Greengage Shelf

by Emma Sterner-Radley

  Anthony’s mouth worked wordlessly for a moment. Then a single word slipped out. “Pearls.”

  Alice clasped her hands in her lap in a weary manner. “Pearls? You don’t mean my triple-strand freshwater pearl necklace? Was that what all this was about?”

  Anthony’s gaze was fixed on the ceiling. He obviously wasn’t going to answer. It fell to Kit to explain about Anthony overhearing where the will was, chickening out of stealing it himself and getting Liam to try, and how, when he got caught both times, they came up with the idea to let a teenager with possible kleptomania steal the book.

  Then, there was the snag of Alice making a big deal out of the book disappearing. Anthony panicking and pretending to find the will. The book being returned to Caitlin to ensure it was in her possession if everything came out. After all, who’d believe her word against Anthony’s? She added that Caitlin had admitted it all to Jackie but that they thought it had been a silly prank and ignored it. Finally, Kit explained how it had all been stirred up again when she met Alice in the post office and decided to investigate who’d disturbed the bookshelf and why. Laura supplemented that this was when Anthony started shadowing Kit and left a note incriminating his niece.

  Anthony growled like some prowling jaguar. “It was only a blasted note! Besides, that brat gets away with everything. She would only have gotten a slap on the wrist for taking a book.”

  Alice gave him a withering look. “What about the rest? The attempted forging of my will? Oh, and have you really been stalking Kit?”

  Anthony threw his arms out. “All I’ve done is keep tabs on who she’s been harassing. Did you know she climbed a tree to break into Phillip’s house? I was in the bushes and saw all of it with my binoculars.”

  His demeanour was so sanctimonious that Kit wondered if he realised how sneaking around in bushes with binoculars made him sound.

  “Actually, Caitlin let us in,” Laura clarified. “That was when she and Jackie admitted everything.”

  “Yep. Later, Liam filled in the gaps,” Kit said. “For what it’s worth, Liam, and certainly Caitlin and Jackie, are all apologetic and swimming in guilt. Unlike Anthony here,” she nodded towards him, “who happily climbed up from the pool of guilt and dove into a pond of self-righteousness instead, where he’s now flapping about and blaming everyone else for his actions.”

  Anthony was about to speak but was quickly silenced by the look his mother gave him. Kit presumed anyone would’ve quieted if someone they loved gave them that look of disappointment, sadness, and anger.

  Alice sagged where she sat. “Anthony. I will hear no more excuses or blaming of others. Because the sad truth is that I’m not surprised. I felt certain the culprit was either you or Phillip, and knowing the way you are around your brother, I should’ve guessed the will would make you do something terrible.”

  “Mummy, I—”

  “What did I just tell you, Anthony? I don’t want to hear it. In fact, it’s time you listen to me. I’ll have to ponder whether or not I want to report this to the police. I’ll certainly have to tell your brother, who will never let you forget this. Neither will I.”

  All the bluster left Anthony Caine. Wherever it went, his words seemed to follow. He stood silent as the grave, avoiding all eye contact.

  Alice turned to Kit and Laura. “I should let you ladies go enjoy the rest of your evening. I’ll inform you if I decide to involve the police, in which case they will probably wish to speak to you. If not, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your help. If you ever need anything from me, you have but to ask.”

  Kit gave Alice a peck on the cheek. “No need to offer us anything. I was glad to help. Well,” She took Laura’s hand. “We were glad to help.”

  Laura shook her head with a smile. “That’s not completely accurate. I bet you anything, Mrs Caine—I mean Alice—that Kit will take payment in Garibaldis, as well as someone to help her wrangle Mabel Baxter when she decides to interfere with Kit’s life.”

  Despite her distress, Alice laughed at this. “Consider it done. I will be on Mabel duty if ever needed, and there will always be an offer for you both to drop by for a biscuit. I will make sure to always have Garibaldis in my cupboard.”

  Kit threw a glance at Anthony, who was still as a taxidermy fox. “Right, we’ll leave you to it. Call if you need anything, Alice.”

  Their hostess smiled faintly. “I will. Goodnight, girls.”

  They let themselves out.

  As they headed for the car, Kit gathered up her nerve.

  “Baby? Now that’s settled… When are we going to talk about our argument?”

  Laura rolled her neck, making it pop twice. “Not tonight, please, dearest. It’s been a long day and an eventful evening.” She sighed. “And I have to get up early tomorrow to smooth things over with Farradays.”

  “The big client? I thought Maximillian hadn’t called them.”

  Laura adjusted her hair. “He wouldn’t have if he, like he said, had been going alphabetically. However, it seems that when he said alphabetically what he actually meant was random as a drunk person with a blindfold on.”

  Kit chuckled. “Classic Maximillian. Well, um…” She kicked at a leaf on the ground. “I can walk home if you want to hurry to bed?”

  “No, certainly not. I want to drive you home. After all,” she beamed at Kit, “you do live rather close to me.”

  Kit felt a smile tugging at her lips. “Yep, seems someone wanted me within spitting distance.”

  “Charming expression. Now get in the car, beautiful.”

  Kit did as she was asked. She was still waiting for the sense of relief at having solved the bookshelf mystery to kick in, but all her feelings were focused on the Laura situation now. That, and her desperate longing to wash up, get into her comfy bed, and sleep like the dead.

  At least that last one would be easy to achieve.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  No Tea, But At Least There’s Wine

  The next evening there was a soft knock on Kit’s door. She put her book down on the coffee table and answered it.

  Standing there in the summer evening with the purples, pinks, and blues of the setting sun illuminating her, making her look like a human representation of the bisexual flag, was Laura. Kit’s mouth went dry.

  “Can I come in?” her girlfriend asked. “I think we are overdue a chat.”

  Kit stood aside. “Of course. Have you actually managed to shake your shadow?” She bit her tongue. Why did she say that? Of all the things to mention right now, Maximillian and his constant presence was the worst one.

  “I told him I got my period and needed to go to the shop to get some panty liners. He grumbled something about young women today being too blunt and hurried down to the kitchen.”

  If Kit hadn’t been so tense, she’d have laughed at that. Maybe even clapped Laura on the back and congratulated her for the ruse. Now, however, all she could manage was a smile and an offer of tea.

  Laura closed the front door. “No, thank you. I’m far too hot after the walk. It’s warm tonight.”

  “I’ll get you some water.”

  Laura gave her a small smile. “I think wine might be more appropriate, don’t you?” She held out a bottle she’d been hiding behind her back. Kit accepted it and read the label, some posh white wine with a long French name.

  “Thanks. I’ll get some glasses, oh, and water as well. I’ll be right back.”

  When Kit returned with a tray holding two tumblers of water and two glasses of wine, Laura was perched on the edge of the sofa. It was hard to imagine someone looking so uncomfortable on such a comfortable piece of furniture.

  Kit sat next to her and sipped the cold wine. Laura gulped down half of her water and then hiccupped.

  The anxious body language and that adorable hiccup made Kit’s heart ache. She couldn’t stay quiet. She scoured her mind for things to say that she hadn’t already blurted out, like that she didn’t want Laura to change or to be uncomfo
rtable with her decisions. Or to hurt Maximillian.

  Laura beat her to it. She put her water glass down and announced, “Dearest, I’ve spoken to Aimee.”

  Of all the things Kit had anticipated Laura saying, that certainly wasn’t on the list. What the hell did Aimee have to do with this?

  “You have?”

  “Yes, I called her during my lunch break. I wanted tips on how to have this discussion with you. It made sense to start with picking the brains of the person who has known you the longest,” Laura concluded before grabbing her wine glass for a long gulp.

  Slightly disorientated, Kit wondered if she should:

  One: apologise again.

  Two: let Laura lead this conversation.

  Three: point out that Aimee was a maniac and could give any sort of advice, including tantric sex, as a solution to all relationship issues.

  In the end she settled for a feeble “okay.”

  Laura swallowed her mouthful of wine. “Aimee said that your parents never put you first and that most of your girlfriends only wanted you to save them and help them, meaning they didn’t put you first either. She thinks that this makes you excessively sensitive about me not prioritising you.”

  Kit sat back. “Whoa.” She took a couple of deep breaths. “I’ve never thought about that.”

  “I see why. Because I think she’s wrong.”

  “What?”

  “Well, not wrong. I do, however, think that she’s approaching our issue from the wrong angle.”

  “Oh?”

  Laura took another gulp of wine. “Yes, because after much soul-searching I’ve decided that you’re not being excessively sensitive here. The fault lies with me. My only real relationship was with Dylan, and while he required my attention, he only wanted it superficially.”

  “Superficially?”

  “Yes. If I spent five minutes on the phone listening to him whinge or bought him a nice present, he was content with that. So, I could continue the way my parents behaved: always sacrificing their own lives and time for the people of this island.”

  Kit swigged some wine as well. “Makes sense,” she mumbled.

  “Well, things are different now. I’m in a real partnership with someone who actually wants to be with me. Who actually needs me. And I suppose in seeing your need for me to, not only set aside time for you, but to take time for myself, I’ve come to realise…” She looked up to the ceiling and let out a shaky exhale. “That I don’t have to sacrifice so much to be a real Howard or to make people like me.”

  “Oh, baby, I—”

  “No, Kit, please let me finish. I’ll lose my train of thought otherwise.”

  “Sorry. Carry on.”

  “Trying to maintain my parents’ legacy by relinquishing my time and mental well-being for others wasn’t healthy for me before. However, it’s worse now that I’m aware that my deepest desire is to be with you. But I’ll never be the sort of person who says ‘screw everyone else’ and simply does what they want.”

  “No, of course not. Actually, you’re usually not even a person who says the word ‘screw’ without blushing for forty minutes,” Kit said in an attempt to lighten the mood.

  Laura gave a limp smile, placing her glass on the table. “I suppose we can all change.”

  “But I don’t want you to change!” Kit objected.

  Laura put a calming hand on her arm. “I know, dearest. You keep saying that you want me to stay the way I am and be comfortable with my actions, and I know you mean it. I love you for it. However,” she took Kit’s face in her hands, “you deserve to be put first.”

  Kit wasn’t going to cry. At all. Her eyes were merely a bit foggy from the cold wine on such a warm night.

  “Dearest, we need to find a balance where I can prioritise you but also maintain my role as, well, as Laura Howard. And, yes, we’ve concluded this before, and back then I said I’d try to find that balance. The difference now is,” her thumbs caressed circles on Kit’s cheeks, “that this time I want to change for both of us. Uncle Maximillian sabotaging Gage Farm, making me feel like a guest in my home, and worst of all making me hide my greatest treasure—my relationship with you—has made me realise that I not only need to prioritise you but also myself.”

  Kit sniffled as subtly as she could. “Well, thank fu—hrm, fudge, for that.”

  They both laughed before Kit continued. “You’ll carry on dropping what you’re doing to look after the Greengagers. And you’ll sacrifice a lot of your time, blood, sweat, and tears for Gage Farm and for Howard Hall. That makes sense to anyone who’s met you. But, honey, you can only do all that if you look after yourself first.”

  Laura let go of Kit’s face and clasped her hands in her lap. “Which is what you tried to say at my birthday party, I know. I wasn’t listening then, but that day in the orchard, I heard you. Obviously, my uncle butchering my business, because I gave him the slack to do that, drove the point home,” she said with an eye roll.

  Kit laughed while trying to blink away that fogginess in her eyes. “I’m glad you want to make a change for yourself, and not only for me, because I don’t think that’d be healthy. Plus, it would keep me feeling like a whinging, demanding brat.”

  “I know, dearest. Any change I make will be for both of us.”

  “Good. Only small changes, though. I want you to be the person I fell in love with, just happier and, well, to be honest, around more.”

  “Consider it done,” Laura said in the voice she used when making decisions at Gage Farm. Kit had yet to tell her that the professional-power-woman voice was a major turn-on.

  She squirmed in her seat. Now is not the time, libido.

  “So, what does this mean for the here and now?” she asked.

  “I discussed that with Aimee, actually. I asked her if the holiday and lingerie I promised you would be enough to make it up to you. She pointed out that something you’d appreciate even more was right under my nose.”

  Kit swigged her wine and put the empty glass down. “Okay, what’s that?”

  “Our main problem. You want me to tell Maximillian about us and I want him out of my house.”

  “Ding-ding! Right on both accounts.”

  “Well, one of the reasons I’m here tonight is to ask you if we should tell him together, or if you’d prefer if I did it on my own?” She ignored the soft gasp Kit gave and added, “I would’ve done it before I came over, but something told me it would be more symbolic if we did it together, as the perfect team we are. That would show him that our type of team isn’t only friendship, but…” Suddenly there was a shy look about Laura. “But future marriage material.”

  Kit was rarely lost for words, but this was an exception.

  Laura wants to marry me one day. And wants to tell her uncle. Well, bugger me sideways.

  Anything Kit could think to say sounded too prosaic and feeble. She sat there, hearing nothing but the rush of blood as her heart pounded and her eyes welled up again. Laura blinked repeatedly. Her cheeks were reddening. She looked as vulnerable as Kit felt.

  “Y-yes, please,” Kit stuttered quietly.

  Laura drew her into an embrace and whispered against her neck, “I don’t know how to show you how important you are to me other than to try to always put you first and foremost, like you are in my heart.”

  Kit smothered a sob and tightened her grip around Laura’s waist. She ached with regret for all the wasted time she could’ve spent with Laura, even if Maximillian had been present. She’d wallowed in self-pity these past months. No, if she was honest, she’d been doing that for much longer. Whenever Laura had been busy throughout their relationship, Kit had needed to be put first. Whether she had admitted that to herself or not. Now Laura was very clearly prioritising her, and it opened Kit’s tight chest and filled it with warm love and assurance.

  She buried her head in Laura’s big curls and whispered back, “My turn to be sappy now?”

  “Yes.”

  “You’re my home, Lau
ra. The way you show me what I mean to you is by letting me be with you. Even if that is with your uncle hanging around and giving me weird, dead things.”

  Laura laughed. “We’ll get rid of him, and then I’ll give you as much of my time and attention as I can possibly free up.”

  “Without sacrificing what makes you happy,” Kit quickly interjected.

  Laura broke away so she could lean her forehead against Kit’s. “Yes, I’ve already promised you that. We’ll get the balance right. Just remember, what makes me happiest of all is being with you.”

  “Do you think we have time to be together in a more… naked way?”

  Laura quirked an eyebrow. “Dearest, are you actually suggesting a quickie while my poor, heartbroken uncle is waiting for me?”

  “You mean the bloke who disapproved when you talked about period stuff? Yeah, I think he can bloody well wait.”

  Laura ran her hands from Kit’s shoulders down her back, until she could slip her hands in between the sofa and Kit’s bum to grip it. “This is why I think you might be my soul mate—you have your priorities right. Oh, and a bum that poets should write about,” she growled with a squeeze.

  Kit attempted her best bedroom eyes. “If you like that, you should come upstairs and let me show you what else I’ve got.”

  Laura gave that warm, chiming laugh as she let Kit take her hand and lead her up the stairs. Kit was giddy and hurried them along.

  Right now, the world was an extremely good place, but her bedroom would be even better.

  Chapter Thirty

  Gay Squad Saves the Day

  Kit got off the phone with Matt and returned to her kitchen table. She smiled at Caitlin Caine, who sat on the opposite side slurping a Fanta.

  “There we go,” Kit said. “I’ve set it up so that you’ll babysit Clark for Matt and Josh once a week so they can have time off for a romantic dinner. In return, they’d like to take you out to the cinema tomorrow. Matt actually talked about making that a weekly thing.”