Doing the Right Thing

by Barbara Elsborg

  “What?” Will staggered and his shoulder hit the wall.

  “She’s been attacked by a burglar,” Ed continued.

  “Poor Addie.” Vee tucked her arm into Will’s. He shrugged her off.

  Ed could see the fear in Will’s eyes and the pain, and wondered if Will was too blind to see it in his.

  “Which hospital?” Vee asked. “We’ll send flowers.”

  “Leeds General Infirmary.”

  “What happened?” Will asked.

  Ed was about to explain when there was a loud knocking at the door behind him. He was nearest so he opened it. He didn’t recognize the man standing there, but judging by the strangled cry that erupted from Will—he did.

  “Addie! Is she okay?” Will asked.

  “She will be. Can I come in?”

  Ed moved aside. This had to be Addie’s other brother. He looked like David and the brother he never been introduced to at the hospital. Another man followed.

  “You must be Ed. I’m Addie’s oldest brother, Finn.” Finn shook Ed’s hand, squeezing it hard. Ed tried not to wince. “Thanks for what you did, helping David, though of course you didn’t use excessive force, did you?”

  “He fell over in the scuffle,” Ed said, flexing his sore fingers behind his back.

  “Yes, that’s what David said.” Finn turned to Vee. “And you’re Evelyne or do you prefer to be called Vee? I’ve heard all about you.”

  “Well, I hope you’re going to listen to the other side of the story. The accident wasn’t my fault. She was trying to grab the wheel, I—”

  “Shut up, Vee,” Ed snapped. “Weren’t you listening? This is Addie’s brother.”

  “I’m not here about the accident,” Finn said in a quiet voice, not taking his eyes away from Vee. “When Addie got home today, she found her room had been wrecked. I don’t think she has one possession left intact. Her clothes have been shredded, her books soaked with bleach, her bed ruined and every one of her photographs spoiled. Even her teddy bear was torn apart.”

  “What does that have to do with me? The man who attacked her must have done it,” Vee said.

  “He says not. He admits to the assault but not to the destruction. Since there’s no logic in that, I’m inclined to believe him. I understand you spent Sunday night in Addie’s room.”

  “I didn’t do anything.” Vee edged toward Will.

  “There’ll be fingerprints.”

  “Well, I was in her room so of course there will be prints. Lisa let me stay. I slept in Addie’s bed, but I didn’t do anything to her things.”

  “Lying to the police?” Ed glared at her.

  Vee’s eyes shot to Will.

  “All Addie’s brothers are policemen,” he said.

  Vee clutched her stomach and swayed. “Sorry. I don’t feel well. I’ve just lost my baby.” She lurched into Will’s arms so he had to catch her. Will helped her into the lounge and onto the couch. The others followed.

  Finn stared at her dispassionately. Ed liked him.

  “I believe you’re friends with Chris Burton, a teacher at Easyspeak language school?” Finn said.

  “Yes.”

  Ed had no idea what this was about, nor where it was going, but Vee looked like a trapped rat. Her eyes darted everywhere but Finn’s face.

  “You asked for a sample of her urine for some experiment being done by your brother,” Finn said.

  “Vee doesn’t have a brother,” Will said.

  “Is this Chris pregnant, by any chance?” Ed asked. The Hallelujah chorus started up in his head.

  “Very,” Finn said.

  Loud drum roll.

  Will slumped onto a chair, as though all the bones had been sucked out of his body. “You were never pregnant? You pretended you were, pretended to lose it? All that collapsing and feeling ill?” Ed could see the truth zinging through Will as everything connected. “No wonder that doctor thought we were nuts.” Will shook his head. “You had a photograph in your suitcase. You said Addie sent it.” He fixed his black eyes on Vee. “You took it from her.”

  “Did you destroy Addie’s room?” Finn asked.

  Ed wished he could enjoy this. If it wasn’t for the fact that Addie had been hurt, he’d have whooped in delight. He wanted to shout “I told you so” at Will. He could see Vee thinking about continuing to lie, and then the moment it struck her that it was over.

  “Yes. It served the cow right.” She stood up.

  No contrition, Ed noted. Smug and defiant to the end. The bitch.

  “Why?” Finn asked. “Why would you do such a vicious thing? What had Addie ever done to you? She wouldn’t hurt a fly. She’s the kindest person I know.”

  “She let my husband fall in love with her.”

  For a moment no one spoke.

  Will broke the silence. “Pack a bag and get out. I never want to see or speak to you again.”

  “Where can I go?” she wailed.

  The man standing behind Finn spoke. “To the police station with me. I’m arresting you on suspicion of causing criminal damage to property belonging to Addie Winter.”

  Vee’s eyes shot to Will. “Will!”

  “You could go to prison,” Finn said.

  “Will, help me!”

  Ed folded his arms across his chest. He wished Addie was here to see this.

  “Will.” Vee cried now. Ed thought the tears might be genuine. “Get me a lawyer. Ring somebody, please.”

  Will looked up at her and shook his head.

  “I take it she won’t be coming back here?” Finn asked.

  “No,” Ed said.

  “Get your things together. After you’ve been charged, you can find a hotel to stay in,” Finn said.

  Vee got to her feet and with one last look at Will, she walked out.

  Will put his head in his hands. “I can’t believe this. I’ll pay for all the damage. Whatever Vee has spoiled, I’ll replace it.”

  “Any news on Addie?” Ed asked.

  “She’s being kept in hospital tonight. Then she’ll have to stay with our mother. I think it’s best she’s left alone. She’ll need time to pull herself together.”

  “What about the guy who attacked her?” Ed said.

  “Local drug addict. We’ll need a statement from you, Ed.”

  “Right. Will Vee go to prison?” Ed tried not to sound too eager.

  Finn shrugged. “Probably not, but it won’t hurt her to think she might.”

  “What about a solicitor?” Will asked.

  “We can get a duty solicitor in.” Finn paused. “Are you two still married?”

  “Not for want of trying not to be.”

  “Only, I won’t have Addie hurt anymore.” Finn stared him right in the eyes. “She hasn’t had an easy time. I know you care about her. I saw the way you ate her sprouts last Sunday. That used to be my job.”

  Will cast him a little smile and Ed sank in mud. What chance did he have when Addie’s mother and brothers all thought she and Will should be together?

  Vee appeared at the door, her eyes red and puffy. “Will?”

  He didn’t even look at her. Ed did. He grinned.

  “There’s no need to look so pleased.” She sniffed.

  “Yes, there is,” Ed said and smiled harder.

  When Vee and Finn had gone, Ed closed the door and went back into the lounge. Will sat on the couch with his head tipped back and his eyes closed.

  “This was supposed to be a nice, simple job,” Ed said. “A change from London.”

  “Do you think she’s gone?”

  “For now, but if you mean for good, that’s up to you.” Ed paused. “I wish to God I’d let her come upstairs that day and find you with Addie.”

  “Only if you’d moved all the knives. She really is crazy.” Will sat up and rubbed his neck. “I don’t know what all this was about. Why would she think I’d want her after all she’s done? I don’t even know why she still wants me.”

  “Probably because she can’t have
you. She’s not used to people saying no. And that’s your fault. You treated her like a princess when you got married.”

  “That’s how you’re supposed to treat the person you love.”

  “But you let Vee walk all over you. Addie is fun and kind and she expected nothing in return except to be loved, but you kept walking away from her to sort out your conniving ex-wife. You need your head examined.”

  Will glared at him and then sagged.

  “You let Addie down,” Ed said.

  “I know.”

  “I thought you deserved to be with someone like her, but you don’t.”

  Will gave a short laugh. “And you do?” He raised his eyes to Ed’s. “You waited until I was taking Vee to hospital and stepped right in. You’re my brother, for fuck’s sake. I’ve never gone after any woman you’ve wanted. I’ve even stood back and let you make moves on ones I liked. Why couldn’t you leave Addie alone?”

  The barb hit and Ed swallowed hard. “Addie needed looking after too, but you ignored her.”

  “So why didn’t you?” Will demanded. “You could have left her alone. Can you imagine how I felt when I came back to see if she was okay, only to find her in bed with you?”

  Ed heard a little voice urging him to tell Will he hadn’t made love to her. He ignored it.

  “You’ve done nothing but hurt her,” Ed said. “You’ve run to Vee every time she’s whined and you’ve walked away from Addie. I’ve watched you hurting her and felt guilty letting you do it. When she and Vee got back to the hotel after the car crash, you ignored Addie. She was nearly unconscious from hypothermia. She needed to be cared for. It was her who needed to go to hospital, not Vee. You looked as though you didn’t even care.”

  “I thought Vee was pregnant. I thought she was losing the baby.”

  “But you were supposed to love Addie. I don’t understand you, Will. What were you thinking? I encouraged you to go after Addie because at the start I wanted the pair of you to be together. I thought Vee would fuck off for good. I wasn’t even thinking of Addie, just of helping you. But I saw how she looked at you and the way you looked at her and I thought—maybe this is it for Will, maybe this is the real thing. God, Will, all you had to do was love Addie and you couldn’t even get that right.”

  “Was she the only one in the office you hadn’t fucked? Got a full score sheet now?”

  Every muscle in Ed’s body tensed. “I like Addie. I didn’t drag her into bed. I got to know her. I made friends with her. Just because you didn’t do the right thing, don’t make me feel guilty for helping her.”

  “You fucked her. Who exactly were you helping by fucking her?”

  Ed took a deep breath. “I love her.”

  Will stared at him. “I loved her first.”

  “She isn’t a toy we’re fighting over,” Ed said in a quiet voice.

  “But we are fighting. I’m not going to let you take her, Ed. You’ve flitted from woman to woman all your life. When you throw Addie away, you’ll break her.”

  Ed’s jaw tightened. “Do you know me at all?”

  “I know you too well.”

  Ed didn’t stay the night in Alwoodley. He couldn’t stand to be near Will. Instead he drove back to the hospital and sweet-talked one of the night nurses into letting him see Addie. Her eyes were closed and Ed thought she was asleep, but as he sat on the chair at her bedside, she spoke. “Hi, Ed.”

  His pulse rocketed. “How did you know it was me?”

  “Your smell.”

  “Oh God, I knew I should’ve had a shower,” he whispered.

  Addie laughed and then groaned. “Ouch.”

  “How are you feeling?”

  “Like someone’s been kicking me. And of course it’s my fault.”

  “How do you figure that?”

  “Because I should have handed over the pathetic sum in my purse, as my mother will no doubt repeatedly tell me.”

  Ed’s hand crept onto the bed and touched the tips of Addie’s fingers with the tips of his own. “Are your hands badly cut?”

  “Apparently I look like I’ve gone a couple of rounds with Edward Scissorhands.”

  “Don’t say that. For one very long minute I thought you were dead. If he’d killed you, I think I might have killed him.” Ed meant it.

  “God, Ed, you shouldn’t tangle with Spiderman.”

  “I thumped him. My fingers still hurt.”

  Addie gave them a little squeeze. “My hero,” she whispered.

  He wished he was.

  “Finn arrested Vee for wrecking your room,” Ed said.

  “Oh shit. I want to forget she exists, not have this drag out for months.”

  “She’s not pregnant. She never was.” Ed’s hand itched to reach out and brush the hair from Addie’s poor scratched face.

  “I was beginning to wonder. So how’s Will?”

  “Pissed off.” Ed wanted to leave it there, but he couldn’t. “Not about the baby. He never wanted that. Not with her. He’s pissed off because all of this could have been avoided. It’s my fault. I fucked things up. If I’d let Vee burst in on you two the evening you came back from Robin Hood’s Bay, none of this would have happened. And—and he thinks we—I—”

  “That we didn’t just sleep together?”

  Ed nodded. “Well, we didn’t just sleep together.”

  Addie opened her eyes wider. “I don’t remember…”

  “No, I didn’t mean that.” His heart hurt. The thing actually hurt. How could that be? The words moved to his mouth from his head, but got stuck.

  “Why didn’t you tell him?” she asked.

  “I don’t know,” Ed lied.

  “You look shattered,” Addie said.

  “I’m exhausted. Fighting Spiderman wore me out. Is there room in that bed for me?” he asked.

  “I can’t hurt him, Ed.”

  He tried to pull his hand away, but Addie clung on to one finger with the tips of hers.

  “So you’ll hurt yourself instead?” And me, he wanted to add.

  “He’s your brother. You’re friends. You run a business together. I won’t come between you. I’m not that important.”

  “Christ, Addie. Listen to yourself. If you want him, go for it.” He wanted the words back. That hadn’t been what he’d been trying to say.

  She moved her hand. “I’m tired.”

  Ed got to his feet. “I’ll come and see you.”

  “Don’t,” Addie muttered. “I can’t do this, Ed. I can’t come between you and Will. We all have to let this go.”

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  “Addie? Oh, your poor face. Christ! Addie, sweetheart?”

  The voice pulled her back from a world where she was safe. Suddenly her hands hurt, her ribs ached and she remembered.

  “I’m so sorry, angel. I’d give anything for this not to have happened to you. The nurse has only let me in for a minute. I just wanted to tell you that I’m sorry. I know I keep saying that, but I need you to understand how much you mean to me. I wish I could turn back the clock and meet you all over again, because I’d never let you out of my arms.”

  Once upon a time, that was what she’d wished too.

  “I want to spend the rest of my life looking after you. When you get out of here, I want to take you on holiday. Anywhere you like.”

  She opened her eyes and looked straight at him. Will smiled.

  “Vee’s gone,” he whispered. “Really gone. I want you to come to London and move in with me. If you don’t want to work for me, I’ll help you find a job. I know you and Ed— Well, it’s okay, Addie. I let you down. You’ve never done anything wrong. Never. I want to make everything right. Please give me another chance.”

  Beneath the sheet, Addie clutched the little grey bear Ed had given her, squeezing it in her fingers. “Go away,” she muttered.

  As her eyes closed again, she heard him give a shaky sigh.

  “I love you,” he whispered. “I’ll always love you.”

 
; Addie waited until he’d gone before she pulled the bear out and pressed it to her face. She buried silent sobs in its fur.

  She had one night in hospital before Hugh collected her and took her to her mother’s. There was nowhere else to go. Her room was still under investigation by scene of crime officers. Addie was installed in her childhood bedroom. Her mother delivered meals on trays, most of which Addie flushed down the toilet. The meals came with plenty of advice, all of which went the same way.

  Lisa and David were the first permitted to visit.

  “How are you?” Lisa asked, clutching a Christmas present and a box of mints.

  “Sore.”

  “I was so scared.” Lisa glanced at David and he hugged her. “Made me realize you never know what’s going to happen in life. I’ve decided to stop being mean to David.”

  “Now he’ll be even more unbearable,” Addie said.

  “We’re engaged,” David said. “We wanted you to know first because if it hadn’t been for you, we wouldn’t have met.”

  “I’m really sorry, Lisa,” Addie said.

  David stuck out his tongue. “Just don’t tell anyone, okay? And act surprised when we announce it.”

  “I want to apologize,” Lisa said. “Sorry, Addie. Sorry for ever thinking Vee could be right about anything. We talked about you. I wish I’d never said anything to her.”

  “David, go away,” Addie said.

  He rolled his eyes but got to his feet.

  “And don’t listen through the wall.”

  “I’ve never done that,” he said, twisting his mouth.

  “No, but I have. So I know how easy it is.”

  He laughed and Addie heard his steps on the stairs.

  “Go all the way down. I know that trick too,” she called.

  They heard the thump of him descending. Lisa put the Christmas present and the mints on the bed. “For you. I’m going up to my parents’ this afternoon and David’s bringing me back to make the announcement here.”

  “What did you tell Vee?” Addie asked, undeflected.

  And as Lisa spoke, Addie realized that it hadn’t been Will at all. Vee’s information about her losing her virginity had come from Lisa. All Vee had done was manipulate it until it fitted her design.