by Anna Jacobs
'I want to meet Mitch. Could you invite him up for a visit and then let Andy bring him across to meet me. Would you do that for me?'
Judith considered the request, then nodded. 'Yes. But the money is only a secondary reason.'
'Oh? What's the primary reason, then?'
'To set the record straight about his father's family, so that he at least knows you and his other relatives too, if possible. He hasn't met his Australian uncle and cousins, either, though Des and I went once. We could easily have afforded another trip out there. I think Mitch hungers for family, actually.' She'd never fully realized how much until now, talking to Maeve.
'My Australian niece has accepted an invitation to come and see me. I'll make sure the two of them meet.'
'That'd be good.'
'Why did you never go back to visit Leo? He and Des didn't quarrel.'
'Des hates to be torn from his business and he's not fond of flying. Are there any other relatives lurking in the background I should know about?'
'One or two cousins in Ireland. I'll make sure Mitch has their details.' Maeve leaned her head back against the chair and the cup she was holding tilted without her noticing.
Judith got up. 'Let me take that for you.'
'Thank you. I'm ridiculously weak. It's a new combination of treatments and they think it'll give me several more months of life.'
'But not cure you?'
'No. Unfortunately. But cancer has some strange compensations. Life is very sweet and when you know you've not got much time left, you relish every single second of it, seeing more clearly, speaking more honestly, just - living every moment to the full. When you're not sleeping, that is.' After a moment's silence, she added, 'I'd better take a rest now, then I'll join you for lunch.' She pressed a buzzer that was standing on a small table next to her chair. 'I'll leave you in Andy's care until then.'
'Could I look round the house and grounds? It's so beautiful.'
Maeve gave her another luminous smile. 'Isn't it? I love this place. Where better to end my days? I have to work out who among the younger generation will love it as I do.'
Andy arrived, took in the situation in a glance and rang the buzzer twice before showing Judith out. 'She gets tired very quickly and she's due a rest, but she wanted to talk to you alone first.'
'She said she'd join us for lunch.'
He frowned. 'She shouldn't but I daren't try to stop her.'
'You're very fond of her, aren't you, Mr Blauman?'
'Andy. And I'm more than fond of her, I love her. She's become like a favourite aunt to me. Now, come and see the gardens while it's still fine.'
Over lunch Maeve asked questions about Mitch and Judith talked willingly, showing the photos of him as a child that she'd brought. Her hostess studied them, smiling, but was monosyllabic in her comments and questions. She seemed like a wilting flower with only willpower keeping her upright.
In the end she pushed away her plate. 'I'm glad to have met you, Judith. My brother didn't deserve you.' She turned to Andy. 'Would you help me . . .?'
He went round and scooped her up, carrying her swiftly out in spite of her protests.
When he came back, Judith said bluntly, 'I've never believed the cliche before, but she really does look as if a breath of wind would blow her away.'
'Yes, but it wouldn't dare!' He chuckled, studied her, then asked, 'Shall you do as she asks?'
'Definitely. I'd like Mitch to be independent of Des, though I'm not sure a large legacy would be good for someone his age. People should have to struggle to achieve something, don't you think?'
Andy gave this some thought, then nodded slowly.
'But most of all, now that I've met Maeve, I'd like Mitch to meet her too, then maybe he'll understand that being a Corrigan isn't all bad. His father's example hasn't been a good one and I've been a bit tied up with my own problems.' It still hurt her to remember Mitch's accusation about that. 'I think I should have paid my son more attention, but Des was very demanding when we were first married and - it's easy to be wise after the event, isn't it?' She sighed and stared blindly into space for a minute then looked at Andy. 'Sorry. What were we talking about?'
'Your son meeting Maeve. Sooner rather than later, I'm afraid. We hope she'll live longer than the first prognosis, but she's not recovering from this treatment as quickly as they'd expected.'
'I'm sorry. I like her.'
'Most people do. Her staff adore her.'
'I'll ring Mitch tonight.'
'You can always reach me on the same number to make arrangements. We can even use the same subterfuge for eluding your watcher, if you like.'
'It might be better not to do things openly, for Mitch's sake, though I hate all this deceit. He's still dependent on his father financially and Des can be bloody minded when he takes a huff about something.'
There was her mother to think about as well. Hilary was treading a difficult path at the moment and Judith worried about her.
Soon after she got home it began to look like rain so she went to sit in the kitchen and stare out of the window. She watched the clouds descend and gather just above the moors, the lowest wisps of ragged white seeming to caress the rolling curves of the tops. She had a lot to think about, needed the peace of this place.
When the phone rang, she hesitated, not wanting to be disturbed, still trying to come to terms with her visit to Maeve. Then, with a shrug, she picked it up.
'Mum. It's Mitch.'
'I do still recognize your voice.'
'Can I come and visit you the weekend after next? It's Lacey's wedding this weekend, or I'd come then.'
'Of course you can. I'd love to see you. How did you know I was going to ring up and invite you?'
'Dunno.'
'I'm missing you dreadfully.' She smiled into the ensuing silence. He always went monosyllabic when emotions were discussed.
'Look, Mum, I can skip the last two classes on the Friday if you'll send me a note, and then I'll travel up to see you straight from school. I hope the trains are good.'
'Does your father know you're coming?'
'No.'
'He'll find out. He's having a watch kept on me. There's someone in a car outside my house every time I look out and they've started to follow me everywhere.'
'Dad can be a sod, can't he?'
'What's he done now?' She listened to her son's explanation, not saying much, surprised that Des was taking this Tiffany person to the wedding but not really caring. Judith was only surprised that Tiffany had stayed with him for so long. She was welcome to him.
With the greatest reluctance, Cal made an appointment to see another lawyer, because the first one hadn't been much use. This one had been highly recommended by a friend of his. Pete had gone through an acrimonious divorce a couple of years ago.
Time to get the facts straight and take action.
He came away shocked to the core, unable to believe that.
Kerry could have been so deceitful and tried to pull the wool over his eyes like that about his legal rights. She must think him stupid. He stopped and considered this. No, she didn't think him stupid, but absent-minded and impractical - and he had been.
Only how to deal with this without putting Lily at the centre of a tug of war battle was more than he could immediately work out.
The first thing was to try to contact his daughter. When he rang Kerry asking to speak to Lily, she told him it would upset the child too much and put the phone down on him.
He tried emailing but his messages to Lily went unanswered.
He contacted the school's guidance officer, but she said Kerry had rung in to say Lily was ill and would be off all week. So he asked to speak to her about his daughter, but she preferred to wait until the child was better and check that Lily didn't mind her speaking to him.
When he shared his worries with Judith, she suggested hiring a private investigator to find out what was going on. He stared at the phone and couldn't at first answer.
'Cal? Are you still there?'
'Yes. I was just - surprised. I don't know any private investigators.'
'Neither do I, but I know someone who'll help us. Hold on. I'll ring you back when I've contacted him.'
Judith put the phone down and went for Andy's mobile number, relieved when he answered straight away. She explained the situation, almost explained that Lily was Des Corrigan's daughter then decided not to rock the boat for Cal at the moment. 'Can you give me the name of someone my friend can contact?'
'Yes, of course. Hold on a minute.'
He read off a number and she scribbled it down.
'Let me know what happens.'
Andy didn't put the phone down but rang through immediately to the firm used by Maeve. He explained the situation and asked that Cal Richmond be given priority and helped in any way possible. Then he went to tell Maeve, sure she'd agree he'd done the right thing.
'Does Judith know Lily Richmond is Des's daughter?' Maeve wondered.
'I don't know.'
'Keep an eye on things, Andy. And find out what this Cal Richmond is like, what his relationship is with the child.' She shook her head, making a muffled noise of irritation in her throat. 'There are so many things to sort out and I can't keep up with them.'
'We're not doing badly.'
She leaned her head back. 'I trust you, Andy. If you ever have to take any decisions without me, remember that.'
'Do you suppose Des knows what's going on with Lily?'
'I doubt it. He's ignored the child all his life, except for paying maintenance.' She smiled. 'I don't know whether this Kerry has broken the law, taking maintenance from two men, but she's definitely been unscrupulous. In fact, this is .all very interesting.'
As Mark drove her away from the small town of Callabine, Kate sighed and closed her eyes, leaning back against her seat. 'Sorry about all that.'
'It's not your fault.'
'Dad's usually fairly reasonable, if a bit old-fashioned. He just - has a thing about his sister.'
'I'm sorry to hear that. I find her an admirable woman, though she can be very determined if she wants something.' He glanced sideways at her. 'You don't look at all well. You're chalk white.'
'Stress. It makes everything worse. Trouble is, I get bored living a quiet life, so that stresses me out too. Can't win sometimes, can you?'
'I've been researching ME. I believe there are several ways of treating it nowadays.'
'Not in Callabine, there aren't.' Her voice was bitter.
'Have you seen any specialists?'
'The GP sent me to a physician in Berrabin, but he was quite old and I'm sure I knew more than him about what was wrong with me from my research on the Internet. All he wanted to do was put me on antidepressants.' She gave him a wry smile. 'Dad and I had a sharp disagreement about that as well. I didn't have the energy to pursue other avenues at the time. I thought if I took things easy for a while . . . and I did get a little better . . . then later on I'd try to find proper help.'
'Couldn't your parents have pushed matters further?'
She grimaced. 'They know the local doctor socially, have great trust in him, and he took the physician's side. Dad said they wouldn't do anything else unless I tried the antidepressants, because the doctors knew best. As if! So I tried them and they turned what's left of my brain off. I was just a zombie so I stopped taking them. Dad said if I wasn't prepared to give them a fair go, it wasn't worth trying anywhere else. And Mum never goes against him, not when he's set his mind on something.'
'That must have been tough.'
She nodded, pressing her lips together.
'If you're up to it, I'll drive to Sydney and book us into a hotel there until we can get a flight to England.'
'I'll be fine. I'm just sitting here.'
But she wasn't fine. When they stopped for refreshments, she stumbled and would have fallen but for his arm round her.
'Sorry. I get - disoriented, dizzy.'
Mark waited for her outside the Ladies and guided her to a table, bringing her some food and insisting she eat.
'I'm really not hungry.'
'You won't get better if you don't eat.'
'You sound like Mum.'
'No one's ever accused me of being maternal before.' He grinned at her as he turned to his own food.
She looked at the plate, sighed and forced as much as she could down her throat, then saw him watching her.
'Good girl,' he said softly, taking her hand for a moment.
She was sorry when he let go. The simple warmth of a human touch was so comforting.
When they set off again she felt sleepy, so he stopped the car and insisted she get in the back so that she could spread out.
She woke to find they were driving into Sydney. 'I can't have slept so long!'
'You did. I was glad to see it.' He stopped outside a large, expensive-looking hotel. 'Wait here.'
She spent the time tidying herself up.
'I've booked a two-bedroom suite,' he said as he handed over the keys to the parking attendant and waited for her to get out of the car. 'If you need any help during the night, you'll be able to call out.'
'I don't usually need help. It's just that I've pushed myself too far today. All I want to do is sleep.'
'I'm going to insist on you eating something first.'
'I'm not hungry, Mummy dearest.'
He chuckled. 'I know. But humour me, please. If I can't show Miss Corrigan I've done all I can to look after you, I'll never dare face her.'
She looked at him, surprised into another smile. 'Somehow I don't think you're afraid of anyone.'
He considered this, mouth pursed, head on one side. 'You're probably right.'
In the suite, which was more luxurious than anywhere she'd ever stayed before, he carried her suitcase and laptop into her room, but insisted she stay in the living area between the two bedrooms. 'What do you want to eat, or shall I just order for you?'
Kate studied the menu and tried in vain to work up some enthusiasm. She couldn't so pushed it towards him. 'You order.'
'We'll have steaks. Can't beat red meat for iron and energy.'
'Whatever.'
'How about a glass of red wine, too?'
When the food arrived, he coaxed her into eating half the steak and drinking a full glass of red wine. By that time the world had blurred around her and she felt totally exhausted. 'I can't stay awake any longer.' She set down her glass carefully and pushed herself to her feet. When the room whirled around her again, he was there to help her to bed.
'Never mind about undressing, Kate. Just go to sleep.'
And she did, slipping happily down into the warm, peaceful world that was her only escape from feeling rotten. She didn't stir for ten hours straight.
Once Mark was sure Kate was asleep he looked at his watch, calculated the time differences and picked up the phone. 'Andy? I'm in Sydney. I've got Kate with me and I'm bringing her to England as soon as I can get a flight. She's not at all well. Can you arrange an appointment with a specialist in ME? As soon as possible, I'd say.'
'I'll get on to it as soon as places open for business.'
'How's Maeve?'
'Struggling. The treatment's very aggressive.'
'Give her my best. I'll ring back when I've booked our flight.'
After he'd let Andy know the flight details, Mark peeped in again at Kate and only then did he go to bed himself.
How could Kate's father try to stop her getting the help she needed just because it was from Maeve? It must be awful being so ill at her age. Her life had come to an almost complete stop in Carrabine.
His last thought as he fell asleep was: she'd be pretty if she didn't look so wan. She still had a beautiful smile.
Fifteen
Sunshine after rain. People turn up their faces, eyes closed, as they enjoy the warmth. Flowers turn up their faces too, bobbing a humbler greeting to the sun.
The day of Lacey's wedding dawned bright and clear af
ter a stormy night. Mitch got up early and managed to do some studying before he donned the hired morning suit. He grimaced at the sight of himself in the mirror, rufflecl up the tangles of his gelled hair so that they stood even higher, and went to find Gran. She was struggling to fasten her necklace, so he did it for her, then stood back to study her appearance.
'Very smart, but didn't Dad buy you a new necklace to go with your wedding outfit, Gran?'
'It's far too flashy for me. Besides, I always wear this one for weddings. It's my lucky piece.'
He grinned at her. 'Rebelling against him?'
She smiled. 'Just a little.'
He pointed at his hair. 'My little rebellion. Dad'll hate this.'
She looked at him, head on one side, a slight frown creasing her forehead. 'Yes, he will. Look, Mitch, try to remember that your father wasn't always like this. I don't know what's got into him lately, but he used to be fun.'
'Too much testosterone. He's like a stud bull snorting defiance at the world.' Mitch scowled down at his shiny new shoes. 'What about this new woman he's bringing today?'
'Must be someone important to him, or he'd not bring her to Lacey's wedding. You will be polite to her, won't you?'
He shrugged. 'She'll be beautiful and mindless, a trophy doll to flaunt in front of us all.'
'Wait and see. Don't always think the worst of him.'
'I wonder if this one is the reason Mum left him?'
'Does it matter now? I'm quite sure Judith won't go back to him. He's pushed her too far and Mitch - ' she debated for a moment the wisdom of being frank then said something she'd been thinking for a very long time - 'I never did think he was right for her, never. He stifled her.'
'Do you think so?' Mitch had a think about it. 'In some things, maybe he did. He does like things to be done his way. But he did encourage her to paint, don't forget.'
'Only as a hobby. They had quite a few disagreements about it when she got serious. But her tutor said she wasn't quite good enough to paint professionally, so she backed off on that one.'
He thought of Mum's painting, hanging on the wall of his bedroom now, and some of the others she'd done. 'I can't see why he'd say that. Her paintings are beautiful, and I'm not just saying that because she's my mother. They - ' he waved his hands about, searching for words - 'show you something beautiful you'd not have noticed.'