‘Then she’ll be my first interview,’ Justine said, smiling at him. ‘In a way, the documentary is another fluke. I really did come here to find Anita and, through her, my grandmother. But I didn’t want to go into a lot of private stuff with Iffet, so I told her I was investigating the idea of a documentary. However, I wasn’t really serious about that until I started to tour the city, and began to understand its fascinating history. It seemed like a natural to me.’
Michael nodded and, glancing at her, his eyes slightly narrowed, he asked, ‘Did you happen to be sitting on the terrace of Çiragan Palace last Friday afternoon? Late afternoon?’
‘Yes, I was there. Why?’
‘Did you notice a man ogling you?’
Justine gave him a long stare, and exclaimed, ‘Yes, I did! He looked like an Englishman, and he kept stealing glances at me. Then another man, tall, dark, came and joined him. Oh, my God! Was that you? I didn’t want to encourage that guy so I ignored him, didn’t look around, do anything like that. I just sat making my notes and I never saw your face.’
‘And I didn’t look around either, because it would have been rude, and perhaps embarrassing to you. He’s quite harmless, he just loves beautiful women, but all he does is ogle them, actually, Justine.’ Michael chuckled. ‘He’s well and truly married, happily married.’
‘He’s a friend of yours then?’
‘A client and a friend.’ Michael sat back on the seat, a strange look suddenly crossing his face, and he began to shake his head.
Justine, who was totally conscious of him in every sense, asked, ‘What’s wrong? You’ve got the oddest look on your face.’
‘Something just struck me, and quite forcibly. My friend was itching to come over to say hello, ask you to join us for a drink. And if he had done that, I would have had to come with him. We would’ve all introduced ourselves, obviously. You wouldn’t have known my name, but I would certainly have known yours. Justine Nolan has been part of my life for years.’
‘And on hearing my name, you would have told me you were Anita’s grandson, and that you knew my grandmother, and that would have been another fluke.’
‘Exactly what I was just thinking,’ Michael answered, and shook his head again. ‘A missed chance.’
‘True, but through another fluke it all worked out…’ She cut herself off, and sat gazing into space for a moment.
Michael said, ‘Now you’ve got an odd look on your face. What have you just thought of?’
‘I was just wondering if life is… a fluke. I mean, is everything that happens in all of our lives… a fluke? Is life made up of random things happening – flukes, accidents, all those kinds of things?’
‘I don’t know, but I have had to deal with many coincidences in my life, both personal and professional… accidental encounters that have been meaningful in some way, and very flukey things as well.’
‘My grandmother doesn’t believe in the randomness of life. She thinks there’s a master plan. When we were little she was constantly saying Que sera sera, what will be will be. She told Iffet that God had meant us to be on the Bosphorus this afternoon, and that God had meant her to be there too, and that’s why we encountered each other.’
‘And I guess God meant it to happen this Friday and not last week.’ And He meant it to happen when I was here in Istanbul, not Paris, Michael thought, but did not say. Originally he had been planning a trip to see his French client in Paris, and then had unexpectedly changed his mind, decided to come here instead, and not for any special reason whatsoever. Another fluke?
Justine said, ‘Has my grandmother told you a lot about me? I mean you did say I’d been part of your life for years.’
‘Yes, she did talk about you from time to time, and over many years, even before this ridiculous estrangement, the problems with your mother. What’s it all about, do you know?’
‘I don’t, Michael, but it is one of the things I plan to find out about. And I genuinely believe it’s my mother who’s at fault, not Gran.’
‘It wouldn’t surprise me,’ Michael asserted. ‘We’re here. Kuri will help us with the bags.’
A moment later, the door opened and her grandmother was standing there on the step of her yali, smiling at the two of them. ‘You don’t have much luggage, darling,’ Gabriele exclaimed.
‘I travel light, Gran,’ Justine explained, hurrying over to her, embracing her.
Michael, turning to Kuri, said, ‘Give me those bags please, and thanks very much, Kuri, for your help. We won’t need you again tonight, so you might as well get off for your supper. See you in the morning.’
The driver inclined his head, smiled, and disappeared through the curtain of trees.
Stepping back, Gabriele ushered Justine into her villa, telling her, ‘This has been my home for years, darling, and I think you’re going to like it.’
Michael said, ‘Sure she will,’ and went inside after them, carrying Justine’s two suitcases which he put down on the floor. ‘I’m going to leave you two alone for a while. I’ve got business calls to make to New York. I’ll be having supper with you later.’
‘See you,’ Justine murmured. ‘And thank you for helping me, Michael.’
‘My pleasure,’ he replied and, stepping outside, he closed the door behind him.
SEVENTEEN
The moment they were alone, Gabriele took hold of Justine’s arm, and said, ‘Come along, darling, let’s go into the little sitting room. I have a great need to talk to you, and there’s plenty of time to show you the villa, since you’ll be staying for a while.’
‘That’s exactly what I want to do, Gran. Before you say anything, I must ask the first question. It’s one which troubles me terribly, and Rich. What is this estrangement about?’
Leading her into the sitting room, Gabriele said, ‘Let’s go and sit near the fireplace. I always have a fire in the evenings at this time of year – it gets cool – and I’ll tell you anything and everything you want to know.’
Justine took a seat in a comfortable armchair opposite her grandmother, and explained. ‘Richard and I knew nothing about it, until the letter from Anita came and I opened it.’
‘Thank God you did,’ Gabriele exclaimed. ‘If you’d simply sent it on to your mother, you’d be none the wiser, and she would not have replied, and we wouldn’t be sitting here, the two of us.’
‘So what did happen between you, Gran?’
When Gabriele remained silent, Justine said, ‘Was it about money?’
Gabriele looked at her granddaughter alertly, thinking how bright and intuitive she was. ‘You’ve hit the nail on the head, my dear. It was mostly about money… but then Deborah is somewhat avaricious, greedy, when it comes to material things. She never had enough of anything, and I’m certain she’s still the same, isn’t she?’
‘I don’t think a leopard changes its spots, Grandma, so I guess she is still as grabby. But to be honest, Richard and I haven’t seen much of her since she went to live in Beverly Hills. That was eight years ago. Two husbands and two divorces later, I can’t help thinking she might be on the prowl again for a rich man. That’s why she won’t come back to New York. Beverly Hills is now her preferred fish pond.’
‘I would have thought that Palm Beach was better. More widowers, no?’ Gabriele said, her tone slightly acerbic.
Justine burst out laughing. ‘Oh, spot on, Gran! There’s nobody like you. Anyway, please tell me about the estrangement.’
‘It was like this,’ Gabriele said, leaning forward slightly, her hands clasped together, her blue eyes fixed on her granddaughter. ‘When your father died twelve years ago, your mother immediately wanted to take over the showroom in the D & D Building. She told me she was going to run it as your father had. I said that she couldn’t, because I was going to do that. Naturally she was up in arms, screaming and shouting, and being her histrionic self. Once she had calmed down, I explained that I owned the import company. The showroom lease was in my name, and I had financed
most of the operation. Naturally she didn’t believe me. She had assumed it belonged to your father, but in fact he only had a very small investment in it. In the end, I had to show her all of the legal papers to convince her.’
‘So my father worked for you, and not vice versa, and yet somehow everyone thought it was his company,’ Justine murmured.
‘I know, and it didn’t matter to me. And with all due respect, your father wasn’t the one who put that story around. It was your mother. Anyway, he and I made a good team; he enjoyed working with me, and so did I with him. He took a big burden off my shoulders. I paid him a handsome salary and he was genuinely content with the arrangement. Your mother had her own decorating company, and she was working. However, her business wasn’t as successful as she would have everyone believe.’
Gabriele sat back in the chair, her expression sad. With a sigh, she said, ‘Your mother was stubborn from the day she was born, and I’m afraid she thinks she’s right about everything.’
‘Oh, you don’t have to tell me that, Gran. Rich and I realized long ago that she’s a know-it-all. One thing surprises me, though: we thought her design company was big time, the way she talked. She was constantly away, as you well know. Travelling for business, she said. I often wondered about that, especially as I got older.’ Justine threw her grandmother a keen and knowing glance. ‘I don’t want to interrupt, so please continue the story.’
‘I decided the best thing was to pay her your father’s salary every month, and keep her out of the showroom and out of my hair. I did it for peace and quiet, really, and to keep my business on an even keel. You remember Edgar Clarke, who worked with us when your father was alive, I’m sure. I promoted him to your father’s position as manager, and he did a good job for me. Especially when I was in London or travelling. In the end, I decided to close the showroom in order to spend more time in London and here in Istanbul. After all, you were already in college.’
‘I remember that, Gran, but we did miss you a lot when you were away. Dad was dead, and Mom was never around.’ Justine fell silent for a moment, before saying quietly, ‘What set her off ten years ago?’
‘Several things, darling. About a year before that, I closed the showroom. I stopped paying your mother your father’s salary. There was no longer an import company either. So what was the point? That was why she came to visit me in London in 1994. I still owned auntie Beryl’s house just off Charles Street, and she stayed with me, trying to make nice, so I believe …’ Gabriele’s voice quavered slightly; she paused, cleared her throat before continuing a little unsteadily, ‘One afternoon, when I was out at appointments, she broke into my writing case. Can you believe that? She actually broke the lock, and as bold as brass. She stole jewellery which auntie Beryl had left me in her will. Plus a large amount of cash. Deborah also read personal documents, and it was those that set her off on a horrible rampage.’
Gabriele took out her handkerchief and blew her nose, dabbed at her eyes. ‘I was stunned that my own daughter would invade my privacy, and steal from me.’
Justine was aghast at this story; leaning forward, she touched her grandmother’s hand, patted it. ‘Don’t cry, Gran. I’m here now, and Richard will come soon, and we’ll make up for the pain she’s caused you. I promise you we will.’
Gabriele forced a smile, nodded, but was quiet, falling down into herself, as she tried to recover her equilibrium.
After a few minutes, Justine asked, ‘Did you get the jewellery back? And the cash?’
‘I did, yes, because she made one mistake. The things went missing when the help was off. They were on holiday. She couldn’t accuse them, and the house hadn’t been broken into. And so it was obviously your mother who had taken my things. She didn’t have a leg to stand on and I got everything back.’
Justine nodded. ‘And what kind of documents did she find, Gran?’
There was a long silence, before Gabriele said at last, ‘She found my marriage certificate. She discovered that I had married Uncle Trent a year before he died – that’s fourteen years ago now.’
‘I’m so glad that happened, Grandma! He adored you, and he was such a lovely man, so kind and warm. But why didn’t you tell anybody? Like Dad? Or me and Rich? Or our mother, your daughter?’ So-called, Justine thought, remembering her mother’s treachery over the years.
‘I told your father. In fact, he was the one who urged me to marry Trent, and—’
‘Why did Dad urge you to get married to him?’ Justine interrupted, her curiosity aroused more than ever.
‘Because he agreed with Trent that we should be married, in order to protect me should anything happen to Trent. You see, Trent was older than me, and he was diagnosed with leukaemia a year before he died, and although he and I had been together for many years, I’d always resisted marrying him.’
Gabriele paused, lifted her hands helplessly, shook her head, looking rueful, as if she could find no good reason for this attitude on her part. She stared out into the room, lost for a moment in her thoughts.
After a second or two, as Justine waited patiently for her to catch her breath, Gabriele finally continued. ‘Trent was determined to make me his wife because he loved me, had loved me since the day we met, and because he had so little time left. He also wished to secure my future financially. He had never married, so had no offspring, but he did have a sister and a nephew. Being a lawyer he knew only too well how families could behave when money was involved. It occurred to him that his sister and her son might challenge his will. If I wasn’t his wife.’
‘I understand,’ Justine murmured. ‘You would be vulnerable, and that’s what Dad and Uncle Trent were endeavouring to prevent.’
‘That’s right. So I finally, at long last, agreed to marry Trent, providing he left his sister and nephew the house in Long Island and his New York apartment. I didn’t want trouble. I’m not avaricious, and I basically agreed to get married to make Trent happy.’
‘And did Uncle Trent agree to your suggestion?’
‘He argued with me at first, but finally gave in, and left those two properties to his sister and nephew, who, by the way, were not only surprised at this bequest after Trent died, but also perfectly happy with what they got.’
‘It was generous of Uncle Trent,’ Justine murmured, and grimaced. ‘So Mom found the marriage certificate and that set her off. One thing I don’t quite understand… what was her anger about? Uncle Trent was dead by then.’
‘I’ll get to that in a minute, but let me explain something else. Many years ago, long before your mother was married to your father, I found a beautiful property in Connecticut. It was called Indian Ridge, the home we all loved except your mother, who didn’t really care about it. Trent bought it, put it in my name and gave it to me outright. It has always been in my name and it still is—’
‘Indian Ridge belongs to you! Not to Mom?’ Justine’s astonishment showed on her face and she gaped at Gabriele, staggered by this announcement, and thinking yet again what a pathological liar her mother was.
‘That’s correct, Justine,’ Gabriele answered. ‘When your mother came to London ten years ago she demanded Indian Ridge. She wanted me to give it to her outright. I explained I couldn’t do that because it was in an unbreakable trust. The Somerset Trust had been created some years ago, and Indian Ridge is in the Somerset Trust for you and Richard, and your children, and then their children, and so on. You and he will inherit Indian Ridge one day, after I’m dead. It’s a pretty straightforward trust. Your mother didn’t like my news about the Somerset Trust. I pointed out to her that she had never really loved – or even liked – the house, but that she could live there for as long as I was alive. After that it would be yours, and you and Richard would be in charge and could do what you wanted about the house.’
‘Grandma, I’m so stunned about inheriting Indian Ridge, and Richard will be… thank you so much. I don’t know what else to say. It’s so very generous of you, and somehow a “thank you” doesn�
��t seem quite enough.’
‘You are my family. My only family, now that my auntie Beryl is dead. She was the last of my mother’s line except for me. Now you and Richard are the future line… You and yours will carry on after I’m dead. As for your mother, I don’t know what to say about her.’
Justine was moved, so touched by Gabriele’s words she couldn’t speak. She was choked up and emotional for a moment or two, and she sat very still in the chair trying to steady herself.
At last, taking a deep breath, she said in a low voice, ‘I bet Deborah went berserk, lost her cool.’
‘She was furious. And that is when she vowed never to speak to me again, never see me again, and that you and Richard were barred from my life. That I could never be in contact with you.’
‘So that’s what the estrangement is all about. As you said, material things. Gran, I want—’
‘Could I just finish this, darling, before you tell me what you need to say?’
‘Yes, please do.’
‘It’s important you know that the Somerset Trust was created when you were children, because I knew how much you and Richard cared about Indian Ridge, and Tony too. Your father loved that place with all his heart, and had he lived he would have continued to reside there, since I also named him in the Somerset Trust.’
‘But not my mother?’
‘No, Justine, not as far as the house is concerned. It didn’t matter to her, except for its intrinsic market value. She would sell it at the drop of a hat.’
Justine sat staring at her grandmother thoughtfully, and then asked at last, ‘Why didn’t you marry Uncle Trent when you were a younger woman? I mean, why did you wait until it was literally forced on you by Dad? Because Uncle Trent was ill and Dad knew he didn’t have long to live?’
A deep sigh escaped Gabriele, and she leaned forward; her blue eyes, clear, full of intelligence, were fixed on her granddaughter. ‘Actually I always longed to marry him, deep inside myself. But I couldn’t. There was a terrible impediment, you see.’
Letter From a Stranger Page 13