Helen’s voice was quiet, serious. ‘Are you staying with him out of guilt Bec? Because that really isn’t a good basis for a marriage you know.’
Rebecca took her time answering. Was she staying purely out of guilt? It was undeniable that the happiest she had been in the last 5 years were the weeks she had spent in Leeds without Daniel.
‘I don’t know,’ she whispered, ‘I really don’t know Helen.’
And in an echo of the words whispered in her ear 5 years earlier Helen whispered back. ‘I’m here for you Bec, if you want to come back, I’m here for you.’
The conversation continued in a somewhat strained way for a few more minutes and eventfully Helen said goodbye and Rebecca replaced the phone softly in its cradle.
She was disturbed and restless. Winning money shouldn’t be so stressful she thought, she should be happy, full of plans and dreams. She had been exactly that until Daniel had become part of the experience. How quickly it had all turned so sour.
She had no idea where Daniel was. She didn’t actually care. She was exhausted from the constant battles and she was determined that for once she would get a say in the path their futures followed. But it was such hard work. Maybe she would be better just giving him half of the money. Let him make his own decisions. But with what she had already spent on the house, what she planned to give the children and friends, the money she wanted to put to one side for Gwen, if she divided what was left it wouldn’t be enough for Daniel. It had been her decision to buy the house, maybe she should sell it and insist that the children were taken care of and then they split the rest. But what about Parklands, what about saving the home Gwen had lived in for so many years?
Rebecca groaned and put her head in her hands. Why did it have to be so complicated she thought? Why did she have to win the money in the first place.
The next morning Daniel stayed out of her way. Rebecca was tense and on edge, waiting for the argument to begin to rage once more. But Daniel stayed in the study, she even thought that she could hear him whistling again. She felt certain he was expecting her to submit. She had for the last 5 years. Daniel would decide and Rebecca would accept. But this time it was different. Rebecca had the upper hand and she needed to hang onto it as hard as she could. No submission this time.
By lunch time she was in desperate need of some fresh air and without saying anything to Daniel, she slipped out and into her car, heading aimlessly in the direction of Leeds. She didn’t need to shop, she had done enough shopping for a lifetime over the last few weeks. Sarah had lectures, and although she briefly considered visiting Gwen she really didn’t want to go to Parklands. It would remind her of the difficulties it faced, of the difficulties Rebecca faced. She could help the residents of Parklands, she could help Gwen. She just needed to make a decision.
Aimlessly she parked the car and wandered around the shops. She was in the home ware department of Debenhams, looking with listless eyes at the new summer stock spread across the shelves. It would soon be warm enough to sit in the garden. The little courtyard just outside the kitchen doors would be a perfect place to sit with a coffee in the afternoon or a croissant in the morning. She needed to organise the gardener, get the trees and shrubs tidied up. She had meant to phone the telephone number the previous owners had left her and ask their old gardener to come back. She had meant to look for some lovely wooden garden furniture and perhaps a great big gas BBQ like you the ones you saw on American TV, the sort that could cater for the masses. She had meant to do lots of things really but it was amazing how time consuming her daily battles with Daniel were and how totally exhausted they left her.
She was admiring some fresh picnic ware that would look lovely on the table in the courtyard when she looked up to find a young woman staring at her.
It took a moment to place her but then the frown on Rebecca’s face cleared and she smiled.
‘Holly! I’m sorry, I didn’t recognise you for a minute.’
She stepped away from the display table and walked towards the young woman who was holding the hand of a small girl with masses of blonde curly hair whilst pushing a buggy containing a sleeping baby.
Rebecca stopped uncertainly, if she hadn’t known better she would say that Holly was staring at her with nothing less than hatred in her eyes. They had only met a few times. She was the pretty young wife of Joshua who worked at White’s and had been given the job Daniel thought of as his own. They had sat next to each other at the last Christmas party and had spent the evening having a wonderful conversation about children as Holly stroked the huge bump where her second child still lay.
‘I heard that you’d had a little boy.’ Rebecca leaned forward to peer into the buggy and Holly drew back as though she had been stung.
Rebecca stared at her in confusion. ‘I’m sorry,’ she offered, ‘I was just looking… he’s beautiful.’
Holly nodded tightly and turned the buggy around and set off in the direction of the door.
Rebecca watched her with her mouth hanging open. What on earth had happened? She watched Holly walk stiffly around the displays and then just as she reached the door Rebecca couldn’t take any more.
‘Holly!’ she shouted and sprinted after her. Holly didn’t stop and Rebecca had to move quickly to reach her before she disappeared into the crowds. ‘Holly!’ She grabbed at the young woman’s arm only to let go immediately as Holly turned swung around, undiluted hatred filling her face.
‘Oh my God Holly, what on earth has happened?’
‘Happened?’ spat Holly. ‘You can really stand there and ask what’s happened?’
Rebecca looked around. Holly’s voice was far from quiet and their exchange was bringing a few interested glances. But she didn’t care.
‘Holly,’ she pressed gently, ‘please tell me what’s wrong.’
Holly took a step back, her eyes flicking over Rebecca with a look of such contempt that Rebecca couldn’t help but blush.
‘You look well Rebecca. Winning millions obviously suits you.’
Rebecca frowned shaking her head. ‘You’re angry because I’ve won some money?’ she asked disbelievingly.
‘No!’ ground out Holly. ‘I couldn’t care less what you do or how much you’ve won. But what right do you have to ruin other people’s lives with your money? What gives you the right to destroy my life just because you’ve had some luck?’
Rebecca’s confusion was written all over her face and for a moment Holly’s features softened a little.
‘You don’t know do you?’
‘Know what?’
‘You have no idea what Daniel has done.’
At the mention of her husband’s name Rebecca’s heart dropped like a stone. She had no idea what Holly was about to say but she had a feeling that she was not going to like it.
‘Please tell me,’ she demanded.
Holly closed her eyes for a brief moment and sighed as she opened them to meet Rebecca’s anxious gaze.
‘He’s been into White’s. He went in to tell them all that he was buying the place.’
Rebecca nodded. It wasn’t a secret and although she would have waited until the deal had completed she could see that wasn’t Daniel’s style. He would have wanted them all to know what he was planning.
‘He went around the room,’ continued Holly, her face hardening again. ‘He gave each person a slip of paper. They all had one word written on them. Going. Staying.’
Rebecca’s heart was hammering, her face was flushed and her breath ragged.
‘Then he laughed and told them that when he was in charge that’s what would be happening to them. Josh’s paper said going. Daniel told him that he was the person he would enjoy sacking the most.’
Rebecca felt sick, she clutched her throat as she felt the bile rise.
‘Josh had to come home and tell me that he was losing his job because Daniel Miles had won the lottery. Daniel was so angry with Josh for being promoted that he was going to buy the business just so he could sac
k Josh.’
Rebecca was shaking. She truly wondered if her legs would carry on supporting her. She was shaking with shame and humiliation.
‘Is that fair?’ demanded Holly. ‘Is it fair that you winning can leave us with nothing?’
Rebecca couldn’t speak. There were tears rolling down her face as she shook her head.
‘I’m so sorry,’ she whispered her lips hardly able to form the words. ‘I’m so, so sorry,’ and turning her back she fled.
She ran through the people, knocking them out of her way, uncaring of the shouts and the swearing. She pushed her way up the stairs towards the car park hardly able to breathe for the sobs that racked her body and when she finally made it to her car she sat inside for almost an hour crying as though her heart would break.
How could he do such a wicked thing she wondered. The Daniel she knew would never be so outrageously callous, so cruel. What on earth had happened to him over the last few years to make him so hard, so uncaring. Was it her? Had she made the monster he was now?
Eventually the tears stopped and she calmed down enough to think about driving the car. Her hands still trembled but only slightly and the tears had left her eyes enough for her to see ahead.
She thought about driving home and realised that she didn’t want to go back to her beautiful house. She had been so happy there for those few short weeks before Daniel joined her. But now it was just another battle ground. The joy of her home had disappeared within hours of Daniel arriving.
Briefly she considered booking into Quebecs. But that was more avoidance and that was exactly what had brought her to this situation in the first place. If she had been honest with Daniel right from the beginning, maybe things would never have come to this.
Sighing she left the car park and turned the little Fiat in the direction of home. The relief she felt when she drove up the long drive to find it empty was immense. She didn’t know where Daniel was but at least he wasn’t here. She parked the car and walked into the lovely light filled hallway, her eyes falling on the curt note left on the hall table.
GOLF, it said. BACK TOMORROW.
Her heart lifted. A whole night without him, a night in her beautiful home without another argument. She hung up her coat and turned on the coffee machine as her mobile started to ring.
‘Rebecca?’
It was Richard Dickinson from the bank.
Rebecca smiled. ‘Hello Richard.’
‘Er, I just thought that you should know Rebecca. Not that there’s anything to worry about, we obviously don’t take any instruction from anyone but you, but you should know…’
Rebecca frowned, it was unlike Richard not to come straight to the point.
‘What is it Richard?’ she asked gently.
‘Daniel,’ he said bluntly.
Rebecca’s heart sank. ‘What has he done?’
‘He came to the bank today, insisted on seeing me and demanded that the trust funds for the children be stopped. He said that you had had second thoughts and wanted to allocate much lower amounts. He wanted a new fund drawing up.’
There was a long silence.
‘Rebecca, I just thought that you should know. If that’s what you want then of course it’s no problem but you know that I won’t take any instruction about this account from anyone but yourself.’
Another long silence.
‘Rebecca?’
‘Sorry, yes I’m here.’
Rebecca was numb with shock, struggling to speak.
‘Thank you for letting me know Richard. The trust…’
‘Is exactly as we agreed the last time you were in the office. In fact the paper work is now ready to sign...whenever you’re ready.’
Rebecca nodded then realised he couldn’t see her.
‘Thank you. I’ll speak to you soon,’ and she hung up placing the phone carefully on the kitchen table. Sitting down with a bump she stared at her hands. They hadn’t stopped shaking fully after her meeting with Holly earlier and now they trembled again as she wound her fingers together and rested them on the table.
How could Daniel do that to his own children. How could he put White’s and his need for revenge above everybody and everything else. To be so cruel to White’s employees, people he had worked alongside for years. To try and stop his children benefiting from their good fortune.
Rebecca shook her head, the tears falling silently down her cheeks. It was time to stop this. It was time to take control.
Chapter 19
Rebecca slept fitfully. She had spent the evening on the settee in the living room. The weather was much warmer but Rebecca found herself shivering as she curled up, pulling the red throw over her for comfort as much as anything else. She hadn’t had the heart to choose a DVD or read a book. The TV stayed off and she spent the evening simply staring out of the window at the ever darkening garden until it was pitch black both outside and in. Eventually she went upstairs to bed and lay there staring at the ceiling, her heart so heavy that it was a pain in her chest.
Morning came and a subdued Rebecca showered and dressed, going through all the motions mechanically, her mind whirling with the previous day’s knowledge. She ate her breakfast without tasting anything and cleared away before getting into her car and setting off to Parklands.
The difference in the atmosphere was unbelievable. There was an overwhelming air of despair that hit Rebecca as soon as she entered the lobby. The soft sound of sobs echoed down the hall with muted voices coming from the TV lounge.
Rebecca walked through, looking around for Gwen. She was sitting near the French window, clutching Dotty’s hand in her own as they both gazed out of the window in silence.
‘Hi Mum.’
Leaning down Rebecca kissed her mother’s paper thin cheek and noticed again that Gwen had definitely lost some badly needed weight.
‘Dotty,’ she said gently stroking the back of the elderly woman’s hand. There was no response. There had been little response from Dotty since she’d been told she had to leave Parklands.
Rebecca sat down next to the two women, smiling reassuringly at them.
‘Don’t worry Mum,’ she said with a grin. ‘It’s all going to be alright.’
Gwen for once had no bright smile to give back.
‘I don’t think so Rebecca my darling, I really don’t think so.’
Rebecca patted the back of her hand. ‘I’ve told you, don’t worry. Now, where is Mrs Wendover?’
She looked around, the TV lounge was quite full, many of the residents gathering together in their grief. Ruby was sitting next to one weeping woman, patting her back and talking to her in a soothing voice. Then Rebecca noticed Mrs Wendover, crossing the lobby and heading into her office.
‘I’ll be back in a minute Mum,’ she whispered and shot off.
‘Sorry Brenda. Can I have a minute?’
Brenda Wendover looked nothing short of exhausted. And desperate.
‘Oh Rebecca. I’m really busy, will it wait my dear?’
Rebecca smiled as she took Mrs Wendover’s arm. ‘I’m afraid it won’t Brenda,’ she said firmly. ‘It won’t wait a minute longer.’
Moving decisively she steered the slightly shocked woman into her office and settled her behind her desk.
‘What on earth…’
‘Mrs Wendover, Brenda, do you have any brandy?’
Brenda’s eyes came out on stalks. ‘Brandy?’
‘Yes. Brandy.’
The two women stared at each other for a few minutes until shaking her head in confusion Brenda waved in the direction of the filing cabinet.
‘Top drawer. Often need it when I’m breaking bad news. Good for shock.’
Rebecca grinned. ‘I know,’ she said as she rescued the bottle and glasses from the shelf above. She poured two generous measures and put one of the glasses in front of Brenda.
‘Rebecca I…’
‘Brenda, I have some very good news for you,’ she smiled at the wary woman.
‘You ha
ve? Oh, have you found somewhere for Gwen already?’
‘I certainly have,’ Rebecca just couldn’t help the grin that split her face. ‘An absolutely fantastic place, a lovely setting, great location, beautiful old building, wonderful staff.’
Was it her imagination or did Brenda look a teeny bit put out. ‘Well that’s wonderful Rebecca, I’m so pleased for Gwen.’
‘Don’t you want to know where it is?’ teased Rebecca.
‘Well I’m sure wherever it is, such a wonderful place will be good for Gwen and …’
Did I Mention I Won The Lottery? Page 20