by Susan Lewis
‘Nevertheless, to accuse her of being involved in a ring when we don’t even know if there is one …’
‘Maybe not, but did you notice that she didn’t deny it?’
Realising that was true, Lucy experienced a jolt of alarm. ‘Oh my God, what kind of can of worms have I just opened?’ she murmured. ‘And what she said about Mum …’ Her eyes went to Sarah.
‘I’m sure she wouldn’t really do anything to harm her.’
Lucy wasn’t convinced. In fact, the deeper into this she went, the more afraid she was becoming. ‘You realise, this could explain why Mum’s been so on edge lately?’ she said. ‘She knows that there is a ring, but doesn’t know how to handle it.’
Sarah was looking equally worried. ‘Except I can’t imagine her letting you take the business on if there were some legal issues. At the very least she’d be sure to warn you.’
Lucy couldn’t disagree. ‘But if Maureen’s been putting the pressure on,’ she said, ‘my mother’s not sophisticated, or tough enough to know how to deal with bullies or thugs. She’s just a decent, honest, straightforward person who always believes the best about people.’
Sarah wasn’t doubting it. ‘Until they prove themselves to be one of the Maureens of the world.’
Lucy was shaking her head, still hardly able to credit what had just happened. ‘We need to talk to Michael about this,’ she said. ‘Luckily he’s on his way here. Meantime, how do you feel about talking to John about it, given everything else that’s going on?’
Sarah didn’t flinch. ‘It makes sense, since he’s the one who told us what a ring was in the first place.’
‘And if Maureen comes back …’ Lucy’s eyes sharpened. ‘Do you think she will?’
‘She’d have a nerve if she did, but if she’s got something to hide I suppose we shouldn’t rule it out.’
Lucy covered her face with her hands. ‘Just when I thought my new life was off to a dazzling start,’ she muttered.
Half an hour later Michael was regarding them carefully as Lucy finished telling him about what had happened.
‘Well, I can quite see why you’re suspicious,’ he said, putting down the tea Sarah had made him. ‘The solicitors’ letters are worrying, and Maureen’s reluctance to leave the company doesn’t work well in her favour, considering the antipathy between you.’
‘Plus, she didn’t deny there was a ring,’ Sarah reminded him. ‘And she was really threatening, especially about Lucy’s mother.’
‘Certainly she seems to be incriminating herself,’ he agreed, ‘but all I can advise for the moment is that you investigate further to see if you can come up with some solid evidence.’
‘Of course,’ Lucy responded. ‘I’m just not sure how to go about it, because we don’t have any way of knowing where, when or how anything has sold on after it’s left here.’
‘No, but you will have a list of who’s bought what from you, and if a certain dealer’s name keeps cropping up and happens to tie in with Eric Beadle’s letter, or any of the other letters, it could give us a start.’
‘And if we find there is a ring, how do we protect my mother?’
Michael’s eyes came to hers. ‘I’m afraid I have to ask you this, even though I’m already sure of the answer, but do you think there’s any possibility at all that she might know what’s going on? If indeed something is.’
Though all Lucy’s instincts shied away from it, she couldn’t ignore the way her mother had been lately, so she said, ‘Obviously we can’t rule it out, but there’s no way she’d ever agree to do anything illegal. At least, not knowingly or willingly.’
‘I don’t think she would either, and to be frank, I’ve come across Maureen Crumpton often enough to know what a powerful character she is, so your mother could have been forced to turn a blind eye. And if that is the case, in a legal sense that would make her an accomplice.’
Lucy’s face turned ashen.
‘Fortunately you haven’t been at the helm long enough for suspicion to fall on you too,’ he continued, ‘but you should be prepared to face some awkward questions, should the worst come to the worst and it ends up in the hands of the police.’
Lucy’s eyes went to Sarah as Sarah said, ‘Even if something is going on we’ll have to do our best to keep it covered up. I don’t see any other way of protecting Lucy’s mother.’
‘You need to speak to her,’ Michael said to Lucy, ‘and get her to tell you what she knows.’
Remembering the way her mother had told her to stop trying to force her to say things she’d rather keep to herself, Lucy’s heart sank. ‘Well, this isn’t what we were expecting today,’ she said, trying to make herself smile as she looked at Sarah.
‘No, but we can deal with it,’ Sarah declared positively, ‘and I guess we’re business as usual for now?’ she said to Michael.
‘I don’t see why not,’ he replied. ‘The auction’s next Wednesday and Thursday, you’ve got your viewings set up for Monday and Tuesday … Actually, I’m experiencing the usual midsummer lull at the moment, so if you like, I’ll pop in and out as I’m passing to find out how things are going.’
‘I’d be really grateful if you did,’ Lucy told him, wondering if it was as much an excuse to see her as it was to be supportive – and hoping it was.
His eyes narrowed playfully. ‘Grateful enough to get me off the morris dancing hook?’
Laughing through a sigh of relief, she said, ‘Maybe.’
‘Or maybe not,’ Sarah told him. ‘No, I’m sorry, I’m not depriving myself of the hilarity of watching you and my brother hopping, mincing and skipping around in a circle, clicking sticks and waving your tassels. It just has to happen.’
‘But Simon’s probably not even going to be here,’ he protested.
‘I’ll make him fly back.’
‘And if he isn’t you’ll have John Mckenzie, our new driver, for company,’ Lucy assured him.
With a roll of his eyes Michael said, ‘There went my dignity, but hey, what price pleasing a lady?’
‘That’s the spirit,’ Sarah grinned, carefully avoiding Lucy’s eyes since they hadn’t actually signed anyone up for anything yet. However, it was starting to seem like a mighty good idea. ‘You know, I reckon John’s going to turn out to be a demon morris dancer,’ she declared, ‘so you’d best start practising.’
After looking at her in a way that was probably meant to make her back down, but had no effect at all, he said to Sarah, ‘Do you happen to know which troupe is on? I’m sure you do.’
‘Cromstone’s own,’ she told him, ‘so don’t worry, you’ll be amongst friends. Now, back to this ring business, are we all agreed that we say no more to Maureen until we’ve had a chance to go through the records to see if we can find some sort of evidence?’
Lucy looked at Michael and nodded as he did. Then, realising how deeply his eyes seemed to be penetrating hers, she felt an embarrassing heat spreading over her cheeks.
‘I should be going,’ he said, glancing at his watch. ‘The paintings are in the barn, the paperwork’s here, on your desk, and unless something’s changed I’ll see you both at the manor tomorrow night for cocktails?’
‘Don’t be late,’ Sarah told him as he came to embrace her. ‘Oh, and we’re definitely on for the polo at the end of September, just email us the details.’
‘Great. What time are you expecting Simon?’
‘His flight gets in at twelve fifty, so mid-afternoon I guess.’
‘OK. Now, this is me loving you and leaving you. If anything comes up, you have my mobile number.’
After he’d gone Sarah turned to Lucy, who was still sitting in her chair. ‘So we’re carrying on as though nothing’s happening?’ she said.
Realising she could as easily be talking about Maureen as Michael, Lucy replied, ‘I think we should,’ and picking up the paperwork Michael had left, she went off to inspect the paintings.
John Mckenzie was motoring along happily in the Cromstone Aucti
ons truck with Rosalind Ophelia – aka Rozzie – at his side, doggie-belted into the passenger seat and gazing joyfully out of the window. Following a brief downpour earlier, the sun had come out again, making the hedgerows and fields sparkle and gleam like a freshly painted landscape. He knew he’d never tire of nature’s beauty, no matter what the weather. After the kind of darkness he’d known in his life, he’d learned how to appreciate many things that other people took for granted.
He’d dropped Carl, the company’s young helper, at a pub on the Tetbury road about twenty minutes ago, leaving him to start his weekend downing a couple of pints with his mates. The dear soul had invited John to join them, but not only would John never have dreamed of drinking and driving, he was keen to get back to Cromstone in case there were any more errands to run.
As he wound on through the country lanes he began naming flowers and trees to himself, while taking extra care to stay below the speed limit. The last thing he wanted was a ticket, much less a run-in with the police. Not that there seemed to be many police around these parts, in fact he wasn’t even sure where the nearest station was – nor was he particularly interested in finding out.
Coming to a stop at a junction with the Stroud road, he waited for the traffic to clear and was just pulling out to turn left when he spotted a couple of young girls at a bus stop on the opposite corner, waving to him. To his surprise and delight he realised it was Hanna and her friend Juliette, and completing his turn to clear the junction he drove on a little way before coming to a stop.
He could see them in the wing mirror, running happily and carelessly along the verge to catch him up.
‘Rozzie!’ Hanna cried, tearing open the passenger door. ‘Oh, look at you,’ she laughed as the puppy tried to leap on her. ‘You’ve got your very own seat belt. How cute is that? Look, Juju, isn’t it amazing? She’s got her own seat belt.’
‘She’s so sweet,’ Juliette gushed. ‘I wish she was mine.’
‘Hello over there,’ John said teasingly.
‘Oh John, sorry,’ Hanna laughed. ‘It’s just so fab to see Rozzie. You too, of course,’ she added, bouncing up and down. ‘Are you going back to Cromstone? Can you give us a lift?’
‘Yes, and yes,’ he chuckled, ‘but we’d best put Rozzie on the floor, or there won’t be enough room for you all. Careful she doesn’t escape when I undo her belt. That’s right. Good girl, Rozzie, down you go and no jumping up.’
A few minutes later Hanna and Juliette were buckled into the long seat, with Rozzie flopped obediently at their feet while gazing adoringly up at John.
‘So what are you two doing all the way out here?’ he asked as he pulled back on to the road.
‘We’ve been at Juliette’s cousin’s house practising for our fashion show,’ Hanna told him. ‘She’s got loads of clothes and her mum used to be a model, so she was teaching us how to walk. It’s going to be so cool. I can’t wait for when it happens. Oh my God, Mum told me you’re going to do some morris dancing.’
‘No way!’ Juliette cried, her pretty dark eyes sparkling with laughter. ‘That is so bad. I bet you’re going to be brilliant.’
John’s eyebrows rose. ‘Thanks for the vote of confidence,’ he said drily. ‘I shall certainly do my best. Philippa’s already arranged my first lesson for tomorrow evening at six. She’s trying to get me ahead of the game, because the other novices are half my age.’
‘Oh, you’ll be great,’ Hanna assured him, as though he was great at everything.
Laughing, he said, ‘I think we shall all have great fun. We just have to find something outrageous for your mother and Sarah to do.’
‘Oh yes, we definitely have to do that,’ Hanna agreed. ‘Apparently Mum used to be really good at walking on her hands when she was little, so maybe we can sign her up for that and sponsor her five p a step.’
‘Not a bad call,’ he responded approvingly. ‘And Sarah?’
Hanna shrugged. ‘I’m not sure. What do you think, Juju?’
‘No idea, but her brother’s supposed to be coming this weekend, isn’t he? He might give us some ideas, seeing as she’s roped him in for the morris dancing.’
‘We’ll definitely ask him,’ Hanna declared. ‘Now what about Philippa? What’s she going to do?’
‘Oh, I think you’d better leave that to me,’ John said gently. ‘I’ll manage to think of something. How’s the baby-photo competition going?’
‘Actually, not bad,’ Juliette told him. ‘Mum’s got over fifty photographs now, and you should see some of them. They’re so hilarious we can’t stop laughing. Have you given her yours yet?’
‘I believe Philippa was intending to drop them in today.’
‘It’s a shame Granny and Grandpa aren’t going to be here for it,’ Hanna sighed. ‘They were really sweet when they were young, both of them, but you should see what they were wearing. It’s sooooo Dickensian, or Victorian, or something like that. Anyway, you never know, they might come back for the weekend. I expect they will if we ask them to.’
‘Do you know what time they’re setting off tomorrow?’ John asked.
‘I think sometime in the morning. Mum’s really dreading it, because she doesn’t do goodbyes. Honestly, you should see her, she can be so embarrassing the state she gets herself into. Anyone would think she was never going to see us again. Thank God Dad’s going to be here, is all I can say. He’s usually quite good at calming her down.’
‘I’m looking forward to meeting him,’ John remarked. ‘Will he be staying to help out with the auction next week?’
‘I don’t know, I expect it’ll depend on whether he has to work, or if there’s an audition or something he has to go to. He was really famous once, you know, before I was born. We’ve got all the videos though, so I’ve seen him. Actually, I’m thinking I’d quite like to be an actor myself when I’ve finished uni, but if I ever say that to Mum I know she’ll go mental.’
‘I suppose it isn’t the most stable of professions,’ John murmured. ‘What about you, Juliette? Do you have your heart set on something in particular for the future?’
‘Not really,’ she shrugged. ‘I’d kind of like to be a model, but I’m not sure I’m going to grow tall enough. I bet you do,’ she said to Hanna. ‘You’ve only got to look at your mum to see how tall you’re likely to get.’
‘Yeah, maybe, but then look at Granny and Grandpa. They’re dead short, so she didn’t take after them. Mum’s like her granny apparently, who was only six foot one! Imagine – she must have been like a giant. How tall are you, John?’
‘Six one, as it happens,’ he answered. ‘Or I used to be. They say you start to shrink as you get older, so maybe I’m kidding myself these days.’
‘No, you’re tall,’ Juliette informed him knowingly. ‘Have you been using the Wii much since we set it up?’
‘Philippa has. She’s quite into the yoga, and I believe she has a little go at the tennis. I’m afraid I haven’t had much time since I started my new job.’
‘You know, it is so cool having you doing the driving,’ Hanna confided. ‘We really detested Godfrey, didn’t we?’ she said to Juliette. ‘He’s such a letch, and once, he only came up behind me and put his hand on my bum! Ugh! It was so disgusting.’
John’s eyes remained on the road as his face darkened. ‘I hope you told your mother,’ he said quietly.
‘I was going to, but then he broke his ankle, and so I thought what’s the point, he’s not going to be around any more, or not for a while. If he does it again, though, I’ll tell my dad, he’ll really sort him out.’
‘Yes, well you be sure to do that,’ John told her. ‘Or come to me if your dad’s not around, because that isn’t something we can allow to happen again.’
Hanna started to grin. ‘You know, you’re so cool,’ she stated happily.
‘Och, now that’s exactly what I want to be,’ he said gladly.
Laughing, she said, ‘Mum’s really pleased that you’re helping with the auctions.
She says she doesn’t know how she’d manage without you, in spite of Granny saying we shouldn’t be putting on you.’
‘Is that what Granny says? Well maybe I ought to put her mind at rest, because I don’t feel put on at all. I expect you’re going to miss her when she goes tomorrow.’
‘Yeah, I will, but we’ve got such a lot happening at the moment. Juju and I are going to help out with the auction, you know. Mum’s got us down to work with Philippa, showing stuff off like we’re game-show hostesses. Should be really cool.’
Slowing down as they approached the high street in Cromstone, John said, ‘So where would you like me to drop you?’
‘Actually,’ Hanna said, ‘we were going to pop in to see Philippa, because she said we could have a go on the Wii whenever we like, and then we’re going to practise showing off some of your stuff ready for next week.’
‘I see,’ he said, both amused and concerned. He didn’t want Philippa overdoing things, and a couple of lively teenagers could easily wear her out if he wasn’t around to keep an eye on proceedings. On the other hand, she’d always loved young people, and having been deprived of their company for so much of her life it wouldn’t have been fair to deprive her any further.
‘Just make sure she doesn’t get too tired,’ he whispered, as he came to a stop outside the Lodge. ‘She’s not as young as she used to be, but for heaven’s sake don’t tell her I said that.’
Grinning, Hanna and Juliette crossed their hearts and jumped down from the truck, closely followed by the boisterous Rozzie.
‘Take her in too,’ John told them. ‘It’s time for her dinner, and she’s a bit too much of a whirlwind to have around the barn.’
After watching them setting off up the drive, all long legs and naive young hearts, he slipped the truck back into gear to drive on up the hill. He knew he was foolish to think that the secrets of his past would never come out, but this short time before anyone learned the truth was a blessed interlude that he intended to cherish for as long as he could. However, now that Philippa had told Sarah he’d once known her mother, he didn’t imagine time was on his side any more. He couldn’t help wondering if Sarah had already asked Rose about him, and if she had, what Rose had said.