by Jenny Kane
‘It’s OK, Stan. It isn’t your fault.’ With a nod at Max, Abi said, ‘Will you stay with Stan, please? Make sure he’s alright, while I have a word with Simon.’ She turned to her unwelcome visitor. ‘Outside!’
Abi stalked out of the cottage and down to the road. Spinning around to face him, she had her mouth open to ask how he’d known where she was, when Simon took hold of her elbow, and dragged Abi into the back of his car, making her look and feel every bit like a kidnap victim.
Chapter Twenty-two
Abi’s voice was hoarse from shouting by the time Simon pulled his BMW into the first lay-by he came to and twisted around in the driver’s seat. Wrenching the mobile phone from a livid Abi’s hands, Simon stared hard at his sister-in-law as she sat as far away from him as was possible, semi-cocooned with her knees under her chin on his back seat.
‘Now then.’ Simon was evidently trying hard to keep his temper under control. ‘I am prepared to listen if you care to explain yourself.’
Abi suspected it had been a struggle for him not to add the words ‘young lady’ to the end of his sentence. He was certainly looking at her like a father regarding his teenage daughter after an unfortunate piece of body piercing or a tattoo.
‘Let me out of this bloody car!’ She rattled at the car door, pointlessly, for Simon had overridden the locks. Taking a deep breath, and as haughtily as she could manage, Abi said, ‘How dare you steal my phone! I have to call my friends to tell them I’m alright. They’ll be worried.’
Simon grunted, ‘No point, there’s never any signal in this cursed part of the world,’ before dropping her mobile out of her reach in the footwell of the passenger seat.
Trying not to feel panicked by the loss of her one source of communication beyond the car, Abi kept every word she uttered as level as possible, ‘Simon, will you please tell me what you are doing here, and how you found me at Stan’s house?’ Without giving him time to answer, she went on, ‘And if you have made Stan ill, or shaken him in anyway, I will never, ever forgive you.’
‘For goodness’ sake, Abigail! You can’t have known the old man for more than five minutes.’
‘It only takes a few minutes to know if someone is a good person or not, and Stan is my friend.’
‘And the giant in the overalls who was pawing at you? Is he a friend as well?’
Abi could feel the fight draining out of her. It had been a long day. She was already tired from polishing the floor. Then she’d had three major shocks to her system: Stan’s offer, Max’s kiss, and Simon’s arrival. Abi knew she didn’t have the energy for a pointless conversation which Simon wouldn’t give up on until he’d won. He and his late brother were very much alike in that way.
‘Max is my friend. He was giving me moral support because he is a good person, that’s all.’
‘Oh, really?’ To Abi’s relief, Simon dropped the inquisition, and restarted the engine and pulled the car back out on to the road.
‘For fuck’s sake, Simon! You just don’t get it, do you? Some people are kind because they are good people. People with no agenda, and no profit to make. Not everyone is like you, with an ulterior motive for everything they do!’ Abi’s anger evaporated into a quiet resentment as her throat stung after its unaccustomed barrage of insults and confused anger. ‘Look, Simon, Luke has only been gone a few months. Do you honestly think I’d be ready to start again with someone else just like that? I am trying to make a new life for myself, a fresh start away from the constant reminders of the past; exactly as I explained to you before I came south.’
‘Then prove it!’
‘How?’
‘Come back with me and sort out these buyers. That’s why I’m here. They want to meet the owner and not just her representative. But they won’t keep their offer open for much longer. You have to come now.’
‘Now? I can’t. No way can I drive back to Surrey at this time of night. I’m shattered. I’d have a crash or something.’
‘I’ll drive. I got down here last night and stayed in Penzance. It’s taken me all day to track you down.’
‘What?’ Abi couldn’t believe it. ‘That’s insane. I can’t just come! I have people depending on me. I have …’
‘You have Luke’s home to sort out,’ Somehow Simon held back the snap from his voice, and adopted a coaxing tone which was somehow even more annoying, ‘that is what you have to do. He was your husband, or doesn’t that mean anything to you know you have new friends?’
Simon was pressing every guilt button Abi had, and she knew he knew it. Then with a jolt, she realised that they’d driven past the road that led to St Just. ‘Simon, you don’t really mean now, do you?’
‘Yes. We’ll stop at Bristol for some dinner.’
‘But we can’t! All my things are at the hotel, I haven’t got my car. I can’t just go … This is kidnap!’
‘Beth!’ Max bounded up the stairs, ‘Beth, is Abi here? Beth!’
Scrambling off her sofa, picking up on the worry in Max’s voice, Beth replied cautiously, ‘Isn’t she with you? Did her brother find her?’
Max pushed his way into the living room, searching the space, as if needing to see Abi’s lack of presence for himself rather than just taking Beth’s word for it. ‘She really isn’t here, is she?’
‘No. What’s going on?’ Beth could feel alarm rising in her gut. ‘Max?’
Max had got his mobile out and held out his hand while he made a call, ‘Hello, The Cairn? I’m sorry to bother you again, it’s Mr Pendale, has Abi Carter turned up yet … OK, perhaps you could ask her to call me as soon as she gets back.’
‘Max, please! What the hell is happening?’
Sinking down on the sofa, Max looked as if he’d had the stuffing knocked out of him, a sight that was far more worrying to Beth than his previous worried concern. ‘Beth, was it you then, who told him where to find Abi?’
‘Oliver? Yes. I would have come as well, but he caught me while I was in the bath, and so I couldn’t really. I thought Abi would be delighted. I know she’s very fond of her brother.’
‘I’m sure she is.’ Max put his hand on Beth’s knee, ‘But that wasn’t Oliver.’
‘What? Who was it then?’
‘Simon. Luke’s brother.’
‘What?’ Beth frowned, ‘Are you sure? What would he come down here for?’
Max shrugged. ‘The only reason should be the house sale, but he was so, I don’t know, proprietorial. He spoke to Abi like she was a possession, not a person. His possession.’
Beth squeezed her eyes shut, ‘And I sent him straight to her! Oh, God, I’m so sorry.’
‘It’s not your fault. If it had been Oliver, then you’re right, Abi would have been delighted.’ He pressed another number into his phone and pushed it to his ear, hearing the dialling tone from Abi’s mobile mocking him down the line.
Tears started at the corner of Beth’s eyes. ‘What have I done? If he’s hurt her … I never dreamt I was causing trouble. I thought that I was going have a happy phone call from Abi later saying thanks for delivering her brother.’ Beth began to cry, ‘I even pictured you and Mr Abbey greeting him with a tour of the house.’
Putting his arm across his best friend’s shoulders, Max exhaled softly. ‘This isn’t your fault. As far as I can tell, this is all about Luke, the house, and Simon not getting his own way.’
Abi scrambled into the front seat and snatched her mobile from the floor of the car as they pulled into the Michael Wood services just north of Bristol. Taking no notice of Simon at all as he spoke, Abi climbed out of the car, hooked her bag onto her shoulder, and sent a text to Beth. Only enough battery to send 1 text – tell Max I’m OK. On way to Surrey to sort house. Be in touch asap. A x
In her silence in the back of the car, Abi had been determined to stay where she was until there was either the opportunity to escape back to Cornwall, or until they got to Surrey, and she could at least wait until Simon had left her to sleep before sneaking out and getting
a train home. Mother Nature had other plans however, and Abi’s full bladder was making it a matter of some urgency that she found a ladies’, and fast.
Stalking past Simon, Abi dashed to the toilets. Taking her time, running her hands under the cold water, she tried to think logically. She was reasonably sure that Simon didn’t mean her any physical harm. He was suffering from hurt pride after she’d turned down his advances. Perhaps he really had just come to find her because he needed her to sign paperwork for the house, and that it was simply seeing her holding hands with Max that had triggered his irrational behaviour?
Strengthened a little by the reply to text that had instantly come through from Beth after she’d sent hers telling her that she, Max and Stan were relieved she was OK, and that she could call anytime, Abi remembered how safe she’d felt when Max had held her in his arms. Determined to keep that thought foremost in her mind, knowing it would help her through whatever Simon was about to throw at her next, Abi went to read the next text that had just beeped at her, but her battery flickered, and her phone groaned it was out of juice before she could see who it was from.
Simon was waiting for her outside of the bathroom. ‘I need a coffee. Come on.’
Taking her by the elbow slightly too firmly to be a friendly gesture, he steered her towards the Costa, and ordered them each a large Americano and some boringly healthy granola bars.
Ignoring the pseudo-rabbit food, still full from her fish and chips, and slightly queasy from the events of the evening, Abi sat at the nearest table, not wanting to be out of earshot of the waiting staff in case she needed help, and silently sipped at her coffee.
Simon’s expression was becoming a little uneasy for the first time since his unwelcome arrival on Stan’s doorstep. ‘I’m sorry, Abigail. I guess I was a bit heavy-handed.’ He reached out a placating hand in an attempt to be forgiven, but Abi drew it back at speed.
‘I would agree with that. Stealing me away from my friends –I believe most people would call that kidnapping – not letting me go back to the hotel to collect my clothes or let the owner know that I’ll be checking out for a night, to say nothing of jumping to a lot of conclusions which you have absolutely no right to jump to.’ Abi held the soup bowl-sized thick china cup firmly, savouring the warmth seeping through her fingers. ‘Tell me how you found me, and exactly what you want. Now. Before I throw this coffee over your suit, call the police, and scream for help – not necessarily in that order!’
‘Oh don’t be ridiculous, Abigail, you’d never do anything like that! And anyway, why would the police believe you? I’d tell them you were just being hysterical after the sudden death of your husband.’
‘You utter snake!’ Abi gripped her coffee cup tighter, looked her brother-in-law right in the eyes, and, with the thought of Max spurring her on, whispered through clenched teeth, ‘I’ve done a lot of growing up since I was widowed, Simon. I am not the pathetic little thing that living with your brother made me, so I suggest you come clean right now about what you want. Last chance.’
‘I told you. I need you to sort out a sale of the house. But yes, there is one other thing. I’d like you to consider changing your mind about the sale.’
‘Excuse me?’
‘I want you to at least think about staying in the house yourself, or maybe keeping it and renting it out. You’d make a fortune in rent, and you could stay nearby to make sure your tenants looked after the property.’
Staring into her coffee, Abi marshalled her emotions before replying, ‘Do I really have to explain my position to you all over again, Simon? I want to make a clean break. I had to leave. And although I understand that you and your parents have lost someone you loved as well, you have your own homes. You do not need me to keep the house simply to be able to remember Luke.’ Pushing the remains of her coffee away, Abi stood up. ‘Now, was there anything else, or shall we get this charade over with.’
‘Charade?’
‘It’s late, and as it is now much quicker to return to Surrey than to drive back to Cornwall, I might as well come with you. I can meet these buyers, collect a few more of my things, and start to pack up my stuff for my final move south.’
‘You’ve found somewhere to buy?’
‘I told you on the phone. It seems you pay as little attention to what I say as your brother did.’
The house felt large, soulless, and eerie. It had taken a lot of protesting from Abi and a further threat to call the police for Simon not to come in with her. In fact, she’d been rather surprised he’d driven her home and not held her hostage at his place. In the end, once she’d promised to call him before she contacted the estate agents the following morning, Simon had left her alone.
Abi tensed as she turned on the lights in the living room and looked around her. She half expected to see Luke sitting in his favourite leather armchair.
So, you’ve come back then. I knew you would. I knew you’d never be strong enough to manage out in the world on your own.
Abi closed her ears, trying not to hear the mockery from Luke’s ghost. A ghost, she realised with a start, that hadn’t bothered her in Cornwall for several days. Then, with a determined stretch of her shoulders, Abi took her phone charger from her handbag, plugged in her mobile, and hoping that Max wouldn’t be annoyed at her calling so late at night, pressed his number.
Chapter Twenty-three
‘And you really are sure she’s OK?’
Stan’s hand shook a little as he lifted the bone china teacup to his lips.
Beth’s smile projected more reassurance than she felt inside as she sat next to him at the smartly clothed table. ‘I’ve had a couple of messages from Abi this morning. As she’s in Surrey, she’s going to make the best of the situation and take care of the sale Simon has set up and then get back here as soon as she can. After all, she would have had to go back at some point to sign things, so it might as well be now.’
‘And as I said, she called me last night,’ Max added. ‘Abi was more worried about you than herself, Stan. She feels so guilty about us misleading you about being a couple.’
Stan raised his hand, ‘Don’t you worry, me’andsome. I should never have assumed. Thinking about it, it was you both wearing wedding rings that did it. I thought they linked you to each other, not to other people. I’m right sorry to hear about your separate circumstances. Still,’ Stan beamed down at the cream tea that had magically appeared on an old-fashioned cake stand, the type that always reminded Beth of Miss Marple, ‘I’m glad you’ve found each other, and now I understand the situation correctly, my offer is very much staying open.’ Picking up a scone, he added, ‘Now then, until young Abi gets back, I suggest we get on with these. I can’t tell you how grateful I am for you bringing me here.’
Staring out of the huge picture window and across over the sea towards St Michael’s Mount, Stan gave a happy sigh. ‘My Mary used to love it here. Always insisted on putting the jam on before the cream, mind! I swear she only did it to wind me up!’
Beth laughed. It was hard to feel worried about whether or not Abi was coming back or not in the face of such enthusiasm for their afternoon tea. Beth had barely slept, mulling over what the future held for her studio gallery if Abi didn’t come back. Even though Abi had sworn she would return, if something happened, if Simon did something to prevent her return – Beth didn’t want to think about what – who would run the gallery? They were too far down the line to change her mind about the use of the shop now.
Instead of voicing her anxiety and dampening Stan’s excitement, Beth took an unhealthily satisfying wodge of thick Cornish cream and smeared it extravagantly across her scone. ‘So, Stan, I think it’s high time you told me why Grandad was known as Jack-the-Lad!’
Two hundred and sixty-something miles away, Abi had awoken to the silence of the suburbs. No seagulls called overhead, and she couldn’t hear the sound of Barbara preparing breakfasts in the kitchen below her room for those holidaymakers desperate to secure prime beach posi
tions for the day. Everything was unnaturally still. Had it always been like that?
Luke had liked to listen to Radio Four first thing in the mornings, but as he was usually up and out of the house before she’d risen from the depths of their duvet, the house had been quiet when Abi had begun her days. Funny how she hadn’t noticed the eeriness of it until now.
Checking the bedside clock Abi saw it was far later than she’d thought. Leaping out of bed, she went straight to the one part of the house that she’d genuinely missed while she was in Cornwall – the power shower. Enjoying the thump of the water on her shoulders and through her hair, Abi planned her day. She knew that the only way to get ahead of Simon was to beat him to the estate agent’s and arrange to meet the new buyers by herself. Then, having already decided that, providing they weren’t suggesting less than £20,000 lower than the asking price, she’d take whatever figure they were offering, Abi then planned to ring a few removal firms, and get costings on a complete house pack up and move. She had no intention of staying there long enough to do all the packing into cardboard boxes herself.
Pausing as she scrubbed shampoo through her hair, Abi spoke to the cubicle before her. ‘I think I might get in a house clearance guy as well. I don’t want half of this stuff.’ However she pictured it, she couldn’t visualise the furniture that Luke had chosen fitting into any Cornish cottage. Funny how fast this place had stopped feeling like home. Abi smiled. ‘Perhaps Simon did me a favour? If I hadn’t come back maybe I wouldn’t have realised that, mentally at least, I’ve moved on.’
Abi wasn’t sure if she dare allow herself to think about Abbey’s House. If Stan really had forgiven her for misleading him as Max said he had last night, then maybe she should picture her things in Abbey’s House. Deciding not to tempt fate, Abi tried not to visualise her beloved sofa in Stan’s kitchen. ‘Whatever happens,’ she told her towel as she dried her damp locks, ‘wherever I end up, my old sofa is coming with me.’
‘Please could you say that again? I think I must have misunderstood.’