by Margaret Way
“What?”
Blaine made a sound of disgust. “I saw Jason’s ute in town. Looked like the lovely Jessica to me. The two of them were standing beside it, Jessica jabbering away.”
Mallory’s mind was working overtime. “So Jessica is back. I wonder when? By the way, who told you Ivy had a seizure at school?”
“Who do you think, that old woman, Colin Watson. It’s better than buying the Bulletin, talking to Colin.”
“You seem a bit on edge.” She stared into his handsome dynamic face. His whole demeanour appeared on trigger alert, ready for action. He looked magnificent.
“I can’t rid myself of the idea the Cartwrights are going to cause a lot of trouble,” he said forcefully.
“They’re not the maddest people I’ve met.”
“Well, Dr. James, I happen to think differently.”
That didn’t surprise her. She touched his arm, gently. “I promised Dr. Farnsworth I’d have a word with Jason and Ivy this afternoon when he gets home.”
“Don’t do it!” Blaine looked down into her face framed by her glorious mop of hair. “I don’t like the way you’re putting yourself in the middle of these people. They’re wackos. If you’re going to speak to them, I’d like to be there.”
“Maybe not the best idea. Jason might clam up. He’s—”
“Half off his head with jealousy. It runs in the family.”
“Let me handle this on my own, Blaine. I have a lot of experience with difficult people.”
“And I haven’t?”
“Well, you too, of course,” she said, looking up at him. “I hope Jessica doesn’t take it upon herself to come back to the farm.”
“She’s been told to stay away,” said Blaine.
“Jessica might have a personality disorder but I don’t think she’s stupid. She knew we meant business.”
“You’re darn right!” His glittering gaze softened. The way he was now looking at her made the blood rush to her cheeks.
“What?”
“Nothing.” He put a hand to her hair, curled a strand around his finger. “I’m angry. Big time. Don’t get me wrong. I feel sorry for Kathy. Who wouldn’t? On the other hand, as Dot would say, Jessica’s a sandwich short of a picnic. The whole family is on the weird side.”
“Not too many families aren’t. You know the song, feuding and fussin’ and a-fightin’? I’ve seen families locked into bitter disputes. I’ve been grappling with my own family all my life, as you well know. Somehow we survive. I’d better get back to Kathy.”
Blaine’s eyes glinted. “What’s she going to do, jump town?”
“She may be tempted, but not without Ivy. She loves her.”
Blaine hesitated a moment. “Many stories can be told about love gone wrong,” he said soberly.
“Well, I’m not planning on making any mistakes. I mean any more mistakes.”
“Got it!” Blaine bent and before she knew it, kissed her mouth. It was a real kiss that set her heart knocking against her ribs.
* * *
Dot was waiting for them when they arrived back at Moonglade, anxious for news. “How is Ivy now?”
Mallory touched her shoulder. “She’s fine, a little dazed. She’s being kept in for observation. It’s Kathy who has had the big shock.”
“It’s just that I thought she might be dead.” Kathy was looking absolutely gutted, clutching her stomach with both hands like her insides were about to fall out.
“We need tea, Dot,” Mallory said briskly. “Afterwards I think Kathy should stay here and have a lie-down.”
“People think I’m a nutcase.”
Mallory and Dot exchanged glances.
“You’re in shock. Ivy is your life.”
“I lose her, I lose everything. I saw the way Dr. Farnsworth was looking at me.” Kathy let her anger and humiliation show. “She wants to call Children’s Services. Haul me off to court.”
It had to be faced. Kathy was under suspicion.
“You mustn’t get yourself all upset again. No one is calling Children’s Services.”
“What must happen, Kathy, is you and Jason sit down with me so we can discuss what’s going wrong with Ivy’s health.”
“But I don’t know. I don’t know.” Kathy’s hazel eyes looked bewildered, shining with fresh tears. “I don’t think I know.” She raised a hand to chew on an already chewed-over quick. “I do my best. I cut sandwiches for her lunch but she doesn’t eat them. I put in a piece of fruit, a banana, a mango, or some grapes. She tells me she gives most of it away. Lots of kids are poor eaters, aren’t they, Dot?”
Card-carrying child psychologist or not, Kathy had bypassed Mallory for a bona fide mother. Dot, however, was looking a mite distracted. “Why don’t I get the kettle on?” she said, by way of an answer.
“Good idea.” Mallory turned Kathy in the direction of the kitchen. “You’re not doing much eating yourself, Kathy.”
“I find it hard to choke down food, especially when fuckin’ Jess is around.” She clapped a hand over her mouth to staunch a further obscenity. Oddly, the F-word sounded far less shocking from Kathy than Jessica. “Sorry, Mallory,” she apologized, “but I hear that word all the time. You’ve no idea how good it’s been with her gone. She’s so horrible to me sometimes I want to kill her. I reckon I could pull off the perfect murder.”
Mallory felt a shock of alarm. “That’s terrible idea, Kathy. Don’t even think it. You’d go to jail for life. Where would Ivy be then?” She felt she needed a more comprehensive view of the sad young woman she had befriended. In short, Kathy, who aroused her strong sympathy, could actually be pulling the wool over her eyes. The pattern of Ivy’s illnesses was now dominating her mind.
* * *
Someone was banging on the front door, making no attempt to press the button for the doorbell. Mallory, ears pinging, went to answer it. She threw open the door, only to face Jason, brow slick with sweat, blue eyes blazing, a purplish vein thrumming in his right temple.
“When was someone going to tell me Ivy had a fit at school?” He was glaring at Mallory with accusing eyes. “And where the hell is Kathy? She’s not at home.”
Mallory burned with outrage. “Whoa, there, Jason!” she said sharply, holding up a hand. “I don’t answer to you, so don’t pull the mad bull act with me. Take a minute to get yourself together or leave.”
“Sorry, sorry.” Belatedly he reined himself in. “Sorry, Mallory. I’m so bloody angry.”
“No news. Come in,” she said tightly, prepared to make a few allowances. “Kathy is upstairs taking a nap. She’s tremendously upset.”
“I bet! She’s playing you, Mallory. Playing on your kind heart.”
The possibility filled her with dread. “So you want me to believe. Ivy’s fine. They’re keeping her in for observation.”
“I know that,” Jason burst out in high impatience. “Jess and I went to see her.”
Mallory drew in a breath. “Jason, you astound me every time. Who told you, and please don’t say Colin Watson.”
“Actually it was good of Colin to let us know. Jess is back from the Daintree.”
“When did she arrive back?” Mallory hung on his answer.
“This morning. I met up with her in town.”
“By accident or arrangement?”
Jason’s features tightened. “Come off it, Mallory. Jess and I keep in constant touch. She’s my twin.”
“Jason, I’m sure every last soul from the Almighty down is aware of that. Understand this: Jessica is not allowed back on the farm.”
“But I need her, Mallory,” he pleaded. “Jess is super-efficient. I can’t do without her. Kathy is no bloody help at all. All she does is sleep her head off. I swear she’s half comatose most of the time. And her headaches! They’re her way of shutting out the world.”
Mallory swallowed hard. “Jason, I beg you to listen. Your marriage is what you make of it. You haven’t given it even half a chance.”
“Cut t
he crap, Mallory,” Jason groaned. “All you do is waste time defending Kathy at every turn. She’s a woeful mother. She neglects Ivy. She’s the sort who takes to her bed when her kid needs her. Now, why don’t you wake her and tell her I’m here to take her home?”
Mallory looked up at his tormented face, wondering if she would ever come close to knowing the full story of this unhappy marriage. “I’ll do that for you, Jason, but I’d like all three of us to sit down sometime soon to have a talk about what’s happening with Ivy.”
Jason clutched his hands together like a prize fighter. “What does this have to do with you?”
“Remember who you’re talking to, Jason,” Mallory said with sharp censure. “I want to help. I want to be there in a professional capacity. Plus there’s the trifling fact I own this estate. I want to know what’s happening on it. A quiet discussion, Jason, that’s all I’m asking.”
“What makes you think you can help?” His eyes rested on every feature of her beautiful face wreathed in masses of tousled dark golden hair. He was close enough to catch the scent of her, the scent of Mallory, the combination of clean hair, clean skin, clean heart. Purity.
“I’m a psychologist, Jason. There are some concerns about Ivy that need to be cleared up.”
“Would you like to know what Jess thinks?”
“No, I would not,” Mallory said forcefully. “I’m absolutely certain your sister blames Kathy for everything that goes wrong with Ivy.”
“And that surprises you?” Jason threw down the challenge. “For God’s sake, Jess isn’t much good at showing it, but she loves Ivy.”
“Not the type of love Ivy craves. Jessica isn’t any good at showing how much she loves her niece.”
“Maybe not, but Jess has a real nose for what Kathy’s up to.”
“Meaning?” Mallory snapped, aware she was starting to lose her cool. “Look, let’s go through to the Garden Room. Would you like something to eat, drink?”
“I’m okay.” Jason followed her through the house until they reached the big beautiful room filled with all manner of indoor plants and luxuriant golden canes in huge Thai pots. “I had lunch with Jess. We could have sat all day talking about what goes wrong with Ivy. Kathy as a mother is a real joke.”
“Joke, am I?”
Startled, both of them turned to face the voice. Even Jason appeared swamped by embarrassment.
Kathy stood there, her hazel eyes puffy and cloudy with fitful sleep. “God, did I mess up my life when I had sex with you, Jason!” she said with bitter regret. “You’re a disgrace as a husband. As for your black-hearted sister, what a bitch!”
Jason reacted with fury. “Disgrace, am I? I’ve never had one happy day with you. Only for Ivy, I don’t remember having much in the way of sex with you.”
Mallory’s heart plummeted. This was incredibly nasty.
“Are you man and wife or are you not?” Mallory angrily demanded of them. “Okay, maybe not for that much longer, but you are Ivy’s parents.”
Neither Jason nor Kathy spoke, taken aback by the usually composed Mallory’s fiery outburst.
“We have to find out what is happening to Ivy,” Mallory said. “We have to know. This state of affairs can’t go on. I’ve talked to Dr. Farnsworth—”
“She’s a fat pig,” Kathy said of the good doctor, her small frame throbbing with hostility. “I thought you were my friend, Mallory.”
“I am your friend, Kathy. As your friend, my aim must be to help you.”
“Try to get your mind into gear, Kathy,” Jason sneered, running a hand through his newly close-cropped hair. “I’ll take you home. You’re in no fit state to talk a bit of sense.”
“You really want the answer?” Shoeless, Kathy padded farther into the room. It was obvious to Mallory that Kathy was fuelled by a deep-seated anger that at long last was bubbling to the surface.
“I’d sure like one, Kathy.” Mallory moved to take Kathy’s painfully thin arm.
“It’s bloody Jessy,” Kathy said, her gaze focused on her husband. “Not me. It’s bloody Jessy. She’s truly evil. She’s turned her back on God.”
Jason stepped threateningly closer to her. “And you’re stark raving mad!”
“Stand back, Jason,” Mallory ordered, giving him a sharp look of warning.
“If I’m mad it’s you and your freak of a twin that have driven me there.” Kathy was gaining courage from Mallory’s staunch presence.
“Watch your mouth,” Jason warned, barely controlling his anger.
“Listen, Kathy!” Mallory shook Kathy’s arm to gain her attention. “What does Jessica do?” She ignored Jason’s dark mutterings. She was seeking answers.
“Brilliant!” he cried. “You’re going to listen to this idiot?”
“I haven’t heard your brains clanking. Kathy is my friend. I need to protect her. She’s trying hard to deal with a life skewed by men doing wrong by her.”
“Terrific!” Jason cried, stony faced. “Take her part!”
“Anyone with a heart and a mind would. I don’t have your one-eyed approach to everything, Jason. Where’s your moral base? The decisions you’ve made have been wrong. You’ve allowed Jessica into your married life. You’ve given her virtual permission to be cruel to your wife.”
“A lot you know about it,” he hooted. “You took off.”
“I bless the day Mallory came back,” Kathy declared with touching sincerity. “I’ve come to trust Mallory more than anyone I’ve ever trusted in my life.”
“Ah, shut up, Kathy. Shut up and come home with me. You love drawing attention to yourself. You’ll say anything to get attention.”
“Not true.” Kathy turned back to Mallory. “There’s no use trying to talk to Jason or Jessy. Even you can’t do that, Mallory. They’re one mind. I’ll go with Jason now. It’s like Mum said, you made your bed, now you’ve gotta lie in it,” she said, with total acceptance of the bad hand life had dealt her.
“No you don’t, Kathy.” Sympathy had strengthened the bonds between her and this seemingly powerless young woman. “We have one life. One shot at it. You don’t have to endure an unhappy marriage. Times have changed. I’m your friend. I promise you support. I know you have it in you to stand on your own two feet given a little help. Both you and Jason are desperately unhappy in this marriage, so the only option is to end it.”
Kathy shook her head, clearly not accepting that piece of advice. “I can’t walk away, Mallory. Mum said I can’t. We’re Catholics!” She spoke as if the family was Catholic long before Christ was ever born.
“Stay here the night, Kathy,” Mallory begged. “We can pick up Ivy in the morning.”
Jason broke in, heatedly. “I’ll pick her up, thank you. I am Ivy’s father, might I remind everyone. I have my rights, which I will enforce. Kathy will never take my child off me. She’s such a nutcase she wouldn’t get custody anyway. Now she can come with me.”
“If I catch Jessica anywhere on this farm, you’re sacked on the spot, Jason,” Mallory said in a voice hard enough to crack stone.
“Excuse me!” He stared back at her, genuinely shocked.
“Have you forgotten who the owner of this estate is? I can sack you and I will. There’s a total bar on Jessica. She’s a bad influence on you. She’s bad for Kathy and Ivy. I don’t believe for one minute she loves Ivy.”
“Calls her a little bitch,” prompted Kathy. “Jessy doesn’t love no one but him.” She pointed a finger at her husband before planting a kiss on Mallory’s cheek. “It’s all right, Mallory,” she said sweetly. “I’ll go with Jason. I have the paper that says he’s my husband. He’s not all that bad. At least he’s never hit me.”
“As if I would!” Jason looked his outrage. “I don’t hit women.”
“I don’t have a lot of faith in you,” said Mallory, finding the whole situation increasingly dangerous.
“He doesn’t hit me, Mallory,” Kathy confided almost cheerfully. “Dad used to knock me and Mum and the boys flat.
That’s until the boys got too big, especially Declan. I was there the first time Declan clocked him. Mum and me cheered.”
“He’s a real bastard, your father,” Jason gritted.
“What about your dad?” Kathy struck back. “He and your mum don’t want to lay eyes on you or that ray of sunshine Jessy. What did you do? When did they catch you out? Did Jessy unhook her bra for you? Did they catch you fondling her? Makes you want to puke. Anyway, Dad wasn’t all that bad when he was sober. You’re the same twenty-four seven. Come on, Jason, let’s go. Mallory has just lost her uncle. She doesn’t need us to further upset her.”
It hit her like a tsunami. “Hang on a minute. What did you say, Kathy?” She had suspected there was something improper going on between the twins. Now confirmation.
“She’s talking rubbish,” Jason burst out furiously, his skin stained red. “She’s a total rat bag.”
“I want you to stay, Kathy,” said Mallory, fearful of letting Kathy go. It wasn’t enough to feel compassion. She had to act.
“Thanks, Mallory, but I’ll go with Jason.” Kathy had made her own decision. “You’re a lady. You have beautiful eyes. They see things other people don’t. No wonder Jason loves you. I should never have come between you.”
“Kathy, you didn’t really.”
The look Jason gave Mallory was that of a man slashed to the bone. “You were about to marry me. Now you can say that?”
“When are you going to stop thinking of yourself as the jilted lover?” Mallory retorted. “You brought about your own downfall; you with the assistance of your sister. You were always too close. Now it seems there’s more? If there is, I promise it will destroy you.”
Jason drew himself up. “Kathy’s talking a load of crap,” he said furiously, rounding on his wife. “Surely you can see that? She’s a serial liar. She can’t stop. Anyone can see she’s not normal. You can’t have forgotten she was a wild kid, no sweet little virgin.”
“But I was a virgin,” Kathy broke in, her voice astonishingly gentle. “You would have known that, Jason, if you hadn’t been so drunk. I may have flirted with the boys, but not a one of them touched me. I didn’t want to end up like Mum. Now look at me!”