All is Fair
Page 28
Solly reached inside his jacket pocket and pulled out a bulky envelope, which he held out to his brother. ‘You left so quickly after Dad died and never claimed your inheritance. This is more than any of our rides are worth. Before I came here to see you, I got Gem to work out how much we could afford to give you in cash without risking the fair’s future. She wasn’t at all happy about you getting a penny of it, and she’s right really, after what you did to us, but she’s my wife and backs me in any decision I make. Now you either take it or leave it, but what’s in this envelope is all you’re going to get.’
Sonny was staring blindly at his brother as he blasted out his tirade of home truths, and suddenly a great surge of regret swamped his being. Solly was right. What an utter fool he had been to allow the spiteful words of a woman to shape the way his life had gone. Had he seen her for what she was, then instead of the dire situation he was in now, he could be in Solly’s shoes and in essence have all he’d ever wanted before she had come into his life: a good woman by his side, the means to earn a decent living to support them both, and a loving family in the wings. It was too late for remorse, though, and besides, he wasn’t prepared to humiliate himself any more than he already had done. In any case, Solly would more than likely believe that any show of repentance was just part of the plan to get his hands on the fair, and after his past behaviour, he couldn’t blame him for thinking that way. He took the envelope and slit open the flap, then flicked his finger over the wad inside.
‘There’s just under ten grand there,’ Solly told him. ‘Enough to get you abroad and start a little business.’
It was far from the amount he had hoped to be getting, but if he was honest, it was a lot more than he deserved when all was said and done. He had no doubt his brother meant business; either he accepted this offer or he’d get nothing.
The fact that Sonny put the wad of cash into his pocket indicated to Solly that he was accepting the deal. ‘Good. This is goodbye, then.’
As he walked out, both men knew that they’d never see each other again.
Chapter Twenty Five
Gem heaved a deep contented sigh. ‘Oh, this is the life, eh, Velda? Sitting in the sun on a lovely Sunday afternoon with nothing else to do today as Jenny has offered to cook the tea. Just listen to that silence… pure bliss.’ The words had hardly left her mouth when a loud commotion filled the air. Sitting bolt upright, she screwed up her face and snapped, ‘Goodness me, do they have to make such a racket? I thought it was a friendly game they were having, not a brawling match.’
Velda laughed. ‘One side has obviously scored a goal and their supporters are showing their delight. Hope it was our team that scored. It was a good idea by the farmer whose field we’re camped on: a match between the fair and the locals as a way to bring us all together. There’s at least fifty of the townsfolk have come to watch, and most of our community have turned out too.’ She frowned thoughtfully. ‘Don’t you think we should show our faces to cheer them on?’
Gem scoffed. ‘Be my guest. I hate football. Grown men chasing a ball around a field, kicking hell out of each other, isn’t my idea of Sunday afternoon entertainment.’
Velda got up and went over to the hedge behind them. She stood on her tiptoes to peer over the top before returning to her seat outside Gem’s van. ‘I don’t know that much about football, but I do know there are only supposed to be eleven players in each team. There appear to be at least twenty per side over there. They all look like they’re having fun, though, and that’s the main thing.’
‘Fun! It sounds like they’re killing each other to me.’ Yet another loud commotion rent the air, followed by prolonged shouting and cheers, and Gem added, ‘I’d better get the medical box ready to tend to any casualties.’
She returned with the box just in time to see Tom limping over to her. He sat down on the grass before her chair and pulled down his sock to show a nasty gash on his shin, blood flowing from it.
Gem looked at him in horror. ‘Oh, don’t tell me the locals are playing nasty? That wasn’t the aim of the match at all; it was supposed to bring us all closer together.’
‘This wasn’t caused by one of the locals,’ Tom assured her. ‘It was Mr Grundy… Solly. He went to kick the ball but missed and kicked my leg instead. I need to get back. We’re losing eight–nil. So, if you could just put a quick plaster on it to stop the blood, I’d much appreciate it. Oh, and Solly asked if you could send over the oranges and drinks for half-time in about ten minutes.’
‘I’ll do a quick patch-up for now,’ Gem said, ‘but after the game is finished you’ll need a proper job doing on it.’
Temporary dressing applied, Gem smiled as she watched Tom limp back to the hole in the hedge he’d come through to rejoin the match on the other side.
‘He’s a nice lad,’ Velda commented. ‘He and Jenny seem to be very fond of each other.’
‘Mmm, yes, they are. I’d go so far as to say they’re in love. Me and Solly both like him very much and think he’d make her a good husband.’
‘It will be hard for them then when the season ends and Tom leaves along with the other seasonal workers.’
‘Well, if they’re still together when that time comes, Solly is going to ask him to work for us over the winter. We haven’t told either of them as we don’t want to be seen as interfering. Do your special talents tell you that Jenny and Tom have a future together?’ Gem probed.
Velda lapsed into thought. Her gift for sensing things far more acutely than most people was telling her that something didn’t ring true about Tom. She didn’t believe he was lying; just not being as open as he could be. She had a strong feeling that he was hiding something, something that he feared wouldn’t go down well with others should they discover it. Perhaps he had been in prison, although he was still young, so it couldn’t have been a lengthy sentence. Or was it something else entirely? Was he a famous actor or singer, a celebrity in some way, and sick and tired of being in the public eye, his private life under constant scrutiny? He might be hiding out inside the fair to rest up for a while before he returned to the limelight. Or maybe he was already married and afraid to own up to Jenny for fear of losing her. Velda sincerely hoped that wasn’t the case for the sake of the lovely young woman.
She supposed she could go on thinking of endless possibilities over what Tom was hiding, but when all was said and done, unless he himself decided to reveal whatever secret he was harbouring, it would remain just that – secret. She had no doubt, though, that at heart he was an honest man, and when the time was right, he would make his confession. She just hoped that whatever it was wasn’t bad enough to break the pair apart, as they were obviously well suited together.
She realised that Gem was speaking to her and gave herself a mental shake. ‘Sorry, dear, I didn’t quite catch that.’
Gem clicked her tongue in frustration. ‘I was saying that I don’t want to waste my time hoping for a wedding that isn’t going to happen, do I?’
Feeling as she did towards Tom at the moment, Velda wasn’t prepared to make any predictions about his relationship with Jenny. She said evasively, ‘Jenny is far too pretty to remain a spinster for the rest of her life.’ Then, wanting to change the subject, she looked concernedly at her friend and asked, ‘I know a few weeks have gone by, but have you and Solly got over the shock of nearly losing the fair because of Sonny?’
Gem heaved a sigh. ‘I continually thank God that we managed to stop him, or I dread to think where we’d all be now. I can’t pretend that the thought of never seeing him again causes me sleepless nights, but despite all he’s done to us, Solly will never stop loving and missing his brother.’
‘You have yourself a good man, Gem. He didn’t need to give Sonny that money to start afresh.’
‘To be honest, Velda, I begrudged Sonny every penny, but it was something Solly needed to do, and for that reason I didn’t cause a fuss when he told me what he’d decided. I just hope Sonny uses the money wisely, as it wa
sn’t like we could afford to give it away. It was meant for two more rides to bring the punters in, and a new entrance arch, as the one we have is getting a bit shabby.’
Velda and Gem’s attention was caught by Julie and Ren, giggling together arm in arm as they approached the hole in the hedge that led into the field.
Gem said sadly, ‘Such a shame for Julie to be widowed at such a young age. She and Dicky seemed so happy together.’
Velda snorted with derision. ‘Shame! It’s the best thing that could have happened to her, in my opinion. That husband of hers was nothing but a fornicating bully, and I still suspect that he used to beat her. She’s better off without him. I’m not saying he deserved to die, but I’m glad he’s no longer around to blight Julie’s life. The Wall of Death riders are definitely a far happier bunch since she took over as their leader.’
‘Yes, they certainly are. And the takings have gone up too. I’m so glad we managed to persuade Solly to give her a chance at the job. She’s more than proved that she’s worthy of it.’
Velda laughed. ‘Between you, me, Jenny and Ren, we didn’t give him any choice, did we?’
Gem laughed too. ‘No, we didn’t.’ She paused thoughtfully. ‘I can’t believe that we’re only four months into the season and already we’ve had to deal with Solly having a breakdown because he got it into his head he wasn’t up to being ringmaster; Dicky’s death; nearly being fleeced by a crooked council leader, then by Solly’s own brother; feuds between stallholders, and other things I’ve forgotten about now – and that’s as well as doing all it takes to keep a fair this size running smoothly. I dread to think what could be in store for us for the rest of the season.’
Although she spoke gravely, a merry twinkle of humour sparked in Velda’s eyes as she said, ‘I fear you will be dealing with a riot next if we don’t get those refreshments over to the field before the half-time whistle blows.’
‘Oh crikey, I forgot about that. Come on, you slice the oranges while I make up the jugs of cordial.’ Gem gave an ironic chuckle. ‘So much for a peaceful Sunday afternoon, eh?’
First published in the United Kingdom in 2018 by Canelo
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Copyright © Lynda Page, 2018
The moral right of Lynda Page to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
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ISBN 9781911591832
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places and events are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
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