The Charmer

by Mandasue Heller

  For a man who had thought himself so insignificant, Nigel Grayson had certainly made an impression on a great many people. Throughout the day, Maria heard many of them recounting tales of their own personal encounters with him and the common theme was the level of respect they had all had for him. She was just sad that he had died without knowing the impact he’d had on those around him. Not least on herself.

  Or on his workmate, Adam Miller.

  When Adam introduced himself to Maria as she was leaving, the first thing that struck her was how much he looked like Joel, when Joel had still been blond and clean-shaven.

  Pushing the thoughts from her mind, she shook his hand and told him how sorry she was that Nigel had been killed by somebody associated with her.

  ‘Nigel would never have blamed you,’ Adam told her, echoing what Vicky had already said. ‘He was really rather fond of you,’ he added with a sad smile. ‘If only he’d had the nerve to tell you when he first saw you, you might never have . . .’ Tailing off, he shook his head. ‘No, I shouldn’t say things like that. Just take it from his best mate, he would hate for you to suffer over this.’

  ‘Thank you,’ Maria said, taking a tissue from her pocket as the tears welled up in her eyes. ‘I really appreciate that. He was a lovely man, and he was so helpful.’

  ‘Wasn’t he,’ Adam agreed, gazing off into the distance. ‘The world lost one hell of a man, and one hell of a solicitor when we lost Nigel.’

  ‘Yes, it did,’ she said, smiling sadly.

  Maria was much happier at the next event she attended a few months later – Davy’s wedding.

  Sitting in St Augustine’s church, where they had spent many a day playing in the ramshackle old graveyard when they were kids, Maria had Vicky on her left, and Beth – who had come to spend the week with her – on her right.

  Davy looked so lovely in his grey morning suit, and Leroy was especially striking in his matching best man’s outfit, both turning their top hats around in their hands as if they didn’t know what to do with them.

  Vicky looked beautiful in a flame-coloured dress and hat, and the kids were so precious: the girls in their little frilly dresses, carrying baskets of flowers, and Luke, the ring bearer, on his best behaviour in his own little suit. Even the baby was dressed up, although he was less than impressed with the bow tie and kept trying to pull it off.

  ‘Doesn’t he look handsome,’ Vicky said wistfully, her stare riveted on Davy as he stood at the altar waiting for his bride.

  ‘Amazing,’ Maria agreed. ‘But how nervous is he? He looks like he’s about to faint.’

  ‘Probably is.’ Vicky chuckled. ‘Leroy and the lads got him totally blitzed last night. I was hoping they’d take him to Amsterdam and chain him to a hooker so he’d miss the wedding, but, oh, well . . .’

  ‘Don’t be so mean,’ Maria scolded. ‘He loves her. Be happy for him.’

  ‘Can’t help it. I hate her.’

  ‘No, you don’t,’ Maria said knowingly. ‘You’re just jealous of her, because you think she’s stolen Davy’s love from you.’

  ‘Don’t be ridiculous!’ Vicky tutted. ‘I’d rather he was marrying you. He’s loved you all his life.’

  ‘He had a crush on me,’ Maria told her firmly. ‘It’s hardly the same.’

  Everyone turned to look at the doors when the organist began to play the wedding march and a collective ‘Oooh’ went up around the congregation when Nicola came in on her father’s arm. Her make-up and hair were immaculate, and she looked stunningly elegant in her designer ivory-satin fishtail dress and veil.

  Casting a glance at Davy, Maria saw the glow of love in his eyes and knew that she would have to do something about Vicky before her family fell apart. That would be so sad, because Vicky and Davy had been each other’s friends and allies throughout the awful days of their childhoods and beyond. They needed each other much more than Vicky would ever admit.

  The reception was being held in the community centre attached to the church. Old Father Finlay who had conducted the service popped in for a drink – or ten. He was a funny old man, who obviously didn’t remember how many times he’d had to chase Vicky and Maria’s gang out of the graveyard all those years ago – or how much abuse they had hurled at him along the way. Mind you, he’d probably never seen who had said the rude stuff, because they’d only ever dared open their mouths when they were well out of range and knew they wouldn’t get into trouble for it. Bad as some of the kids’ parents were, they’d have stripped the skin off their backsides if they caught them abusing a priest.

  Looking around when the other guests started to arrive for the afternoon buffet, Maria couldn’t believe how many faces she recognised. Dragging Beth around the room, she introduced her to some of the girls from the gang, and the lads they’d hung around with. She felt as if she’d come home at last.

  ‘You back again?’ Lin Stokes said, giving her a prod in the shoulder. ‘Thought we’d seen the last of you last time.’

  Turning, Maria saw that Lin was smiling pleasantly – quite a change from the last time they’d bumped into each other. She’d made an effort with her appearance, too, and actually looked quite pretty with her hair loose, and her skin smooth and glowing with make-up on.

  ‘Hi, Lin,’ Maria said, giving her a kiss. ‘How are you? You look lovely.’

  ‘Thanks.’ Lin beamed, unused to compliments. ‘You don’t look too bad yourself.’

  ‘This is Beth,’ Maria said, introducing her. ‘She’s my friend from where I used to live, in Devon. She’s over for the week.’

  ‘Pleased to meet you,’ Lin said.

  ‘You too,’ Beth replied.

  ‘Our Frankie’s over there,’ Lin told Maria then, pointing across to the buffet table. ‘He’s dying to see you after I told him about catching up with you that time. He’s on his own, an’ all,’ she added pointedly. ‘He sacked that lazy bitch off last year. Come and say hello. I can’t wait to see his face when he sees you.’

  Being dragged across to Frankie, who was busy loading a plate up with chicken legs, quiche and sausage rolls, Maria was nervous. He still had all his hair from what she could see, still that little bit longer than everyone else’s. God, she hoped he wouldn’t give her that uninterested look he’d been so good at dishing out when she’d been a love-struck kid. She wouldn’t be able to bear that.

  ‘Frankie,’ Lin said when they reached him. ‘Look who’s here.’

  Maria nearly died when he turned round. From behind his beer gut wasn’t apparent, but face to face it stuck out like a barrel straining to escape the buttons of his shirt. And his face was haggard, which was a shock, considering he was only a few years older than her. His eyes were droopy, and his jowls were already hanging. He looked horrible.

  ‘You remember Maria Price, don’t you?’ Lin said, watching both of their faces eagerly.

  ‘Yeah, course.’ Frankie grinned. ‘How y’doing, Maria? You’re lookin’ good, girl.’

  ‘You too,’ Maria lied. ‘So, how’s it going?’

  ‘So-so. Got divorced.’

  ‘Did you? That must have been painful.’

  ‘Nah. She was a slag. So have you got a fella on the go?’

  ‘Er, no,’ Maria admitted, a thrill of panic seizing her gut. Please, God, no! ‘I’m kind of off men at the moment.’

  ‘Oh, right,’ Frankie said disappointedly, his gaze flicking to Beth.

  ‘Me, too,’ Beth said, linking arms with Maria and giving her a secretive smile.

  Frankie’s eyes lit up. Two for the price of one, and a floor show thrown in. Fuck! He was in heaven!

  ‘Er, I think Vicky’s looking for me,’ Maria said, spotting Vicky wandering around with Tyrell on her hip. ‘Catch up with you later, yeah?’

  ‘I’ll be looking for you,’ Frankie said, giving her the grin that she had swooned over when they were kids but which made her feel a bit nauseous now.

  ‘There you are,’ Vicky said when Maria and Beth reached her. ‘I�
��m just going home to leave the kids with the babysitter and get changed for the disco.’

  ‘Oh, right.’ Maria checked her watch. ‘I didn’t realise it was five already. Shall we go and get changed, Beth?’

  ‘Yeah,’ Beth said, fanning a hand in front of her face. ‘I’m boiling in this.’

  ‘Right, well say bye to Davy before you go,’ Vicky told them. ‘They’ll be heading off to the airport in a minute.’

  ‘Where is he?’ Maria asked, looking around.

  ‘With the bitch over there.’ Vicky pointed across the room.

  ‘Can Beth hold Ty for a minute?’ Maria asked, already peeling the boy out of Vicky’s arms. Handing him to Beth, she grabbed hold of Vicky and pulled her towards Davy and his bride.

  ‘What you doing?’ Vicky squawked.

  ‘Sorting you out,’ Maria told her firmly.

  Reaching Davy and Nicola who were gazing into each other’s eyes in the corner, Maria pushed Vicky down into the chair beside Nicola. Then she squatted down in front of them and put her elbow on Vicky’s knee to hold her in place.

  ‘Nicola,’ she said, smiling up at the girl who, she had decided, was perfectly lovely. ‘Your sister-in-law loves your husband as much as you do – in a different way, of course. All she’s ever wanted is for him to be happy, and now she’s accepted that you make him happy, so she’d like to put the past behind you both and start again – okay?’

  ‘Really?’ Nicola said, her eyes filling with tears as she turned to look at Vicky. ‘I’d love that.’

  Seeing the hope in her uncertain eyes, Vicky sighed heavily. She’d never really tried to get to know the girl, but had decided that she was a stuck-up tart, just because she was a model and spoke quietly and politely. In truth, Nicola had probably been quiet mainly because Vicky had been so aggressive towards her. Davy’s bride probably had no clue what she’d done wrong.

  Loath as Vicky was to admit that Maria had hit the nail on the head when she’d said that Vicky was jealous, it was true. She’d hated losing Davy – to anyone, never mind to Nicola. But it was time to accept the inevitable. Vicky had her own life with Leroy, and if this was the woman Davy wanted to spend the rest of his life with, then who was she to argue?

  ‘Yeah, I’m sorry,’ she said. ‘I never meant to hurt you. I was just scared for Davy, ’cos I knew he was mad about you and I didn’t want him to get hurt. So if you’ll forget about all the nasty stuff, I’d really like to get to know you. Just do me one favour, though – stop calling him David! It does my head in!’

  Feeling very proud of herself when Vicky and Nicola kissed and made up, Maria gave Davy a hug.

  ‘Thanks so much for that,’ he said. ‘I never thought I’d see the day.’

  ‘My pleasure,’ she said, wiping lipstick off his cheek. ‘Have a wonderful honeymoon. And don’t forget to ring me when you get back so I can come and see the pictures.’

  ‘You’re not going, are you?’ Nicola asked, wiping her eyes and hugging Maria. ‘Leroy’s friends are doing a gig later. You don’t want to miss that.’

  ‘I won’t,’ Maria assured her. ‘I’m only going to get changed. Have a lovely time. I’ll see you when you get back.’

  ‘Proper little matchmaker, aren’t we?’ Beth said on the way back to the apartment in Maria’s new car. ‘Shame someone can’t do the same for you. That Frankie seemed like a nice man.’

  ‘Don’t even go there!’ Maria groaned. ‘I can’t believe how awful he looks. If you’d seen him when he was fourteen, you’d have died.’

  ‘Oh, I can imagine,’ Beth said disbelievingly. ‘Looks like a regular little sex god.’

  ‘Christ, did you see his eyes when he thought we were together?’ Maria laughed. ‘He thought he was onto a winner.’

  ‘You never know,’ Beth said teasingly. ‘Give me a gallon of champers and I might just find him irresistible.’

  ‘If I catch you anywhere near him, I’ll have you sectioned,’ Maria warned, pulling in to the car park.

  Up ahead, a man was leaning against a car. As they got nearer, Beth paled visibly.

  ‘Oh, my God! I thought that was Joel,’ she spluttered, turning her head to look back at him.

  ‘It’s Adam Miller,’ Maria said, wondering what he was doing here. ‘He was Nigel’s friend at the solicitor’s. I met him at the funeral. He’s really nice.’

  ‘He’s really fit,’ Beth agreed, getting over the shock. ‘And he’s actually nicer than Joel. Sorry, babe, you probably don’t want to hear that.’

  ‘It’s fine,’ Maria assured her, activating the central locking when they got out of the car. ‘I’m over all that.’

  ‘You look nice, ladies,’ Adam said, strolling towards them with a slim briefcase under his arm. ‘Been to a party?’

  ‘Wedding,’ Maria told him. ‘This is my friend Beth,’ she said then. ‘Beth – Adam Miller.’

  ‘Pleased to meet you,’ he said, shaking Beth’s hand. ‘Sorry for dropping in on you like this,’ he said to Maria then, ‘but I was wondering if I could have a quick word.’

  ‘Yeah, sure,’ Maria said, opening the security door. ‘Why don’t you come up? We’ve only come back to get changed, but I’m sure I can spare five minutes.’

  Beth went to have a quick shower, leaving Maria and Adam alone to talk.

  ‘Can I get you a glass of wine?’ Maria asked, waving him to sit down.

  ‘Yeah, that would be nice,’ he said, looking around. ‘Great place.’

  ‘Yeah, it’s all right.’ Maria handed him the glass and sat down. ‘So, what can I do for you, Adam?’

  ‘You had a conversation with Miles Cobb, one of the partners at the firm,’ Adam said, ‘in which you indicated that you’d like the firm to continue to represent you since Nigel . . . well, since he no longer can.’

  ‘Yes, that’s right.’

  ‘Ah, good, just wanted to confirm that,’ Adam said. ‘That brings me to the reason for this visit. You see, each client is represented by an individual solicitor within the firm, and I was hoping that you would consider allowing me to be yours. I’m relatively newly qualified, but I assure you I know your case intimately, because I worked very closely with Nigel on it. He was my mentor as well as my friend, and taught me everything he knew – which was an incredible amount. The man was far too modest.’

  ‘He was, wasn’t he?’ Maria agreed, smiling fondly.

  ‘So, anyway, if you would do me the honour, I would love to pick up where Nigel left off and be the one to take care of you,’ Adam said, giving her a piercing look.

  Blushing, Maria shrugged. ‘Well, I can’t see any reason why not, if you’ve already worked on it with Nigel. He must have trusted you.’

  ‘Oh, he did,’ Adam said, unclipping his case and extracting several sheets of paper. ‘I just need you to sign these authorisation papers, and we’re done.’ Handing her a pen, he passed the first of the papers to her. ‘I can’t begin to describe the sense of loss at the office,’ he said as she signed. Taking that sheet, he passed her the second. ‘It’s so quiet without him. He had a very warm sense of humour – but I’m sure you must have seen it, because I know how much he respected you.’ A third, and fourth, then finally the fifth sheet. ‘Right, that’s it. I’m now your solicitor,’ he said, reaching out to shake her hand. ‘And if I may be so bold, perhaps I could invite you out for a meal sometime . . . ?’

  ‘What are you looking so pleased about?’ Beth asked when Maria had shown Adam out and had come into the bedroom.

  ‘He’s my new solicitor,’ Maria said, sitting down on the bed to watch as she dried her hair.

  ‘And?’ Beth said, squinting at her knowingly in the mirror.

  ‘And he asked me out for a meal.’ Maria grinned back at her.

  ‘Oh, no – you didn’t say yes, did you?’ Beth said, turning round to look at her.

  ‘For your information, I politely turned him down,’ Maria giggled. ‘You should see your face. You look horrified.’

 
‘Thank God for that!’ Beth sighed. ‘Not that he isn’t a very nice man, and fit as hell, but it’s just too soon after Joel.’

  ‘Which is precisely why I said no,’ Maria said. ‘So stop worrying, and let’s get back to the party. I feel like I can finally start to have some fun again – and that’s exactly what I intend to do!’

  Down below, Adam climbed into his car and put his briefcase on the seat beside him. Patting it, he gave a slow smile. If Maria only knew what he’d been through . . .

  Table of Contents

  The Charmer

  By the same author

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Acknowledgements

  Prologue

  Part One

  Chapter 1

  Part Two

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Part Three

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Part Four

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Epilogue