by Anna Jacobs
'I need to get back to London straight away.' He, lowered his voice. 'Where do you think Mum and Lily are? It doesn't take this long to nip into Rochdale and back.'
'I'm hoping they saw the car and drove past. Now, I'd better go and tell them what's happened. Don't forget, Kerry was once your father's mistress. Maybe this will make them go away and leave us alone.'
'He doesn't look like he'd care about anyone.'
'But she will, for all her faults. She's not all bad, Mitch. She's been a good mother in her own way. She's just - a bit sharp.'
Mitch made a scornful noise in his throat and sat down suddenly at the table, fists clenched, eyes closed.
Cal went back into the front room. 'Mitch's father's had a heart attack. He's in hospital. I need to get the boy to London.'
Kerry looked across at Cal in shock. 'Is Des going to be OK?'
'They think so, but they're keeping him in hospital for a few days.'
'Well, you can't leave until they get back, can you,' Wayne said, with a sneering sort of smile.
'He can leave any time he wants,' Kerry said. 'I'm not keeping a son from his father at a time like this.'
'It could be a trick, honey, probably is.'
She shook her head. 'Cal isn't into tricks and lies. He's too honest for his own good, always doing people favours instead of charging them for his services. That's one of the things that drove me mad about him.'
Mitch came back into the room as she was speaking and looked at Cal. 'I'm all right now. I think we ought to wait a bit longer, see if Mum gets in touch. If she doesn't, will you take me to London? I need to see Dad, be there. You know.'
'Yes, of course.' He went and put his arm round Mitch's shoulders and the boy didn't shrug the arm off.
Cal saw Kerry watching them with a sympathetic look on her face.
She stood up. 'Shall I make us all some sandwiches? If you're going on a long drive, you'll want something to eat.'
'Thanks. That'd be a big help.' Cal pulled Mitch across to a chair. 'Your father will be all right,' he said. 'Your grandmother said they got help for him quickly and he's not old, can afford the best treatment.'
'Yeah.'
Wayne said nothing, just sat frowning and occasionally glancing out of the window.
Maeve heard the front door go and called, 'I'm in the conservatory.'
Andy came in. 'I've got a surprise for you, Maeve, a pleasant one too. You wanted to meet Des's daughter Lily - well, here she is.'
He gestured to someone in the hall and Maeve watched two people walk towards her. Her eyes flickered quickly over Judith and settled on the girl. What she saw made her draw in her breath sharply. 'Dear heaven! There's no doubt she's one of us.'
Judith drew Lily forward. 'Maeve, I've brought your niece to meet you - and she needs your help.'
'Come here, child, and be sure that whatever I can do for you, I will.'
Lily studied the woman. 'Even if it means going against my mother?'
'I don't know your mother, but you're the spitting image of myself at your age and you're a Corrigan, so I'm on your side from the start.'
Lily relaxed visibly. 'Mitch said you were nice.'
'I must remember to thank him when I see him. And I'll find some photos of me as a child later and show you. You'll be surprised how alike we look. I gather no one's told you about me?'
'No. I didn't even know who my father was until yesterday.' She looked at Judith. 'Will you tell her why we're here? I get too upset when I talk about it.' She went across to the window, to stand with her back to them, looking out.
Judith went and sat beside Maeve, explaining what she knew about why Lily had run away from home. Only then did the girl come and join them again, her eyes suspiciously bright.
'What's he like, this Cal Richmond?' Maeve asked.
'He's a great guy,' Judith smiled involuntarily at the thought of him.
'He's the best dad that ever was,' Lily added. 'I don't care if your brother is my biological father. He never tried to see me, so I don't care about him.'
Maeve looked at her sadly. 'He always was a fool where people were concerned. He's done better with the money side of things. I think the first thing to do is phone your dad and let him know you're safe. He'll be worrying about you.'
'I don't want my mother to find out where I am,' Lily said at once.
'Not until I've seen my lawyers, no. Andy, have you got your mobile handy? Let her use that.'
He undipped it from his belt and passed it to her. 'Know how to use it.'
She threw him a scornful look as if to say that was a stupid question, then hesitated and looked at Judith again. 'Will you deal with whoever answers first? I don't want to speak to my mother.'
'Of course I will.'
When the phone rang again Mitch jumped forward, hand outstretched.
'Let me take it' Cal picked it up. 'Hello?'
'Cal, it's me, Judith.'
'Wayne and Kerry are here,' he warned quickly.
Wayne immediately moved forward and Kerry stopped in the doorway, her eyes on the phone.
Cal watched them warily as he listened to Judith.
'We saw their car so we drove on past. I'm using a mobile, so they won't be able to trace this call. I just wanted you to know that I have Lily in a very safe place.'
He watched Wayne warily. 'Good. Keep her there. It's not safe for her to come back here yet.'
'I'll put her on the phone, shall I?'
'Wait a minute. There's a bit of bad news for you, I'm afraid. Your mother just rang. It seems Des has had a heart attack.'
'What?'
'He's in hospital. They think he's going to be all right.'
'Mitch will want to go to him and I'd like to see him too. I'd better come back.' She hesitated, then added, 'I'm with Lily's aunt.'
'Ah. That's great.'
'Is it all right if I leave Lily here and come to London?'
'Yes, of course.' He thought through the logistics quickly. 'You'd be better going straight there. I can take Mitch on the Hog.'
'All right. But could you pack me a few clothes and underclothes?'
'Sure. As long as you don't complain about my selection.'
'Thanks. I'll put Lily on for a quick word now.'
'Great.' He waited then Lily came on, sounding breathless and worried.
'Dad? Are you all right?'
'I'm fine, darling. It's you I'm worried about.'
'I like it here. I feel safe.'
Kerry moved forward. She mimed begging to speak to Lily.
'Good. Look, your mother is here with me and wants a quick word. I think it'd be good to reassure her that you're all right.'
'No! I don't want to speak to her. She'll be furious.'
'She's more worried than furious at the moment. She won't shout at you. Trust me, kid. If she does, I'll take the phone away from her.' He covered it with his other hand for a minute. 'No threatening her. Promise.'
Kerry nodded and took the phone. 'Lily? Are you all right?'
'Yes, I'm fine. Judith's looked after me. But I'm not coming home. I'm not going to America with you. I'm not!'
'But you're OK?'
Kerry heard her daughter start to cry and a woman came on the phone, an older woman, from the sound of her voice.
'Ms Foster, isn't it? I'm sorry, but Lily's extremely upset.'
'So am I.'
'Then stop hounding her.' There was a pause, then the woman's voice lost its crisp tone. 'She'll be looked after very carefully, I promise you, till this mess can be sorted out.'
'Thank you.' Kerry hesitated, then added, 'I do love her.'
'Not enough to let her have what she wants - and needs,' that cool voice said. 'Now, I think Judith needs to speak to Cal again.'
They made arrangements to meet in London at Hilary's house, then Judith cut the connection and smiled at Maeve. 'Thank you.'
'It's nice to be of use.' She looked at the girl, who was scrubbing her eyes. 'I'll get t
he best lawyers, but it'll be what Lily wants that they try for, not what you or her father want.'
'That's fine by me.'
When Cal turned round, he was surprised to see Kerry huddled against Wayne, weeping. 'Kerry?' She looked at him resentfully but didn't say anything. 'Look, Mitch and I have to leave now.'
'Do you know where she is?'
'Roughly. I know who she's with, which is the main thing.'
'They can be trusted to look after her properly?'
'Undoubtedly.' He turned to Mitch. 'Let's get ready. Dress warmly.'
Kerry looked up at Wayne. 'Take me home, darling. Oh, just a minute, Cal. Which hospital is Des in? I'll want to ring and check that he's all right.'
'St Rita's.'
'Lily was born there. Strange how things work out sometimes.'
Wayne put his arm round her shoulders, scowled at Cal and walked her out, tossing over his shoulder, 'You'll be hearing from our lawyers.'
'Kerry will be hearing from ours as well,' Cal said, in a more temperate tone.
Maeve went to hold her niece as Judith finished her phone call. The child sobbed against her, clearly worn out by all the hassles. 'We'll sort it out, I promise you,' she murmured against the damp cheek pressed against hers.
'Wayne's rich. He owns aeroplanes and has millions of dollars. My dad hasn't got much money because he doesn't care about it. How can we fight someone like that?'
'I'll help you as well.'
Lily looked up and smeared away a tear with the back of one hand. She looked round at the beautiful room then back at Maeve. 'Are you rich too?'
'Yes, very.'
'If you can help me and Dad, we'd both be very grateful.' Her breath caught on a sob and she sniffed.
Maeve pushed a handkerchief into her hand. 'Use that, then come and sit next to me. As soon as Judith leaves, you and I will have a council of war with Andy.'
As Lily sat down and used the handkerchief, Judith mouthed, 'Thank you' to Maeve from across the room.
The older woman smiled and made a shooing movement. 'Andy, get Judith sorted out with some food and then a car. Better if someone else drives her down to London, I think. Oh, and give her some money to tide her over.'
With a smile Judith let Andy show her to a guest suite, where she could freshen up, then she went down to find him waiting at the foot of the stairs.
'I've got Lena to put something together for you to eat in the car. I didn't think you'd want to linger.'
'You're right.'
She went to say goodbye to Lily and was relieved to see that the girl had calmed down and was chatting animatedly to her aunt. What a pity Maeve had never had any children. She was marvellous with young people. Mitch had said she was 'one cool dame' and he was right.
'You're sure you'll be all right, Lily?'
'Yes.' She came to give Judith a hug. 'Thank you for rescuing me.'
'Any time.'
'Tell Dad I love him and I'll see him soon.'
'I will.'
Lily looked at her slyly. 'I think you're fond of him too, aren't you?'
'Yes. Do you mind?'
'Not as long as you make him happy. I read somewhere that men live longer when they're happily married.'
Judith had trouble holding back a laugh at this piece of wisdom as she caught Maeve's amused gaze from across the room. 'Well, we haven't got as far as discussing marriage yet, but I'll - um - bear that in mind.'
'We'll look after her,' Maeve said. 'You look after her father for her. Tell him not to worry. I have some excellent lawyers. Oh, and give my regards to Des if you see him.'
Twenty-Four
Sunshine and showers pursue drivers down the motorways, foxes hunt small prey along verges, birds chase insects among foliage and flowers. No creature today is standing still.
Judith sat in the back of the big Mercedes, glad the driver wasn't the chatty sort and she could have some thinking time. She couldn't believe how much had happened in the past few months, or how greatly her life had changed, still felt breathless when she thought about that.
She wondered how Des was, needed to know he was all right before she could move on. You couldn't live with a man for nearly twenty years without having some residual feeling for him. It wasn't as if he'd meant to be unkind, he was just - selfish, full of testosterone, full of exuberance too, which was what had attracted her to him in the first place. It had been an accident that he had knocked her down the stairs, though not accidental that he'd played tricks on her. Perhaps his rages and spite had been symptoms of whatever caused his high blood pressure and the heart attack.
But the main reason she still cared about him was because he'd given her Mitch and because she knew he loved his son dearly in his own selfish way - and that was something Mitch still needed.
Was this Kerry person missing Lily as much as Judith had missed Mitch? How must she be feeling not even to know where her daughter was? Was the woman stupid or self-absorbed not to see how close the bond was between Cal and Lily? Judith envied him that strong link, hoped to forge a closer one with Mitch in the time she had before he flew the nest completely. Then perhaps he'd keep coming back. Mitch had accused her of not giving fully of herself, but that had changed, she had changed.
Rain rattled against the car window and she looked up briefly, closing her eyes again almost immediately and continuing to sift through her own thoughts.
And on the whole they were happy ones now.
Kate looked up as the phone in their hotel suite rang, but Mark was closer to it so she let him pick it up.
'Andy. Hi. Everything all right? . . . Yeah, we got here with no trouble . . . We're going for the results today . . . No, she stood up to the journey well.' He winked at Kate, then his expression grew solemn and he looked surprised as he picked up a pen and sat down to write, murmuring 'Mm-hmm' at intervals.
When the call ended he looked across the room. 'We missed out on a bit of excitement. Des's daughter Lily has taken refuge with Maeve after running away from her mother, who wanted to take her to live in the States. The lawyers think it best that Maeve brings the girl to London and allows her mother to have access - they think they can swing it for her to stay with the man she considers her father till the case is settled, because she's over twelve. So as Maeve has to go for one of her big check-ups soon, she's decided to come with Lily. I'm to book a suite for Maeve and rooms for the girl and Andy.'
'It'll be good to meet another cousin.' Kate grinned suddenly. 'I wonder how many children my uncle Des has fathered? He sounds a bit of a lad.'
Mark's grin matched hers. 'We'll never know for sure, but there are four definites and another on the way. Have a bit of a rest, then we'll keep our appointment.' He saw her smile fade completely and went over to kiss her cheek. 'I'm sure you'll be getting good news, Kate. Yours isn't a killer disease, after all.'
'It takes the joy out of everything, though, makes you waste what are supposed to be the best years of your life sleeping and resting.' She snapped her lips shut, not wanting to sound like a whinger, and listened as he made hotel bookings for Maeve and the others.
'You haven't rung your mother yet,' he reminded her afterwards.
'No. I thought I'd wait until after we get the results.'
An hour later they left for the doctor's. As they sat waiting, Kate held Mark's hand tightly. It was twenty minutes past their appointment time before they were shown in, and by then she felt as if she was going to explode with impatience.
'It's good news,' Dr Upson said, smiling as Kate let out a groan of relief. 'You have some serious chemical imbalances which need correcting. There are some which we can improve straight away and others we have to work on gradually, but we treat the causes not the symptoms, so hopefully this will sort out most of your problems, though it'll take a while.
'The ferritin test showed your body is extremely low in iron, well below the normal reference range. How that was missed before, I don't know. In fact, your levels are so low that you sho
uld have an iron transfusion, which we'll arrange as soon as possible. Since you're paying privately, you won't have to wait. The transfusion should make a huge difference to your energy levels. You'll need to build in a day's rest after it, by the way. It flattens you temporarily.'
Mark watched as Kate gradually relaxed and lost the taut, stressed look. When the doctor had finished giving her a list of vitamin and mineral supplements to take, it was he who asked, 'Are we looking at a full cure here?'
'More or less. You'll always have to be careful, Miss Corrigan, and watch that you don't overdo things, but there's no reason you shouldn't live a full and active life. But I must stress that it won't happen overnight. Adjusting your body's biochemistry takes time and it isn't a precise science yet, so we have to tread carefully and some of the finer tuning can elude us.'
Kate held herself together till they got back to the hotel then wept in Mark's arms for sheer relief.
'I'll come with you tomorrow morning for the iron transfusion.'
'Thank you.'
'And this evening we'll go out to a wonderful Chinese restaurant I know.'
'Above and beyond the call of duty again?' she teased.
'Most definitely.'
'I'm so grateful to Aunt Maeve.'
'She's a pretty special woman. Now, how about ringing your mother?'
Kate looked at him apprehensively then studied her watch. 'I suppose I'd better. If I leave it much longer Dad will be home from work.' Taking a deep breath she picked up the phone and dialled. 'Mum?'
'Darling, I've been hoping you'd ring. How are you?'
'Much better, thanks to Aunt Maeve. I've discovered that . . .'
Mark leaned back and watched Kate's vivid face. He loved to see how enthusiasm lit her up, even for small things. He could imagine Maeve being like this when younger - and Kate growing more like Maeve as she grew older. In fact, he could imagine a future for himself and Kate, hoped things would work out, though it was early days yet.
When she put the phone down, she brushed away a tear.
He leaned forward. Had he missed something? 'What's wrong?'
'Nothing. These are happy tears. Mum says Dad is coming round already and will forgive me more quickly when he hears how much better I am.'