by Emma Davies
She sat down heavily. ‘Do you know what’s really sad is that I don’t actually believe you, Dominic. I only have your word over the house, and past events have given me no reason to trust my husband. I’m not sure why I should even consider doing so now.’
Dominic’s jaw clenched. ‘If you do this, Grace, I will guarantee it. I’ll get a legal document drawn up, anything.’
She couldn’t believe he was actually waiting for her answer.
‘Get out of my house,’ she said quietly.
‘Please, just think about it. I’m not making any excuses, I know what this sounds like and you’re absolutely right, it’s blackmail by any other name. But, I can also see how it could work, Grace; how we could all win from this situation, turn it into something good. Just think about it. They don’t come until next month so you have a little time and—’
‘Get out of my house!’ she shouted, lurching to her feet again. She took a step towards Dominic. ‘I mean it…’
He backed away, pushing his glasses up his nose. ‘I’m sorry, Grace, I never wanted…’
‘Get out!’
She was shaking with fury as she watched him turn and walk from the room and she stood, rooted to the spot, until she heard the front door close. She walked to the sink, picking up the cups and placing them in the bowl, picking up the dishcloth and putting it down again, clenching and unclenching her fists. A sudden shadow fell across the room and she looked up, startled. Then, before she even knew what she was doing, she had crossed the room and hurled herself at the figure that stood on the threshold to the garden, bursting into noisy choking sobs.
14
Amos wasn’t one for fighting but when he’d heard the shouts from halfway down Grace’s garden he had raced across the lawn fully prepared to do battle. His heart was pounding by the time he reached the patio just in time to see a tall figure leaving the kitchen. He hadn’t stopped to think about how his own presence might be construed and so he was quite relieved to see the man walking away as he neared the house, avoiding any confrontation.
Preoccupied by this thought, he was completely unprepared for finding Grace in his arms and, surprised, he instinctively pulled her close. His emotions reeled. Her hair smelled of apples, her skin was warm and soft, her body firm and yet yielding to his as her head rested snugly against the dip of his shoulder. Amos had spent a lot time away from home, but in this moment he had never felt more like he was home. Every fibre of his being wanted to stay the way they were forever, just as much as every fibre of his reason told him he had to move. But Grace was upset. Whatever had just occurred had left her stricken and her need for comfort from him was as instinctive as his desire to give it. To withdraw that now, just when she was feeling at her most vulnerable, would surely only compound her pain, and Amos really didn’t think he could do that to her.
Just at the point when he thought he couldn’t wrestle with his emotions any longer, something shifted within Grace and she tore herself from him, gasping as she pushed herself away, her eyes wild, staring. Her hand went to her mouth. She made no move to wipe away her tears, but instead stared at him as if seeing him for the first time.
‘I’m so sorry,’ she stammered. ‘I’ve never…’ And then she trailed off, peering at him. To his immense relief, she suddenly started to laugh. ‘Oh, my God, the look on your face.’ Her hand moved to her cheek. ‘Is that what I look like? Oh, that’s bad… No, it must be worse because I’ve been crying…’ She rubbed her palms across her face, catching the drips on the end of her chin and then wiping her hands down her jeans. She sneaked another glance at him and giggled. ‘I’m such a mess.’
She wasn’t. She looked beautiful.
‘And even though I am sorry, I’m going to make you take some of the blame. That was spectacularly bad timing on your part, Amos.’
‘Some would argue my timing was no less than exemplary.’
She wrinkled her nose. ‘Well I suppose you did save me from smashing every piece of crockery I possess. That, or hurling a chair through the window…’ She smiled. ‘So perhaps it was good that you turned up when you did. I don’t think I’ve ever been that angry. And I don’t know why I’m laughing, it’s really not funny at all.’ She sniffed and Amos fished in his pocket and pulled out a tissue. It had seen better days but was clean.
‘Here,’ he said. ‘Have a good blow. And before you apologise again, can I just say that I’m sorry too, for barging in. I didn’t mean to intrude. I was on my way up here, as it happens, but I heard shouting and I’m afraid my damsel-in-distress mode came on all of its own accord. I’m usually far too much of a wuss for that to happen, and given that your husband is at least a foot taller than me, I’m glad I just missed him.’
‘My husband?’
‘Yes, the man who just left.’
‘Oh, that wasn’t my husband, that was Dominic – he’s my husband’s boss. Although, given the way he’s just behaved, if he was, I’d be divorcing him too.’ She frowned at him. ‘Tell me, Amos, is there something about me that brings out the worst in the men in my life? Because I’m beginning to wonder. A tattoo on my forehead perhaps that says use and abuse…’
Amos smiled. He couldn’t speak for the two idiots Grace was describing, but as far as he was concerned, nothing could be further from the truth. Love and adore perhaps… He peered at her.
‘Nope, nothing there…’
‘Well, that’s a relief at least.’ She sat down at the table and blew her nose loudly. ‘Very elegant,’ she commented.
Amos joined her. ‘Can I get you anything?’ he asked.
She rolled her eyes. ‘I’m tempted to say the number of a good hitman, but there’s a packet of ginger nuts in the cupboard which will do nicely.’ She smiled a thank you as Amos got to his feet. ‘Just above the mugs.’
He fetched the biscuits and flicked the switch on the kettle to boil the water. He wasn’t sure whether Grace was a dunker of biscuits, but he certainly was.
She smiled at him nervously as he sat back down again. ‘I ought to say, that despite evidence to the contrary, I’m not in the habit of bursting into tears and throwing myself at strange men.’
‘Men you don’t know very well, or strange men? Be careful how you answer that, I could be very offended.’ Amos looked up at her and smiled. ‘Although in my case, I’m probably both those things.’
‘And that’s twice now I’ve embarrassed you.’
‘Grace, it’s not embarrassment I’m feeling.’ He saw no reason to hide his feelings.
‘No,’ she said quietly.
He pulled open the packet of biscuits. ‘So, am I allowed to ask what Dominic has done that’s so heinous? Although of course, if you’d rather not I—’
‘No, I want to tell you. If I don’t I think I’ll go mad. But before I do, can I just ask you something first? It’s been on my mind and I feel I owe you an apology.’
He raised his eyebrows.
‘Did I offend you the other day by asking you questions about your past? And if not offend, then upset slightly, irked a little?’
‘Not in the slightest. In fact, it’s natural that you might want to know.’
‘Then the comment I made about giving up your home. You went awfully quiet after.’
‘Did I?’
Grace gave him a look that made him realise he would never get away with denying it. He gave a rueful smile because that was precisely why he had been on his way over, to apologise to Grace. He knew he had reacted badly and he hated that even after all this time the odd comment could still trigger feelings that were utterly out of his control.
‘Because it’s none of my business why you chose to do that. Not everything in life conforms to our set way of looking at the world, does it? But I hope you know that I wasn’t being judgemental in the slightest, just interested, that’s all.’
But Amos was prepared this time. ‘Then ask me anything you like,’ he replied. ‘And I will answer.’
Grace shook her head. ‘No
, that’s backing you into a corner and I have no intention of doing that either.’
Amos studied his biscuit before biting it in half and chewing slowly, but then he couldn’t help himself and, catching Grace’s eye, broke into a grin. ‘Would now be a good time to tell you that I actually came over here to apologise myself for my reaction the other day… and to offer an explanation?’
She rolled her eyes, but there was amusement in them.
‘And given that I have just asked you to share with me the reason why you’re upset and you agreed, I feel it’s only fair that I should support your spirit of openness by going first.’ He paused as the kettle switched off with a click, then gave Grace a meaningful look. She tutted, but got to her feet and went to make their drinks.
‘You asked me the other day why I was helping you. Why I left my home and whether that was because I was seeking freedom or an escape…’
Grace groaned from across the room. ‘Thanks for reminding me how awful that sounds,’ she said. ‘I am sorry.’
‘But you have no need to be,’ countered Amos. ‘They’re reasonable questions, and the answers aren’t very exciting, I’m afraid. More just a good old-fashioned midlife crisis. I’d reached a point in my life where everything just seemed so…’ he broke off searching for the right word ‘… stultifying. Does that make sense? I’ve never married, and wasn’t in a relationship, my work was steady but unfulfilling, and I realised that I was barely able to remember what it felt like to be alive. I had already decided that travelling might be a way to reenergise my life when, purely by chance, I met a young woman in difficult circumstances who had need of somewhere to live. The solution seemed obvious, if a little crazy, but then I was ready for that and – this is where it gets a bit clichéd, I’m afraid – her reaction to what she termed my random act of kindness made me feel better about myself than I had in a long time. Deciding to combine travel with a certain hopefulness about people seemed like a good course of action. And the rest, as they say, is history.’
Grace had been watching him intently but, with a slight narrowing of her eyes as he finished his speech, she turned away to finish making the tea. It seemed to take an interminable amount of time, but eventually she carried two mugs back to the table.
‘How much history, Amos?’ she asked. ‘How long have you been away from home?’
‘Coming up five years,’ he replied.
‘Five years?’ She looked incredulous. ‘And you’ve never been home in all that time?’
Amos took the opportunity to reach for another biscuit now that he had a brew to dunk it in. ‘A few times. A couple of years ago when we had a really hard winter… I enjoy a challenge, Grace, but I’m not a complete idiot.’ He grinned. ‘But apart from that, yes, pretty much continuously, although, as it happens I’m working my way back there now.’
‘Are you?’ Grace looked surprised.
‘In a roundabout way, yes. I keep in touch with Maria, that’s the woman who looks after my house for me, and so every now and again I just make sure that I head in the right direction. I’ll get there eventually.’
‘So, are we close?’
‘Not close as such, but my house is in a tiny village just across the Worcestershire border.’
‘Oh.’
Amos took in her expression. ‘But, as I’ve already told Flora, I won’t just up sticks and leave. We’ll all know when it’s time for me to go, and that will be when the time is right. I don’t stay a set amount of time anywhere. In fact, I don’t ever know how long I’m going to be in a place, I wait for circumstance to tell me and time just passes of its own accord.’
‘But when you travel, you help people along the way?’
He nodded. ‘We help each other.’ He touched a finger to the corner of his mouth. ‘I know I can tell you this without having you laugh at me,’ he said. ‘But I have a view of the way the world works, or how it likes to work given the chance. All I do is encourage that process by looking for the openings, the little chances; the opportunity to help and be helped is always there if you keep yourself open to it.’
He pulled a face. ‘And over time I’ve kind of developed a sixth sense for knowing where I need to be. Plus, every once in a while you meet people who think the same way and then, whoosh, pretty much anything seems possible.’
‘A wise observation,’ commented Grace. ‘You wouldn’t be talking about Hope Corner, would you, by any chance?’
Amos grinned. ‘Now who’s being wise?’ he asked. ‘You already know that there’s a massive buzz about this place and I’m not just talking about your bees. I felt it as soon as I arrived and now, in answer to your very first question, the reason I am helping you is very simple – I look for the places where I can push what’s already going on even higher. Or does that all sound a bit new age, hippy, woo woo…?’ He dunked his biscuit and then popped it, whole, into his mouth.
Grace laughed, and he was pleased to see her finally beginning to relax. ‘Probably,’ she agreed. ‘But I also happen to think it’s true. It does take the right kind of people to make it happen though. There are certain people who wear blinkers their entire lives and never even notice what’s happening around them. I love your ideals, Amos, but surely your hopefulness about the way people behave isn’t always borne out?’
‘No, of course it isn’t. Some people are just morons whatever help you try to give them, mentioning no names, obviously…’
Grace caught the inflection in his voice. ‘Isn’t that the truth,’ she said. ‘I had high hopes for Dominic once. Despite some very silly behaviour in the past, I always thought he was basically a good soul and all it would take was a little nudge for him to shine. It seems I was wrong.’
‘You never know, he might surprise you yet.’
‘Oh, he’s certainly done that.’ Grace picked up a biscuit and jabbed it viciously in her tea. ‘Although I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised really; anyone who hangs around Paul for long enough seems to become tainted with the same low moral standard that he has.’
‘Everyone except you, Grace,’ Amos reminded her.
She smiled, but it was a tight, brief affair and went nowhere near her eyes.
‘So you mentioned that Dominic is Paul’s boss. Does that mean that he’s the person to whom you sent the information about your husband’s various dalliances? And presumably therefore the one who might hold some sway over Paul’s actions as a result? It would seem that he’s holding rather a lot of cards.’
Grace nodded. ‘Yes, and when you’re holding all the cards, it’s pretty easy to use blackmail as a means to your own ends.’
‘Blackmail?’ He sat up a little straighter. ‘Grace, that’s serious.’
She waved her hand. ‘Sorry, I don’t mean it in the traditional monetary sense, but in a way I might as well have. Right now, if I do what they say, I get to keep the house, that’s what it boils down to.’
Amos’s mug was on the way to his mouth and he paused, holding the rim against his lips, holding her look for a moment before taking a swallow. ‘I think you’d better tell me what’s been said.’
Grace settled herself. ‘When Paul’s career first began to take off there was a lot more money in the industry than there is now,’ she explained. ‘And everyone was wined and dined, it was the only way deals were done. And I’m not just talking a dinner party, I’m talking full-blown house parties which went on for the whole weekend, usually three or four people, sometimes as many as six or seven. Over the years, I got quite adept at putting on a good show.’
She gave a soft smile and blushed slightly. ‘Actually, it was a bit more than that. The three of us were quite a team,’ she added wistfully. ‘Dominic would hook in the business, I would set the stage and provide the setting, and Paul would reel them in. For quite a time it felt like we could do no wrong. Paul’s career was in the ascendant and it seemed as if everything he touched turned to gold.’ She shook her head as if to clear it.
Amos could see how hard it was f
or her. She had played such an important role in her husband’s career, only to be cast aside like last year’s out-of-date clothes. How anyone could do such a thing to someone like Grace was beyond him.
‘Of course, after a while, as entertaining budgets became less and less, the weekends stopped, shrank into dinner parties, then drinks, then trickled away to nothing. Deals still got done, just not the way they had happened before. Except that now, Dominic has found a very big fish that he wants to land and he wants my help to do it.’
‘Dominic wants your help?’ he queried.
‘Both of them do. Except that Dominic knew that Paul would never be able to talk me into doing what they wanted so Dominic came to do the dirty work instead. Dominic has his hook well and truly planted in some bigwig hotshot from America who’s launching a brand new programme that all the networks are vying for. Paul is the bait of course and, although it seems that they like the taste of him already, Dominic needs something to set themselves above the competition.’
‘And that something would be you, would it?’ supplied Amos.
Two spots of colour were appearing on Grace’s cheeks as her words brought back her feelings from earlier. ‘I still can’t quite believe he had the nerve to even ask me, but it would appear that in the cut-throat world of television, anything goes. I am to turn the clock back and provide the kind of weekend that I have done in the past for three guests, despite the fact that I can barely stand to be in the same room as my husband. If all goes well and the network gets the show, with Paul as host, then I get to keep the house. Dominic has even said he’ll go so far as to get something drawn up legally so that Paul can’t back out of it.’
Amos held her look. He could hear the anxiety in her voice and see the pain in her eyes and his own anger was beginning to rise as a result. How could anyone think it was acceptable to trade for something over which there should not even be any question? The trouble was that, as with all things negative, there was always a positive side to be found, and Amos had become adept at finding it over the years.