by June Hopkins
She knew she had a large sum of money coming to her. Fifty thousand pounds, to be precise. Brian had phoned her last night, his voice ecstatic as he triumphantly told her he had just made over one hundred thousand pounds. She had no way of knowing if Brian was telling the truth or not and to be fair she didn’t really care. Fifty thousand was way more than she had expected, she’d thought perhaps five or ten if she were lucky. Angela is delighted and she is due to leave here at the end of the week.
In order not to arouse suspicion, she will work hard and keep her head down whilst quietly planning the holiday she intends to take. Fifty thousand is a large amount of money but it’s not enough to retire on. She is, however, still hoping that the family will keep her on and she can live with a little guilt. It isn’t as if she’s hurt them, only that bitch Serena Bonart. As far as Angela can tell, none of them likes her much anyway. She ignores the gnawing of guilt that persists and gets on with setting up an early breakfast in the dining room.
Over the next half hour, the others drag themselves downstairs in dribs and drabs. They enter the dining room and see the gathering. Serena is the only one who doesn’t show her face and no one bothers to ask where she is. As they all say their good mornings, help themselves to tea or coffee and settle themselves, they know their worst fears are confirmed as they watch Kieran’s grim face. It’s just a matter now of how bad.
None of them slept very well. Johnny looks pale and very sorry for himself. Megan hasn’t spoken to him yet and has red puffy eyes which makes Johnny feel even worse.
Marylyn is also not in the best of moods. She’s angry with Johnny, absolutely seething at Serena and very upset for her daughter.
Jack is possibly the cheeriest out of the bunch, mainly because, unusually, he isn’t dreading the papers. Normally they’re in this position because he’s committed some sort of misdemeanour. It makes a nice change that for once it’s not his fault. And of course, there’s the gorgeous Lou. He can’t wait to see her; he wants to get to know her better. Jack has a good feeling about Lou and thinks they could have some fun together.
Dom explains that the team will secure the area; he needs to see the plans of the estate to decide on his strategy. They cannot stop anyone from being on public land; he expects there are public rights of way, footpaths etc. He has already informed Kieran that there’s a camera crew at the entrance up on the road. He expects a lot more to arrive, given the coverage.
In silence, they all read through the papers. They need to know what they’re dealing with. Dom sends his men out to get themselves ready while he, Kieran and Jack leave the dining room to look through the plans in the library, whilst figuring out how best to ensure damage limitation.
Chapter 32
At nine fifteen the same morning, Mollie is still feeling very sorry for herself. She had gone straight to bed when they arrived home last night and cried herself drunkenly to sleep.
She is mortified. She feels dreadful about her behaviour the previous evening. How awful of her to flirt with Kieran at all, let alone in front of his girlfriend. What had she been thinking? She is really giving herself a hard time as she huddles under her duvet. She refuses to get out of bed this morning.
A soft tap on the door, followed by Jim announcing he’s coming in, forces her to lift her head out from its hiding place. He puts a mug of tea down on her bedside table and then sits on the edge of the bed next to her. He waits for his little girl to sit up, which she does slowly. As soon as she’s upright she promptly bursts into tears and throws herself into her father’s arms.
Jim strokes her hair just as he had when she really was a little girl and croons softly to her until the tears stop, only leaving juddering breaths.
“Drink your tea, Molls,” he tells her, “and then get yourself dressed. I’m afraid there are people here to see you.” She jumps and stares up at him.
“No Dad, I’m not seeing anyone. Tell them to go away. I don’t think I’m ever going to see anyone again,” she tells him firmly.
“I’m sorry darling, normally I would, but I’m afraid this isn’t going to go away. You’ve gone and got yourself on the front page of the Sunday newspapers,” Jim informs her with no pleasure.
Mollie is dumbfounded. Christ, what next?
As she takes in the significance of her dad’s statement she has an overwhelming urge to leave the country. With a tinge of fear in her voice she asks, “Who’s downstairs?” Jim tells her quietly, but firmly, that Kieran and a security bloke are here and Kieran will not leave until he has spoken to her.
“Your Mother explained a few things to me last night, girl. I’m sorry I should have noticed. I think he’s got a soft spot for you and I also think that you need to put on your stiff upper lip for this one. You can’t hide up here; you’ve done nothing wrong my girl. So come on, I want you downstairs as soon as you can manage it. I’m making breakfast and I’ve asked that chap of yours to eat with us,” Jim stands up with a no nonsense air and heads for the door.
Mollie shakes her head as she allows her thoughts to process, “Dad, he is not my chap.” Turning at the door, Jim gives her one of his annoying, knowing smiles and leaves the room.
Earlier that morning, at eight, Kevin delivers a breakfast tray to David who is still in bed. Kevin has some amazing gossip and he doesn’t have long to tell it before he leaves for work.
“Come on sleepy head. I’ve some breakfast for you and you are so not going to believe who is on the front of today’s paper.”
As David wakes up grumbling, Kevin flicks the light on with his elbow and puts the tray down on the floor by the bed.
“God Kevin, it’s too early. I don’t want to wake up yet. Haven’t you heard of a lie in?” he whinges sulkily as he sits up slowly.
“Stop moaning lover boy. Now look at this!” Kevin throws the paper at David who rubs his eyes and focuses. He sits bolt upright, now fully awake he takes in the picture of his wife on the front page, with none other than Serena fucking Bonart!
“Nooo way! What the hell is all this about?” He stares wide eyed up at Kevin.
“I know, amazing isn’t it? I only went down the shop to get croissants; I couldn’t believe it when I saw it. Causing quite a stir in the town, I can tell you. How the hell does Mollie know Serena Bonart?”
David raises an eyebrow at Kevin for asking such a stupid question. “Well, clearly she doesn’t know her. Must be something to do with the new owners of the Hall. Anyway looks like she’s pissed off Serena. That looks like quite a slapping she’s getting.” David smirks nastily and Kevin gives him a look that says ‘don’t be mean.’
“Look lover, I have to go. You have fresh coffee and a croissant to keep your strength up. Fancy going out for dinner tonight?” He leans down to give David a lingering kiss on the mouth.
As they pull away, David gives him a bright smile, “Yes I’d love to. I’ll see you later darling and thanks for the breakfast. I’ll make it up to you.”
Kevin minces out of the bedroom sarcastically and turns back to throw a meaningful look at David. ”Oh I know you will - it’s the only reason I made it.” They both laugh as Kevin, on leaving the room, sends him a camp air kiss and David playfully throws a pillow at him
David settles down to his breakfast and reads the paper. Turning the page he focuses on a small picture of the guests arriving at the Hall. Mollie is talking to a tall man with shoulder length blonde hair. The rest of the family are there, including her awful friend Lou. David snarls slightly at the sight of Jim and Dan all dressed up. Bastards!
He looks again more closely. Hang on! That’s the bloke who pushed him into the buffet table. In fact now he looks closer he’s sure he’s seen another picture somewhere of Mollie and the same man. He reads the caption underneath, ‘Jack Murphy welcoming his mystery guests.’
“Jack Murphy...” He reads out loud, David jumps, spilling some coffee onto the duvet. “Of course! He’s the ex-boyfriend, Mollie’s ex-boyfriend! Well bloody hell!”
> Going back to the front page, David reads it properly. There isn’t much of a story, just about Serena assaulting a mysterious blonde. His eye catches the bottom of the page. Do you know the victim? Oh yes, he certainly does. David’s mind starts to fill with possibilities. How much would they pay for the lowdown on Mollie? How ironic if he could sell a story on her and use it to pay back the money he owes her? That would serve her right for being a bitch to him. What a fabulous way to piss off Jim Brown, as well. David’s head is now buzzing with thoughts.
He throws the breakfast crockery back onto the tray with a loud clatter and dives from the bed. If he’s right he can give them a story that will be worth thousands.
He showers, shaves and dresses in double quick time. He brushes his teeth quickly and heads for the landing. Using a long pole, he hooks it under the catch attached to the attic door and opens it, releasing the collapsible ladder.
An hour and a half later David sits in the kitchen with Gordon Watts, a journalist, who is eagerly questioning him about Mollie, her family and her relationship with the McLarens, especially Jack Murphy.
David has an ace card. Mollie still has some belongings in the attic which she hasn’t got round to emptying. Truthfully, she hadn’t actually thought about it. The attic contains their old junk and memorabilia from their past lives.
Mollie kept her old university things in her grandmother’s battered trunk. There are photographs; a large number of photographs of her and Jack. David knew he had seen him before, Jack Murphy is the ex-boyfriend, how convenient!
Gordon Watts had left London for Sedgwick at four this morning. He has spent a frustrating few hours wandering about the town in the hope of piecing together a story. This place was like a morgue. Only one shop was open which appeared to sell everything but the kitchen sink, although it wouldn’t surprise him to learn they did indeed sell sinks. On weekdays it is clearly also the Post Office. He had gleaned rather a large amount of information from a woman who works there who’d been very forthcoming. Only her unfortunate teeth made him uncomfortable; she clearly didn’t brush very often and appeared to have muesli stuck between them.
The woman is Mrs Jones and she gleefully filled him in on the mystery woman’s name. Mollie Pratt is her married name but since her husband has run off with the local policeman, Mrs Jones says that she has changed it back to her maiden name of Brown. Mrs Jones knows this because Mollie has had her post redirected and changed her post office account back to her old name. She also helpfully provided Gordon with not only Mollie’s, but her husband’s addresses. She explained to him how Mollie was the housekeeper up at Sedgwick Hall and that she had been for years. Of course now all the staff have been made redundant by the new owners, although she thinks a couple of them have gone back now, but she doesn’t think Mollie has.
Gordon loved these small places. You couldn’t move for gossip. The name of the game was to show a limited amount of interest and they tended to fill in the gaps for you. A little later that morning, his job became even easier when the office called to inform him they had a story. A man claiming to be the husband of the mystery blonde is demanding twenty five thousand pounds to spill the beans. When Gordon scoffs at the ludicrous amount he is swiftly told that the man also has photographs. Photographs of the mystery woman and Jack Murphy. Those photos would be worth the money. Gordon is despatched to check out the merchandise and to haggle the price with David Pratt. He is not authorised to offer any more than twenty thousand. Gordon wasted no time in hot-footing it to David’s door and on the way he phoned his sidekick and photographer, Ralph Ryder. Gordon gave Ralph Mollie’s address and told him to get his arse round there pronto, before the others turned up and trumped them.
Chapter 33
Mollie eventually plucks up the courage to go downstairs. She has showered, washed and dried her hair and is now dressed in slim-fitting jeans and an oversized jumper. She’s put on enough makeup to disguise the damage caused by her excessive crying.
She can’t put it off any longer. She sees Kieran from the door as she quietly enters the kitchen. He sips at a mug of coffee. There’s a large sandy-haired chap sitting next to him who has nearly finished one of her dad’s legendary fry-ups. Her parents are reading a couple of newspapers intently.
Kieran looks up and notices her in the doorway. She looks terrified and he wants to hold her until that look of fear goes away. Kieran puts down his mug and gazes at her, she stares back at him. He jumps up and moves around Dom to stand in front of her.
“Mollie, are you OK? I’m so sorry for Serena’s behaviour last night.”
Mollie gulps slightly. She looks up at him and feels the tears well in her eyes again. She whispers a choked, “Sorry.”
Kieran loses the fight with his self control and grabs her in a bear hug. “No Mollie, please don’t be sorry; you’ve done nothing wrong. I promise you Serena will be gone for good, just as soon as I get back to the Hall and kick her out. You will never have to see her again. I’m going to look after you.” He buries his head in her hair. Mollie can’t help herself and puts her arms around him, hugging him back.
Whether she is feeling guilty or not, how can she resist him? Sod Serena! Sod everyone. Mollie only wants Kieran to keep holding her until it all goes away. She closes her eyes and snuggles her head into his chest. She relaxes into him and it feels perfect. The others in the room are staring at this display of affection and each of them has a broad smile.
When he realises they are the centre of attention, Kieran releases her gently, not that he cares who sees. He’s not going to hold back anymore. He needs to be with her and if she’ll have him he’ll never let her go.
Mollie self consciously pushes her hair back from her face. She’s blushing furiously as she looks around the room at the delighted faces. Shyly looking up at Kieran she takes a sharp breath as she notices the livid marks on his face. She’s appalled and wants to take the bitch’s head off for hurting him. As she gazes into his eyes, without thinking she raises her hand and trails her fingers gently down the wounds.
Kieran blinks at her and then smiles, “Hey, it’s OK. It looks worse than it is. It’ll heal.”
Mollie’s eyes harden with anger, “That may be so, but if I get my hands on that nasty cow Serena, I’ll return the favour,” she tells him with feeling.
Kieran smiles at her and takes her hand. “Come on, I want you to meet Dom.”
As he leads her back to his seat and moves past Dom, he lets go of her hand. He takes the chair further into the room, allowing room for Mollie to take a seat.
“Mollie, this is Dom, Dom is my Head of Security and has been my best friend since school.”
Dom stands and holds out his large hand to her. They both say, “Hello” and shake hands. Mollie thinks he looks a really nice chap and gives him a bright smile and receives one in return. The two of them instantly like one another.
Once she is settled and before they show her the pictures, Kieran explains the situation. Mollie is dumbstruck as she stares at one front page. The headline screams:
SERENA ON ASSAULT CHARGES!
Mollie’s mind processes the information. Is she? Who did she assault? She squints slightly as she stares at the accompanying photo. The photographer has the perfect shot of Serena hitting her. They are obviously side on to camera. Serena’s face is screwed up in temper, her hand at Mollie’s face. Mollie’s head is moving back from the force of the blow, her eyes shocked at the assault. Mollie luckily looks gorgeous in her beautiful dress. Her hair is still immaculate and her makeup still visible!
Mollie feels momentarily superior as she takes in Serena’s vicious face. It is far from flattering but there is no doubting that it’s her. As she opens the paper, the next two pages are filled with more photos. Two big ones are really prominent. One is a shot of Serena and Johnny in the throes of a full on kiss which shocks Mollie. Poor Megan! The other is of Serena attacking Kieran, below is a running group of photographs showing the attack in great detail,
including Johnny’s rescue attempt. Serena has been snapped in various poses and then there is a photograph of Kieran’s face as he turns away, the scratches and blood on his face apparent.
There are more photos of her and the family outside with Jack, by the limo and others of Serena at dinner, each one with a drink in her hand.
Wow! Someone must have been outside the entire time.
Mollie frowns. Something is niggling at her; something that she can’t quite put her finger on. She shakes her head and concentrates on the photos. As she stares at the headline again she asks, “Are you suing her for assault, then?” looking at Kieran. “What? No! Why?” he asks, confused.
“That’s the headline. Serena on assault charges,” Mollie states as she turns the paper for him to see, nodding towards it.
Kieran smiles, “Oh sorry, yes. No! That’s just an attempt by the papers to grab the reader’s attention. They make up half of it. Though clearly, with these, we could both sue her. You’d make a fortune,” he teases her.
“Bloody hell! He’s right, our Molls. Maybe you should think about it,” Jim pipes up from across the table.
Mollie is horrified, “Dad! Don’t even think it! I’m not suing anyone. Christ, this is embarrassing enough as it is! The sooner it’s tomorrow’s chip paper the better.”
Dom and Kieran throw her admiring glances and Dom gives Kieran a little wink. Dom thinks his friend has found himself a good one here.
“Oh well,” sighs Jim, “it was worth a thought. Anyway, the bitch deserves it. Although your mum gave her a good slap last night, too, so sort of makes up for it.”
Mollie’s head snaps up and she stares at Lindy, horrified, “Christ Mum, you didn’t, did you?”
Lindy looks defiant. She’s certainly not going to apologise for it. “Yes, of course I did. She deserved it, nasty cow. Maybe she’ll think twice before throwing her weight around in future.” Lindy looks around the room and raises her chin.