by Anne Baker
‘’Tis right you can.’
Leo turned back to pick up his coat, then reluctantly followed Conor downstairs. Two minutes later they were outside the pub and he could feel himself being shunted towards the door. It flew open in his face, releasing a cloud of beer fumes into the night. Once in the warmth inside, Leo looked round furtively. Were the police waiting here for him? Many of the customers had gone home; it looked as though time had been called quite a while ago.
‘Welcome back.’ The publican, Tommy O’Sullivan, slid a tankard of Guinness on to the bar in front of him. Conor was making much of him, wanting to know more about his holiday.
The door opened and two uniformed police officers came in. Leo had to hold on to the bar; his knees suddenly felt like rubber. He recognised them.
‘Leo Hardman?’ one of them asked.
He knew he’d lost. He took a great gulp from his tankard of Guinness, and gave Conor a filthy look. ‘I thought you were my friend,’ he said bitterly.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
CHLOE FELT THE BEDCLOTHES being dragged off her. ‘Wake up, Mummy.’ Lucy’s voice was wide awake and full of childish joy. ‘Time to wake up.’
Chloe anchored her sheet, craving more sleep. ‘Sunday morning,’ she gasped. ‘Mummy’s treat, stay here.’
‘No. Wake up.’
‘Mummy.’ Zac was climbing on top of her, putting baby arms round her.
The curtains were being swished back; the morning sun flooded into her room and a mug of tea thumped down on her bedside table. Only Aunt Goldie would do that; Chloe opened her eyes.
‘Morning, Chloe. Such good news: they’ve caught him at last. Walter wants you to ring him back when you’re awake.’
Chloe sat up and hugged Zac. ‘Caught him? That’s wonderful.’ She laughed aloud. Relief, satisfaction and triumph were flooding through her. ‘How?’
‘He went back to his bedsit. Inspector Halyard thought he would and had told his landlord to let him know when he did. And guess what? Hardman was planning to disappear again. He set about packing up all his possessions, but the tenant on the floor below heard him dragging his suitcases across her ceiling.’
‘Marvellous!’
Chloe was pulling on her dressing gown and slippers. She rushed downstairs to the phone and her children followed her. Lucy was jumping up and down with excitement.
Joan picked up the receiver. ‘Isn’t it splendid news? We’re both thrilled. Walter’s here, he can’t wait to talk to you.’
Walter’s voice came on; he sounded overjoyed. ‘You were right, Chloe. His name is Leo Hardman. Adam bought silver from him and sold it on to us. He went to that auction and left in a hurry when he recognised me. He passed himself off as Francis Clitheroe, chartered accountant, though he was nothing of the sort.’
‘Inspector Halyard got it right too,’ Chloe said. ‘By talking to Rosamund Rogerson and finding that they both worked at the Exchange Hotel.’
‘Yes, he found out Hardman had left about the time Francis Clitheroe was killed, and when he showed me Hardman’s security badge, I was able to confirm that he was the man who was defrauding me. He had over seven thousand pounds on him in cash when they arrested him. Can you believe that?’
‘A lot of money,’ Chloe agreed. ‘And it’s yours.’
‘There’s more, of course. Halyard says they’ll wear him down, find out where he’s hidden it.’
Chloe could hear Joan talking in the background, and moments later she’d taken the phone from Walter. ‘Chloe, you were all coming for lunch today anyway. We’ll make it a special celebration. Come early.’
‘Lovely. What d’you mean by early?’
‘As soon as you can. I’ve got the vegetables done and the joint of pork all ready to go into the oven.’
‘Great, we’ll come over as soon as I’ve had a bath and got myself and the children dressed.’ She rang off then and immediately dialled Rex’s number. She wanted to tell him the news and ask him to come round as soon as he could.
‘I’m delighted for you, Chloe,’ Rex said. ‘Absolutely thrilled. Well done.’
Chloe could hear pure pleasure in his voice.
Rex put the phone down and went back to his tea and toast, but he didn’t touch them. He felt full of love for Chloe. She’d tried to comfort him after Helen had died. He hoped she’d found comfort in him too. But now she’d sounded ready to sing and dance, happier than she’d been for a long time.
What a change there was in her. He knew the time was right to tell her of his feelings. He was eager but also fearful to know how she felt about him. He was after all, a widower, fourteen years her senior, and she’d once seen him as a father figure. It was hardly a recommendation for romance. He must look for an opportunity to tell her how much he loved and admired her. Get her on her own.
Up to now, Rex had found it painful to think of the past, but now those troubles were over. Chloe’s affair with Adam Livingstone had held him back for years and had been disastrous for her. She’d been very low after Adam had rejected her and the two children he’d fathered.
Rex had held his breath after that, half fearful that she’d live her life as Aunt Goldie had. Especially when her mother’s illness and death had followed and she’d been very distressed. But Rex had always known she was a very special person and she’d pulled herself round.
Chloe had wanted to prove she was capable of holding down a job to support herself and her babies. Uncle Walter had given her that job, and his troubles had come at the right time for her. She’d had to work very hard to sort out his accounts, but by fixing her mind on them, she had helped herself over the hard times she’d had.
And now she’d helped to put Leo Hardman behind bars. That must be counted as a great success by everybody. Rex understood what it would mean to her. It would make her feel she could cope with anything life threw at her. It would make her into the confident and well-balanced woman he’d always known she could be.
He knew now they’d both be able to forget the past, put it where it belonged, behind them. Chloe would be able to manage on her own after this.
As he usually did, he drove to Carberry Road in his van, and then backed Helen’s car out of the garage. Chloe came running out to greet him, her coat swinging open and her lovely tawny hair bouncing on her shoulders. She was laughing as she threw her arms round him.
‘I can’t believe they’ve caught this villain who’s been taking Walter’s money.’
He would have proposed there and then except that Lucy and Marigold carrying Zac were hot on her heels.
When Rex drew up outside the house in Freshfield, Walter opened his front door before Chloe could reach it.
‘Congratulations!’ His cherubic face was wreathed with smiles and he came bounding out to sweep Chloe up in one of his great bear hugs. ‘She’s got her wits about her this one,’ he said to Rex over her shoulder.
Joan kissed Chloe and swept them all into her sitting room. ‘We’re going to start with morning coffee,’ she said. ‘Walter’s overjoyed and so am I, and he’s got some important propositions to put to you.’
‘Oh goodness.’ Chloe laughed.
‘No, Chloe,’ he said, ‘be serious. Quieten down for a moment all of you.’
‘Has Mummy done a good thing?’ Lucy’s childish treble made them laugh again.
‘Yes, Lucy, a very good thing,’ Walter said. ‘This is something I want you to think seriously about, Chloe. You’ve got a real bent for figures and I’d like you to train as a chartered accountant.’
She clapped her hands. ‘That’s exactly what I want.’
‘You need to get properly qualified; your mother would have liked that too. It upset us all when you wanted to leave school and start work. You were in too much of a hurry to grow up.
‘I’m delighted to have you working for me, but it’s proved to be a job you could do with one hand tied behind your back. In the long term you’ll get bored with it, and you’ve got responsibilities. You need a
job that brings a good salary to enable you to fulfil them.’
Chloe was bursting with high spirits. ‘Uncle Walter, that isn’t something you have to talk me into. I’ve been thinking about it for some time.’
‘Have you? Excellent.’
‘Rex said much the same to me when Zac was a tiny baby.’ She smiled at him.
‘Did I? I was trying to . . .’
‘Yes, I know. Keep me from sinking into the mire completely. You said all was not lost and I must think about what I wanted to do with my life.’
‘Did you?’ Walter asked. ‘Think about it?’
‘All the time. Rex sorted me out.’
‘In that case, let me suggest something else.’ Walter beamed round at them all. ‘I’ve had a chance now to talk to Tom Cleary. He’s home from his trip to New Zealand and has agreed to come back and be our accountant for another year or two, until you can take over. I’ve told him he’ll find that you know more than the average accounts clerk but that he must treat you as an apprentice to start with and then gradually hand over responsibility to you.’
‘You’re giving me a marvellous opportunity,’ Chloe breathed. ‘Thank you.’
‘You deserve it, Chloe,’ Joan said. ‘Then once you’re qualified, Walter will come to some arrangement for you to help him run the business.’
‘Why, that’s marvellous. I don’t know what to say.’ She couldn’t stop smiling round at everybody.
‘I can’t go on running the firm alone much longer,’ Walter told her. ‘I’ve really needed you these last few months. This is the best thing for all of us. I know you’re capable of doing a good job, and I can trust you.’
Auntie Joan brought in a bottle of champagne. ‘We’re going to celebrate now and seal that bargain.’
‘What a day this is,’ Chloe marvelled. ‘We really do have lots to celebrate. Especially me, I’m overwhelmed.’
Rex sipped his champagne and made up his mind. He was going to take Chloe into the garden when they returned. He was phrasing the words to tell her he loved her and ask her to marry him.
But it didn’t turn out like that. After lunch, Joan suggested they all go for a walk along the beach, which was on their doorstep in Freshfield. It was a lovely autumn day and they were all in the right mood to enjoy the sunshine and the sea lapping against the silvery sand. Rex paddled with Chloe and the children. He couldn’t remember when he’d last enjoyed a day out more.
They were hungry when they returned to Auntie Joan’s house, and she had a light supper ready prepared for them. They stayed on chatting over glasses of wine until Chloe noticed that both her children had fallen asleep.
‘It’s past their bedtime,’ she said. ‘I’m quite shocked, I’ve never done this before.’ They carried them into the car without waking them and Rex drove them all home.
He tried to carry Lucy upstairs when they arrived, but she woke up and was tetchy. Zac too was protesting loudly at being woken.
Aunt Goldie was undressing Lucy to put her to bed. ‘No bath, no bath!’ she was screaming.
‘Not tonight,’ Marigold said grimly. ‘We’ve all had enough now.’
Chloe was trying to put Zac into his pyjamas. Rex felt like a spare part because there was nothing he could do to help. He certainly couldn’t take Chloe for a walk round the garden and leave Goldie to cope with both children. Not while they were making a fuss like this.
Reluctantly he said good night and went home.
Rex worked in the garden for most of the following afternoon, and worried about how Chloe would view the relationship he’d had with her mother. He knew he had to find out before he left that night how she felt about him.
When Chloe came home from work, the children were playing some ball game with Aunt Goldie and wanted her to join in. Rex tagged on and played too. Afterwards Goldie went to her room to rest.
Chloe took Rex to the kitchen, where Peggy was dishing up the scrambled eggs on toast she’d prepared for the children’s evening meal. Chloe poured cups of tea for the adults and they sat down to chat. Later, when Peggy had gone home and the children had been put to bed, Rex carried the beef casserole to the dining table, where Aunt Goldie was waiting to dish it up.
Rex wasn’t entirely at ease about continuing to have dinner with them every evening. He thought Aunt Goldie was growing a little frosty towards him, and he found that off-putting.
Tonight he caught her glowering at him across the table, and was afraid she was thinking that now Helen was gone, there was no reason for him to be with them so often.
On several occasions he’d heard Chloe thank her for looking after the children so well, and tell her how much she was loved and needed. He’d thought Goldie had been happier since she’d come to live with them, but tonight she was prickly and looked sour.
‘I do think you’re being over-extravagant,’ she told Chloe. ‘You need to manage your money better. You’re spending far too much on running this house.’
Chloe’s fork paused halfway to her mouth. ‘No more than Mum used to.’
‘Yes, but when Helen was ill she had to be cared for. You could cut Peggy’s hours down now. She isn’t needed five full days a week.’
Rex could see Chloe thinking about it.
‘I don’t want to do that,’ she said slowly. ‘Peggy needs a full-time job, and she makes life more comfortable for you and me. I don’t want you to have to clean and cook as well as look after the kids.’
‘I could . . .’
‘I’m sure you could, Aunt Goldie, but it isn’t necessary. And should you not feel well enough to meet Lucy from her nursery class, Peggy’s here as a back-up.’
Rex helped himself to another potato; he was afraid Goldie was going to have a go at him. He was right.
‘Then there’s this garden,’ she went on. ‘It’s big enough and fancy enough for Buckingham Palace. It’s always been a huge extravagance.’
‘Mum knew that.’ Chloe smiled gently. ‘I enjoy it and think of it as a memorial to her.’
‘It’s no good for children. All they need is a bit of grass to play ball on.’
Rex was uncomfortable. He wanted to cover his face with his hands. He was afraid Goldie meant to cut him out of Chloe’s life.
‘All these flowers and fancy shrubs take a lot of maintenance.’ She flung a dour look at him. ‘Rex works more hours now than he did when Helen was alive. It must be costing you a fortune.’
Chloe’s lavender eyes met his for a moment. ‘It isn’t, Goldie,’ she said. ‘Rex has never charged the commercial rate for the work he does here.’
He felt relief wash over him. Chloe could handle Goldie. He said, ‘For me, it’s always been a labour of love for friends.’
Chloe smiled at him, but Goldie wasn’t ready to give up. ‘All the same, now that Helen’s no longer with us and you have to work, you have less need of Rex or the garden.’
‘Aunt Goldie,’ Chloe gave a little giggle, ‘you’re embarrassing me. Right now, I have more need of Rex, not less. There’s something else I want him to do and I haven’t yet got round to asking him if he will.’
That made Rex look up and meet her gaze. ‘What else can I do for you, Chloe?’
‘I’ve arranged to take driving lessons.’ She smiled again. ‘I’m having the first one tomorrow evening. I was hoping you’d take me out to practise in Mum’s car.’
Rex relaxed, a wide smile spreading across his face. ‘Of course I will. I’ll be glad to.’
He knew that would give him lots of time alone with her. Plenty of opportunity for them to say all they needed to in private. Was that why she’d arranged to have lessons now?
He saw her smile at Aunt Goldie. ‘Once Mum became too ill, Rex had to drive us all round. I don’t feel we should batten on him for ever.’
Chloe had felt Rex’s tension at dinner and understood the reason. Since the night her mother had died, she’d begun to see him in a very different light. It had taken her a while to get over Helen’s death an
d she felt she’d been on a roller-coaster ever since. Her mind had been swirling round a dozen things, and she’d had to pay special attention to Uncle Walter’s accounts.
But now that was settled, Goldie was prodding at Rex. Only this morning at breakfast she’d said to Chloe, ‘It’s not as though he married your mother, is it? He’s not a relative. There’s no need for us to feed him every night.’
Chloe’s feelings for Rex were changing; she’d always been fond of him, felt close to him, but now she was growing more sure by the day that she’d fallen in love with him.
When they’d finished their coffee and Rex stood up to say good night, Chloe stood up too. In the hall, he unhooked his coat from the peg, and as usual thanked her for the meal. ‘I must tell Peggy how good her rhubarb tart was,’ he said. He opened the front door and paused. ‘Chloe . . . ?’
‘Yes.’
‘I’m afraid Goldie thinks I’ve overstayed my welcome. She’s trying to stop me coming so much. I’m glad you didn’t let her.’
‘Don’t worry about Goldie. I’d never let her do that.’ Chloe walked out with him to his van. ‘You’ve always understood how things are with me and tried to straighten me out. We should gang up against Goldie, let her see she can’t part us. Not after all this time.’
His dark eyes stared down at her. ‘D’you feel like a little walk in the garden? We could get started on that right away. And there are other things I need to say to you.’
The house was a black shadow except for the golden light beaming from the windows. Everywhere else was bathed in silvery moonlight. He saw Chloe nod. He unbuttoned his coat and draped it round her shoulders, then, reaching into his van, pulled out a pullover and put it on.
‘I don’t often come into the garden at night.’ Chloe led him through the side gate and away from the house; they strolled down the path towards the pond. It looked very peaceful and very beautiful. Some months ago, they’d sited a garden bench here because Mum was tiring easily and needed somewhere to rest when she took her little walks.