by Linda Sole
‘I want twenty thousand pounds and three thousand a year,’ Frances said. She looked at him proudly, refusing to show fear, though she was trembling inside. ‘If you don’t pay I shall go to the police – and even if they can’t prove anything it will cause trouble for you, Sam. You won’t like that …’
His eyes flashed with temper and he grabbed hold of her arm, his fingers digging into her flesh so that she almost cried out. ‘And you won’t like what I’ll do to you if you open your mouth. I’ll give you fifteen thousand and two thousand a year.’
‘I want the twenty thousand, Sam.’ Frances raised her head proudly. ‘And three thousand a year. I think you owe me that. I’ve kept quiet about what you did – but I could tell Rosalind. She might think it was cause for divorce.’
His eyes dropped before hers. ‘I’ll admit I shouldn’t have done what I did – but it doesn’t have to be this way, Frances. Be nice to me and I’ll be nice to you. You might end up with a lot more than twenty thousand.’
‘No, thank you,’ she said. ‘As soon as I have my money I’m going to move away from here. To be honest, I can’t stand you, Sam. It was bad enough before you did what you did – but now I don’t want to have to see you at all.’
‘What about Charlie?’ Sam demanded. ‘He’s my grandson and I’m entitled to see him sometimes.’
‘I shan’t stop you coming down to visit now and then,’ Frances said. ‘You can bring Rosalind and stay at the guest house that I am going to buy with the money you are going to pay me, Sam.’
Sam’s eyes narrowed. ‘There’s more than one way to skin a cat,’ he said. ‘You think you’ve won, and maybe you have for the time being – but watch out, Frances. I’m not a man to take things lying down. I’ll make you pay for this, believe me.’
Frances stood quite still until he had left, and then she went into the kitchen and found the cooking sherry. She poured herself a large glass and drank it down quickly.
Sam scared her because there was such violence in him. She hated being in this house, because it was too big without Marcus. She wanted to take Charlie and run away, but she had to wait for her money. Sam had caved in at the end, but she still wasn’t sure he would pay up.
Frances poured another glass of sherry, sipping it more slowly this time. She didn’t want to get into a bad habit the way Marcus had, but there was no doubt that it steadied her nerves. She just hoped that Sam would pay her so that she could leave soon.
Perhaps she ought to have taken the ten thousand and the income he’d been prepared to pay. He wouldn’t have been angry then, and she might have got her money quickly. As it was, he might make her wait. She felt a bit regretful, but she had been so angry with him – and he deserved to be punished for what he had done.
Sam was furious as he drove home. Frances knew too much, and he was aware that she could make a lot of trouble for him if he didn’t give her what she wanted. He was damned if he would cave into her blackmail. If there were any way out, he wouldn’t pay her a penny. He’d been a damned fool to put one half of the property into Marcus’s name. If he hadn’t done that she wouldn’t be entitled to anything – and she wouldn’t have known a damn thing about his business.
He might have to pay her the ten thousand but he wasn’t going to be blackmailed into giving her the twenty she wanted. He had planned to give her an income, see that she was all right, but now he had changed his mind. And yet if she tried she could ruin him. He cursed Marcus for being such a soft fool. If he’d only accepted where a lot of the money had come from – the apartments were only a part of his empire of vice and corruption. Marcus had pushed his nose in too far, discovering the seedy gambling clubs and other things … but Frances only knew about the apartments.
He would have to play her along for the moment. He might have to sell that apartment block. He knew someone who would give him more than Frances had demanded. He would pocket the difference, pay her ten thousand up front and make her wait for the rest. She might go away and forget about it … and if she didn’t, well, he might just have to arrange something else for that little madam.
‘I suppose I should say I am sorry,’ Amelia said as Emily walked into the small back parlour the next morning. It was a room they both liked, though there were others that they could use if they chose, but it had a particularly lovely view of the gardens. ‘I must say it wasn’t very nice of you to go to Vane behind my back.’
‘It wasn’t like that,’ Emily said defensively. ‘Vane asked where you were and I said we had had a tiff. And then I told him the truth about Robert – but he already knew.’
‘Of course he did.’ Amelia’s eyes snapped with scorn. ‘Did you imagine that he was a fool?’
‘No, of course not.’ Emily looked at her unhappily. ‘I suppose I just felt guilty for letting him believe it – but I should have known. I’m glad I talked to him. It means that I have no need to feel that I am lying to him, and if you can accept it, Amelia, I want to stay on here.’
‘Well, of course,’ Amelia said. ‘Vane would be upset if you went. He loves Robert … as I do …’ She looked a little ashamed. ‘I know I do things I shouldn’t sometimes, but I feel as if Robert belongs to me. He is the son I wanted to give Vane …’
‘I know that,’ Emily said. ‘And I am quite happy for you to take him out for walks and things, Amelia – but please not too many sweets and cakes for the sake of his teeth. And Nanny is my employee, even if I am a guest here.’
‘All right,’ Amelia said and shrugged. ‘I suppose we have to learn to get along together. I was thinking of starting Robert on a pony next spring – if you agree? Vane told me to buy something suitable and either he or I will supervise, but one of the grooms is very good with teaching children. He works at a riding school at the weekends.’
‘I should like to talk to him and see the pony before Robert does,’ Emily said. ‘But my brothers learned when they were about his age. I know you are good with horses, Amelia – and I think you will want to take good care of him.’
‘You know I would never do anything to harm Robert. You must know that, Emily?’
‘Yes, I do,’ she said and smiled. ‘I hope we can forget that silly tiff we had and be friends again?’
‘Yes, of course. We have to,’ Amelia said. ‘It is what Vane wants – and the least we can do is to get on for his sake.’
‘Yes, I know,’ Emily said. ‘He is all right, isn’t he? No sign of any more trouble with his heart?’
‘He seems fine,’ Amelia said. ‘But I don’t want to upset him.’
‘No, of course. We mustn’t do that,’ Emily agreed. She was thoughtful as she left the house and walked down to the home. She was very fond of Vane and it wouldn’t be the same if anything happened to him.
Eight
‘I saw Frances this morning in Ely,’ Alice said when her husband met her in the village main street. She had been into town and returned on the bus with her shopping, but Daniel had come to meet her to save her the long walk along fen droves. ‘She said she might be moving away soon, perhaps after Christmas. Apparently, Marcus left her some property. Sam is selling it for her and she is going to invest in a guest house at the sea – somewhere down where Emily lives she thinks.’
‘Sam won’t think much to that,’ Daniel said with a frown. ‘He dotes on Charlie – and so does Rosalind come to that. I wonder why Frances wants to go off like that? She won’t know anyone and it is going to be hard running a place like that on her own.’
‘Well, it’s what she wants,’ Alice said looking doubtful. ‘I suppose she will employ girls to help her – but the business side will be down to her and I’m not sure that she will find it easy.’
‘I shouldn’t think she has a clue,’ Daniel said. ‘Marcus always looked after the money side.’ He glanced at his wife as he drove through the High Street. It was clear of traffic, just a tractor chugging a little way ahead of him and a young boy on a pony. ‘Do you think I should talk to her? See if she really know
s what she is doing?’
‘It might be a good idea,’ Alice said. ‘She had two bottles of sherry in her basket …’ She shook her head. ‘I expect she just needs it for cooking. After all, it is nearly Christmas.’
‘I shouldn’t have thought she was doing that sort of cooking these days. How many sherry trifles can one person eat? She wouldn’t give them to Charlie, would she?’
‘No, I shouldn’t think so,’ Alice said. ‘She said Muriel was looking after Charlie this morning. Apparently, he has a bit of a cold.’
‘Most children get them at this time of the year,’ Daniel said. ‘It’s December, Alice. Danny had a bit of a cough last week. Frances fusses too much.’
‘I suppose Charlie is all she has to think about these days,’ Alice said. ‘I hadn’t seen her for ages, Dan, and she looked a bit strained. Do you think I should ask her to come to dinner on Sunday?’
‘It wouldn’t hurt,’ he said and smiled at her. ‘Connor won’t be here. He and some of his friends are going to London for a week. They are switching the Christmas lights on again this year, and they want to go to some of the shows.’
‘Really?’ Alice was surprised. ‘Can he afford it? I thought he was broke last week.’
‘Well, I gave him a few pounds when I sold that car I had been working on,’ Daniel told her. ‘He doesn’t earn much but he works hard – and it will do him good to get away and enjoy himself.’
‘Yes, I expect so,’ Alice said. ‘He has settled down since he came back from staying with Emily, hasn’t he?’
‘We had a talk the other day,’ Daniel said. ‘I think it upset him when he thought I had been killed, and then I was in that camp … We talked about that and he seems to understand. I think he has grown up a lot these past months.’
‘I agree,’ Alice said. ‘He’s happier living with us, Dan. He never did get on well with Frances.’
‘Well, like I said, he won’t be here this weekend. Have Frances to dinner and it will give us a chance to talk. I am sure she must be lonely, but I don’t like to think of her going off somewhere on her own. I suppose I ought to pop in and see her more often, but I don’t get a lot of time these days.’
‘Of course you don’t,’ Alice said. ‘She told me she has taken a couple of driving lessons. I was surprised after the way …’
‘After what happened to Marcus?’ Daniel nodded. ‘Yes, it surprises me a little – but I think it is a good thing. If she could drive she could come and visit you. Perhaps I ought to teach you, Alice? Would you like to learn?’
‘I’m not sure,’ Alice said. ‘I’ll think about it, Dan. I don’t really get much time, though it would be a help when I wanted to do my shopping. You wouldn’t have to meet me off the bus.’
‘But I like meeting you,’ he said and drew the van into their yard. He grinned at her, and aimed a kiss at her cheek. ‘I’d better go and see if Connor has fed the pigs yet. Any chance of a cuppa in twenty minutes?’
‘Yes, of course,’ Alice said. ‘I bought some fresh cream in Ely and I shall be filling that sponge I baked this morning before I went out.’
‘Make it fifteen minutes,’ Daniel said and grinned at her as he set off across the yard.
Alice was smiling as she went into the house. She had felt a bit bothered about Frances when she saw her that morning. She would ring her later that evening and ask her to dinner. They were all so busy with their own lives, but it really was time that she made an effort as far as her sister-in-law was concerned.
Daniel drew his van into the drive of Cley’s house in Chatteris. He could see that his brother had had new guttering put up and the windows had all been painted. It looked as if Cley was doing all right for himself, and it was about time he paid him some more of the money he owed him.
Cley was out in the back yard chopping wood. He came towards his brother, still carrying the axe he had been using.
‘What are you doing here?’ he asked, his tone aggressive.
‘You know very well why I’m here,’ Daniel said. ‘I paid Margaret two thousand pounds to keep you out of trouble, and so far you’ve given me five hundred. I want the rest of it, Cley – and you can put that axe down. Unless you’re willing to do murder rather than pay up?’
Cley flushed an angry red. ‘Damn you! You know very well I wasn’t threatening you. I told you I hadn’t got much to spare.’
‘This house looks as if you’ve spent money on it, and I happen to know you’ve just bought a new tractor and there’s a new barn on your land. All I’m asking for is what you owe me.’
‘Cley …’ Dorothy had come out into the yard. ‘Aren’t you going to ask Daniel in for a cup of tea? It’s ages since we saw him.’
Cley looked at him, and then called out to his wife. ‘He can’t stay. He has to get back for Alice.’ He turned to Daniel again. ‘All right, I can find four hundred next week – and that’s it, Dan. I’m not going to pay you a penny more. It’s take it or leave it this time.’
‘Right, I want seven hundred and we’ll call it quits,’ Daniel said. ‘There’s a bit of land going I want. If I get it I shan’t ask for the rest.’
‘All right, damn you,’ Cley said. ‘I’ll bring the money to you. Don’t come here. Dorothy will want to know why and if she finds out … you’ll whistle for the money.’
‘All I want is that seven hundred,’ Daniel said. ‘It’s in your interest to pay up, Cley.’
‘When I have we’re finished,’ Cley said. ‘I don’t want to see you again.’
Daniel shrugged. ‘Suits me,’ he said and turned his back. At the gate he looked over his shoulder. Cley was still standing there watching him. ‘Next week without fail …’
He got into the van and drove off. The extra land would make things easier. He hadn’t really been able to afford to give Connor that twenty pounds for his holiday, but he had wanted to see the lad happy and his friends were going. Connor hadn’t asked, but he’d known he wanted to go with the others.
Daniel owed Sam Danby a hundred pounds for some feed and an old tractor and trailer that he’d bought from him. If Cley paid up he could settle his debt – and next time he wouldn’t take anything on tick, even if Sam pressed him. He wasn’t sure why, but it had made him uncomfortable owing the money to Frances’s father-in-law. He wouldn’t do it again.
Frances opened the door to her motherin-law. She was a little surprised, because it wasn’t often that Rosalind came to visit her. It was annoying that she should choose this day to start visiting, because Charlie hadn’t been well that morning and Muriel hadn’t come in, so the house wasn’t as pristine as usual.
‘You didn’t let me know you were coming,’ Frances said, leading the way into the sitting room. ‘Charlie has a cold. He is in bed at the moment …’ As if right on cue, her son let out a wail of distress. ‘Excuse me, I must go to him. I’ll put the kettle on when I come back.’
She ran up the stairs, because Charlie had been sick twice that morning already, and she didn’t want to have to change the bed again. However, when she got there, she discovered it was too late. He had been violently sick on the sheets she had put on fresh less than an hour ago.
‘Oh, Charlie …’ she sighed. ‘Why didn’t you call me? I changed those sheets only a half an hour ago. Well, I can’t do them again just yet. I’ll just clear up the mess and …’ She sensed something behind her and turned to see Rosalind watching her from the door. She was annoyed that her motherin-law had followed her upstairs, but there wasn’t much she could say. ‘I’ll be down in a minute, Rosalind. Charlie has been sick again. I’ll just clear up and come down.’
‘Aren’t you going to change his sheets?’
‘This is the second clean set this morning,’ Frances said. ‘He will have to put up with it for a little while. I’ll do them later.’
‘I’ll give you a hand,’ Rosalind offered. ‘We can’t have you left in this nasty mess, can we, Charlie?’
Charlie shook his head wanly at his grandmother.
He was feeling dreadfully ill and his mother seemed cross. ‘Charlie feel sick,’ he said and promptly threw up again just as Frances was bending over him, splashing the bile on to her dress and the floor.
‘Oh, Charlie,’ Frances said, distressed but sounding annoyed because she was under pressure. ‘Whatever is the matter with you today?’
‘That is what I should like to know,’ Rosalind said, laying a hand on his forehead. ‘He feels hot and damp, Frances. Have you telephoned for the doctor yet?’
‘No.’ Frances frowned as she admitted it. ‘I thought it was just a bilious attack. I was going to see how he was and then phone this afternoon if he was no better.’
‘I think I should ring for him now,’ Rosalind said. ‘I’ll leave you to put the clean sheets on, Frances. I do think the doctor ought to see Charlie immediately.’
‘Yes, all right,’ Frances agreed. ‘He might come out more quickly for you than me, Rosalind. I’ll clean Charlie up – and give him some water to rinse his mouth.’
Frances stripped the bed and changed Charlie’s pyjamas. She gave him a glass of water to rinse his mouth and he drank a little afterwards. She placed her hand on his forehead. It was true that he did feel a little over-warm. She kissed his cheek, settling him back against the pillows as Rosalind came back, turning to look at her once more.
‘Did they say how long the doctor would be?’ Frances asked, feeling anxious now.
‘He is out on a call, but they will give him the message when he gets back,’ Rosalind said. She gathered the dirty linen up in her arms. ‘I’ll take these down and put them in the copper for you. Muriel will see to them when she comes in, I expect.’
‘Yes, she couldn’t manage it today,’ Frances said. ‘I think I’ll sit with Charlie for a while if you don’t mind?’
‘Please don’t worry about me,’ Rosalind told her with a smile. ‘I’ll make a cup of tea and bring it upstairs. Charlie needs his mother with him at a time like this.’