grandma is mean. And I want to stay with Mummy! Why can’t we?”
“Sweetheart, please believe me, if there was any other way to do this, we would. But your Daddy is right, we have to just wait a couple more weeks until we can all work out the best way to get Grandma to let us all go together.”
Maureen folded her arms tightly and huffed a little more, before saying: “It’s not fair!”
“I know, Molly, and it’s not fair on us either.” At the sound of her mother using her ‘special’ name for her, Maureen calmed down a bit and uncrossed her arms. “Please, we just need to know that you’ll do your very best to keep this secret. Otherwise it might become even harder for us to meet here on Sundays. Can you please do that, Molly?”
Margaret held out her arms to her daughter and invited her into them, enfolding her in a warm embrace, kissing the top of her head and stroking her hair. “It’s only a couple more weeks, we promise.”
“And, Nanny Leo will be in on it too, so you can talk to her about any of this, and she’ll be there every day to help make sure Grandma is nicer.” Nate pulled Lewis onto his lap and held him there, enjoying the solid feel of the boy. “In fact, Nanny will be here in a few minutes, so we can all talk to her about it, OK?”
He looked up to see Leonora walking briskly towards them, and waved her over.
Leonora was introduced to Margaret, then the children were ushered over to the swings to play for a few minutes so that Margaret could get to know the woman who was caring for her children in her absence. She looked over the young woman, who appeared to be in her late 20s, dark skinned, and with a fairly heavy accent to go with deep brown eyes and clear European complexion. She was beautiful, but not so much so that she’d have stopped traffic. Indeed, her beauty was quite understated, but she certainly had an elegance about her. Margaret wondered how well she’d faired as a nanny thus far in her life, sure that not all women may have tolerated her living in their homes.
“Where are you from?”
“Malta, Ma’am, my family came here after the war ripped apart my country. It is good here now. I am happy.” Leonora had an almost melodic style of speaking and Margaret warmed to her.
“I know how hard it is to leave your home and come to this side of the world,” she said. “My family came to New Zealand in 1935, and I don’t expect to see England again anytime soon. It’s a strange thing to start life in a new country, but you also had to learn a new language. Your English is very good now though.”
“Thank you Mrs, um… Ma’am. Working with Children helps me to learn how to speak very well, and if you like I can teach them a little Maltese?”
“I think that might be quite nice, although I know you are aware, we’re not planning to stay here for very long. Unfortunately for you that will mean we’ll not be able to guarantee you work after Christmas.”
“That’s fine Ma’am. I will have no trouble finding more work.” Leonora opened her purse to dig out a handkerchief and delicately blew her nose. “So, we are to meet here at this time each week until Mr Cook returns from his trip?”
“Yes, that’s right. And to help the children to keep this all a secret. It would not be helpful for any of us just now if Mrs Cook was to learn of my being here.”
“Yes, of course, Ma’am, I understand.” Margaret smiled at the younger woman then and thought to herself ‘I bet you really don’t understand, but at least you’re kind and decent.’ “Thank you.”
The rest of the afternoon passed quietly with ice creams, a nap under the tree for Lewis, and Margaret and Maureen making daisy chains. Leonora enjoyed the opportunity to stretch out and take her shoes off, watching her charges with their parents, and observing the way Nathaniel and Margaret were with each other. Clearly there was a lot of love between them all and she wondered about the rest of their story. All too soon it was time to pack up and return home, Margaret leaving Maureen and Lewis with a big hug and promises to see them again next week, and to get them each a present. It was also arranged that Nate would visit her later to say a more personal good bye.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Gregory outlined his plans to Kaiden. The only way to do anything in time was to keep it very simple, leave it open for the security guard himself to take the fall for the job, and test their own abilities to pull off such an event. “Keeping it very simple is the only way. We’re not experienced enough in this to risk anything bigger. And, we can get more than enough return out of this to ensure it goes well and we leave the door open for next time.”
“Yes, I can see that’s a good plan.” Kaiden drew slowly on his pipe. His mind was busy processing every angle and came up with nothing that seemed to jar his senses that this might not work. “In fact, I think it’s brilliant, yes indeed.”
“You’ll of course still get the same share - after all, Marija led us to the opportunity and obtained the keys, so nothing will change there. It may take a little while longer to get our payment, but that’s OK. Right?”
Kaiden nodded. He trusted his friend to be honest with him, and to do what was right, but the thought in the back of his mind was there - how will we know what was taken? He brushed it aside. If for any reason the split was slightly higher in Gregory’s favor this time, well, he was also the one taking all the risk after all.
“So, tomorrow?”
“Yes, it has to be. That stock is moving the day after.”
“We should all suspend contact for a little while after, but I think if you say the risks are so low, it will actually be better to know from Marija what’s happened so, let’s not change our meetings.”
“Well, we’re just two inconspicuous old friends having a drink together, right?”
Gregory drained his beer and smiled. “Right!”
They moved on to other matters then, and Kaiden reported that there was nothing of particular interest to share about the Cook household, and they soon parted company for the evening.
As he was leaving, Gregory noticed a ruffian standing near the doorway, smoking and apparently doing his best to not look at him as he passed by. His manner was barely enough to alert him to the man, and he quickly observed him as he went by. He was sure the man was a stranger to him, but there was something very slightly familiar about him. He took in the dirty clothing, ragged graying hair, unshaven face, and slightly stooped stature, and surmised him to be perhaps somewhere between 40 and 50. He wondered why the man seemed so intent on looking down at his glass, after having been looking right at him a little while earlier. Their eyes had not quite met, but he’d definitely been looking over in his direction. Perhaps he was someone Kaiden knew? Or maybe he was becoming paranoid ahead of the job he was undertaking the next night. He decided to simply file the information away for now but keep an eye out for him again.
The next morning, Margaret stopped by for a short visit, and to select some gloves to wear on stage. Solange decided that they needed more sequins at the wrist, and insisted on adding them over a shared cup of tea. As she brought Solange up to date with all her news of visiting the children, and her renewed relationship status with Nathaniel Cook, Solange thought about the irony of whose warehouse her alter ego was about to steal from. Yes, it was a small world sometimes, and not for the first time she pondered the interesting turn of events in his/her life.
“Is it real, though my dear?”
Taken aback by the question, Margaret observed the level gaze from hazel eyes peering out over bright pink horn-rimmed glasses, poised above satin gloves, needle and thread and a short cluster of sequins held loosely like a cigarette between her friend’s lips. She took a long moment to phrase her answer. “Nate and I have been part of each other’s lives for so long now, and gone through so much together. He loves me, of that I’ve never doubted. He also loves both of my children as though they are his own, even though Maureen is not. But…” and she shifted uncomfortably in her seat for a moment, hesitation was not something she usually felt the need for when speaking her mind, “but the events of the last year, and the way we’ve both reacted have not all been about just us. Nate’s mother has been instrumental in all this but also Nate’s wife and my husband have also been complicit in the issues we’ve had to face. And quite seriously, how could any couple cope with such strange things.”
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