by Jenny Kane
Her indignation totally gone now, Abi felt the wave of hopelessness she had been absolutely determined not to allow enfold its way around her. ‘I think so.’
All thoughts of how tired she was disappeared. ‘Bloody idiot!’
‘But I thought, if I could use some of Cass’s survival techniques, I might. . .’ Abi’s voice wavered.
‘No, hun, you’re not the idiot, Max is! Just when I thought he knew what a good thing he had. I’d lay money on him having a delayed attack of cold feet.’
Hope sparked inside Abi. ‘You think so?’
‘Sounds like it, although I think you’d better tell me exactly what happened in case I’m leaping to conclusions here.’
Abi asked Beth, almost mumbling, ‘You don’t think he’s left me then?’
‘Not for a minute. Come on, what happened?’
With a sigh, Abi explained how she and Max had gone from happily chatting to talking about what to do with his flat and furniture, to Max announcing that didn’t feel he could make Abi’s House their home after she’d fought so hard for it to be hers. Eventually, having got into a stalemate, Max had groaned, ran a hand through his hair, and without another word, left the gallery, got into his van and driven off.
Keeping to herself her thought that it sounded like a misunderstanding between two people who weren’t cut out for arguing, Beth asked, ‘Is Max working at Cass’s today?’
‘He should be, but the van wasn’t there when I came in this morning.’
‘What happened when you tried to phone him?’
‘I didn’t. I don’t know what to say.’ Abi raked a hand through her own blonde locks, echoing Max’s gesture from the day before. ‘I don’t want to be the one who does all the running. Max would hate that anyway. He’s so old-fashioned.’
‘I’m not so sure that’s true any more, but you could be right.’ Not convinced, Beth said, ‘Do you want to go home, Abi? I can keep an eye here, or we can close early.’
‘I’m OK. I’ll stay here thanks.’ Abi smiled at Beth, as if seeing her friend properly for the first time since she walked into the gallery. ‘You should go upstairs and put your feet up. We can’t have you too tired for the wedding next week.’
‘Are you sure? You don’t want to go and talk to Max or anything?’
‘No. If he isn’t happy at Abi’s House I’ll sell it so we can get a place we both like. But I don’t really want to. Is that selfish of me?’
Beth was horrified. ‘Not at all. It’s not like it’s any old house. It’s your childhood dream home! And Stan would be so upset. Can you imagine his face?’
‘I know. Telling Stan would be worse than moving out. He was so thrilled when he thought Max and I would start a family in his old home one day. He’d be crushed if we left before even the possibility of the patter of tiny feet. But if Max won’t live there with me. . .That’s what I was trying to work out when you came in. How to tell Stan I’m going to be selling the house he moved out of so I could live there. He’d hate me.’
‘You love Max that much? You’d leave your dream home for him?’
‘I do. I don’t want to lose him.’ Abi groaned as she strolled over to look at the mess she’d made of the picture on her desk, ‘And if Max had stayed last night, I’d have told him so.’
Chapter Thirty-one
‘Any wedding nerves yet, Dora?’ Cass sat at the now familiar kitchen table in Dora and Stan’s flat. She was trying not to feel disappointed that she hadn’t bumped into Dan on the way in, despite the fact she’d lingered in the car park and walked up the stairs and past his office door deliberately slowly.
‘Nope. I doubt very much if I’ll get any.’
‘None at all?’
‘Not one.’ Dora chuckled. ‘Only be nervous about things worth being nervous about, Cass. Life is short, as Stan and I know only too well.’
Cass’s eyes fell on the papers on the table before her. ‘Thanks for doing this for me, Dora. I don’t know why you’re helping me like this, but I am more grateful than you’ll ever know.’
Dora patted Cass’s hand affectionately. ‘I should thank you actually.’
‘Really?’ Cass was openly surprised. ‘But I’ve given you all this stuff to do when you should be getting ready to get married.’
‘I am sorry that you’ve had all this happen to you, and I wish you hadn’t, but it has been wonderful to feel useful again.’
Cass was so astonished that Dora chuckled again. ‘There’s no reason to be so shocked. Stan coming along has turned my rather dull life around, but he doesn’t need much looking after, and if I don’t keep my brain moving I quickly get bored.’
‘Hence the poker?’
‘Hence the poker, bridge, crosswords, and all the other games. You have given me the best puzzle to work out that I’ve had in years. Not only was it good to be challenged again, but I had the added bonus of knowing that I was doing it to help someone I care for. It’s been a privilege.’
‘You’ve only know me two minutes.’ Cass felt mildly overcome, and this time put her hand out to hold Dora’s. ‘I don’t deserve all this.’
‘Cass, you are hardly the first woman I’ve come across who’s been naive in the name of love. No one deserves to be taken advantage of.’
Pausing for a moment, Cass took a deep breath and asked the question she wasn’t sure she wanted an answer to. ‘Dan said Crystal was behind all this because she has designs on Justin herself. Is that right?’
Keeping back the full extent of Crystal’s betrayal, so not to hurt Cass further, Dora said, ‘I’m afraid so.’
‘So was this Justin’s plan all along? To have a few years indulging in my bedroom services, reel me in like some sort of willing fish, then let me fall in love with him, while he worked out how to take advantage of my business?’
‘I don’t think so, dear. If you think about it, Justin didn’t make any money out of destroying your agency. No one did; it was the destruction of all you’d worked for that was the only aim here. I am sure it was to make you look like a failed businesswoman. It was, and I quote, “To take Ms Henley-Pinkerton down a peg or two.”’
Nausea rose in Cass’s throat. ‘Who said that?’
‘Crystal.’
‘How do you know? What have you done, Dora?’
‘I called in a few favours from some friends from the past. I used a few of the contacts Abi has in London, and found out a few useful pieces of information thanks to old-fashioned groundwork and the wonders of modern technology.’
‘Modern technology?’
‘Mobile phones are virtually bugging devices if you know how to use them properly these days.’
‘Oh my God! You didn’t bug Justin?’
‘No, but I arranged for a listening-in on a conversation with Crystal. Best for you to know as little about that as possible!’
Cass was stunned. ‘But you could get into so much trouble.’
Dora smiled. ‘I’m an old woman, who on earth is going to bother about me? And to be honest, can you see Justin, Crystal, or Jacinta admitting to anyone that they’d been outsmarted by an octogenarian?’
‘Do all three of them know then?’
‘To my knowledge none of them know about my investigation.’
Her forehead crinkled in confusion, Cass said, ‘Can you start from the beginning, Dora? I’m not totally sure what you did, or what’s been going on. Is Jacinta involved in this, or is it just Crystal? And for that matter, is Justin the innocent bystander – in a business sense – just as he claimed?’
Dora was thoughtful. ‘I think we’ll have to persuade that man to come down here. You need to ask him that, face to face. You have to see his expression, to read his eyes while he tells you what’s going on. Until then, until you actually see his face, you’re always going to have that voice at the back of your head asking if he did love you or not. The other stuff isn’t so important, is it?’
‘It isn’t. It ought to be, but I hate the idea that he tricked me into loving h
im more than his jealous women taking my business.’
‘So,’ Dora pointed at the mobile phone that Cass had placed in front of her on the table, ‘call him. You have to get this sorted before you can restart your life.’
‘What will I say?’ Her hard, professional mode completely deserted her as the prospect of discovering the truth edged closer. ‘Now I know he cheated on me as well, I’m not sure I’ll be able to see him without throttling him.’
‘You will say that you want to see him because you’d like to clear the air. You will not let on that you know about Crystal’s involvement. That is going to be your leverage.’
‘It is?’
‘You make that phone call, and then I’ll explain everything.’
‘Are you totally insane, Maxwell Pendale?’
Max grunted. ‘Took you longer to get here and shout at me than I thought it would.’
‘I’m pregnant, everything takes longer.’
‘Already?’
‘Yes!’ Beth hadn’t been to Max’s flat for several months, but she was sure that the last time she’d been it hadn’t looked like a box storage area. ‘You’ve packed up?’
‘On the button as ever.’ Max brandished the kettle in her direction. ‘If you’ve come to tell me off then I’d like a cup of tea. You?’
‘Please. But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to tell you off. What the hell are you playing at? Abi is crushed. I caught her deciding how she is going to tell Stan that she is selling the house.’
Max flushed, his freckles suddenly standing out even more than they normally did. ‘You’re not serious?’
‘Deadly. If you don’t feel comfortable in Abi’s House, then her solution is to sell up and find a house together with you.’
Max was already fishing out his mobile phone as he said, ‘But I love Abi’s House.’
‘Then why did you tell Abi you felt like a lodger?’
‘I didn’t! That’s what she said. I needed to sort furniture and stuff.’ Forgetting all about making tea, Max rang Abi’s number, speaking to Beth as he did so. ‘I love Abi to pieces. I’ve been doing all this for her.’ He gestured around the flat, which had all the hallmarks of a place that was about to be vacated. ‘I’ve been up half the night packing and sorting what to sell and what to take over to the house. Damn, she isn’t answering.’
‘If she’s at home, but not in the garden, then she won’t have a signal will she.’ Beth sat down with a tired sigh. ‘Be careful you don’t screw this up, Max. Abi has grown up a lot since we first met her. She isn’t going to be a doormat like she was with Luke, no matter how much she loves you.’
A flash of panic crossed Max’s face. ‘I thought she’d still be at the gallery.’ Throwing his keys at Beth, Max came to a decision. ‘Could you lock up for me? I want to get to Abi’s House before she does anything stupid.’
‘If I can have a kip on your sofa first, then you’ve got a deal.’
Cass couldn’t prevent her hands from shaking, and hated it.
Passing her a small glass of wine, Dora said, ‘Mr Smythe is coming then?’
‘Yes. Tomorrow apparently. Although I won’t truly accept it until I see him standing right in front of me.’ Taking a sip of her drink, Cass closed her eyes, letting the darkness soothe her for a second before opening them again. ‘It feels so strange to think that, after all these years, Justin has no idea that I’ve rearranged my life without him.’
‘That young man has no idea about a lot of things. You’re going to have to be strong tomorrow. I know you are a very controlled and capable woman, Cass, but just in case Justin doesn’t take to hearing you speak the truths that he didn’t want you to know – or, in fact, that you know more than he does – then I’d like Dan to be hidden upstairs while you talk. That way, if you want help, he can be there in seconds.’
With the mention of Dan’s name, Cass took hold of herself. ‘Thank you, Dora, but no. I’ll see if maybe Max and Abi will be around. Dan has done enough for me already. He’s supposed to be here for the residents.’
Not probing as to why Cass didn’t want Dan there, especially as she was convinced she knew the reason why anyway, Dora agreed. ‘Fair enough.’
Cass swallowed. ‘What if Justin decides that my house is his after all? I know that Donald said it’s mine, but Justin still paid for it. He only put it in my name as if it was a gift to avoid tax.’
‘Therefore the house was a gift. It is yours. Justin can make all the fuss he wants, but that won’t change anything on that front. He’s a lawyer, he knows that.’
‘Right.’ Cass took a bigger drink for her glass. ‘You’d better tell me the rest. It’s time we turned this into a proper campaign meeting.’
‘Abi?’
‘Hello, Max.’ Abi didn’t get up from the rocking chair next to her bedroom drawing desk. ‘I didn’t hear you come in.’
Max’s heart sank as he took in her closed-off posture. He’d been so determined to surprise her, to make Abi happy by dashing off to his flat to get sorted so he could pick which things to move in here with her. He hadn’t thought that by not explaining himself he wasn’t surprising Abi, but upsetting her. And worse, planting seeds of doubt within her.
Unsure of what to do, fishing round for something to say, Max asked, ‘Where’s Sadie?’
‘At Stan’s. I’m going to pick her up later.’
‘We could both go.’
‘If you want.’
Frustration rising inside him, Max snapped, ‘Abi, please. I am trying to tell you something.’
Doing her best to fight the anxious knot in her chest, Abi said, ‘Go on then.’
Kneeling down in front of her, Max took her tiny hands in his. ‘I know I went about it the wrong way, and frankly cocked it right up, but the reason I disappeared wasn’t because I was leaving you. Quite the reverse.’
‘The reverse is moving in, and you told me you didn’t want to live here.’
‘No I didn’t, you daft woman. I told you that I wasn’t sure my stuff would fit in here. I went home to sort my stuff out and pack it all up.’
‘Then why the hell didn’t you tell me that?’
‘It was supposed to be a surprise.’
‘It was more of a shock.’ Abi squeezed his hands. ‘Talk to me, Max. If you want me to sell up so we can buy a home together, then I will.’
‘Now listen to me, Abi Carter. No way would I ever ask you to leave this house. Got it?’
Relief spread across Abi’s face as Max put a finger over her lips so he could finish what he wanted to say without interruption.
‘I went home to say goodbye to the flat, I suppose. It doesn’t even feel like home there any more. This is where I want to be. I don’t clean out people’s sheds on a whim you know, lass. That space is mine!’
Laughing now, Abi threw herself onto Max’s lap. ‘Are you sure? I want you to be happy here.’
‘I am happy. I’m very happy, but every now and then I get scared it’ll all go away. Is that OK?’
‘So do I. But it won’t go away, will it, Max?’
‘No, love. It isn’t ever going to go away.’ Max put a hand into his large dungaree pocket. ‘Here. What do you think?’
Abi found herself faced with a list of rented flats. ‘Why are you looking at flats to rent?’
‘Wake up, Abi! I was thinking of renting mine out rather than selling it. We could have a steady extra income to pay for any future little Pendales’ university fees. We’d rent to someone local, not one of those awful incomers. . .’
‘Maxwell, I am one of those awful incomers!’
‘Ummm.’ The rest of Max’s answer was muffled as he picked Abi up and threw her onto the bed. ‘Truly dreadful. . .’
Chapter Thirty-two
Cass wasn’t sure she recognised the woman looking back at her from the bathroom mirror.
Her hair had begun to grow out of the bob style she’d treated herself to on her very first trip to Truro, although it still framed
her face with featherlike wisps. Justin had never seen her with short hair. Nor had he seen her without varnish on her fingernails or make-up on her face.
Lifting her hands to her face to inspect them more closely, Cass took in her blunted nails. Her skin wasn’t quite as soft as it had been either. Sanding furniture had taken its toll. Only a few weeks ago she’d have been horrified by this, but now she felt a long-forgotten sense of achievement. Every scratch on her previously flawless skin meant she’d done something worthwhile. She was creating – not only a work of art out of a piece of old furniture, but a new life for herself. A life that didn’t revolve around a man.
Still slim and undeniably angular, her frame appeared softer in her T-shirt, jeans, and trainers, rather than a crisp white shirt, business suit, and high heels. She had put weight on, and her curves, which had been little more than token gestures before, were certainly more defined. Cass was struck with the idea that Justin might not recognise her when he finally arrived.
The muscles in her shoulders tensed. He would be getting into Penzance railway station in twenty minutes. Cass knew that if she didn’t do this alone her pride would be even more dented than it was already, but that didn’t stop her wishing she’d asked Dan to be there to hold her hand. It was reassuring to know that Max and Abi had agreed to sit in their garden while Justin was there, so that if she needed reinforcements, then all she had to do was shout over the wall.
Shoving a stray hair from her fringe into place, Cass tried to channel her inner businesswoman. She had no illusions. Much of her current situation was her own fault; she’d allowed the wool to be pulled over her eyes, and she’d been so caught up in herself, her agency, and her lover that she had closed herself off to the rest of the world around her.
She had been unbelievably lucky that the house Justin had pushed upon her happened to be next door to such good people. No one in London would have offered to miss work so that they could be around to support her.
‘Or maybe they would have, if I’d taken the trouble to make real friends. . .’
Cass picked up her lipstick, and then put it down again. ‘No. No mask today.’